In practice, however, naval lines began to range from one ship, in the case of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, to as many as twenty.Īn attack line consisted from three to six ships depending upon the outfit of ships present heavy cruisers and other large ships were generally fewer in number in attack lines, whereas light cruisers and frigates were in greater number. Lines theoretically consisted of a unit of four ships, commanded by the captain of the line. After a naval staff study suggested a Star Destroyer was the field equivalent of the smallest of naval squadrons, the Admiralty decided that, as there were more lines than squadrons, designating the Star Destroyer as a line unit would get them more Star Destroyers. While an Imperial-class Star Destroyer may be able to act as an attack line and its compliment of starfighters as a skirmish line, the decision to give commanders the option to field a heavy cruiser as a line unto itself was more political than tactical. In addition to the five types of lines, the Imperial Navy considered an Imperial-class Star Destroyer a line in itself.

Attack and heavy attack lines aggressively engaged enemy starships in combat, reconnaissance lines gathered intelligence of the disposition of enemy forces, pursuit lines chased and trapped retreating enemies, and skirmish lines harassed capital starships and engaged enemy picket lines, whereas troop lines were designed to haul Imperial troops, and torpedo lines were designed for planetary bombardment. The Imperial Starfleet Order of Battle outlined seven types of lines: attack, heavy attack, reconnaissance, pursuit, skirmish, troop, and torpedo. Commanded by a captain of the line, the line was the most amorphous level of organization in the Starfleet. The Imperial Starfleet shaped four to twenty starships into lines, depending on the type of line. The most basic unit in the Imperial Navy was a line of battle, or simply a line.

Imperial navy star wars classes