Praetor Mark II - class battlecruiser The Praetor Mark II " - class battlecruiser , also known as the Praetor II " - class Star Battlecruiser , was a warship class that served in the Imperial Navy . It was a model in the Star Destroyer design family , marked by a characteristic wedge - shape . Details . Dimensions . Considered the largest battlecruiser design known , the " Praetor Mark II " possessed a dagger shape , similar to other prominent warships in the Imperial Navy and was part of the KDY Star Destroyer design family . Like the " Bellator " - class dreadnought and the " Assertor " - class Star Dreadnought , the " Praetor Mark II " - class battlecruiser was designed with a central " ridge " structure that went from the stern of the ship midway to the bow . The ridge on the " Praetor Mark II " also extended behind the stern , beyond the main thrusters . The " Praetor Mark II " size ranged from 4 , 800 meters to approximately 8 , 000 meters ( that being the equivalent of five " Imperial II " - class Star Destroyers ) . The latter length estimate technically made it a Star Dreadnought under the Anaxes War College System , although it ' s relatively light in armament compared to standard Star Dreadnoughts had it designated as a Battlecruiser . Propulsion systems . The " Praetor Mark II " had three primary engines and four secondary engines , two of which were located on the outer areas of the ventral portion of the ship , with the other two placed directly behind the ridge extension on the stern . The " Praetor Mark II " , like the " Executor " - class Star Dreadnought , lacked a visible ventral reactor bulb , hiding its reactor equipment within thick layers of armor . Offensive and defensive systems . The " Praetor Mark II " battlecruiser possessed at least 90 weapons systems , including various spherical turrets on the dorsal , ventral and trench areas of the ship , In addition , it also possessed hull armor and deflector shields thick enough as well as strong enough to repel conventional blaster bolts . Complement . The " Praetor Mark II " possessed a triangular - shaped docking bay area at the prow , which appeared to be only slightly larger than the main docking bay of an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer . The ship class also possessed rings near the very end of the ship , behind the bridge . The transport ring could store supplies , equipment and even live specimens , like the Teezl creature . It carried a crew of 109 , 000 , including officers and enlisted crew . The " Praetor Mark II " could also carry 120 starfighters and any number of shuttles , barges , and walkers . Bridge tower . Similar to the later " Vengeance " - class dreadnought , the " Praetor Mark II " lacked a T - shaped KDY - style bridge tower . Instead , the command bridge was located at the front end of the elevated ridge of the ship . Similar in appearance to the bridge tower of the Clone Wars - era " Venator " - class Star Destroyer and " Acclamator " - class assault ship , and later " Secutor " - class Star Destroyer , the bridge was kept closer to the surrounding superstructure , providing a smaller target profile than those designs . The internal bridge section was significantly larger in volume than that of a typical Star Destroyer bridge , and was large enough to allow many fleet officers to hold meetings in the room . The dorsal ridge houses the crew areas , and the rest of the ship is given over to machinery , control systems , and engineering spaces . History . Production history . The " Praetor Mark II " was designed and produced early on in the reign of the Galactic Empire as a follow - up to the smaller Republic - era " Praetor " - class Star Battlecruiser . Few ships of this class were commissioned , as Imperial strategies didn ' t favor battlecruiser designs . Battlecruisers were regarded as less effective terror weapons than the more massive dreadnaught s . Combined with being more expensive than individual Star Destroyers and less versatile , production on the " Praetor Mark II " was stopped . Service record . As a result of the Empire ' s focus , the " Mark II " s , along with other battlecruiser designs , were primarily used by the Empire to defend key areas in the Core region . Some battlecruisers were also used for particularly dangerous missions on the fringes of Imperial space , although they rarely left their docks except in cases of large engagements . A notable example of the latter was the " Helmsman " , captained by Admiral Mils Giel . The " Helmsman " was assigned to lead a secret armada on a mission to bring a Teezl to Coruscant from the Valtha Divide . The Teezl , a living hyperspace communications device , was to be installed as a communications tool for the Navy , allowing better coordination against Rebels . The " Helmsman " carried the creature aboard its transportation ring . The secret armada was attacked en route and the Teezl was killed by Rebels . The " Praetor Mark II " ' s heavy armor and shields required the Rebel Flying Bantha Squadron to modify their stolen TIE fighters for the mission , in order to be able to penetrate the layers of defense on the " Helmsman " and hit the transportation cage . The vessel was damaged , but survived the assault , its gun batteries immediately attempted to retaliate , but the assailant TIE fighter escaped . A " Praetor Mark II " was assigned to a fleet exercise with several other Super Star Destroyers at some point after the Arms Race campaign . During the exercise , an " Assertor " - class dreadnought and an " Allegiance " - class battlecruiser were simultaneously refueled by a massive replenishment ship . Post - Endor . The " Thalassa " was a " Praetor Mark II " that belonged to the forces of Admiral Sander Delvardus . Delvardus led the Eriadu Authority , which broke away from the main Galactic Empire after the Battle of Endor . During the New Republic ' s push against the Imperial warlords , a task force of EF76 Nebulon - B escort frigates together with BTL Y - wing starfighter s fought the " Thalassa " in 4 ABY ; it was confronted and destroyed by the task force in the Moorja system . Behind the scenes . The " Praetor Mark II " - class battlecruiser was based on concept artwork made by Ralph McQuarrie during pre - production for . This concept was one of several meant for the Super Star Destroyer " Executor " . The artwork was later recycled to depict Admiral Giel ' s flagship in the secret armada in the Marvel Star Wars comics . Neither its ship class nor Giel ' s flagship were given a proper name in the comic itself , and were sometimes referred to by fans as Super Star Destroyers due to its wedge - shape and overall larger size than a Star Destroyer . It wasn ' t until the release of " The Essential Guide to Warfare " in 2012 that the ship class , as well as Giel ' s flagship , were given names . 3D fan artist Ansel Hsiao also created artwork of the ship specifically for the book .