During the Imperial Era, the Rakehell served the Imperial Navy as an Onager-class Star Destroyer. This Star Destroyer, an Onager measuring 1,288 meters long, once journeyed with a pair of Victory-class Star Destroyers close to a red nebula. It had engines, a pair of superweapons mounted on its front, and a duo of deflector shield generator domes.
The Rakehell made its initial appearance in the current Star Wars canon within the Onager-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack, specifically on a card bearing the same designation. This expansion, released in 2020, was for Fantasy Flight Games's miniatures game, Star Wars: Armada.
JB Casacop created the card's artwork, later sharing the complete image on their ArtStation account under the name "Black Fleet Rakehell." Within the Star Wars Legends timeline, the Sorannan-class Star Destroyer that became known as the Rakehell was originally part of the Imperial Black Fleet.