For over forty years, as by far the best and most well-known space opera saga of all time, the Star Wars franchise has cultivated a catalog of iconic things, people, and moments that firmly rest in the heart of the pop culture world, never far from fan's lips. A huge aspect of the Star Wars iconography are the many starships that populate the skies, and few are as recognizable and, at times, jaw-dropping as the Star Destroyer.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Things You Didn't Know About TIE Fighters

The fear-inducing ship has been a part of Star Wars since A New Hope, and with all that history and the fantastic people at work in this new era of the canon, there are many things that a lot of fans may not know about the ship.

The Models

Star Wars Original Trilogy Changes Opening Shot Star Destroyer

Despite the movies showing Star Destroyers looking pretty similar, there are, in fact, many models of the ship in canon stretching across all three eras of the franchise, fifteen classes/models of the ship in canon.

These are the Venator-class, the Qaz-class, the Imperial-1-class, the Imperial-2-class, the Gladiator-class, the Tector-class, the Victory-class, the Executor 1-class Star Dreadnought, the Executor 2-class Star Dreadnought, the Secutor-class, the Onager-class, the Interdictor-class, the Mega-class Dreadnought, the Resurgent-class, and the Xyston-class Star Destroyer, all with their various roles, technical specifications, and history.

Proto-Star Destroyers

Attack of the Clones ending

Just about every iconic ship in the franchise has its basis; though, with ships from the past that have either inspired the ships or have been predecessors to it, for the Star Destroyer, there are a couple of ships like that called proto-Star Destroyers.

These include two ships from the Republic era, the Acclamator-class Planetary Assault Ship, and the Maelstrom-class Battle Cruiser. The former was a ship used to transport clones across the Galaxy and can be seen at the end of Attack of the Clones having legions of clone troopers packed into it. The Maelstrom-class had the classic dagger shape and was one of the Republic's largest and most powerful capital ships ever, yet few seen much action.

The Costs

Star Destroyers do not come cheap. While many fans will not think nor care about stuff like the cost of production and manufacturing, these things played a part in the Galaxy.

The two main Empire Star Destroyers, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer's, cost 150,000,000 credits, and the Republic's Venator-class cost 59,000,000. The aforementioned Acclamator-class cost 110,000,000 credits, while the Secutor-class cost a whopping 200,000,000 credits. For some perspective, a regular TIE Fighter cost 60,000 credits.

Sizes & Speeds

Star Destroyer (1)

The Star Destroyer's range in sizes massively; the Gladiator-class sits at only 600m in length, while Snoke's Mega-class Dreadnought was 13km long. The standard Imperial-classes were both 1,600m long, the Republic's Venator was just over 1,100m, and the First Order's Resurgent-class was over 2,900m long.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Things You Never Knew About TIE Interceptors

In terms of speed, the Venator-class had a max acceleration of 3,000 G (force on gravity) and a max atmospheric speed of 975 kph with its ten engines, while the two Imperial-classes had a max acceleration of 975 kph and an MGLT (Megalight per hour, the relative sunlight speed in real space) of 60 with its three main engines, and four backups.

The Star Destroyer On Jakku

Star Wars Star Destroyer Inflictor on Jakku

Jakku is a sandy planet introduced in the sequel trilogy when audiences meet Rey for the first time. What Rey is doing is scavenging in a Star Destroyer, one of many that reside on the planet following the Battle of Jakku.

When she, Finn, and BB-8 are escaping First Order in the Millennium Falcon, Rey pilots through a Star Destroyer. That ship is actually the Ravager, an Executor-class Star Dreadnought or, more commonly, a Super Star Destroyer, a ship that was under the command of Galius Rax and also Admiral Rae Sloane in its time.

Xyston-Class Star Destroyer

During The Rise of Skywalker, audiences see that the clone Emperor has his own army of troopers, officers, and Star Destroyers, with the latter known as the Final Order, or the Sith Eternal Fleet.

The Star Destroyers used for this fleet were the Xyston-class Star Destroyers, Star Destroyers based on the Imperial model, and easily confused with them. But they are larger, more powerful, with red painted parts and Axial super lasers in place of the ventral hangars. There were over 1,000 in this army, with the only appearance of this ship in canon being in this film.

The Super Star Destroyer Prototypes

A Super Star Destroyer appears in The Empire Strikes Back.

Earlier on, the proto-Star Destroyers were talked about, as they were predecessors to the ship and basis for the design. However, long after Star Destroyers existed, another prototype appeared for the Super Star Destroyer.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Things You Never Knew About TIE Bombers

These were the Star Dreadnought Assault Prototype and the Star Dreadnought Command Prototype, ships used pretty much as tests for the Super Star Destroyer's potential, as far as we are aware. These ships have never appeared on screen; in fact, their only ever mention has been in the game Star Wars: Armada, as a part of the Super Star Destroyer expansion pack.

Initial Purpose For The Empire

Imperial Star Destroyers

Star Destroyers have been seen used in a variety of ways throughout their on-screen time, whether it be for chasing rebels, all-out assault, as Capital Ships, or simply as Imperial transport, but initially, they were used very specifically for the Empire.

At the beginning of their tyrannical reign, the Empire created their line of Star Destroyers, following on from the Venator-class, with their fear-inducing names like Lawbringer and Relentless. Star Destroyers were deployed to systems that were beyond the reach of the Galactic Republic's law and used to bring their might down on those who attempted to resist, becoming a symbol for the tyranny of the Empire.

Upgrades Made Across The Main Three Main Era Star Destroyers

Star Wars Venator Class Star Destroyer

The switch from Venator-class to Imperial-class seen many changes made to the ship, with the look hugely altered. On top of that, the Imperial ships were bigger, faster, with more advanced tech, such as more advanced engines, a better hyperdrive, stronger shields, and more powerful engines, with many more ships and crew able to be on board, and more roles available for the ship to play with its stronger armament and complement.

While the Resurgent-class and Imperial-class looked quite similar, the tech was immensely built upon everything from engines to the communication system, the interiors altered with the ship's size, accommodating for more ships and crew on board, which were also able to deploy much quicker. The conning towers were hidden and protected, with more weapons at its disposal.

The Eclipse & Executor, Sister Ships

Darth Vador's Executor flies through the galaxy in Star Wars

Perhaps the most famous Star Destroyer in the entire franchise is the flagship of Darth Vader, the Executor, an Executor-class Dreadnought which oversaw the assault on Hoth as well as acting as the command ship at the Battle of Endor.

Many fans may not know that it has a sister ship, the Eclipse, another Executor-class known to fans of the Aftermath trilogy, which is the flagship of the Emperor Sheev Palpatine, a ship never seen on-screen, but that matched the might of the Executor.

NEXT: Star Wars: 10 Things You Never Knew About X-Wings