Imperial escort carrier / Legends The Imperial escort carrier was a type of capital ship used exclusively by the Galactic Empire ' s storm commando s . Characteristics . The Storm commando s ' Imperial escort carrier was different from the standard escort carrier of the Imperial Navy . It was a nimble , narrow - hulled ship , with a flared arrowhead bow , and three sublight thrusters mounted in a vertical row on the stern . Its most prominent weapons were two single - barreled cannon mounted turrets on the dorsal centerline , with a wide field of fire ahead , above , and to either flank . There were also two double - barreled weapons mountings on the ventral centerline , both fore of the hangar bay , while two small turreted cannons were mounted on the very tip of the bow . They were slower than T - 65B X - wing starfighters . Like normal carriers , it was capable of deploying TIE starfighters into battle , including the advanced TIE Hunter , and it had a large hangar opening on each side of the hull , but it was also capable of engaging in combat on its own account . Ships of this type were used to attack medium - sized craft and transports of the Rebel Alliance , boarding and seizing the Rebel starships and their crew . As the storm commandos were regarded as elite infantry , these ships were capable of deploying troops for planetary assault . The warship carried a complement of four escape pods in case of an emergency , with their designs being reminiscent of the class - 6 escape pod . History . Following the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY , storm commando officer Captain Sarkli flew a modified escort carrier with an improved hyperdrive , in which he abducted scientists during the Raid on Bakura . He later fled to Geonosis , where Wedge Antilles shot his craft down , starting the Second Battle of Geonosis of the Galactic Civil War . Sarkli ' s ship had personnel who wore stormtrooper armor . During the latter event , he was also accompanied by two other Imperial escort carriers , which eventually ended up destroyed by Antilles via the Void - 7 seismic charge s included in his retrieved " Delta - 7 Aethersprite " - class light interceptor . Imperial escort carriers were known to have guarded the Fondor construction yards , and fought during the Battle of Fondor . Behind the scenes . Concept art for the Imperial escort carrier depicts a brighter vehicle , with T - shaped wings that tie it more to the TIE line . It is also more lightly armed , more streamlined , and lacks a hangar bay . The original concept art emphasizes the speed of the craft and atmospheric capability , suggesting the original design could have been a transport rather than a capital ship . The Imperial escort carriers being exclusive to the storm commandos is ambiguous , as " " depicts soldiers in stormtrooper armor as part of Captain Sarkli ' s ship ' s complement . These troops may have simply been storm commandos in stormtrooper armor , or the Imperial escort carriers may have carried a unit of Storm Commandos , as well as standard Stormtrooper elements . The Imperial escort carrier bears a name very similar to that of the escort carrier featured in " " and its sequels . Wedge Antilles ' s unfamiliarity with the name used by General Madine for the starship suggests that neither the Storm Commando vessel seen in " Rebel Strike " nor the standard Imperial Navy starfighter transport seen in " TIE Fighter " were generally deployed ( at least in operations Antilles might have been familiar with ) prior to the Raid on Bakura .