- "Imperial Two-class. They're trying to hail us now."
- ―Carklin Ryoon, upon seeing three Imperial II-class Star Destroyers emerge from hyperspace
The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, also known as an Impstar-Deuce or Impstar Deuce, was a Star Destroyer model manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards for use by the Imperial Navy. Part of the Imperial-class line, the class served as successor to the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. Armed with a plethora of weapons, including turbolasers and ion cannons, the 1,600-meter-long capital ship could be used to subjugate a planet or serve as a command ship for other vessels.
Following the death of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Torment was dispatched to Naboo as part of Operation: Cinder, an order from the late Emperor to destroy Imperial planets with satellites. However, the attack was thwarted by the Rebel Alliance and the Torment was destroyed before it could withdraw.
Later in the Contingency, in 5 ABY, many Imperial IIs took part in the Battle of Jakku against the New Republic, although the Star Destroyers fled from the battle. They were later destroyed by the Sovereign Latitudes of Maracavanya's Executor-class Star Dreadnought Liberty's Misrule.
Characteristics
General characteristics
The Torment was an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer.
The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, known informally by the Rebels who fought against it as the "ImpStar Deuce", was a capital ship model built by Kuat Drive Yards (KDY) for the Imperial Navy to replace the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. A member of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer line, it cost 150,000,000 credits.[2] Like its predecessor, the Imperial II-class was a massive, light-gray, wedge-shaped capital ship that measured 1,600 meters (5,249 feet) in length, and had a raised bridge tower.[3]
A modest upgrade from the Imperial I,[18] with significant performance improvements,[19] it was outwardly nearly indistinguishable from its predecessor,[2] and had a very similar internal layout,[3] and systems.[19] However, it possessed several key differences[2] such as a communications tower between its two deflector shield generator domes instead of a tractor beam targeting array; this was one of the easier ways to tell the two models apart.[3] Compared to the Imperial I, the Imperial II-class had heavier armament, a reinforced hull, and more advanced deflector shields.[2]
The MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruiser rivaled to the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer in mass and length.[2] [15]
Propulsion
Ships of the class were propelled by three KDY Destroyer-I ion engines, and they also had four backup Cygnus Space Workshops Gemon-4 ion engines.[6] This allowed for speeds of 60 MGLT in realspace[4] and 975 kilometers per hour in an atmosphere.[5] The ships were powered by a primary hyperdrive of Class 2, with a backup of Class 8, and the ships utilized a navicomputer.[2] As a cost-saving measure, it was an official practice to forbid civilian vessels while the Imperial II-class was traveling through hyperspace. In addition, waste was to be dumped prior to a jump.[20]
Weapons systems and complement
- "The Impstar-Deuce has a complement of seventy-two TIE fighters, princess."
- ―Shara Bey, to Leia Organa, upon their approach to the Torment
Imperial II-class Star Destroyers were armed with a blistering amount of cannons,[2] sixty turbolaser batteries and the same number of ion cannon emplacements,[8] along with ten heavy[2] Phylon Q7 tractor beam projectors.[10] In addition, the vessels had massive, overkill octuple turbolaser barbettes, four on each port and starboard side, which enabled the ship to viciously destroy cruisers; however, it lacked anti-starfighter weaponry, forcing it to rely on its starfighter complement.[2] The weaponry on the vessel was redistributed from the Imperial I-class giving it greater firepower.[18]
The ships carried with them seventy-two TIE series starfighters, eight Lambda-class T-4a shuttles, twenty All Terrain Armored Transports and thirty All Terrain Scout Transports, the latter two of which were transported to planetary surfaces by at least two Gozanti-class cruisers.[3] Just like all Imperial-class Star Destroyers, the vessel carried fifteen Delta-class stormtrooper transports, five assault gunboats, twelve Sentinel-class landing craft, a variable number of GAT-12 Skipray Blastboats, and at least one Gamma-class assault shuttle.[14] All these vessels were stored in the ships' two large hangar bays, which were located side by side in the anterior wall of an indentation in the ventral hull.[13]
9,700 stormtroopers could be carried the Star Destroyer,[16] along with TIE fighter pilots,[11] 9,235 officers, 27,850 enlisted crew, 275 gunners.[15] Imperial weapons technicians made up part of the ships crew.[21] When targeting enemy gunboats or snubfighters, the vessel's gunners relied more on luck than skill.[2] MSE-6 series repair droids were also present in the ship's corridors,[22] and a complement of KX-series security droids were also stationed on the vessel.[23] Two years worth of consumables were kept on the vessels to maintain the crew.[2]
Bridge
- "Clear the bridge!"
- ―Captain Lerr Duvat, upon the arrival of the Emperor's messenger
Organized in the same manner as that of the predecessor to the Imperial-class, the Venator-class, the Imperial II-class had a command bridge tower,[24] where the entirety of the shipboard operations took place; as such, if the bridge was destroyed the ship could [2] The bridge had a central command walkway and two data warehouses[3] where Imperial officers operated their console stations, which were arranged perpendicular to the central walkway.[22] The pits acted as a physical separator between the bridge technicians and their higher-ups, giving an illustration of the chain of command within the ship.[3]
Other systems and features
The internal defense aboard an Imperial II-class
The vessels had two KDY ISD-72x shield generator domes, located on either side of the ship's conning tower, which, like the shield generators of most other Star Destroyers, were too exposed.[3] Imperial II-class Star Destroyers had countless maintenance tunnels, a mess hall[20] and long-ranged sensors.[2] The entire vessel was powered by a[3] SFS I-a2b solar ionization reactor[25] located on the ventral hull.[3] They had communications systems, fire suppression, internal defense systems, a detention block, a garbage compactor, and lighting systems.[19] [22]
Role
A follow-up to the Imperial I, the Imperial II-class became part of the Imperial Navy with the goal of increasing the Navy's capacity to subjugate worlds that opposed the Empire.[3] An Imperial II-class Star Destroyer was capable of commanding an assault on an entire planet, which could include controlling smaller siege vessels[11] or using its large carrying capacity to deliver a surface assault force.[13] The ship could also form part of a fleet.[26] Just like the Imperial I-class, the Imperial II was far from an impervious vessel; Rebel Alliance Special Forces commandos often joked that they had 174,000 design flaws that could be exploited. While this was an exaggeration, the systems of the vessel were often frequently overtaxed and thus needed often repairs.[2]
History
Early history
Around 5 BBY,[17] Kuat Drive Yards had started manufacturing the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer after the run of the Imperial I-class ended with the Devastator, a ship which would go on to become the flagship of Darth Vader, Imperial enforcer and Sith apprentice to Emperor Palpatine.[1] Some Imperial Is, including the Devastator, were upgraded to feature bridges with communication towers,[27] like Imperial IIs.[2] After it is introduced, the Imperial II slowly replaces the older Imperial I-class.[24] The Venator-class Star Destroyer introduced in the Clone Wars is replaced by the larger, more heavily armored Imperial I and Imperial II-class Star Destroyers; however, the Venator-class remains in the Imperial Navy long after the introduction of those ships, with some serving in the Outer Rim after the Battle of Yavin.[28]
By 0 BBY,[29] at least four Imperial II-class Star Destroyers were amongst roughly twenty ships in an Imperial Navy fleet above the planet Scarif, home of the Death Star battle station.[26] After the Battle of Yavin, the new Imperial II-class Star Destroyers had to face an increasing dangerous Rebel Allinace.[30]
Rescuing C-3PO
Boarding the vessel
C-3PO was imprisoned aboard an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer.
In 0 ABY, the Rebel Alliance stole the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Harbinger and used it to break the Siege on Tureen VII. However, on the ground, they are confronted by Task Force 99 and Darth Vader, and all of the Rebel Alliance team escapes on the Harbinger, except the protocol droid C-3PO. Around 1 ABY,[17] the astromech droid R2-D2 borrowed a T-65 X-wing starfighter and embarked on an attempt to rescue C-3PO, who was being held in Imperial II-class Star Destroyer.[19]
Once R2-D2 arrived in system, he shut down the X-wings systems and drifted towards the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer with the hope that the vessel would bring him aboard.[19] The crew of the Star Destroyer was confused for what the protocol was in that situation, and, not wanting to upset Vader, who was aboard the vessel, they resolved to use the vessel's tractor beams and keep the vessel in a quarantine state until a containment team could be sent. R2-D2's X-wing was pulled into the vessel's[21] Bay Seven,[31] but the ship's scanners did not detect any life forms. A Stormtrooper Commander then noticed R2-D2 in the vessel and pulled him out. R2-D2 then zapped the Commander and incapacitated the containment team.[21]
Causing chaos
R2-D2 used the vessel's systems to create chaos aboard the ship.
In the bridge, communication between it and the containment team was lost, and the ship's captain ordered more troops to be sent.[21] R2-D2, who had prior experience hijacking the Harbinger, was able to use this experience to help him hijack the ship's systems, as the systems of the Imperial I and Imperial I models were extremely alike.[19] R2-D2 found an out-of-the-way computer access port and connected to the ships network,[23] hijacking the ship's systems. He and sent a second team towards the hangar and flooded the hangar with smoke while simultaneously disrupting the first team's communications.[21] The paranoid[23] stormtrooper squadrons Team Twelve and Team Nine destroyed each other in the confusion.[21]
With the infiltration of Scarif[23] by KX-series security droid, K-2SO,[17] on the minds of the crew, they decided to decide to destroy the vessels KX complement. R2-D2 continued to use the ship's hijacked systems to cause chaos, sending multiple conflicting alerts,[23] dumped a squad of stormtroopers in the trash compactor, and used airlocks and the ship's internal defense systems to clear a path to the detention block.[19] As R-series astromechs were a common sight and the Imperial crew thought only a 'monster' droid could defeat stormtroopers, he was able to move around the ship relatively anonymously. Once he arrived at C-3PO's location, he stunned the sole guard and the IT-O Interrogation Unit. The guard and the IT-O droid were subsequently destroyed by stormtroopers who incorrectly assumed that the infiltration was an inside job. However, they are proven wrong as, minutes later, R2-D2 and C-3PO escape aboard the R2-D2's X-wing.[23] Vader uses the Force to choke the vessels captain, and orders the ship not to destroy the fleeing X-wing, as Vader would bring them in alive himself using his TIE Advanced x1. However, Rebel reinforcements arrive and the X-wing escapes to safety.[21]
The Battle of Hoth and aftermath
ISD2s at the Battle of Hoth
Around 3 ABY, the Empire launched Project Swarm, an effort in which they launched 100,000 Viper probe droids to search for hidden Rebel bases throughout the galaxy.[17] One such droid, the probe XJ9-CS14,[32] was deployed from the[33] Imperial -class Star Destroyer[34] Stalker[33] and in 3 ABY discovered that the rebel base was located at the Outer Rim planet Hoth.[17]
With this knowledge of the rebel base, the Empire sent Darth Vader's personal squadron death squadron to attack. Death Squadron was composed of its typical composition of capital ships:[33] the command ship Executor, an Executor-class Star Dreadnought[2] as well as five[33] Imperial-class Star Destroyers,[35] including the upgraded[36][37] Imperial I-class Star Destroyers[38] Conquest, Devastator and Ultimatum,[33] as well as the Imperial II-class Star Destroyers[30] Avenger and Tyrant.[33] The Empire deployed Imperial IIs in a number of their most critical battles near the end of the Galactic Civil War, including the Battle of Hoth.[3]
The Torment's attack
- "I've got an Imperial-class Star Destroyer at two-two mark six…"
"…Looks like a Deuce."
"Well, we knew this wouldn't be easy…" - ―Shara Bey, Leia Organa and Sosha Soruna discuss the Torment
Seventeen days after the Battle of Endor[22] in 4 ABY,[17] which had seen the Rebel Alliance defeat the Galactic Empire with the death of Emperor Palpatine,[39] and subsequent retreat of remaining Imperial forces,[13] the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer[11] Torment was visited by a messenger droid. The droid delivered a posthumous message from the Emperor, ordering the ship's captain, Lerr Duvat, to scour the planet Naboo using weather-altering satellites,[22] as part of the Contingency's[7] Operation: Cinder, an Imperial plan to ensure both the Empire and its enemies would fall following the Emperor's death.[22]
The Torment was destroyed by the Restoration.
Assisted by Lieutenant Gulin, Duvat immediately set course for Naboo. Upon the Torment's arrival at the planet, he deployed the satellites in order to create massive storms across Naboo.[22] However, a group of N-1 starfighters from Naboo, piloted by the rebels Shara Bey, Leia Organa and Sosha Soruna, attacked the satellites. In retaliation, the Star Destroyer's complement of TIE fighters was deployed to engage the attackers.[11]
Just as the three starfighters were about to be destroyed by the TIEs, the Rebel Alliance arrived with the MC80 Star Cruiser Restoration[11] and many starfighters including Danger Squadron, a squadron of X-wing starfighters led by Rebel veteran Shriv Suurgav and Imperial defectors Iden Versio and Del Meeko of Inferno Squad.[13] Together with the Naboo starfighters, they destroyed the remainder of the satellites and the Torment, despite an attempt by the Star Destroyer to withdraw.[11] Before its destruction, however, the Torment managed to deploy part of its planetary assault force, which briefly attacked Naboo's capital of Theed before being neutralized by an ion pulse from the Theed Royal Palace, and then captured.[13]
Project Starhawk
In around 4 ABY,[40] during the Battle above Yavin Prime, the New Republic had successfully captured the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Victorum for usage in Project Starhawk. After they defended the Victorum from Imperial forces, it arrived at the Nadiri Dockyards, where it and other Imperial vessels were salvaged for the new prototype of the Starhawk-class battleship, the Starhawk.[41] "The Starhawk's form is nothing like the Imperial Starfleet, but closer inspection reveals the legacy of Imperial design. Some systems, including command tower, turbolaser barbettes, and engines, are taken in entirety from Imperial II-class Star Destroyers."
Eleodie Maracavanya's find
- "These ships are running. Look at the battle damage—they've taken fire, and recently. And behold those hyperspeed vectors—they're coming from near to the Unknown. They're coming from Jakku. We do a little cleanup here for the New Republic, then we send them the bill."
- ―Eleodie Maracavanya explains the plan to destroy the three Imperial II-class Star Destroyers to the Liberty's Misrule's crew
In 5 ABY,[42] three Imperial II-class Star Destroyers were part of the Imperial Navy, which fought in the Battle of Jakku against the New Republic, the Rebel Alliance's successor state. However, the Star Destroyers fled from Jakku, and after jumping out of hyperspeed in Wild Space, their captains attempted to seek solace with a small fleet of ships led by the[7] Executor-class Star Dreadnought[43] Liberty's Misrule, which they thought was another Imperial remnant.[7]
However, the fleet was actually under the command of pirate Eleodie Maracavanya of the Sovereign Latitudes of Maracavanya. Maracavanya deduced that the ships had come from Jakku, and ordered the destruction of the vessels, much to the surprise of crew member Carklin Ryoon. Maracavanya then elaborated on the decision to the Liberty's Misrule's crew, citing that the New Republic could grant the group some legitimacy if they destroyed the vessels, as it was likely they would appreciate the cleanup following their battle. All vessels then opened fire on the three Star Destroyers, with Maracavanya believing they stood no chance of survival.[7]
Legacy
The First Order's 3,000 meter long Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, a successor to the Empire's Imperial-class, at at almost twice's the Imperial II's length[44] dwarfed the Imperial II-class.[45] A picture of the Avenge chasing the Millenium Falcon after the Battle of Hoth was included in the Galactic Explorer's Guide.[46]
Behind the scenes
Notable appearances
The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer debuted in the 1980's Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.[34] The class' full name was revealed in the 2016 reference book Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide, written by Pablo Hidalgo.[1]
In Legends, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer first appeared in the The Empire Strikes Back's novelization, written by Donald F. Glut, which was released in the same year as the film itself.[47] However, the ship's class was not revealed until the term ISD II was used by the 1989 supplement The Star Wars Rules Companion,[48] and the term Imperial II Star Destroyer was used by the Imperial Sourcebook, also released in 1989.[49]
Inconsistencies
The incorrect depiction of the Torment
On the first page of Shattered Empire 2, illustrated by Emilio Laiso, the Torment was mistakenly depicted[22] with the targeting array of an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer.[50] This was rectified in the last page of the same issue, this time drawn by Marco Checchetto,[22] as well as in its later appearances in Shattered Empire 3[11] and Star Wars Battlefront II.[13] The 2020 reference book Starships and Speeders incorrectly lists the armament of the vessel.[2]
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — "Return of the Kyber Saber"
Star Wars: Visions — "Lop & Ochō" (Ambiguous canonicity)- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Sources
Notes and references
Template:Star Destroyer classes
Category:Galactic Empire starship classes Category:New Republic starship classes Category:Star Destroyer classes
