Imperial Dropship/Legends

The Imperial Dropship was a Galactic Empire dropship type. It had two engines, flanked by maneuvering fins, and a front cockpit. The dropship could be piloted by a shadow stormtrooper or a regular stormtrooper and could transport a squad of up to four stormtroopers on a detachable platform at its back.
The craft had three variants, with two of them featuring a pair of laser cannons and another pair of the configurations having external racks for personal blasters. During the Galactic Civil War, Imperial Dropships were used in two engagements in desert where they either deployed stormtroopers or fought Rebel Alliance forces .
==Characteristics==
The Imperial Dropship was a type of small, fast space troop transport. It had a gradually upward-sloping black, gray, and blue fuselage that culminated with two engines at the back that were flanked by a large pair of blue or black maneuvering fins. At its front, the dropship had a single-seat cockpit with a viewport that could swing open on its top hinge, while the back of the craft featured a detachable troop transport platform that was open in order to allow troopers to deploy quickly.
The Imperial Dropship came in three variants, with one configuration sporting a pair of forward-firing laser cannons directly aft of the cockpit—near the ship's base—and also having built-in racks allowing to mount a pair of blaster rifles at the craft's midsection, toward its top. Another variant instead featured near its base four racks for holding the blasters of the pilot and the troopers.
Finally, the third configuration of the dropship had laser cannons that were similarly positioned to those of the first variant and fired green blasts. It had an elongated cockpit, and both its maneuvering fins and engines—which had blue-colored exhaust jets—could be swung downwards. The configuration's troop transport platform, on which blaster rifles could be mounted, could only seat two troopers, in contrast to the other two variants that had four-seated platforms. The Imperial Dropship had three Imperial crests emblazoned on it, with one at its top and two either near the laser cannons, on its maneuvering fins, or on the troop platform.
==Role==
The Imperial Dropship could be piloted by a single shadow stormtrooper or a regular stormtrooper. It was used to swoop down to a battlefield and detach its troop platform, thereby deploying a squad of up to four clone stormtroopers before flying away. Alternately, the dropship could also engage in combat enemy ground vehicles.
==History==
At one point during the Galactic Civil War, an Imperial Dropship piloted by a shadow stormtrooper deployed three stormtroopers during a confrontation in a desert, with one of the troopers wielding a rifle that had been stored in the craft's blaster rack. In another instance of desert combat, an Imperial Dropship piloted by a stormtrooper faced off against a Rebel Scout Speeder crewed by three Alliance Fleet troopers of the Rebel Alliance. While one stormtrooper was engaging the scout speeder on the ground, the dropship opened fire on the craft with its laser cannons while carrying another stormtrooper on its troop transport platform.
==Behind the scenes==
The Imperial Dropship was introduced as an original vehicle in a 2008 LEGO toy set. It was originally marketed as part of the LEGO Classic Star Wars subtheme but was later reclassified as belonging to the LEGO Star Wars Expanded Universe subtheme instead.
==Sources==
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*LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
*LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia
*Ultimate LEGO Star Wars
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==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Dropship classes
Category:Starship classes of the Galactic Empire