Death Squadron/Legends



Death Squadron was a special unit of the Imperial Navy that included several TIE Fighter and stormtrooper detachments. This joint force was under the personal command of Supreme Commander Darth Vader.

Composition
The squadron’s major starships included a flotilla of at least eight Imperial-class Star Destroyers, the Victory-class Star Destroyer Firewind, a ship from a third Star Destroyer class, numerous attack frigates and personnel carriers, as well as Vader's flagship, the Star Dreadnought Executor.

Famed units included Colonel Evir Derricote's 181st Imperial Fighter Group, Major General Maximilian Veers' Blizzard Force and elements of Stormtrooper Commander Bow's 501st Legion.

While labeled as a squadron, Death Squadron was more likely an enlarged fleet. Since superiority fleets were defined as fleets containing "six Star Destroyers and an average of 390 other combat starships" and Death Squadron was referred to as "an unprecedentedly huge fleet," this indicated that Death Squadron was more powerful than any normal superiority fleet.

There were at least twenty starship commanders in Death Squadron, each bearing the rank of Captain, although no information is available on what starships they may have commanded beyond the known Star Destroyers.

History
Darth Vader formed Death Squadron after the Imperial defeat at the Battle of Yavin. For three years, Death Squadron hunted the Rebel Alliance from system to system under the command of Admiral Kendal Ozzel, mercilessly crushing any Rebel forces it encountered. Eventually, a probe droid launched by Stalker succeeded in locating the Rebel Alliance base of operations on the ice world of Hoth.

After participating in the space and ground battles at Hoth, Death Squadron pursued the Millennium Falcon, which was lost in the Hoth asteroid belt.

One year later, Death Squadron, under the command of Admiral Firmus Piett, served as the core of the Imperial fleet at the Battle of Endor. During the battle, Devastator and Executor were destroyed, and a number of ships were captured. With the death of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, the unit was disbanded.

Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts

 * Executor

Imperial-class Star Destroyers

 * Accuser
 * Adjudicator
 * Avenger
 * Conquest
 * Chimaera
 * Devastator
 * Stalker
 * Tyrant
 * Vengeance II

Victory-class Star Destroyers

 * Firewind

Known Officers

 * Military Executor/Supreme Commander Darth Vader, Death Squadron commander, owner of Executor
 * Admiral Amise Griff, former Executor commander
 * Admiral Kendal Ozzel, former Executor commander
 * Admiral Firmus Piett, Executor commander
 * Captain Lorth Needa, Avenger commander
 * Captain Lennox, Tyrant commander
 * Captain Akal Zed, Stalker commander
 * Captain Alima, Conquest commander
 * Lieutenant Venka, Executor crewpit officer
 * Lieutenant Cabbel, Tyrant first officer
 * Major General Maximilian Veers, Blizzard Force/Blizzard 1 commander
 * Brigadier Nevar, Blizzard 2 commander
 * Colonel Freja Covell, Blizzard 2
 * Colonel Starck, Blizzard 4 commander
 * Lieutenant Arnet, Blizzard Scout 1
 * Colonel Evir Derricote, former 181st Imperial Fighter Group commander
 * Colonel Soontir Fel, 181st Imperial Fighter Group commander
 * Major Turr Phennir, Saber Squadron
 * Stormtrooper Commander Bow, 501st Legion commander

Appearances

 * Race for Survival
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novel
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars 39: The Empire Strikes Back: Beginning
 * Star Wars 40: The Empire Strikes Back: Battleground: Hoth
 * Star Wars 41: The Empire Strikes Back: Imperial Pursuit
 * Star Wars 42: The Empire Strikes Back: To Be a Jedi
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back arcade game
 * Payback: The Tale of Dengar
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter
 * Star Wars 76: Artoo-Detoo to the Rescue
 * The Longest Fall
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron 25: The Making of Baron Fel