CT Are the Y-Wings in ANH ex Republic or a new model entirely?

I think it was Saxton who suggested that they might be radiators. That's what makes the most sense to me.

 

Ok. That might be the inception of the idea. I figure that's Interregnum fanon. And then later Renaissance imprimaturs can canonize / systematize popular, useful, convenient, etc concepts.

Another detail is a quote from Colin Cantwell. Making of, page 53:

In the Making of layout, this caption refers to a black and white pencil drawing of a hexagonal TIE fighter. Either Rinzler errs in associating the quote to the wrong image, or Cantwell doesn't know a Vader TIE from a regular TIE fighter. The Making of Introduction says much of Rinzler's source material was from 50+ Lippincott interviews between 1975 and 1978, some of which were over 60 transcribed pages, but on the page that lists the individual dates and interviewees, Colin Cantwell is not listed. If Cantwell's statement of 'solar fins' would have been from that period in an interview then that would be the highest canonicity for me, no matter how little I like it. Without that pedigree, it means Cantwell's interview and statement of 'solar fin' has to be / is probably from the 2005-2007 composition period. (I.e., the statement is suspect in degree of canonicity, due to fog of time and confluence of untraceable influences, even if it is uttered by the original second authority on TIE design in 1975. But it could also still be perfectly factual / high fidelity / total recall.)

Radiators are certainly the best alternative explanation if one is indispensable. Least illiterate, of all scientifically flavored possibilities available in an even field.

One last detail on the TIE fighter from Rinzler Making of, p79.

Anyone know about this?

 

I'm enjoying the reading up to attempt to reproduce your findings. Where would you place an A-wing in the available spectrum of late 70's / early 80's craft? (And I do not know where A-Wing has been first canonically called an interceptor.)

 

In that era, I don't know if there is a good analogy to the A-wing; I can't think of anything that has major speed and maneuverability advantages over its opponents. If we step back to the 60's, I might compare it to the F-104 or F-106.