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- "The Y-85 Titan dropship deploys AT-AT walkers from Imperial naval warships down to planetary surfaces."
- ―Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
The Y-85 Titan dropship, colloquially known as the walker dropship, was an important dropship used to deploy AT-ATs, prefabricated garrison bases and AT-STs onto planetary surfaces.[1]
Characteristics
The Y-85 could accommodate four AT-ATs in addition to four AT-STs. Walkers were held by cranes, clamped along the sides, in battle-ready configuration, and could be quickly deployed via drop-down floor hatches. The Y-85 was armed with two forward twin laser cannons for defense.[1] The walker dropship could also be used to deploy AT-AT swimmers and TIE fighter boats straight into any body of water.
Because of the Y-85's size, it could only fit inside larger Imperial ships. The launch bays of smaller vessels, like Star Destroyers, could only hold landers like the Theta-class AT-AT barge due to their smaller hangar apertures.[1]
History
The Y-85 was only reluctantly used by Imperial forces because it was manufactured by the Incom Corporation, a company that also built the Rebel Alliance's X-wing starfighters.[1]
The Executor relied on these dropships to deploy its garrison bases when necessary. The Y-85 was credited with delivering walkers to the Hoth surface before the assault on Echo Base.[1]
Some of these dropships were also used by the United Warlord Fleets in the attack on the Jedi Praxeum in 12 ABY.
Behind the scenes
Early Expanded Universe sources claimed that an Imperial-class Star Destroyer carried 12 "landing barges" of unspecified class. It was stated that these barges were each capable of holding 4 AT-ATs or 8 AT-STs, as well as 1,000 troops.[2]
The author Curtis Saxton found it doubtful that such a large craft could fit inside the hangar of a Star Destroyer. He later served as a consultant during the writing of the book Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy. This book was not only the first official source to fully depict and name the Y-85, but also confirmed that Imperial-class Star Destroyers only have hangars large enough for single-walker landing barges.
An earlier nonfiction book, Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections, by David West Reynolds, had also portrayed a single-walker barge inside the hangars.
Appearances
- Darksaber (First appearance)
Sources
- Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
- Star Wars: Complete Locations
"Imperial Officers Field Guide" — Star Wars Insider 96- Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 4
- Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook
- Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
