Millenium Falcom Drop-Down Blaster

[Fleet Admiral JD]

In ANH, Han uses a blaster that drops down from the belly of the Millenium Falcon to take out stormtroops and cover his ass as he gets inside. How is it controlled? Does it just fire randomly, is it computer controlled? If it's computer controlled, how does it find targets?

Just something that struck me a few minutes ago.

[Danny Bhoy]

In ANH, Han uses a blaster that drops down from the belly of the Millenium Falcon to take out stormtroops and cover his ass as he gets inside. How is it controlled? Does it just fire randomly, is it computer controlled? If it's computer controlled, how does it find targets?

Just something that struck me a few minutes ago.

I thought that was in ESB in Hoth? In ANH, I recall he fired his blaster...

Edit: As to the original question, I thought it could be either manual or remote. If remote, I assumed it was like a proximity thing to sweep anything the weapon could get a bead on and in range. I got the vague recollection that the blaster did not hit the stormtroopers setting up that tripod RR thingy in the first instance and was in fact hitting elsewhere. Probably wrong, tho.

[Lord Revan]

In ANH, Han uses a blaster that drops down from the belly of the Millenium Falcon to take out stormtroops and cover his ass as he gets inside. How is it controlled? Does it just fire randomly, is it computer controlled? If it's computer controlled, how does it find targets?

Just something that struck me a few minutes ago.

I thought that was in ESB in Hoth? In ANH, I recall he fired his blaster...

it was in Hoth in ANH Han fired his DL-44 (IIRC) at the stormies.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

In ANH, Han uses a blaster that drops down from the belly of the Millenium Falcon to take out stormtroops and cover his ass as he gets inside. How is it controlled? Does it just fire randomly, is it computer controlled? If it's computer controlled, how does it find targets?

Just something that struck me a few minutes ago.

In the opening of KotOR II, the Ebon Hawk has a gun similar to the Falcon's, and it is remote-controlled from the cockpit.

However, this is a different ship, from a different era, and to top it all of, the incident can be written off as game mechanics, so I don't know how much help it would be.

Perhaps the OT:ICS or EGVV has the answer.

[Lord Revan]

[, and to top it all of, the incident can be written off as game mechanics, so I don't know how much help it would be.

how can that can be written off as game Mechanics?

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

[, and to top it all of, the incident can be written off as game mechanics, so I don't know how much help it would be.

how can that can be written off as game Mechanics?

Because it is irrelevant to the plot and just serves as a minigame. That might fit some people's definition of game mechanics.

I misworded my post though. I should have written "...might be able to be written off as..." rather than "...can be written off as...". Sorry for the confusion.

[Noble Ire]

Perhaps the gun has several modes, remote and automatic for instance. That would make sense. If you want covering fire while you make your escape you can flip it on auto, and if you need to target something, or you just trust yourself more than the computer, you can take over.

[Grand Admiral Mango]

I've always thought it's remote controlled. I once "debated" this very subject with Darkstar (shudder). What was i thinking?

[Kurgan]

In ANH, Han uses a blaster that drops down from the belly of the Millenium Falcon to take out stormtroops and cover his ass as he gets inside. How is it controlled? Does it just fire randomly, is it computer controlled? If it's computer controlled, how does it find targets?

Just something that struck me a few minutes ago.

I thought that was in ESB in Hoth? In ANH, I recall he fired his blaster...

it was in Hoth in ANH Han fired his DL-44 (IIRC) at the stormies.

Do we know that it only has one drop down blaster? It would seem a bit odd that adding one small anti-personel gun was a huge upgrade in those 3 years. While Han's blaster is definately impressive, the editing of the Docking Bay 94 scene leads me to believe that not all of those shots were fired by Han (and they don't seem to be richochets from the Stormtroopers either).

Anyway, in both cases somebody was at the controls of the Falcon, who could have had the blaster target the stormies in the area with some kind of HUD.

[FSTargetDrone]

Does anyone know exactly where this weapon was located? I seem to remember the old deckplans site surmising that it was somewhere forward of the boarding ramp. As I recall, everyone in the cockpit looks to their right as the gun fires on the troopers, so the weapon is certainly on that side of the ship.

I wonder if the "best" place to mount this sort of weapon would be directly in front of/above the ramp itself, somewhere under the docking port, so it could cover a wide arc without the structure of the ramp itself blocking it.

[Noble Ire]

Does anyone know exactly where this weapon was located? I seem to remember the old deckplans site surmising that it was somewhere forward of the boarding ramp. As I recall, everyone in the cockpit looks to their right as the gun fires on the troopers, so the weapon is certainly on that side of the ship.

I wonder if the "best" place to mount this sort of weapon would be directly in front of/above the ramp itself, somewhere under the docking port, so it could cover a wide arc without the structure of the ramp itself blocking it.

The turret is just forward of the boarding ramp, right under the deck plate that leads to the cockpit. (ICS:OT)

[Vicious]

Han installs the drop-down blaster in Rebel Dawn (book three of the Han Solo Trilogy). His whole reasoning is that smuggling pick-ups and drop-offs can be dangerous, and he wanted a little extra firepower as back-up. It's mounted near the ramp to cover quick exits, and it's primary mode is remote-controlled. I don't think the book ever mentions an auto-mode, and since the last book in the trilogy dovetails right into the cantina scene in ANH, I doubt it has one unless he installs it between ANH and ESB.

The dorsal and ventral turrets can also be driven manually from the cockpit, but they have locking plates to prevent them from firing when they're aimed at the landing struts, and IIRC their ability to cover very close to the ship is extremely limited.

[Instant Sunrise]

Quick question, is the Holiday Special canon?

Because in it, Han has a line that mentions "auto-turrents" as well as showing the turrets firing atonomously. This could place the auto-turrets in there to after, or during ANH.

[Kurgan]

Han installs the drop-down blaster in Rebel Dawn (book three of the Han Solo Trilogy). His whole reasoning is that smuggling pick-ups and drop-offs can be dangerous, and he wanted a little extra firepower as back-up. It's mounted near the ramp to cover quick exits, and it's primary mode is remote-controlled. I don't think the book ever mentions an auto-mode, and since the last book in the trilogy dovetails right into the cantina scene in ANH, I doubt it has one unless he installs it between ANH and ESB.

The dorsal and ventral turrets can also be driven manually from the cockpit, but they have locking plates to prevent them from firing when they're aimed at the landing struts, and IIRC their ability to cover very close to the ship is extremely limited.

I thought I heard somewhere that in fact Han spent his "reward" from ANH on the drop-down blaster instead of paying off Jabba the Hutt. Is that just apocryphal, or did I misunderstand part of the "real" explanation? Just curious, since I haven't read any of the Han Solo books...


The Holiday Special thing was likely done because Han and Chewie are both in the cockpit when the turrets fire. Isn't the official explanation that they can be operated from the cockpit at "reduced efficiency" or something (rather than being manned individually)? Apparently parts of the Holiday Special at least are canon, like Chewbacca's family and Kashyyyk (and maybe Life Day too!).

[Vicious]

Han installs the drop-down blaster in Rebel Dawn (book three of the Han Solo Trilogy). His whole reasoning is that smuggling pick-ups and drop-offs can be dangerous, and he wanted a little extra firepower as back-up. It's mounted near the ramp to cover quick exits, and it's primary mode is remote-controlled. I don't think the book ever mentions an auto-mode, and since the last book in the trilogy dovetails right into the cantina scene in ANH, I doubt it has one unless he installs it between ANH and ESB.

The dorsal and ventral turrets can also be driven manually from the cockpit, but they have locking plates to prevent them from firing when they're aimed at the landing struts, and IIRC their ability to cover very close to the ship is extremely limited.

I thought I heard somewhere that in fact Han spent his "reward" from ANH on the drop-down blaster instead of paying off Jabba the Hutt. Is that just apocryphal, or did I misunderstand part of the "real" explanation? Just curious, since I haven't read any of the Han Solo books...

The Holiday Special thing was likely done because Han and Chewie are both in the cockpit when the turrets fire. Isn't the official explanation that they can be operated from the cockpit at "reduced efficiency" or something (rather than being manned individually)? Apparently parts of the Holiday Special at least are canon, like Chewbacca's family and Kashyyyk (and maybe Life Day too!).

Han never pays off Jabba, period. Rebel Dawn (the 3rd HST book) clearly shows him installing the drop-down blaster. He gripes that during a landing, it gets fried by a close brush with a ground-based TL. He doesn't get hit, but the shot is close enough it that fries the mechanisms which lower the cannon.

The main turrets can be operated from the cockpit by means of a remote control, yes. They suffer from reaction delays, though, so they prefer to fight from the guns themselves when possible.

[Noble Ire]

The Holiday Special thing was likely done because Han and Chewie are both in the cockpit when the turrets fire. Isn't the official explanation that they can be operated from the cockpit at "reduced efficiency" or something (rather than being manned individually)? Apparently parts of the Holiday Special at least are canon, like Chewbacca's family and Kashyyyk (and maybe Life Day too!).

THeir existance is canon, although the names have all been overwritten by newer (and better IMO) material.

[FSTargetDrone]

I don't think the book ever mentions an auto-mode, and since the last book in the trilogy dovetails right into the cantina scene in ANH, I doubt it has one unless he installs it between ANH and ESB.

The dorsal and ventral turrets can also be driven manually from the cockpit, but they have locking plates to prevent them from firing when they're aimed at the landing struts, and IIRC their ability to cover very close to the ship is extremely limited.

I'd have to imagine that the drop-down blaster, or others like it, can be capable of some independent mode. Perhaps it can be set to track and engage anything nearby giving off either some range of body temperature, or to simply track and engage targets in motion. That way the ship can take off and Han and/or Chewie can concentrate on flying and let the blaster engage targets on its own.

When we see Han in the cockpit during the scene leaving EB, I wonder if he simply has turned the weapon on an automode of some kind and lets it fire on its own, because he doesn't seem to be actually directing its fire. He's getting ready to take off, so he's probably busy with that.

Note that Leia seems to be surprised at how quickly the gun deals with the troopers on the ground... Maybe she's never seen the gun in action before?

The business of the lower main turret having some kind of interrupter gear makes a lot of sense--some old bomber aircraft equipped with defensive gun turrets had interrupter gear or other arrangements to prevent the gunners from shooting off parts of their own plane!

I wonder how quickly the upper and lower turrets can swing around as compared to the drop-down blaster.

[Vicious]

I don't think the book ever mentions an auto-mode, and since the last book in the trilogy dovetails right into the cantina scene in ANH, I doubt it has one unless he installs it between ANH and ESB.

The dorsal and ventral turrets can also be driven manually from the cockpit, but they have locking plates to prevent them from firing when they're aimed at the landing struts, and IIRC their ability to cover very close to the ship is extremely limited.

I'd have to imagine that the drop-down blaster, or others like it, can be capable of some independent mode. Perhaps it can be set to track and engage anything nearby giving off either some range of body temperature, or to simply track and engage targets in motion. That way the ship can take off and Han and/or Chewie can concentrate on flying and let the blaster engage targets on its own.

When we see Han in the cockpit during the scene leaving EB, I wonder if he simply has turned the weapon on an automode of some kind and lets it fire on its own, because he doesn't seem to be actually directing its fire. He's getting ready to take off, so he's probably busy with that.

Note that Leia seems to be surprised at how quickly the gun deals with the troopers on the ground... Maybe she's never seen the gun in action before?

The business of the lower main turret having some kind of interrupter gear makes a lot of sense--some old bomber aircraft equipped with defensive gun turrets had interrupter gear or other arrangements to prevent the gunners from shooting off parts of their own plane!

I wonder how quickly the upper and lower turrets can swing around as compared to the drop-down blaster.

Well, we see Luke and Han tracking TIE Fighters in ANH. I don't have my DVDs handy, but it shouldn't be too hard to do some calculations based on how fast they can swivel. The drop down blaster seems to track fairly fast. It turned, IIRC, a good 45-70 degrees before opening fire, and there weren't more than one or two frames between it dropping down and firing.

The time frame between ANH and ESB is several years, correct? If so, than that's plenty of time for Han to make modifications to the system. However, Han's original purpose for the blaster was covering fire while he and/or Chewie are on the ground, so it'd need some kind of IFF system if it was set to automatic. This is the reason why I think it was originally a manual system. Han would go out and do his business while Chewie would sit in the cockpit in case Han needed some cover. His joining the rebellion might have prompted him to install an auto-mode for just the kind of situation in EB, however. The crew was all aboard, so they could let it just pick 'n shoot.

Also, the drop-down blaster isn't intended for use in flight. It's an emergency weapon for on-the-ground use, since it's ability to elevate the barrel is essentially zero, and I don't think it can depress the barrel by any appreciable amount. It's firepower is also not much higher than the E-Web. It's a heavy blaster cannon, which is too little to seriously damage a starship, especially shielded.

[FSTargetDrone]

His joining the rebellion might have prompted him to install an auto-mode for just the kind of situation in EB, however. The crew was all aboard, so they could let it just pick 'n shoot.

Also, the drop-down blaster isn't intended for use in flight. It's an emergency weapon for on-the-ground use, since it's ability to elevate the barrel is essentially zero, and I don't think it can depress the barrel by any appreciable amount. It's firepower is also not much higher than the E-Web. It's a heavy blaster cannon, which is too little to seriously damage a starship, especially shielded.

Very good points. It could have absolutely been upgraded inbetween ANH and ESB. No reason to think otherwise. Also, I didn't mean to suggest the DD blaster would be intended for use in flight, sorry for confusion. I was just considering that it seems to be able to move faster (or does it?) as compared to one of the larger turrets and would be better suited to engaging ground targets that are relatively closer to the ship.

[Cykeisme]

I was just considering that it seems to be able to move faster (or does it?) as compared to one of the larger turrets and would be better suited to engaging ground targets that are relatively closer to the ship.

Agreed, that's probably the case.
The quad-laser turrets would probably be a little bit unwieldy for hitting personnel on the ground, not to mention that even if it had scaleable power settings, it might still be overkill and hurt your buddies outside the ship.

[Isolder74]

Gun turning to fire with notes

tGun turning to fire

Gunport seen in slug cave

Gun panel

Gun dropping out

[Dangermouse]

So I count 10 frames for the gun door to open, 13 for the gun to deploy, 21 for the gun to reach its final firing position, 2 additional frames for the gun to fire, and then 3 bolts fired over 9 frames. Based on Isolder74's picture, the angle appears to be approximately 70-80 degrees.

Side question: Are US DVDs at 30 fps or 24 fps. I know the film itself is projected at 24fps but televisions are at 30fps so I always get mixed up.

Assuming 30fps:
Gun Door Opening Time:0.33 seconds
Gun Drop down time: 0.43 seconds
Gun Rotational time | Velocity: 0.7 seconds | 114 degrees / second (assumed 80 degrees)
Gun Firing Rate: 10 bolts / second

If we knew the length of the gun, we could also determine average velocities for the opening of the door and the drop down of the gun.

Lets assume an automatic cannon type gun thing, do you think the 2 frame delay between firing initially is for the gun to acquire a target?

Note that Han is still standing/crouching over the front panel before the cut to the troops / gun. When the scene returns to Han, he is still standing/ crouching over the panel. Both Han and Leia appear to be looking in the direction of the troopers. Chewbacca then runs up as Han continues the preflight countdown. For me, the gun seems automated. Han seems very busy at this time and I can't seem him juggling another complicated task while prepping the ship for take off.

Edit: Angle is probably more like 70-80 degrees. Changed from 80-90 degrees.

[Vicious]

So I count 10 frames for the gun door to open, 13 for the gun to deploy, 21 for the gun to reach its final firing position, 2 additional frames for the gun to fire, and then 3 bolts fired over 9 frames. Based on Isolder74's picture, the angle appears to be approximately 70-80 degrees.

Side question: Are US DVDs at 30 fps or 24 fps. I know the film itself is projected at 24fps but televisions are at 30fps so I always get mixed up.

Assuming 30fps:
Gun Door Opening Time:0.33 seconds
Gun Drop down time: 0.43 seconds
Gun Rotational time | Velocity: 0.7 seconds | 114 degrees / second (assumed 80 degrees)
Gun Firing Rate: 10 bolts / second

If we knew the length of the gun, we could also determine average velocities for the opening of the door and the drop down of the gun.

Lets assume an automatic cannon type gun thing, do you think the 2 frame delay between firing initially is for the gun to acquire a target?

Note that Han is still standing/crouching over the front panel before the cut to the troops / gun. When the scene returns to Han, he is still standing/ crouching over the panel. Both Han and Leia appear to be looking in the direction of the troopers. Chewbacca then runs up as Han continues the preflight countdown. For me, the gun seems automated. Han seems very busy at this time and I can't seem him juggling another complicated task while prepping the ship for take off.

Edit: Angle is probably more like 70-80 degrees. Changed from 80-90 degrees.

Some excellant points, and great pictures from Isolder. I'd say the gun is probably the same size as an E-Web. It's a similar type of weapon. So, how long is an E-Web? It stands a meter high, so without pictures, I'd have to estimate it's roughly 1.5-2 meters long.

[Isolder74]

E-Web in trenches similar to falcon's gun

This weapon looks like the one Han used

Imperial E-web for size reference

Should give a good size refence

[Lord Poe]

The Falcon's main turrets can be set for automatic fire. In the last Han Solo book, "Han Solo and the Lost Legacy", Han sets the Falcon down in a courtyard for a smash -n -grab at a treasure. He leaves the Falcon with the turrets tracking with instructions they fire into the ground if anyone gets too close. He also had alarms and landing lights flashing to scare the natives.