5

Why didn't the bombers use hyperspace to get closer to the Dreadnought before starting their attack run? The slow approach caused the majority of the fleet to be destroyed.

As we saw later in the film, when Rey is ejected in an escape pod, ships are perfectly capable of dropping out of hyperspace, delivering a payload, and then immediately entering hyperspace again.

In The Force Awakens, Han Solo didn't seem to have any problem dropping the Millenium Falcon out of hyperspace remarkably close to Starkiller Base to avoid detection. It appears that such a maneuver is not only possible but could be used frequently.

2

3 Answers 3

12

Remember that Han Solo's little hyperspace trick in TFA wasn't exactly regarded as sane. Hyperspace just isn't that precise.

Second, when Chewie drops Rey off, she's a good distance away from the Supremacy and her Star Destroyers. It takes her escape pod some time to maneuver into the bay. In other words, she's not close enough to be a bomb.

The third reason is they didn't need to. The plan was Poe was going to clear the deck of turbolasers and they would have all the time they needed to complete an attack run. Which it did... kinda. If you count losing all their bombers as a successful attack. Which Leia did not.

2

  What you really asking is how precise are micro-jumps ?

In current canon this is somewhat unclear, but we have clues that CEP of such jump is at least few kilometers. As you mentioned, Solo managed to jump into atmosphere of Starkiller Base, therefore avoiding the shields, but his was done at great risk. Atmosphere of planet is usually measured in dozens of km. Before that, Anakin Skywalker managed to jump few kilometers from Grievous ship.

Both fits were done by exceptional pilots and in exceptional circumstances. Could average bomber pilot do the same, reliably every time ? Most likely no, and even if they managed to repeat what Solo or Anakin did, they would still not be over target to bomb it. Instead, they did what they could and trained for, slow approach formation run.

enter image description here

-1

The bombers didn’t jump out of hyperspace. They were on board the Raddus. Remember in the novel when Paige notes she felt “faint jostling as conduits and hoses were uncoupled,” and “the sight of the flight deck a mere meter below,” the “glass globe enclosing her” and “then there was nothing below her but black and endless space.” This is the bomber taking off from a hangar aboard the Raddus.

2
  • You're missing the point. The question is asking why, after exiting the Raddus, did they travel in normal space (subject to the enemy guns) when they could have traversed the same distance in a fraction of a second in total safety in hyperspace?
    – Valorum
    Jul 7, 2018 at 16:59
  • I may be misunderstanding, but the question seems to be asking "why didn't they drop out of hyperspace", to which "they didn't jump out of hyperspace" isn't really an answer.
    – Rand al'Thor
    Jul 7, 2018 at 17:01

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.