What is the claw on the ISD for?

[Gil Hamilton]

Even with its engines and weaponry completely disabled, a starship can still be dangerous. Think of what might happen if an inflitrator was able to board a captured ship and detonate its core, or do something similarly devious with just its base operating systems. Theoretically, this "paralyzing" claw could prevent that, while still allowing for the ship to be brought aboard while still within a reasonable state of functionality.

Why bother? You could do the same thing with the ships tractor beam. Hold the thing next to your ship and send in boarding craft. Even though I'm not sure how you make an engine that is no longer functioning catastophically explode, if they can, it's not something I'd want next to my ship, claw or not.

Besides, the Tantive IV was grabbed by said claw, and it didn't seem turn off any systems that weren't already destroyed in the battle. After all, the Imperials scanned the computers of the ship looking for the Death Star plans and at no point did the lights/internal gravity get depowered, so we know that whatever the claw did aside from mating with the Blockade Runner, it didn't paralyse their its systems.

[Cao Cao]

In my mind, that claw looks to be for holding and servicing escort corvettes or scout ships or somesuch for the ISD.
It was simply used on an enemy in A New Hope for the sake of expendiency.

[Gil Hamilton]

In my mind, that claw looks to be for holding and servicing escort corvettes or scout ships or somesuch for the ISD.
It was simply used on an enemy in A New Hope for the sake of expendiency.

That's what I think. I think the Blockade Runner was already beaten to a pulp by the ISD and they used to claw to mate it with the ship, so they could manuever with it in tow and even leave Tatooine's system with it. For big ships like the corvette there, it would just holds it in place while the ship is underpower.

Also, if you look at the claw itself, it is mounted on top of rails, indicating that the crane is used for moving ships out of bays for dropping them off. Not craft as big as the Tantive IV, but still significant crafts bigger than fighters.

[Surlethe]

Remember, the Tantive IV had already lost its main generators, and was presumably running on backup power; it's been fairly defanged at this point, especially since it was weakly armed to begin with. I don't know that the opening sequence of ANH is typical use of the claw, especially given the weaknesses of holding a potentially dangerous enemy in practically the only vulnerable spot on the ship.

[Knife]

In my mind, that claw looks to be for holding and servicing escort corvettes or scout ships or somesuch for the ISD.
It was simply used on an enemy in A New Hope for the sake of expendiency.

That's what I think. I think the Blockade Runner was already beaten to a pulp by the ISD and they used to claw to mate it with the ship, so they could manuever with it in tow and even leave Tatooine's system with it. For big ships like the corvette there, it would just holds it in place while the ship is underpower.

Also, if you look at the claw itself, it is mounted on top of rails, indicating that the crane is used for moving ships out of bays for dropping them off. Not craft as big as the Tantive IV, but still significant crafts bigger than fighters.

That would make sense. A mechinism that is't dependent on the tractor beams, perhaps for the barges that carry ATAT's or larger shuttles with the prefab garrison inside.

It could also be just a crane; used to ferry supplies from a space dock into the ships hangars for dissemination amongst the ship. The Venator had large *almost corellian like* docking rings where troops and cargo were fed into the ship; since the ISD lacks these large docking ports, perhaps the main hangars and the claw crane serve that function.

[NRS Guardian]

The claw could be used for holding, manipulating, and transferring the cargo containers seen in the X-wing and TIE Fighter games.

[Cykeisme]

Besides, the Tantive IV was grabbed by said claw..

Gah, no one pays attention to me. The claw did not grab the Tantive IV! The final shot of the Tantive (where the droids launch their escape pod) shows that there was no physical contact.

Unless, by "grab" you mean through some sort of ranged tractor beam effect.. in which case I apologize.

[Cao Cao]

Having watched RotS again, I wonder if that claw is also used to mount that hangar weapon shown on that Venator in the opening battle.
Do Venators have that claw too?

[VT-16]

That was just SPHA-T walkers being used as an extra defensive weapon on Open Circle Fleet ships. I don't think they were hanging on to a crane in empty space.

[Cao Cao]

That was just SPHA-T walkers being used as an extra defensive weapon on Open Circle Fleet ships. I don't think they were hanging on to a crane in empty space.

Ground walkers as an anti-capship weapon? Impressive.

[AK_Jedi]

they were anti-capship weapons in AOTC too, remember.

[Cao Cao]

they were anti-capship weapons in AOTC too, remember.

IIRC those were artillery tanks, not walkers, weren't they? Haven't watched AotC in a while.
Besides, while they shot down a few core ships, they needed many of them to do it and really, the core ship is just part of a larger vessel which was a glorified cargo ship.

EDIT: Then again the core ship looks to be much more heavily armored than a Munificent now that I think about it. So ignore what I said.

[Gil Hamilton]

IIRC those were artillery tanks, not walkers, weren't they? Haven't watched AotC in a while.
Besides, while they shot down a few core ships, they needed many of them to do it and really, the core ship is just part of a larger vessel which was a glorified cargo ship.

They were walkers. It wouldn't be StarWars if they stuck stupid stubby legs on things that should well have tracks. Originally, those artillery weapons were supposed to be tracked vehicles, but they next that for artistic reasons.

[K. A. Pital]

The claws were used to load AT-ATs in vacuum of the hangar in one of the X-wing comics, IIRC.

[Darth Servo]

Maybe it moves large ships around in the hangar? Seems like it can move to the side:
http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/given/rb/isdbay1.jpg

looking at that pic carefully, it seems like the claw is on tracks that can take ships to other parts of the hanger deeper inside the ISD.

[Spartan]

The ISD entry in OT:ICS clearly shows the Tantive IV being firmly held in place by the claw. Which, undoubtly happened after the launch of R2 and 3PO's lifepod.



and here

[The Original Nex]

That was just SPHA-T walkers being used as an extra defensive weapon on Open Circle Fleet ships. I don't think they were hanging on to a crane in empty space.

It was just the gun IIRC, not the whole walker.

[Cykeisme]

Well, those ICS shots that Spartan posted pretty much settle this thread.

[VT-16]

It was just the gun IIRC, not the whole walker.

The gun would have to be hooked up to the reactor inside the walker, otherwise, what's the point?

[Spartan]

Actually, it you check you ROTS:ICS the call out specifically says that additional (as in more than one) SPHA-T laser cannons are mounted in the ventral hangar bay. Just the cannons not the entire walkers.

If you follow the indicator line from the call out, you see that their are two cannon barrels mounted on the on the loading crane. Which makes sense as the crane can be easily lowered so that the cannons can clear the hangar bay to fire.

Finally, according to ROTS:ICS the crane is used to secure internally docked ships, and to move freight.

[Cykeisme]

That's peculiar. Since, as a true warship, a Venator-class Star Destroyer can put out its entire reactor output through its heavy turbolasers cannons, what purpose does mounting an extra pair of heavy artillery turbolasers serve?

[Vympel]

That's peculiar. Since, as a true warship, a Venator-class Star Destroyer can put out its entire reactor output through its heavy turbolasers cannons, what purpose does mounting an extra pair of heavy artillery turbolasers serve?

Because they fire out the bottom, where there are no HTLs

[The Original Nex]

It was just the gun IIRC, not the whole walker.

The gun would have to be hooked up to the reactor inside the walker, otherwise, what's the point?

Or they could hook it up to the Star Destroyer's main reactor, correct?

[Spartan]

Cykeisme wrote:

That's peculiar. Since, as a true warship, a Venator-class Star Destroyer can put out its entire reactor output through its heavy turbolasers cannons, what purpose does mounting an extra pair of heavy artillery turbolasers serve?

The Venator is not weak in the vental arc, she's un-armed! Look at the weapons counts.

8 heavy turbolasers, all on the dorsal surface.

4 medium turbolasers in the brim trench; that limited in their ability to depress, and fire below the mid-line.

52 point defense guns, in the brim trench; 26 to a side in 13 minor turrets. I actually see one more possible turret for a total of 14 to a side; can someone else verify that? All with extremely limited depression, and not suitable for capital ship combat regardless. (Although I do like the fact that they resemble the 5 inch gun mounts on the Iowa-class BB's.)

That's it! The dorsal and ventral surfaces are devoid of weapons. Now imagine that your typical enemy is more numerous and smaller like the Munificent and Recuscant-class ships. They are most like manuver below you midline for free shots to your ventral hull.

If, you accept Saxton's premise that the SPHA-T cannons are equivalent to the HTL's on an ISD. Then mounting two in the vicinity of the docking bay will solve your problem. The weapons would have to be connected to the ships reactor, but would fire only rarely. So, they could rely on a slower recharge. Similar to what we see in ROTS.

Also note how this improvised arrangement mirrors the setup of the ISD, with its two HTL single mounts on either side of the hangar bay.

[VT-16]

Or they could hook it up to the Star Destroyer's main reactor, correct?

I thought they were there to provide additional firepower through the shots stored up in the walkers, not taking away energy from the ship itself. :S