Rebel Alliance Sourcebook

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REBEL ALLIANCE SOURCEBOOK





Here's an interesting tid-bit (that may only be true within the context of the game). The arrow-head shape design of the Imperial Star Destroyer is a design choice meant to allow the ship to bring to bear the maximum amount of firepower in the front, port, and starboard firing arcs. The ship is extremely deadly if a target (like Leia's Blockade Runner) lies in a path of the front arc.



It looks like the Second Edition of the game didn't remember this when picking fire arcs for the ships various weapon batteries.

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Another interesting item: It is good starmanship to orient your vessel to the Galactic Plane. That creates an agreed upon "up" and "down" in space. This is why vessels always seem to have the same orientation when seen in the films.



Broadsides! Long established battle fleet tactics mirror that of the old sailing ships of long ago.

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REBEL ALLIANCE SOURCEBOOK


Another interesting comment is how starfighters are effective against capital ships if the starfighters can get in close to the ship's hull--in that area in fleet warfare known as the Primary Zone. It says that starfighters actually have an advantage.

The difficulty seems to be in getting the starfighter that close to the enemy capital ship. Attacking starfighters must battle their way through the Picket Line, which is composed of picket starfighters and other vessels. Then through the capital ship's close support, which is composed of frigates that specialize in targeting starfighters, corvettes, and close support fighters.

If you can get through all that, then a flight of fighters may have a chance of doing some damage to a capital ship (don't forget the scale penalties).

Now, this book was published in 1994, decades before The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Strange how what is says actually supports Pod Dameron's attack on star destroyers and capital ships in those two films.

In TFA, Poe launches in a TIE fighter from the star destroyer. He is already in the advantage zone, next to the skin of the ship, where the ship's weaponry is not fast enough to lock onto him. He blows the heck out of the ship's weapons.

Note how he's not hit until he gets out, away from the ship, as he tries to go back to Jakku. According to what was written in the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, Poe had moved out into the Secondary Zone, the Kill Zone, or the Long Engagement Zone where the capital ship is most deadly. Judging from the movie, Poe was probably hit in the Long Engagement Zone as the First Order commander ordered the missile weapon used to take down the stolen TIE. It is inferred that the TIE was too close to the ship for the weapon to be of any use beforehand.



In The Last Jedi, Poe seems to get his ship close in to the hull of the First Order vessels by using subterfuge (the toying on the comm to General Hux, buying time) and the special made, one use fast propulsion unit jury rigged to the back of his X-Wing that, when fired, accelerated Poe at incredible speeds, surprising the First Order crew, and delivering the X-Wing to the advantaged close-hull position before the First Order knew what was happening.

It's not a tactic that would work more than once.