Imperial II-class Star Destroyer/Legends

Imperial II-class Star Destroyer "Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer&mdash;"

- C-3PO before being interrupted by Han Solo

The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, also known as the Imperial II-class Destroyer, was a Star Destroyer model that was derived from the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. The Imperial II was built with a heavily reinforced hull, stronger deflector shields, and greater firepower than the original Imperial I class.

Characteristics


Several differences existed between the Imperial Mk.I and II, including the replacement of the tractor beam targeting array between the command tower's sensor globes with a communications tower.

The prominent twin turbolaser and ion cannon turrets flanking the surface of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer were also replaced with batteries of eight-barreled guns in unarmored barbette mountings.

Other new features included two parallel "claws" for grappling smaller starships placed in the ventral secondary docking bay, an option for gunners to eject from their station if it was about to be destroyed, and the transparisteel viewports on the main bridge being able to resist an impact of a concussion missile (even the missiles launched from a Victory I-class Star Destroyer).



These warships were robust enough to stay operational after being hit by all the ion cannons of an Executor-class Star Dreadnought during a broadside exchange.

A variant of the Imperial II-class, the Interdictor Star Destroyer, featured gravity well projectors to prevent nearby vehicles from using their hyperdrives.

History
The first ships of this class began to appear in service several months after the Battle of Yavin. Many participated at the Battle of Hoth, in which at least one (Terror) was disabled by the Rebel's v-150 Planet Defender. During the final years of the Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine's rule, this starship was instrumental in the implementation of the Tarkin Doctrine.



This class remained in service for a significant length of time, despite more advanced starship designs being available. These warships were considered advanced or simply extremely powerful even during the Yuuzhan Vong War, being used for both offensive and defensive roles in critical missions.

During the events of the Second Corellian Insurrection, the class was still operational, as Jacen Solo commanded Anakin Solo, which was in the service of the Galactic Alliance Guard.

Behind the scenes

 * The most prominent weapons on the second Star Destroyer model which appears in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are eight barbette mountings, each mounting eight gun-barrels, which are arranged in rows of four on either side of the superstructure.




 * Numerous Expanded Universe sources cite the armament of the Imperial II as consisting of 50 turbolasers, 50 heavy turbolasers or turbolaser batteries, and 20 ion cannons.


 * At present, there is no canon source defining how the visible guns on the model relate to the armament stated in secondary sources, but the most likely estimation is that they correspond to weapons-distribution similar to earlier models like the Imperial I-class and the Venator-class. The guns on each side of the superstructure would then be the heaviest.