XX-9 heavy turbolaser

"We count 30 Rebel ships, my Lord. But they're so small they're evading our turbolasers."

―Lieutenant Tanbris to Darth Vader during the Battle of Yavin^[3]

The XX-9 heavy turbolaser was a model of turbolaser manufactured by Taim & Bak. During the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire commonly used the XX-9 aboard its fleet of Imperial-class Star Destroyers.

Description[]

XX9 Turbolaser Tower diagram — A diagram of a Taim & Bak XX-9 tower on the first Death Star

The XX-9 was a model of heavy turbolaser manufactured by Taim & Bak. Two versions of the XX-9 were produced; a two-section model that was mounted on capital ships,^[1] and a four-section tower that was installed aboard the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station.^[4] XX-9s were covered in a meter-thick plating of Quadanium steel, and utilized servo-actuated turrets to track targets.^[1] The unit had an optimum range of fifteen kilometers, and a maximum range of one hundred kilometers.^[2]

The two-section model featured the turret which incorporated two laser cannon barrels which were capable for elevating through the use of an elevating gun plate and an elevation tracking mechanism. The weapon's laser actuator, Energy Coupler, overload dispersal grid, and cooling unit were located in the turret. The weapon's capacitor banks and power core were in the section below the swivel mounting. Gunnery crew stations were located inside the hull of the vessel itself.^[1]

The XX-9 variant used aboard the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station was a tower comprising four sections. The first section was the heavy turbolaser battery itself, located at the top. It was capable of rotating in a full circle to provide a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree arc of fire. Dual laser cannons also had swivel mounts to elevate and depress the cannons along the vertical axis. At the top was an external sensor pod as well as elevation gyros. The cooling unit was also located near the top of the battery. The barrels were composed of the laser actuator at the back, followed by the galven coils, as well as the barrels themselves and the emitter tips. The blaster gas chamber was near the back of the turret, with the overload dispersal grid being located above the swivel mounting.^[4]

Rows of capacitor banks were located in the second section, along with power core. Support crew and maintenance stations were housed in the third section, as well as the turbine generator. The gunnery stations and targeting computers were located in the fourth section. The computers were powerful enough to track multiple targets beyond even the Imperial gunners' helmets' built-in computers. An external maintenance ladder, accessible by a hatch from the third section, ran to the turret.^[4]

A safety feature of the targeting computers used by the XX-9s aboard the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station restricted their fire if any portion of the station's hull was in sight. Rebel Alliance starfighters exploited this weakness by flying low during the Battle of Yavin.^[4]

History[]

During the height of the Galactic Empire, XX-9 heavy turbolasers were mounted aboard their fleet of Imperial-class Star Destroyers. Each Star Destroyer was generally equipped with sixty XX-9s.^[1] The DS-1 Orbital Battle Station was covered with 5,000 XX-9 heavy turbolasers.^[4]

Following the Battle of Yavin, the turbolasers were found on planet-side engagements, with many destroyed by the Rebels' Rogue Squadron.

Behind the scenes[]

A ground-based, single-barreled XX-9 was depicted as the Imperial medium turret in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and its sequel, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns. However, unlike its shipboard counterpart, the ground-based XX-9 had its turbine and crew station located within the turret.