- "These things are fleet-killers! We can't let it get away!"
- ―Poe Dameron, to General Leia Organa during the evacuation of D'Qar
The Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought, also known as the Mandator IV-class warship and the First Order Dreadnought, was a model of Siege Dreadnought utilized by the First Order during the Cold War against the New Republic and during the First Order-Resistance War.
Characteristics[]
- "More firepower than a dozen Star Destroyers. Designed for large-scale planetary assault."
- ―Admiral Gial Ackbar, on the Dreadnoughts
A Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought unleashes its firepower on Tah'Nuhna.
The Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought was a class of Star Dreadnought in the Mandator line.[1] It was two-and-a-half times the length of the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, coming in at 7,669.71 meters.[3] It boasted a crew of 53,000 officers, 140,000 enlisted personnel, and 22,000 stormtroopers.[1]
The Mandator IV-class was armed with two orbital autocannons that could fire a salvo of two rounds each in quick succession before a recharge was needed.[4] These weapons dwarfed anything available to officers like Moden Canady in the Imperial Navy, and had been built to scour planets of life. A single shot could obliterate planetary deflector shields as if they were an afterthought and turn a hundred cubic meters of crust into vapor and slag. It was considered the most dangerous enemy ship on the battlefield during the Battle of D'Qar.[7]
The starship's dorsal surface featured twenty-six point-defense laser cannons for protection against starfighters, and six tractor beam projectors were located on the ship's bow.[1] The ship was said to have more firepower than a dozen Star Destroyers combined.[8] The design of the Mandator IV-class was a test project that informed the Xyston-class Star Destroyer design.[9]
History[]
Rise of the First Order[]
Blueprints for the Mandator IV-class discovered on board the Retribution
The Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought was among the hundreds of vessels developed by the First Order under the auspices of Project Resurrection.[5] Its design was inspired by Darth Vader's flagship, the Executor.[10]
After infiltrating the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Retribution, Iden Versio and Dio sliced into the onboard computer terminals in order to gather information on Project Resurrection. They discovered, among other things, blueprints for the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought.[5]
Battle of D'Qar[]
The Fulminatrix is destroyed.
During the war between the First Order and the Resistance, the Fulminatrix[1], commanded by Captain Moden Canady, joined a group of three Resurgent-class Star Destroyers at D'Qar led by General Armitage Hux. The Fulminatrix and the rest of the First Order forces engaged in the siege of D'Qar, where the Fulminatrix destroyed the Resistance base located there using its underbelly autocannons. As a counterattack, Resistance Commander Poe Dameron destroyed the point defense cannons using his T-70 X-wing starfighter Black One. He proceeded to lead a bombing run of MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 bombers before the Fulminatrix could target the Resistance navy. After an intense space battle, the final Resistance bomber, though fatally damaged, managed to destroy the Fulminatrix and allow the Resistance to escape the Ileenium system.[4]
Some time after its escape from Castilon, the Colossus arrived over D'Qar to the site of the battle. In desperate need of coaxium, members of the Colossus raided the wreckage of the Fulminatrix which still had power. Although the First Order tracked the Colossus from Castilon to D'Qar and briefly engaged them, the Colossus was able to salvage coaxium from the Fulminatrix and jump to hyperspace.[11]
Annihilation on Tah'Nuhna[]
A Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought and other ships arrive on Tah'Nuhna.
After the Battle of Crait, the First Order chased the Resistance and eventually discovered a Resistance signal had reached the planet Tah'Nuhna, which was famous for its neutrality. In response, Hux led a fleet of Resurgent-class Star Destroyers and at least one Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought. Despite the Tah'Nuhna pleading that they were neutral and their culture compelled them to help travelers in need, Hux ordered the planet's destruction. As a result, the Mandator IV-class fired on the planet, while TIE/se Bombers bombed areas and snowtroopers massacred the people in a city.[12]
Behind the scenes[]
Mandator IV-class schematics
The Mandator IV-class warship was unveiled on August 23, 2017, on the Star Wars Show on YouTube, alongside the All Terrain MegaCaliber Six, showcasing several vehicles that have appeared in Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi.[3][2]
According to Kevin Jenkins, the design supervisor for The Last Jedi, the ship was already indicated in the initial script, but its design did not occur until post-production. He also indicated that director Rian Johnson specifically requested a bigger battleship known as a dreadnought for the film and that it would act as a gun platform as well as a flat surface with lots of cannons on it. He also indicated that the design was taken from multiple real-world elements, namely World War II (especially the use of big guns among several things like the Yamato super-battleship and others) as well as the Korean War, and that the historical inspirations even went right up to the 1960s. He also indicated that similar to other ships in the sequel trilogy, the ship was based largely on designs from the original trilogy, at least insofar as it resembling an ILM model. They ultimately decided on just using big guns instead of other elements like a Flash Gordon–based design as well as radar equipment.[3]
The Star Wars: Card Trader app previously labeled this vessel a Mandator III-class Siege Dreadnought, which currently only exists in Star Wars Legends, although this was corrected in the app.[13]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Battlefront II (First appearance) (DLC)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition audiobook
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel audiobook
- The Last Jedi Adaptation 1
Star Wars Resistance – "A Quick Salvage Run" (Wreckage only)- Poe Dameron 31 (Mentioned only)
- Allegiance 1
- Spark of the Resistance (Indirect mention only)
- Spark of the Resistance audiobook (Indirect mention only)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Incredible Cross-Sections
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6
New The Last Jedi Vehicles Revealed, Exploring Lucasfilm's Vaults, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8
Inside Two Deadly New First Order Vehicles from The Last Jedi on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars Battlefront II
- ↑ The Last Jedi Adaptation 1
- ↑ Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition
- ↑ The Star Wars Book
- ↑ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Capital Ships | Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures Fun Facts on the official Star Wars Kids YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Resistance – "A Quick Salvage Run"
- ↑ Allegiance 1
- ↑ Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: First Order Dreadnought - Galactic Files 2018 - Vehicles)
