Darth Vader once commanded an impressive fleet of Star Destroyers. The Death Squadron peaked at the Battle of Endor, fought against the New Republic, and then only had a couple remaining. Read on to find out about the fate of the Death Squadron.
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Vader’s Death Squadron
We may associate Vader the most with the Executor. This Star Destroyer arose after the Battle of Yavin and became Vader’s command ship during the Battle of Endor. The Executor was a Super Class Destroyer and the lead starship in Vader’s Death Squadron.
The Death Squadron served as Vader’s “personal armada” and usually consisted of the Executor and five supporting destroyers, including Vader’s original ship the Devastator. The fleet also included the Class II Star Destroyers Avenger, Tyrant, and Ultimatum. These were successors to the Imperial I class destroyers, to which group the Devastator belonged.
Once Vader became engaged with Luke on the Death Star II, Admiral Firmus Piett took command of the Executor. During the Battle of Endor, an A-wing starfighter crashed into its bridge, which prompted its powerful collision with the Second Death Star. Here, we can witness the demise of Vader’s once-powerful destroyer.
So, we know what happened to the Executor, but what about the rest of the Death Squadron?
What Happened to the Death Squadron?
Initially, the fleet was used to track down Luke Skywalker and the Rebels after the Battle of Yavin. Yet, after Endor and the fall of Palpatine, “only twelve Star Destroyers survived.” Captain Gilad Pellaeon took command of them from the Chimaera, while the Empire “splintered into rival factions.”
Grand Admiral Thrawn then returned and tried to use the Chimaera and Death Squadron against the New Republic. During the Thrawn Campaign, the Grand Admiral led “a series of innovative military and political maneuvers” to revive the Empire. He nearly succeeded in overthrowing the New Republic.
At this point, only six vessels of the Death Squadron were deemed “fully loyal” to support Thrawn’s objectives. Besides the Chimaera, Thrawn had the Judicator, the Death’s Head, the Stormhawk, the Nemesis, and the Inexorable at his disposal. He split all of the remaining naval squadrons into two fleets and took command of the main one from the deck of the Chimaera, leaving a second force to Captain Dorja on the Relentless.
Hence, the Death Squadron did live on under Thrawn for a time, but as with the First Order, the squadron fell apart.
Thrawn’s victories included destroying the Ordon Pardron military sector of the New Republic’s defenses. The core world’s and Coruscant were threatened, and the Death Squadron fully advanced. However, the New Republic managed to rally a counteroffensive at the Bilbringi system. Thrawn’s bodyguard turned on him for the damage he had done to their homeworld, with Thrawn meeting his end.
Afterward, Captain Gilad Pellaeon retook command of the squadron and retreated to the Outer Rim. With the returned Emperor defeated, Pellaeon continued with whatever remained of the squadron working with the Imperial Remnant on several campaigns.
Yet, only two ships remained, the Chimaera and the Relentless, by the time of the Bastion Accords, the treaty that brought “peaceful coexistence” between the Remnant and New Republic.
The End of the Death Squadron
The once-mighty Death Squadron began its decline with the loss of the Executor during the Battle of Endor. Captain Pellaeon and Grand Admiral Thrawn forged ahead with six of the Star Destroyers before only two were left during the age of the New Republic.