Unidentified Imperial II-class Star Destroyer (asteroid collision)

"Considering the amount of damage we've sustained, they must have been destroyed."

- Captain Lorth Needa

This Imperial II-class Star Destroyer served with Sith Lord Darth Vader's Imperial Death Squadron&mdash;a task force assembled specifically for finding the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance&mdash;during the aftermath of the Hoth campaign of 3 ABY. It was commanded by an unidentified captain. During the hunt for the Millennium Falcon in the Hoth asteroid field, this Star Destroyer's bridge tower was struck by a large asteroid, destroying the warship.

Description


At 1,600 meters in length, this Imperial II-class Star Destroyer carried a combined complement of six TIE series starfighter squadrons, including one TIE/sa bomber squadron; twenty AT-AT walkers; close to 10,000 ground troops; and additional support craft, including various repulsorlift craft.

History
Commanded by an unidentified captain, this Star Destroyer was assigned to Darth Vader's Death Squadron in the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth. When Han Solo, aboard his YT-1300 light freighter, the Millennium Falcon, escaped from the Rebel Echo Base on Hoth with his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and the protocol droid C-3PO, the freighter, along with her crew and passengers fled into the Hoth asteroid field to escape the pursuing Imperial Navy. In an effort to capture the freighter, several Star Destroyers, including the Star Dreadnought Executor, the Avenger, and this Star Destroyer, were sent into the unpredictable storm of asteroids to draw the Falcon and her passengers out of their hiding spot, and into the hands of the Empire.

The destroyer's captain, via hologram, attended a conference of twenty battleship commanders, including Captain Lorth Needa of the Avenger, who discussed the possible status of the elusive Falcon. As the conference, presided over by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader himself, progressed, this Star Destroyer's bridge tower was hit by a massive hurtling asteroid, and the warship was subsequently obliterated.

Commanders and crew
This Star Destroyer was commanded by an unidentified captain. When this ship's bridge tower was hit by an asteroid, both the captain and his bridge crew were killed.

Behind the scenes


Like its unidentified captain, this warship first appeared in the 1980 novelization of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. In the film, its destruction is not obvious; however, in the novelization and the radio dramatization, the warship is specifically mentioned as being obliterated as a result of the collision. In Star Wars 42: The Empire Strikes Back: To Be a Jedi, the destruction of this ship and another unidentified Star Destroyer are shown.

The statistics for this ship's complement come from The Official Star Wars Fact File 4, which describes the complements of all the Star Destroyers attached to Death Squadron during the Hoth campaign.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back radio dramatization
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars 42: The Empire Strikes Back: To Be a Jedi