Introduced to the Galaxy before the Clone Wars, the Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser was the largest vessel of its time. In fact, these are among the oldest ships still seeing active service in some parts of the Empire.
Originally, the Navy had planned to phase out the Dreadnaught. Citics pointed out such flaws as slow speeds, weak shielding, inefficient power generators, low fire power, and high crew needs. Economics has won out though, so far, as the Navy has found it more cost-effective to refit these ships than to build totally new vessels.
Because of their slower speeds, these ships were originally equipped with an enormous amount of cargo space for food and supplies during long missions. As technology improved, faster hyperdrive engines made most of this space unnecessary. Now these areas have been converted into TIE hangar bays. Dreadnaughts typically carry a full squadron of TIE starfighters.
Dreadnaughts perfom a number of duties within the Empire. They are used to maintain an Imperial presence in the Outer Rim Territories, as convoy escort vessels, and in the pacification of low technology worlds.
The biggest drawback for this class of Heavy Cruiser is its reliance on manual technology. While the newer vessels have minimal crews supported by a heavy concentration of Droid technology, even the refitted Dreadnaughts need more actual crewmen than any other vessel currently in Imperial service. | 
