Eclipse-class dreadnought

These colossal Eclipse-class warships stretched an impressive 17.5 kilometers in length, establishing them as some of the most substantial vessels ever brought into existence. While the Executor-class Star Dreadnought exceeded this length by 1.5 kilometers, the Eclipse-class possessed a considerably greater mass than any other Super Star Destroyer.

The most formidable armament integrated into the Eclipse-class ships was an axial superlaser. While similar in concept to the Death Star's superlaser, it was noticeably less potent. It was only a fraction of the power of the Death Star's superlaser.

The superlaser of an Eclipse could effortlessly obliterate other Super Star Destroyers. This was demonstrated when Tyber Zann commandeered the Eclipse's immense capabilities above Kuat, as shown by the fate of the Annihilator.

The axial superlasers had the ability to penetrate any planetary shield, fracture a planet's surface, and incinerate entire continental regions. This superlaser was often deployed to eliminate enemy capital ships and space stations during combat situations. According to Admiral Conan Antonio Motti in the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide, the superlaser was designed to breach planetary shields and vaporize cities with a single shot.

The class benefited from the most advanced weapon technologies of the era. This included gravity well projectors and enhanced ion cannons, with the former mirroring those found on Interdictor-class Star Destroyers. In addition, these colossal vessels were equipped with hundreds of heavy laser and turbolaser batteries.

Beyond its offensive capabilities, the Eclipse-class featured hull armor and shields of such resilience that it could confidently ram enemy vessels.

The Eclipse-class surpassed the Death Star in terms of maneuverability, boasting both an upgraded hyperdrive system and high-velocity sublight engines.

An Eclipse-class ship carried 600 TIE/IN interceptors and 96 TIE Bombers, organized into 58 squadrons. For ground operations, it housed 150,000 Imperial troops, 100 AT-ATs, and five prefabricated bases. The hangars were positioned along the ship's flanks, with the launch bays situated close together beneath this area, towards the vessel's center.

Each ship in the class required a crew of over 700,000 individuals. The Eclipse II also included a complement of Shadow Droid starfighters. Troop accommodations were located in the lower front section of the ship, ahead of the hangar areas.

The bridge tower housed the primary communications and sensor arrays, located on the port and starboard sides, respectively. It contained the ship's main command station on the lower level and the deflector shield command center on the upper level. The bridge tower was positioned closer to the hull compared to traditional Star Destroyers of the Imperial-I and Imperial-II classes.

Noteworthy differences existed between the two known ships of this class, the Eclipse I and the Eclipse II. The Eclipse I had six engines at the rear, while the Eclipse II had eight. Additionally, the Eclipse I had engines that were separate and positioned to the sides, whereas the Eclipse II had engines grouped together like other Star Destroyers. Finally, the Eclipse II featured a command bridge tower directly above the superlaser weapon, which the Eclipse I lacked.

During the construction of the lead ship, the Eclipse, the Empire also developed an Eclipse-class prototype for weapons testing. This prototype was later repurposed into the battle station Tarkin. The Tarkin was eventually destroyed by a Rebel sabotage team in 3 ABY.

The construction of the Eclipse and its sister ship, the Eclipse II, began early in the Galactic Civil War, around 0 ABY. This ship class, along with the similar Sovereign-class Star Dreadnought, was intended to revolutionize naval combat and ensure the Imperial Navy's dominance for the next century. Details of the planned design were included in the Imperial Handbook, an official reference guide for Imperial commanders. The Eclipse was constructed above Kuat, while the Eclipse II was built over Byss. The hulls of both ships were inspired by ancient nautical warships.

By 4 ABY, the superlasers on both the Eclipse and the Eclipse II were installed and operational. However, their completion was significantly delayed due to Palpatine's death and the resulting power struggle. The emerging New Republic was unaware of the Eclipse-class' existence. Although the New Republic Intelligence Service obtained a copy of the Imperial Handbook shortly after the Battle of Endor, this was their only source of information on the class, and General Carlist Rieekan believed that the Empire had made no progress on the design. Furthermore, Tyber Zann, a crime lord, sought to access records on the ship and potentially steal it. He attacked Kuat, seized control of the ship, and used it to inflict damage on both Imperial and Rebel fleets, manipulating the latter into granting him access. Zann eventually abandoned the vessel, deeming its size too unwieldy for his purposes, even compared to the Rebel Alliance, and left it adrift. The New Republic subsequently attacked and destroyed the Eclipse.

Later, the Eclipse II was completed and became the flagship of the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, after the destruction of the original Eclipse.

Measuring approximately 17.5 kilometers in length, these jet-black battleships were among the largest and most heavily armed Super Star Destroyers ever created. They were the successors to dreadnoughts like the Eye of Palpatine and the Kuati Star Dreadnoughts that preceded the New Republic era.

The construction of the Eclipse took nearly as long as either of the Empire's Death Star battlemoons. For much of its service life, it functioned as an orbital battlestation at Byss. At a later point, the Eclipse emerged from hyperspace, its black hull initially causing some New Republic forces to mistake it for a ghost ship. However, they quickly realized its true nature when it opened fire, leaving only the information officer, Nara Dun, alive to warn New Republic forces of the devastating surprise attack.

The Eclipse was destroyed along with the resurrected Emperor in 10 ABY during an Imperial assault on Pinnacle Moon in the Da Soocha system. Luke Skywalker and his sister, Princess Leia Organa Solo, disrupted the Emperor's control of a massive Force storm, a powerful surge of dark side energy that the Emperor had summoned to annihilate the assembled New Republic fleet.

Following this event, the Eclipse II replaced the original. It differed slightly from its predecessor, featuring different thrusters. Above the planet Onderon, Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles led a small boarding party against the formidable battleship. R2-D2 managed to override the Eclipse II's computer systems. The astromech droid then sent the Eclipse II on a hyperspace collision course with the superweapon Galaxy Gun. The Eclipse II collided with the Galaxy Gun, destroying both. One final projectile was pulled in by Byss' gravity and struck the planet, resulting in an explosion that annihilated Byss and the Emperor Palpatine clones.

The Dark Empire Sourcebook indicates that the Eclipse had a length of 17.5 kilometers, contradicting the description in Star Wars: Dark Empire, which states that the ship was "ten miles from stem to stern," or 16 kilometers. The author of the Dark Empire Sourcebook has suggested that an additional 1.5 kilometers were added to the first ship of this class. This was to reflect the ship's unique modifications and personalization, with the standard design being only 16 kilometers long. Alternatively, "ten miles from stem to stern" may be a vague expression, or the discrepancy may be due to the lengthy construction period, or it may represent a difference between the Eclipse and Eclipse II. Adding to the confusion, the Eclipse entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia lists a length of 17.5 kilometers, while the Star Destroyer entry lists the length as 16 kilometers, which could be a typo since the Star Destroyer is 1,600 meters long.

Regardless of size, given the initial statements regarding the size of Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts, it is evident that the Eclipse was intended to be significantly larger than them. However, later statements about the size of Executor ships indicate that the Eclipse is shorter, though still likely more massive and destructive.

There also appears to be a contradiction in the information regarding the Eclipse's construction. According to the Dark Empire Sourcebook, design work on the Eclipse began after the Battle of Hoth, while Byss and the Deep Core claims that it was under construction for as long as either Death Star, suggesting a timeframe of decades (it should be noted that, at the time Byss and the Deep Core was written, the timescale of Death Star construction was believed to be much shorter, on the order of years).

Byss and the Deep Core further suggests that the Eclipse was stationed in orbit at Byss before the Battle of Endor, as this is the only timeframe in which it could have served as a rendezvous point for meetings of the Grand Admirals as claimed in the text (although the Grand Admirals referred to may be a new group that postdates the original 12). However, The Essential Chronology states that it was built at Kuat and only moved to Byss four and a half years after the Battle of Endor, when it was stolen in a partially completed state by Lira Wessex and her design team shortly before the shipyards surrendered to the New Republic.

There are several possible explanations for these perceived discrepancies. It is possible that, as with the Executor and its sister ship Lusankya (originally named Executor), the Eclipse and Eclipse II were constructed simultaneously in two different shipyards, with the existence of each being kept secret from the workers at the other. The potential discrepancies in timeframe may be a matter of in-universe error, with the fictional authors serving as the real-world writers' proxies being unaware of the true length of construction.

Some fans find the stated power of the Eclipse's superlaser to be contradictory. It is described as not powerful enough to destroy a planet, but as capable of overpowering planetary shields and as 2/3rds the power of the Death Star's prime weapon. However, some fan calculations suggest that a weapon of such power would be more than sufficient to destroy a planet, and some fans believe that planetary shields are actually harder to destroy than planets. Those who wish to reconcile these beliefs with the canon statements suggest that the "2/3rds" figure refers instead to the magnitude of the energy release as opposed to the total value. This would place the main weapon below the threshold necessary to destroy a planet.

Another possibility is that, as the Death Star's superlaser consisted of eight individual beams which combined into a single larger beam after firing, the Eclipse-class' superlaser had 2/3rds the power of one of the Death Star superlaser's component beams. Alternatively, the fan calculations may be in error. The exact destructive mechanism of a hypermatter-fueled superlaser is not fully understood other than it being a direct energy transfer weapon. The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels mentions that it was designed to penetrate a planet's crust, which is far less than what either Death Star was capable of, which was pulverizing an entire planet.

Another suggestion is that perhaps the Eclipse could destroy a planet, but not if the shot's power is depleted by having to travel through a planetary shield.