A Raider II-class corvette under attack by Rebel fighters.
The Raider-class corvette was a sleek and roomy vessel at 150 meters for a sizeable crew and featured 3 engines and a hyperdrive. The dark grey protrusions on the craft were actually solar collectors, nearly identical to those found on the starfighters of the TIE-series. These ships could be operated with a pilot and a co-pilot and were armed with ion cannons, dual heavy laser cannons, concussion missiles, and turbolasers. The ships also had a small hangar on the starboard side, that could hold at least 2 TIE fighters.
Two Raider-class corvettes were part of an Imperial task force ordered to eliminate insurgents in the Umbara system led by Admiral Carlou Gendling. Gendling's inability to act decisively resulted in the destruction of one corvette and critical damage to the other corvette.
Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, one Raider II-class corvette, the Corvus, was utilized by the elite Inferno Squad, led by Captain Iden Versio and by the time of the Battle of Endor, it was still used by the squad.
The Raider-class corvette was still in use decades after the fall of the Empire
During the evacuation of Yavin 4, one corvette was aboard the hangar of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Rebel pilot Evaan Verlaine was assigned to infiltrate the Destroyer and buy time for the evacuation. She took the corvette, which she rammed into the mighty vessel, ejecting at the last moment. The impact was enough to knock the Destroyer off course when it fired, causing the blast to level the top of a nearby mountain. The act bought enough time to finish the evacuation. One Raider-class corvette was captured by a Starhawk-class battleship and brought to its hangar.
A Raider-class corvette was present during the Battle of Var-Shaa, and was destroyed by New Republic fighters. The ships remained in use decades after the Battle of Endor, with some being used by First Order collaborators.
The supposed Raider-class in Episode VII
The Raider-class corvette was originally created by Fantasy Flight Games to fill a gap in their Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game, which is now classified as Legends. The look of the corvette was designed and created by artist Ben Zweifel.
The ship officially returned to canon in the novel Thrawn in 2017. However, a wreckage in The Force Awakens (2015) resembles a Raider-class. When questioned on Twitter, Matt Martin said that while it looked like one, he would be surprised if ILM would have made a model for the ship.
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