Revenge-class heavy carrier

The Revenge Class Heavy Carrier is a command vessel which is an evolution of the Venator Class Destroyer used in the early days of the Galactic Empire. While a power vessel in its own right, the Revenge Class is usually the centre of a fleet of Cruisers and Destroyers, used to project the Empires might where ever trouble might flare up, with masses of fighters, walkers and troops, the Revenge Class is capable of dealing with any problem which might arise. Like the earlier Venator, the Revenge class has two command towers, one used for commanding the vessel, the other for commanding its fighter squadrons and other allied vessels. However, unlike the Venator, these are not both on the upper hull of the vessel, the normal command tower is in the position expected on an imperial vessel, while the fleet operations command tower is mounted on the lower hull. The vessels fighter and transport bays are mounted around the edge of the vessel, with the main launch bay being mounted between the twin forward prongs of the ships hull, allowing vessels launching and landing (as well as the bay itself) to come under the protection of the many weapons mounted on these prongs.

Over twice the size of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer and half the size of the Super-class Star Destroyers, the Revenge-class Heavy Carrier was a mobile weapons platform designed to project Imperial power and to enforce peace by restoring Imperial order. Heavy carrier battlegroups gave the Empire the ability to deploy anywhere on short notice and to bring the virtually limitless power of the Empire to bear on an unruly quadrant (i.e., an area composed of 4 adjacent sectors). Over 100,000 Imperial military personnel were carried within its hull, protected by the best technology that the Empire could provide.

The 220 weapons emplacements scattered around its hull were an impressive display of Imperial firepower, but its best asset was the complement of 10 squadrons of TIE fighters that docked in its massive bays. The usual composition was made up of 5 TIE fighter wings, 2 TIE Interceptor wings, 2 TIE bomber wings, and 1 entire wing devoted to TIE reconnaissance fighters. The unique double-superstructure design of the Revenge-class had an important role in its designation as a heavy carrier. The lower superstructure housed additional sensor and communications arrays which monitored and controlled the fighter assets of the battlegroup. Other vehicles (such as shuttles and landers) on the carrier brought the total number of vessels to just under 200.

State of the art weapons systems were instrumental in initiating the peace process, but Imperial ground forces were essential in keeping areas under the Emperor's hand. The Heavy Carrier housed 2 full divisions of stormtroopers and other ground troops, 25 AT-AT and 40 AT-ST walkers and other assorted ground assault vehicles. Combined with the divisions of the 3 attached Imperial-class Destroyers, a Heavy Carrier battlegroup could bring a reinforced Corps to bear. It also carried two prefabricated garrison bases.

Social unrest and criminal enterprise undermined Imperial order. The Heavy Carrier concept allowed a battlegroup to project enough Imperial might to quickly subdue a Rebel uprising. The optimum situation allowed for the carrier to be the command ship for a squadron comprising itself, 3 Imperial-class ships, and various support craft. In practice, the Heavy Carriers were occasionally sent out with 3-4 Victory-class ships, thus bringing the troop capacity of the battlegroup down to a normal, or even a light, corps.

At the time of the Battle of Endor, there were only 3 heavy carriers in service—the Revenge, Relentless, and Recriminator. The first two were destroyed in battle; the Recriminator was captured by New Republic forces and rechristened the Redeemer. The Regulator was not yet complete, but was rushed into service when the Republic attacked the Van Sluis shipyards. It also was captured; after being refitted and completed, it entered New Republic service as the Reconstructor. The Relegator's hull had been laid at the N'zoth shipyards and was never completed after the Yevethans rose up against their masters.