TIE Advanced x1 starfighter

The TIE Advanced x1 starfighter, also known as Darth Vader's TIE fighter, is a fictional spacecraft featured in the Star Wars multimedia franchise. It made a single appearance in film, which was the original 1977 feature, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). It has also appeared in alternate media in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

The TIE Advanced x1 starfighter is a single-person fighter craft developed by Sienar Fleet Systems and based on the standard TIE/In starfighter designs. It's distinguished from other TIE models by its inward-swept solar arrays, which provided the pilot with greater visibility and provided him with a strategic tactical advantage in combat. Like other TIEs, the x1 was armed with twin fire-linked blaster cannons mounted below the viewport in the forward position. The x1 was superior to teh standard TIE/In in that it possessed moderate shielding and a limited-use hyperdrive. The x1 was also faster and more maneuverable than the standard TIE.

History
The prototype model of the x1 was presented to Sith Lord Darth Vader during the onset of the Galactic Civil War in 0 BBY and was stationed aboard the first Death Star. During the Battle of Yavin, Vader suspected that the Rebel Alliance's snub fighters might actually succeed in determining a weakness in the station's defenses and destroy it. Unlike his superior Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, Vader was not willing to simply "go down with the ship". After ordering a squadron of TIE fighters to engage the Alliance's X-Wing groups, Vader manned his personal starfighter and joined them in combat. Vader succeeded in shooting down two of the three remaining X-Wing pilots including Red Leader Garven Dreis and Biggs Darklighter. Only one rebel pilot remained. Vader sensed that the Force was particularly strong with this one, but had no idea that his foe was actually his own son, Luke Skywalker. Vader pursued Skywalker down the Death Star trench and had him in his crosshairs. Before he could fire upon him however, Luke's friends Han Solo and Chewbacca came over the rise and opened fire on Vader and the two other TIEs that were flanking him. Vader's ship was damaged and spun out of control. Fortunately for Vader, the ship drifted far enough away that it was outside the blast radius of the exploding Death Star after Skywalker fired the kill-shot that destroyed it.

Following the Battle of Yavin, the x1 went into limited production, but only a small quantity were constructed due to the high cost of manufacturing them. At least one of the x1's was deployed during the Battle of Endor nearly four years later. Vader's personal TIE, which was staged inside the Super Star Destroyer Executor during the battle was destroyed when the Executor collided with the Empire's incomplete space station Death Star II.

Notes & Trivia

 * Colloquially known as "Darth Vader's TIE fighter".


 * The primary reason behind the visual design of the x1 was so that movie watchers could easily distinguish between Darth Vader's ship and other TIE fighters.


 * The TIE Advanced x1 Starfighter briefly seen in Return of the Jedi is not the same ship that Darth Vader flew during the Battle of Yavin.


 * Kenner produced a toy replica of the as part of the original film series toyline.