# Explain how a teeny A-wing can bring down a Super Star Destroyer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2004, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258 "2004-08-04T08:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/41 "2004-08-08T04:18:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Big Fat Pilot wasn’t flying a TIE fighter, either. WOULD you people stop calling him Big Fat Pilot? That keeps very insensetively calling attention to his weight. He had a name, and it was Porkins. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/42 "2004-08-08T04:30:04Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > He had a name, and it was Porkins. Oh, yeah. Big help! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/43 "2004-08-08T04:32:28Z")
Kinda my point, but yeah… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/44 "2004-08-08T04:50:19Z")
I was checking out the site linked by **Tuckerfan** when I came across a little nugget on [this page.](http://www.theforce.net/swtc/ssd.html) _The colloquial term “super star destroyer” should be avoided. This is not mere pedantry; the term is actually misleading. In addition to its connection with the confusion over Executor’s length, the term is also applied to some vessels which clearly belong to different classes: eg. Allegiance and Eclipse in Dark Empire, which only share little more than the distinction of being slightly or greatly bigger than one-mile destroyers._ You see, the proper name is “Executor-class Star Dreadnought.” Geez, I thought the SW fans here really knew their stuff. I’m rather disappointed in you all. 😉 (obviously) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/45 "2004-08-08T08:18:13Z")
Found [this pic](http://uplink.space.com/attachments//19218-Empire1Fed0.jpg) which seems to make the OP’s question all the more difficult to answer. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/46 "2004-08-08T15:56:03Z")
Is “executor” the correct word for someone who carries out death sentences, or should it be “executioner”? Unless the Empire meant to use the less blatant term. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/47 "2004-08-08T20:29:43Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > WOULD you people stop calling him Big Fat Pilot? That keeps very insensetively calling attention to his weight. > > He had a name, and it was Porkins. You mean calling a fat guy “PORKins” is in any way more sensitive? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/48 "2004-08-09T02:50:53Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Is “executor” the correct word for someone who carries out death sentences, or should it be “executioner”? Unless the Empire meant to use the less blatant term. The correct term is “executioner.” An “executor” is a person appointed to carry out the terms of a deceased’s last will and testament. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/49 "2004-08-09T04:29:01Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Well the SSD was being driven by some old guy who panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake. > > And when the SSD didn’t stop, he panicked more and pressed his foot down harder. And when you add in the fact that the Death Star chose that day to hold their first Farmer’s Market, the whole thing just falls into place. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/50 "2004-08-09T07:38:17Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > And when you add in the fact that the Death Star chose that day to hold their first Farmer’s Market, the whole thing just falls into place. Thank you for that image of the Super Star Destroyer crashing through the Death Star and coming out the other side in a flurry of squawking chickens. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/51 "2004-08-09T10:23:12Z")
Star Destroyer Flunkie: “We just lost the bridge deflector shields!” Star Destroyer Commander: “Intensify forward firepower. I don’t want anything to get through.” Star Destroyer Lieutenant: “Too late!” _The Star Destroyer careens off course through the Death Star Farmer’s Market._ Rebel Pilot: “Fruit cart!” ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/52 "2004-08-09T10:35:33Z")
Didn’t Zahn’s Thrawn series advance an explanation for the OP’s question? Namely, that the Emperor used the Force to coordinate his fleet and that after his death the senior officers were disoriented and could not change back quickly enough to thinking on their own. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/53 "2004-08-09T15:24:13Z")
> [@](#): > > The correct term is “executioner.” > > An “executor” is a person appointed to carry out the terms of a deceased’s last will and testament. Actually, although “executor” is now almost always used in the technical legal sense, it did originally have a broader sense of (to quote the _OED_) “One who executes or carries out (a purpose, design, command, work, etc.); one who carries into action, or puts into practice (some quality); a conductor or manager (of affairs); an administrator or enforcer of (a law, vengeance, etc.); an agent, doer, performer, executer”, and was sometimes previously used to mean “executioner” in the sense of someone who carries out a sentence of death. I suppose the _Executor_ is that which carries out Darth Vader’s designs; and Darth Vader, in turn, is the administrator and enforcer of the Emperor’s plans. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/54 "2004-08-10T17:36:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Didn’t Zahn’s Thrawn series advance an explanation for the OP’s question? Namely, that the Emperor used the Force to coordinate his fleet and that after his death the senior officers were disoriented and could not change back quickly enough to thinking on their own. Yes. Actually, this was one of the more intriguing points in Zahn’s books. Sadly, other bks went even farther (read: overboard) with this line until the Emperor was capable of rewriting the memories of thousands of people on Coruscant and tearing open teleportation gates and destroying whole fleets on a whim. And people said George Lucas was nuts because the old bastard was able to fool Yoda! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/55 "2004-08-11T00:02:09Z")
The A-wing can destroy a Super Star Destroyer in the same way that it is necessary for the two guys standing next to the Death Star’s laser to duck and shield their eyes when it’s fired. Yep, that should be all the protection they need. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/56 "2004-08-11T01:07:09Z")
And remember, the Superlaser can only hurt you if you eat it. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/57 "2004-08-11T08:24:15Z")
> [@percypercy](#): > > The A-wing can destroy a Super Star Destroyer in the same way that it is necessary for the two guys standing next to the Death Star’s laser to duck and shield their eyes when it’s fired. Yep, that should be all the protection they need. > -Lil Well, they were wearing very dark visors, and I thought they turned completely away from the superlaser when it fired. Also I imagine the light was uncomfortably bright but not actually dangerous (assuming proper safety protocols), since you wouldn’t want your trained crew to get fried every time you fired a shot. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/58 "2004-08-11T17:17:48Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It’s also worth pointing out, as everybody makes this mistake (including all of the video games that feature you piloting an X-Wing against a SD), that blowing up that big globe on the top of the SD’s bridge _is not what made the shields go down._ That would be impossible, because the globes themselves would be protected by the shields. Rather, the shields had collapsed under the concentrated barrage of the Rebel fleet. When that big ball exploded was when they _realized_ that their shots were scoring actual hits on the SD’s hull. If this is a mistake then it’s pretty common across the series. I also wondered how this worked. In the video game (and generally the books) when a shield takes a hit it blocks 100% of the energy until the shield goes down. In the movie the a-wings shoot at the generators only a few times. That shouldn’t be enough to take them out (and the resulting explosion is also funny. It’s not like a generator is filled with explosives). And the shields weren’t down until the a-wings hit the generator because the scene right after that shows the bridge officers reporting the shields are down. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/59 "2004-08-11T17:40:59Z")
It is a mistake, and yes, its very common. Don’t take the games and/or novels as anything but, well, games and novels. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258/60 "2004-08-11T20:09:26Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > If this is a mistake then it’s pretty common across the series. Yes, it is. It seems to have morphed into cannon that those two big balls are the shield generators, and that you can blow them up even when the shields are still up. Which I think is dumb, and isn’t actually supported by the movie. > [@](#): > > I also wondered how this worked. In the video game (and generally the books) when a shield takes a hit it blocks 100% of the energy until the shield goes down. In the movie the a-wings shoot at the generators only a few times. That shouldn’t be enough to take them out (and the resulting explosion is also funny. It’s not like a generator is filled with explosives). Those aren’t generators. Judging by the fireball, I’d say they were oxygen tanks. Again, I’m not using any material from outside the movie to make this judgement call. I’m not interested in what the novels/comics/video games say, I’m just talking about the movie. > [@](#): > > And the shields weren’t down until the a-wings hit the generator because the scene right after that shows the bridge officers reporting the shields are down. I maintain this was just sloppy editing. The Executor is in the middle of a firefight with dozens of capital ships and hundreds of fighters. The shields fail just in time for the fighters making a strafing run on the bridge to take out one of those big balls. At the same moment, a member of the bridge crew turns and says, “Our shields are down!” right before the A-Wing kamikazis into them and the whole ship takes a header into the surface of the Death Star. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-how-a-teeny-a-wing-can-bring-down-a-super-star-destroyer/258258.md?page=4)