In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke managed to blow up an AT-AT Walker during the Battle of Hoth. Audiences probably believed he threw a thermal detonator into the armored vehicle to pull off this task. But what he held didn’t look like a detonator. What could it be then? It most likely was a detonator, just a different model than we are accustomed to.
Did Luke Use a Thermal Detonator?
As discussed here and referenced in an enlarged image, Luke doesn’t appear to be holding a thermal detonator, but some type of cylindrical device. When we think of a thermal detonator, it looks like a sphere that can be held in the palm of one’s hand. Maybe we first envision how Leia, disguised as Boushh the bounty hunter, held one at Jabba’s Palace.
The Battle of Hoth page includes how Luke hoisted himself up with a cable, slashed the belly of the AT-AT, and threw in a thermal detonator. Yet, the connecting link refers to the spherical explosive, not a cylindrical explosive. So, it’s confusing whether Luke used one or not.
As one post from the above Reddit suggests, however, the device Luke used still could be a thermal detonator, “just not the spherical silver model.” Following this line of reasoning, Luke’s explosive was indeed most likely a thermal detonator, but the exact type needs to be fleshed out.
Although we usually think of the spherical type, thermal detonators come in a variety of shapes.
Reviewing the baradium-based detonators, we have such models as the Class A and V-1 that reflect different shapes and sizes. The Class-A detonator is a slightly different version from the spherical one above, while the V-1 has more of a triangular shell.
We might speculate that Luke used a Detonate Charge like those in Battlefront II. It has a similar shape, but this detonator has a wider look to it with a flared end. Close, but not quite right.
An intriguing match for Luke’s device is a Baradium-core code key thermal detonator. These were specialized Imperial devices made for stormtroopers with different time settings. This explosive looks very much like Luke’s.
Yet, this detonator “could be activated only with the right code tapped into it” to stop Rebels from using captured ones. This aspect raises questions about how Luke could have managed to use a captured Imperial explosive and whether, in fact, it was this type of thermal detonator.
We could speculate that the Rebels discovered a way to activate the correct code or overcome it, but we have better evidence that Luke used a different model.
Luke’s explosive instead was something that resembled an Onderonian disrupter. This device is included in the list of thermal detonators, and the Onderon rebels used it against the Separatist Droid Army. So, perhaps it was left over from the Clone Wars or one made just afterward.
Or, more likely, since this detonator variety was “a homemade explosive,” the Rebels on Hoth could have built a new one that looks quite similar to the previous version. While the Onderons tended to bundle four explosives together, Luke and the Rebels could have opted for just one.
The Rebels apparently equipped their pilots or the snowspeeders with a non-spherical thermal detonator. That would make sense since it would need to be attached to Luke’s belt.
A Thermal Detonator Afterall
Although Luke’s explosive didn’t resemble our traditional thermal detonator, it most likely was one afterall. The Onderonian disrupter provides the closest match, followed by the Baradium-core code key one. The Rebels may have used another type of improvised device, but most likely it was still in the thermal detonator category.