Starfighter lasers: What's with the disparity in size?

[phongn]

Forgive me if this has been discussed before but this is something that's often bugged me. What's with the huge disparity in size between fighter weapons? TIEs have these tiny guns underneath the cockpit, X-Wings have these enormous emplacements on them, yet supposedly they're around the same firepower. What gives? Is there any explanation for the differences?

[Master of Ossus]

ICS holds that TIE's use "coiled" blaster mounts, so the weapoms actually take up considerable internal space. Y-wings use somewhat similar concepts, with most of the laser's components mounted inside the craft. The X-wing's external mounts make the weapons more visible, but no more effective.

[Alan Bolte]

IIRC, the X-Wing specifically is said to use extra-long barrels to give it longer range. Probably in EGWT or EGVV or something. It would also not surprise me to learn that the cannons are as much as twice as powerful as those of a TIE or Y-Wing.

[Eleas]

Forgive me if this has been discussed before but this is something that's often bugged me. What's with the huge disparity in size between fighter weapons? TIEs have these tiny guns underneath the cockpit, X-Wings have these enormous emplacements on them, yet supposedly they're around the same firepower. What gives? Is there any explanation for the differences?

The TIE Fighter's rate of fire is greater, but watch ANH. Contrast the effects of, say, Luke's or Wedge's shots impacting a TIE with that of TIE fighter shots striking an X-Wing. The TIE fighter chews through the X-Wings and Y-Wings, blowing them up seconds after impact. X-Wing cannons, in contrast, instantly immolate TIE Fighters.

So I'd say X-Wing cannons hurt more.

[Alan Bolte]

That's kind of a bad example, you've got shielding disparities to deal with as well.

[Eleas]

That's kind of a bad example, you've got shielding disparities to deal with as well.

Point. I'm tired. But still... we don't see significant damage from TIE lasers on the DS either. I'm leaning toward it meaning something, but I have no idea what.

Need sleep.

[Darth Garden Gnome]

Point. I'm tired. But still... we don't see significant damage from TIE lasers on the DS either. I'm leaning toward it meaning something, but I have no idea what.

I will agree that there were a handful of instances in ANH where the TIEs were chasing the X-Wings, firing their lasers, miss, and those shots make contact with the surface of the Death Star; I don't know if the short time we see this happen is enough to draw a conclusion--if it is, then no damage seems to have been done, at least not in the magnitude of the X-Wing's lasers in various scenes.

I'm too much of a useless prick to find out, but aren't there any scenes during the ROTJ space battle of TIE Fighters firing on enemy capships?

[Eleas]

I'm too much of a useless prick to find out, but aren't there any scenes during the ROTJ space battle of TIE Fighters firing on enemy capships?

TIEs at Endor seem to have retrofitted cannons - they fire discrete bolts, not streams, if I recall corectly.

[The Original Nex]

I will agree that there were a handful of instances in ANH where the TIEs were chasing the X-Wings, firing their lasers, miss, and those shots make contact with the surface of the Death Star; I don't know if the short time we see this happen is enough to draw a conclusion--if it is, then no damage seems to have been done, at least not in the magnitude of the X-Wing's lasers in various scenes.

It could have to do with power levels as well. The X-wings could have turned their weapons up to a much higher setting when firing on the gun tower and the cityscape, compared to when the TIEs were targetting other fighters.

[drachefly]

TIEs at Endor seem to have retrofitted cannons - they fire discrete bolts, not streams, if I recall corectly.

Streams? As in rapid fire? That sounds a lot more like a fire control issue, much like The Original Nex just said, than it does like retrofitting.

I certainly don't remember any TIE bolts looking like... phaser beams (just visually! no comparison of power)

[Eleas]

TIEs at Endor seem to have retrofitted cannons - they fire discrete bolts, not streams, if I recall corectly.

Streams? As in rapid fire? That sounds a lot more like a fire control issue, much like The Original Nex just said, than it does like retrofitting.

Streams as in rapid fire, yes. And there is no evidence that blaster cannons could be varied in this manner. If they could, then the X-Wing pilots in ANH would certainly have made use of this fact. The damage their bolts did was overkill against TIEs, and it would have been far more suitable to switch to a lower power / higher ROF setting, if such a setting existed.

I certainly don't remember any TIE bolts looking like... phaser beams (just visually! no comparison of power)

They don't. They are staggered streams of bolts.

[The Original Nex]

And there is no evidence that blaster cannons could be varied in this manner

Unless the cannon on a walker is very much different from fighter cannon, there IS evidence.

"Target, maximum firepower!"--Gen. Veers ESB. This suggests variable power settings.

There's other evidence for "blaster" technology having more than just "stun" and "kill" settings as well.

-In ANH Han's pistol takes huges chunks out of DB-94's walls, in RotJ a bolt from the same weapon causes little outward damage to a Stormtrooper's armor.

-In ESB bolts fired by two Stormtroopers, both carrying E-11s, have different damage effects on the same wall in cloud city (one causes a scorch mark, the other a head-sized hole).

-Throughout the trilogy we see E-11s used to kill humans and the like, in RotJ, a bolt which hits Leia in the shoulder causes only minimal burning.

-In ANH, light Turbolaser bolts penetrate the Tantive IV's shields, in ESB similar LTLs merely jostle the Mellinium Falcon.

These would seem to be indications of variable power settings, no?

[Eleas]

And there is no evidence that blaster cannons could be varied in this manner.

Unless the cannon on a walker is very much different from fighter cannon, there IS evidence.

"Target, maximum firepower!"--Gen. Veers ESB. This suggests variable power settings.

Oh fuck. How embarrassing. You're completely correct, of course. Not only that, but we know E-11s can fire at higher intensites as well.

Damn, I really must be tired.

[The Original Nex]

And there is no evidence that blaster cannons could be varied in this manner.

Unless the cannon on a walker is very much different from fighter cannon, there IS evidence.

"Target, maximum firepower!"--Gen. Veers ESB. This suggests variable power settings.

Oh fuck. How embarrassing. You're completely correct, of course. Not only that, but we know E-11s can fire at higher intensites as well.

Damn, I really must be tired.

Well, I gave you a list of other instances anyways

[Eleas]

Damn, I really must be tired.

Well, I gave you a list of other instances anyways

Because my response came faster than your editing. I was too quick for you, fleshling.

[Mad]

-In ANH, light Turbolaser bolts penetrate the Tantive IV's shields, in ESB similar LTLs merely jostle the Mellinium Falcon.

These would seem to be indications of variable power settings, no?

Well, that one, not exactly: the Tantive IV was hit several times before its shields failed.