Battlecruiser / Legends Battlecruiser , or battle cruiser , was a formal designation for the class of massive ships that fell between Star Destroyers and Star Dreadnoughts in size . In informal use , it was used for the largest and strongest warships in a fleet that were not battleships , as well as more generally for various types of warships , along with " cruiser " . History . Informally , the term " battlecruiser " had been used for centuries to refer to any massive , heavily armored battleship designed for the single purpose of destroying other capital ships . Due to different naming customs and design - capabilities , some vessels bore the designation of " battlecruiser " while serving as frigate - analogs on a galactic scale , like the " Kaloth " - style battlecruiser and the Hapes - built " Nova " - class battle cruiser . Others were comparable in role to the Star Destroyers of the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire , like the " Centurion " - class and the " Scythe " - class main battle cruiser employed by the Galactic Alliance Core Fleet . Some military historians were prepared to argue that a few legendary ships of the ancient galaxy , such as Xim the Despot ' s " Eibon Scimitar " and the " Bloodshield " of Alsakan , should qualify as battlecruisers . Under the Clone Wars - era Anaxes War College System , however , the term " battlecruiser " was reserved for capital ships measuring between two thousand and five thousand meters in length and designed for long - range , independent operations . Most battlecruisers were large and powerful ships that were among the most powerful in their fleets . A prime example was the Tagge battlecruiser s used by the Galactic Empire , as well as the Mediator - class battle cruiser first deployed by the New Republic Most accepted that the first warship that could be formally recognised as a battlecruiser was Kuat Drive Yards ' 2 . 5 - kilometer " Procurator " - class battlecruiser , launched some two hundred years before the end of the Galactic Republic . The heavily - armed design impressed many wealthy Core Worlds planets and sectors and mercantile fleets , and by the time of the Clone Wars , dozens of battlecruisers had been built and filled the Planetary Security Forces of Core and Colonies sectors . The " Procurator " - class design was refined several times before being supplanted by the four - thousand - meter " Praetor " - class , though the warship limitations of the Ruusan Reformation s limited both classes ' hyperdrives to local charts . When the Republic Navy was restored during the Clone Wars , however , the majority of battlecruisers found their way into Republic service . Most defended the Core Worlds against the possibility of the Bulwark Fleet breaking out from Foerost , or the massive battleships " Malevolence " and " Devastation " breaking into the Core , but some were uparmored , fitted with powerful new hyperdrives , and became the spearheads of task forces sent against key Separatist worlds , such as the " Quaestor " at Pammant . After the Declaration of a New Order , the Imperial Navy would commission relatively few battlecruisers . Strategists saw them as less versatile and more expensive than Star Destroyers while not instilling the same terror as Star Dreadnoughts . The Empire operated a handful of smaller battlecruisers known as Star Cruisers , but few recognised this as a formal capital ship class . The Empire primarily used battlecruisers to defend key areas in the Core Worlds , though some acted as the flagships of task forces undertaking dangerous missions on the fringes of Imperial space , such as Admiral Mils Giel ' s " Helmsman " . Known battlecruiser designs . " Allegiance " - class battlecruiser . Often nicknamed a " Heavy Star Destroyer , " it was a 2 , 200m vessel that saw service throughout the Empire , and was also utilized within the reborn Emperor ' s empire . It also acted as a good example of the cruiser subclass of battlecruiser . " Bulwark " - class battle cruiser . The " Bulwark " - class was used for a series of battlecruiser designs from TransGalMeg Industries . The 1 kilometer long Bulwark Mark I served the Confederacy of Independent Systems , while a later , larger model was used by the Rebel Alliance as a command ship . " Centurion " - class battlecruiser . The 1 , 200 meter long " Centurion " - class served as command ships in the Republic Navy and Sith Empire of Darth Revan , taking the role earlier filled by the larger " Inexpugnable " - class tactical command ships . " Kaloth " - style battlecruiser . The 307 meter " Kaloth " - class was a small warship built by the Kaloth . It was only used by pirates and slavers a few decades after its introduction . " Mediator " - class battle cruiser . The " Mediator " - class was a heavy warship that was built and fielded by the Mon Calamari . It was only eclipsed in New Republic service by their Star Defender s and Super Star Destroyers . " Nova " - class battle cruiser . The 400 meter " Nova " - class was a light Hapes warship used to support the Hapan Battle Dragon s . " Praetor " - class battlecruiser . The " Praetor " - class was a heavy Imperial warship with reactor equipment that eclipsed that on contemporary Star Destroyer designs . " Praetor Mark II " - class battlecruiser . The " Praetor Mark II " - class was an Imperial battlecruiser designed and unveiled during the early stages of the Galactic Empire ' s formation . Few were made largely due to the costs , lack of versatility , and lack of a terror - inducing shape of the Star Destroyers and the Star Dreadnoughts , respectively . " Procurator " - class Star Battlecruiser . The " Procurator " - class was a heavy design that protected the Kuat sector alongside their Star Dreadnoughts . " Scythe " - class main battle cruiser . The " Scythe " - class was a heavily armed and armored battlecruiser design , serving in the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet during the Sith – Imperial War . It was well - armored enough to withstand barrages of turbolaser fire from multiple Star Destroyers and " Ardent " - class fast frigates . " Shree " - class battle cruiser . The main warship of the Ssi - ruuvi Imperium , the 900 meter long " Shree " - class was a rounded warship design that could hold 500 " Swarm " - class battle droids . Tagge battlecruiser . This line of battlecruisers , which possessed a similar design to the " Star Destroyer " - class , belonged to the House of Tagge and was pledged to aid the Imperial warships blockading the Gordian Reach after the Battle of Yavin in 0 ABY . The presence of the Tagge warships and their commander , General Ulric Tagge , allowed family patriarch Orman Tagge to conduct private operations under the Empire ' s radar . Behind the scenes . In Naval terms , battlecruisers are a type of naval warship that acted as an intermediary between battleships and cruisers . Namely , possessing a battleship ' s armament but with lighter armor while retaining most of a cruiser ' s speed and maneuverability . They were prevalent during the first half of the 20th century , although by the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War , they fell into disuse . According to Jason Fry ' s Endnotes for " The Essential Guide to Warfare " , the battlecruisers were " neither fish nor fowl " , although he had fun going back to Giel ' s previously unnamed flagship , the " Helmsman " .