Battle of Endor Tactics

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-09-14 03:12pm

I was skimming through Dr. Saxton's site, and noticed an interesting picture on his discussion of Mon Cal cruisers at this page. The picture is this one, and it shows two Imperial-class Star Destroyers moving towards the rebel fleet. The first is upright with regards to camera perspective, while the one further aft is inverted (it's the wedge at the bottom half of the picture). This suggests ISDs may travel so as to cover mutual blind spots with their sensor globes on the top of the bridge area, to prevent ships from "sneaking up" from below. Comments?

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-09-14 03:34pm

ISD's don't really have blind spots. They may have been traveling like that to maxemize the firepower of the group.

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2003-09-14 03:34pm

Is that a HTL firing? Looks like it.

nightmare · Post by **nightmare** » 2003-09-14 03:46pm

Well, if the domes are indeed sensors, there is a blind spot, but that's right on the hull at the back of the tower. Like where Han Solo hid. There's no blind spot at range. Inverting the ship is an EU tactic to present fresh shields or to change the focus of the heavy batteries.</font>

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-09-14 03:48pm

An ISD cannot fire its heavy turbolasers at anything in its entire ventral hemisphere, so it does make sense for two ships to be inverted with respect to one another if combat occurs at sufficiently close range for enemies to get underneath them. In a long-range engagement where the enemy is in your forward hemisphere, it wouldn't matter.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-09-14 03:55pm

Loosk more like they are providing fire in spots where the others have few guns to me, not covering with sensors. With that much ECM flying around sensors are going to be more or less useless.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-09-14 04:16pm

I'd forgotten the HTLs are ventral only. That does make more sense, and so it's probably a tactic being carried out in preparation for close combat.

Do ISDs have long-range sensors somewhere on their ventral side? I know Executor had multiple sets of the globes, but I've only ever noticed the two on Imp-class, which would leave minor blind spots under and behind the bridge, and a large one under the ship itself. I had assumed there were basic sensors everywhere but that the globes were a specific type (the Mandel blueprints label them as long-range scanners), suggesting that there might not be long-range sensor capabilities in the lower hemisphere of space around the ISD.

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2003-09-14 04:24pm

According to Dark Force Rising, there is a sensor package at the bottom of an ISD, right in the centre of the aft end of the ship, in front of the engines.

vakundok · Post by **vakundok** » 2003-09-14 04:33pm

The upside down ship is definitely not a regular destroyer, so that picture does not mean that this practice is common or even used for regular destroyers.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-09-14 04:42pm

vakundok wrote:The upside down ship is definitely not a regular destroyer, so that picture does not mean that this practice is common or even used for regular destroyers.

How is it nonstandard?

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-14 04:52pm

It lacks a primary hanger bay, if I remember correctly.

vakundok · Post by **vakundok** » 2003-09-14 05:04pm

The Dark wrote:
vakundok wrote:The upside down ship is definitely not a regular destroyer, so that picture does not mean that this practice is common or even used for regular destroyers.
How is it nonstandard?

It lacks the bulb (said to be the main generator). Its secondary bay seem to be closed or non- existent. It seems to have special equipment mounted into the whole primary bay.

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-09-14 05:06pm

vakundok wrote:It lacks the bulb (said to be the main generator). Its secondary bay seem to be closed or non- existent. It seems to have special equipment mounted into the whole primary bay.

Many think it is the "communications vessel" destroyed by Wedge and Co. in the ROTJ novelization.

But how do you know it's upside down?

vakundok · Post by **vakundok** » 2003-09-14 05:11pm

Darth Garden Gnome wrote:
vakundok wrote:It lacks the bulb (said to be the main generator). Its secondary bay seem to be closed or non- existent. It seems to have special equipment mounted into the whole primary bay.
Many think it is the "communications vessel" destroyed by Wedge and Co. in the ROTJ novelization.

But how do you know it's upside down?

I also think that ship was responsible for the jamming.
You are right, I do not know it is upside down. But other than the differences mentioned it seems to match to the ventral side of an ISD.
EDIT:
http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. ... &start=363

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-09-14 05:34pm

vakundok wrote:
The Dark wrote:
vakundok wrote:The upside down ship is definitely not a regular destroyer, so that picture does not mean that this practice is common or even used for regular destroyers.
How is it nonstandard?
It lacks the bulb (said to be the main generator). Its secondary bay seem to be closed or non- existent. It seems to have special equipment mounted into the whole primary bay.

I think the bulb would be further back than the camera is, since I can't see the cut-out in the side that's about 2/3 of the way back on the hull. I agree, the primary bay looks closed, and I can't see the secondary bay well enough (too pixelated) to judge it. However, if I were going into full battle, I'd order all blast doors closed as well. If I can find a copy of ROTJ on DVD I'll try to get a better look at the destroyer to determine if it's a definite variant or not.

edit: didn't realize it had been discussed before. I stopped reading that thread a while back...

vakundok · Post by **vakundok** » 2003-09-14 05:43pm

The Dark wrote:
vakundok wrote:
The Dark wrote:How is it nonstandard?
It lacks the bulb (said to be the main generator). Its secondary bay seem to be closed or non- existent. It seems to have special equipment mounted into the whole primary bay.
I think the bulb would be further back than the camera is, since I can't see the cut-out in the side that's about 2/3 of the way back on the hull. I agree, the primary bay looks closed, and I can't see the secondary bay well enough (too pixelated) to judge it. However, if I were going into full battle, I'd order all blast doors closed as well. If I can find a copy of ROTJ on DVD I'll try to get a better look at the destroyer to determine if it's a definite variant or not.

edit: didn't realize it had been discussed before. I stopped reading that thread a while back...

Umm, you can only see the secondary bay on that picture. There are other (later) frames showing the primary bay and the armor identical to the armor around the bulb of a regular ISD but with no bulb.

Wild Karrde · Post by **Wild Karrde** » 2003-09-14 06:06pm

Here's some more pics:

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-09-14 06:32pm

Incidentally, Dr. Saxton also states it's slightly longer than a standard ISD, at 1.8 kilometers. I don't know how he arrived at that figure.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-09-14 06:44pm

I know that there is an old SWCG card out there for a destroyer called the Visage which it ways was specifically adapted to serve as a communications ship. I have always termed the ship we see in ROTJ as such.

Wild Karrde · Post by **Wild Karrde** » 2003-09-14 06:47pm

Master of Ossus wrote:Incidentally, Dr. Saxton also states it's slightly longer than a standard ISD, at 1.8 kilometers. I don't know how he arrived at that figure.

The Falcon fly's directly over it, possible he got the figure from that...