Atmospheric Fighters

[vengence]

Hey A quick question that I have(or a few of them). What are the abilities of atmospheric fighter warfare? Are there dedicated ships like the snowspeeder for example(are the snow speeders a good example or atmospheric fighters?)? are space fighters used as multi role fighters? It is stated that ships like the ARC 170 and the X wing can achieve atmospheric speeds far greater than any other fighter counterpart, can those speeds be maintained during dogfights? Star Wars: Behind the Magic, seams to indicate most fighter atmospheric speeds being only just over a thousand km/h, is this accurate?

[The Original Nex]

You do seem to have answered your own question referencing the T-47s. Armed airspeeders can certainly fill the role of a fighter in an atmosphere. Starfighters are also frequently shown in the films, tv, and EU books to be used within atmospheres for combat.

[Batman]

Hey A quick question that I have(or a few of them). What are the abilities of atmospheric fighter warfare?

You might want to elaborate on that a little. Are we talking about what Wars can do in an air war period, about the performance of dedicated atmospheric fighters, or what?

Are there dedicated ships like the snowspeeder for example(are the snow speeders a good example or atmospheric fighters?)?

While we only ever see them used close to the ground in TESB at least in theory, repulsorlift can reach orbit (or so I seem to remember from the ANH novelization at any rate), so they might be.

are space fighters used as multi role fighters?

There's a number of in-atmosphere battles between starfighters if that's what you're asking.

It is stated that ships like the ARC 170 and the X wing can achieve atmospheric speeds far greater than any other fighter counterpart, can those speeds be maintained during dogfights?

Most likely not. There's a reason modern day aircraft duke it out subsonic despite having Mach 2+ speeds. There's going Mach 17, or there's doing those maneuvers that make your opponent go 'how the hell did he just do that'. Pick one.

Star Wars: Behind the Magic, seams to indicate most fighter atmospheric speeds being only just over a thousand km/h, is this accurate?

The ICSes would disagree, as would simple logic, but the Wars EU isn't exactly known for its consistency, and a lot of Wars small craft aren't exactly what you would call aerodynamic. Besides, what does atmospheric speed mean? What altitude, what kind of atmosphere, do we care about actually being able to maneuver worth a damn? Mach 17 is nifty if you need to go somewhere in a hurry and essentially just need to go in a straight line (though given you're in a starfighter I have to wonder whether simply going fractional orbit-straight up, go to your destination's orbital coordinates in space, straight down-wouldn't be faster) but you're not going to do any tight turns at that kind of speed.

[Darth Tedious]

are space fighters used as multi role fighters?

TIE fighters are used as atmospheric if the need arises. See ESB.

[Jim Raynor]

Yeah, standard starfighters can be used in-atmosphere, as seen in the movies themselves.

I wouldn't count the T-47 "Snowspeeder" or its variants as good examples of dedicated atmospheric fighters. I believe the EU claims that it's a cargo hauler that was modified for combat by the Rebels. If anything I would probably regard it as a light close air support vehicle, basically the SW equivalent of an armed helicopter.

There is the V-Wing from Dark Empire, which is explicitly described as an atmospheric fighter. Various EU sources also make vague references to fighters that are more suited for planetary use.

I'd just disregard any "1,000 km/h" max speed given by most of the EU books. That's slower than the first generation jet fighters that flew in the Korean War, which is stupid as hell. I like Batman's idea for rationalizing that number though. Maybe that figure only applies to a narrow set of circumstances during combat.

[vengence]

Thanks for all the info.

The main question was basically what Wars can do in an air war period?

and so the gist i get is that the common star fighters are used in most all situations where air power is needed.

[Rekkon]

Star Wars does have atmospheric-only designs (the Bespin cloud car comes to mind), but in general it seems like the major powers simply stick with starfighters. Star Wars tech generally gives them enough power to "brute force" their way past any aerodynamic inefficiencies, and the advantages of being able to leave an atmosphere are obvious. I am sure they could design an atmospheric-only craft which could outperform starfighters, but that only helps if the enemy decides (or has) to come down and play. There are several sources that have noted the drawbacks of certain starfighter designs however. In Han Solo at Star's End, Han purposefully engages a Corporate Sector IRD fighter in atmosphere because he knows his Z-95 has superior handling characteristics there. And if memory serves, a few of the Rogue Squadron books mention that the large panels on TIE fighters hamper their side to side maneuverability in atmosphere.