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The Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser, in the Star Wars science fantasy saga, is a type of large, heavy cruiser starship commissioned by the Old Republic. They were 600 meters long and, at the time of their construction, were the largest ships built by the post-Ruusan Republic until the development of the Acclamator-class heavy cruiser. Dreadnaughts were developed by the Old Republic before the outbreak of the Clone Wars. After the rise of the Empire, many surviving Dreadnaughts were integrated into the new Imperial fleet. They were the oldest design of ships to be used by the Imperial navy, but they were readily available. Unfortunately, these ships suffered from a number of inherent design flaws. While Dreadnaughts had fairly heavy firepower and armor for their size, their shields and hyperdrive engines were comparatively weak. Also, their considerable mass, generated by redundant hull superstructure and heavy armor, combined with underpowered engines, left these ships with a laughably low sublight speed. The most serious problem presented by the use of Dreadnaughts was that of manpower. These were ridiculously crew-intensive vessels, requiring upwards of 16,000 crewers each for a standard ship's complement. Just prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the Republic, in what amounted to little more than a public relations move, commissioned a high-profile fleet of upgraded Dreadnaught-class vessels. Known as the Katana Fleet, after the flagship, it was also known, somewhat melodramatically, as the "Dark Force", ostensibly due to the dark grey hull plating with which the ships were detailed. These Katana-class Dreadnaughts were equipped with sophisticated slave-rig circuitry systems that dramatically reduced the number of crew members required to operate them, from over 16,000 to just over 2,000. The fleet was touted as an example of the efficiency of fully slave-rigged vessels; in reality, the ability of any one ship in the fleet to control all of them was a double-edged sword. Picked up by one crewman on shore leave, a lethal hive virus, one that drove its victims insane before killing them, quickly spread throughout the entire fleet. The stricken Katana Fleet personnel lived just long enough to slave their ships together and disappear into hyperspace; with no transmissions or coordinates for anyone else to follow, all two-hundred ships were lost to the vastness of open space. The "Dark Force" remained lost for over thirty years, when a smuggling ship fleeing from a botched run stumbled across a number of lifeless Dreadnaughts, lying in empty space. The only two people to later realize exactly what they had found were the ship's captain and one of the bridge officers, a young smuggler named Talon Karrde. After the Battle of Endor, the Katana Fleet became the centerpiece of Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn's vast scheme to crush the New Republic. Karrde was unwilling to disclose the location of the fleet to anyone without compensation, so the Empire's search shifted to Karrde's former captain. Using threats and intimidation, Thrawn was able to coerce the starship thief Niles Ferrier into finding the only other man who knew the location of the fleet. Dispatching Star Destroyers to the salvage field, the Empire managed to extract 180 dreadnaughts with only token resistance from the New Republic. Thrawn then proceeded to man the slave-rigged ships with thousands of rapidly-grown clones, giving him an immediate and powerful advantage over the New Republic. Standard-model Dreadnaughts serving in the Old Republic and Imperial Fleets were armed with 10 turbolaser cannons, 20 quad turbolasers, and 10 turbolaser batteries, and had hangar bay capacity for a single squadron of twelve TIE starfighters. The Katana Fleet Dreadnaughts used by Senator Garm Bel Iblis in his personal offensive against the Empire were equipped with a number of heavy ion cannons (possibly 6-12); it is unknown if these weapons were standard armament for Katana-class Dreadnaughts, or were added as modifications later. The Rebel Alliance/New Republic also made use of these antiquated vessels, but most commonly subjected them to extensive modification. Re-engineered Rebel dreadnaughts, known as Assault Frigates, featured lighter superstructures, to increase fuel efficiency and speed, additional dorsal fin-mounted maneuvering thrusters, and large-scale automated systems that reduced the crew requirements to just under 5,000 personnel. Hangar space was sacrificed, but their standard armament included fifteen laser cannons, twenty quadlaser cannons, and fifteen turbolaser batteries. Unfortunately, the number of active Rebel Assault Frigates was heavily restricted due to the costly and time-intensive nature of the modifications. Dreadnaughts were used by the Chiss as prisoner ships in the Chiss-Killik border wars. One captured the Wookiee Jedi Lowbacca in The Joiner King.
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