The attack hangar was located on the underside on the ship and was guarded by a set of armored doors. TIE fighter service and refueling bays, and TIE launch hangars surrounded the main hangar. TIEs were launched from cycling racks and pilots boarded from overhead gantries and were released into space as they disengaged from the front position in the racks.

Returning fighters landed in separate hangars and then were guided by small tractor beams into receiver-carriers. The receivers carried the TIE to a debarkation station where the pilot would exit. Once moved through the transfer tunnels to a launch hangar, the fighter could be serviced and refueled in a separate bay. In the hangar, the TIEs were cycled through a launch rack and ready for the next launch. The small forward hangar was for shuttle craft carrying high-ranking officials. The forward hangar was also used as a back-up to the main hangar.

TIE's are launched from cycling racks of up to 72 ships in the larger hangers; smaller hangers may contain a few as two ships. Pilots board from overhead gantries and are released to space as they disengage from the font position in the rack system. Returning ships land in separate hangers, where they are guided into receiver-carriers by small tractor beams. The receivers carry the TIE to a debarkation station where the pilots exits. From there the TIE may be serviced and refuelled in a separate bay on its way through transfer tunnels to a launch hangar. In the launch hanger the TIE is cycled into the launch rack, ready for its next mission.

	TIE Racks

Definitive Guide to How Star Destroyer Hangars Work (HEADCANON)

by Waffle-House55

In Star Wars, the Imperial-Class Star Destroyer has always had a problem when it comes to its hangars and complement.

It’s stated to have a large complement of 72 TIE Series Fighters, 20 AT-ATs, 30 AT-STs, and a variety of other shuttlecraft and ground transports. But in shows and games, such as Rebels and Squadrons, the hangar bay is depicted as way too small to accommodate all that military cargo, and doesn’t even show it onscreen.

So, using the legendary Fractalsponge’s Imperator Redux Model, Imperator Redux WIP#7, and Notes attached to it, along with the Star Wars Complete Vehicles book, as well as my own egregious estimates, to properly explain how the hangars work and where all this stuff is stored, as well as adding in additional stuff and details I thought would be cool. This doesn’t align with anything depicted in the games or shows, as this is my own headcanon on how I believe it should work.

Here are the links to Fractal's work:

https://fractalsponge.net/?p=3430

https://fractalsponge.net/?p=3446

https://fractalsponge.net/?p=3321

**First: Main Attack Hangar (The Large Rear Door)**

The Main Attack Hangar is a massive hangar dedicated to storing/servicing Troop Transports, Dropships, and Ground Vehicles. Fractalsponge has said the hangar on his model is able to accommodate several of his Chi-Class Dropships, which are 154 Meters Long and 30-40 Meters Tall, however, he does note that they’re too big to fit through the hangar door.

“None – several could fit in the bay but the hangar doors aren’t big enough to take them inside.” - Fractalsponge

So I estimate that the Attack Hangar itself is around 150-200 Meters Long and 400 Meters Wide.

THE DOOR to the hangar is around 200 or so meters Wide and 20-30 Meters Tall.

The Hangar’s complement is organized like this:

Heavy Vehicles-------Dropships/Transports--------Light Vehicles

-------------------------[ Main Door ]-----------------------

The hangar space to the right (left) of the door is for storing/servicing heavy walkers and tanks, such as AT-ATs, SPHAs, or HAVr A10 Sycthe Heavy Repulsor Tanks.

Likewise, the hangar space to the left (right) of the door is for storing/servicing lighter vehicles and tanks, such as AT-STs, AT-DPs, ITTs, GAV Occupier Tanks, or even Saber Tanks.

The hangar floor aligned with the doorway is reserved for Troop Transports and Vehicle dropships, such as IDTs, Gozantis, and Theta-Class Barges. This is also the space where ground vehicles go to get loaded onto or picked up by their dropships before being carried out of the hangar.

Second: Ceiling Hatches

There are four ceiling hatches on Fractal’s model that appear in the main aperture that aren’t seen anywhere in canon or legends, but Fractal said he based them off the small launch hangars shown in the Star Wars: TIE Fighter video game. In my headcanon, these hatches are for deploying recon fighters, such as TIE Vanguards, for surveying a system an ISD enters and providing data on potential enemies or anomalies.

**Third: Logistics Bay and Main TIE Landing Bay (The small forward hangars across from the attack hangar)**

While we don’t know what the left-side hangar is in canon, Fractal describes it as a logistics bay. I assume this bay is for cargo deliveries and storage, and probably carries a pair of cargo shuttles or small freighters like the Zeta-Class and Gozanti. The right forward hangar is the main TIE landing bay according to the Star Wars Cross Sections book. After a mission, Starfighters fly into the landing bay, where they dock onto overhead TIE racks and are taken to the serving bay to be refueled and/or repaired, whereupon they are taken to the TIE launch bays in groups of 6.

Additionally, the floor of the TIE landing bay is used to store TIE/BR Boarding Craft, however, it can also be used as a backup hangar for TIEs.

**Fourth: Starfighter Launch Zones (The 16 Doors- 8 on each side- that line the walls)**

As depicted in the Star Wars Cross Sections Book and in Fractal’s Imperator Model, the walls of the hangar aperture are actually doors where the ISD’s starfighters are launched. There are 16 doors, with 8 on each side, with each door containing 6 fighters lined up neatly in a single-file row.16 doors x 6 fighters per door = 96 fighters in total, or 8 Squadrons. As stated before, these are where starfighters are taken after they are serviced on overhead racks, as depicted on Fractal’s model and in the Star Wars Cross Sections Book on the Star Destroyer.

**Fifth: Executive Shuttle Bay (Frontal Bay toward the front of the ISD)**

As depicted in the Cross Sections books and in Fractal’s model, the small frontal bay towards the bow of the ship is reserved for executive shuttles and their escorts, sort of like an executive parking space. This can also be used by Ace Pilots as a special place to land their TIEs, as well as a space for experimental fighters that don’t fit on the standard TIE Racks, such as Vader’s TIE Advanced.

With all that said and done, here is my take on an ISD’s Complement.

Remember: This can be changed depending on the mission profile or the importance of the vessel.

-Starfighters
48 TIE/LN Fighters
12 TIE/IN Interceptors
12 TIE/SA Bombers
12 TIE/RB Brutes OR TIE/AG Aggressors
12 Alpha-Class Starwings OR Missile Gunboats
8 TIE/VA Vanguards (Ceiling Doors)-
Executive Shuttles / Specialty Craft / Cargo Ships
8 Lambda-Class Shuttles OR TIE/SH VIP Shuttles
6 TIE/BR Boarding Craft
4 Zeta-Class Cargo Shuttles (Logistics Bay)

-Landing Craft / Dropships
2 TIE/RP Reapers
8 Sentinel-Class Landing Craft
15 Imperial Dropship Transports
10 Theta-Class Barges
2-4 Gozanti-Class Cruisers

-Light Assault Vehicles
30 AT-STs / AT-DPs
25 K79-S80 Troop Transports
25 TX-130T Fighter Tanks5 Chariot LAVr
OR:
125 AT-PTs
25 AT-DTs
25 GAV TX-225 “Occupier” Tanks
5 Chariot LAVr

-Heavy Assault Vehicles
20 AT-ATs
15 AT-SEs
OR:
10 HAVr A10 Scythe Heavy Repulsor Tanks
15 MAVr A7 Broadsword-Class Repulsor Tanks

I really hope I wasn't too confusing in my terrible descriptions. I wanted to use pictures to better explain it but I can't attach them to the post. So if you have any questions or feedback please let me know.