Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser

Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser The Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser was a warship class that served in the Imperial Navy.

Details


Considered to be the largest battlecruiser ever seen, the Praetor Mark II, similar to various warships in the Imperial Navy, possessed a dagger shape. Similar to the Bellator-class dreadnoughts and the Assertor-class Star Dreadnoughts, the Praetor Mark II also possessed a central "ridge" from the stern of the ship to midway to the bow, although the ridge in this case also extended beyond the stern. Likewise, it possessed at least 90 weapons systems, including various spherical turrets on the ventral and side areas of the ship. It also possessed three primary engines and four secondary engines, two of which can be located on the outer areas of the ventral side of the ship's stern. It also took some traits of Corellian ship technology.

History
The Praetor Mark II was made during the early Galactic Empire. Few of the class were commissioned, as they didn't work as effectively as terror weapons like the dreadnaughts and were more expensive than Star Destroyers, yet less versatile. These vessels as a result were primarily used by the Empire to defend key areas in the Core region, although they were also sometimes used in armadas during particularly dangerous missions within the fringes of Imperial space At least one Praetor Mark II was assigned to a fleet excercise, during which an Assertor-class Star Dreadnought and an Allegiance-class battlecruiser were refuelled by an Altor-class replenishment ship.

A notable vessel was the Helmsman, captained by Admiral Mils Giel. It and others of its class, performed dangerous assignments in fringe areas of the Empire. During the New Republic's push against the Imperial warlords after Endor, a task force of EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates together with BTL Y-wing starfighters brought down the Thalassa, a Praetor II belonging to Admiral Sander Delvardus.

Behind the scenes
The Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser was based on Ralph McQuarrie concept artwork that was an earlier design for the Super Star Destroyer Executor in The Empire Strikes Back. The artwork was later used for Admiral Giel's flagship in the Secret Armada in the Star Wars comics. Neither its ship class nor Giel's flagship were given a proper name in the comic itself, and were sometimes referred to by fans as Super Star Destroyers due to its wedge-shape and overall larger size than a Star Destroyer. It wasn't until the release of The Essential Guide to Warfare in 2012 that the ship class, as well as the name of Giel's flagship, were given names, with 3D Fan Artist Ansel Hsiao also creating the artwork specifically for the book.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 60: Shira's Story
 * Star Wars 61: Screams in the Void
 * Star Wars 62: Pariah!