Star Wars Snowspeeder question...

Ford W Maverick

Most of the vehicles in Star Wars (Original Trilogy) were seen in more than one movie/environment, but I don't recall seeing the Snowspeeders anywhere but Hoth. I know they weren't designed specifically for Hoth because the Deck Officer says they had to be adapted to the cold. So am I missing something? Were they used anywhere else in film or novels?

SSgt Burton

I'll start by saying I haven't read any of the novels, however my take on it is that it is a line to-

-Explain why they didn't use Snowspeeders to go after Luke

-Hint that Hoth is dangerously cold

-And possibly give a sense that the speeders have been around a while, are old, used, beat up etc.


Kevin

Ford W Maverick

Good points. I suppose it could be that they were designed for cold, just not THAT cold. Being beat-up is possible too, but when it comes to the Rebels wasn't pretty much EVERYTHING beat up?

yodaman

I'm no scientist but isn't the cold vacuum of space worse/colder than any planetary climate? To state a snowspeeder is "adapted to the cold" is interesting, seeing that regular starships are zooming through the cold dark reaches of outer space already. Were snowspeeders mainly land based vehicles or could they be used for space travel? Just a thought (and I know it's just a movie).

steveo

Well, it is called a "snow" speeder, and Hoth is the only environment that has snow, so that's why they are only seen on Hoth. The fact of them adapting them to the cold, is that most mechanical stuff will fault after reaching a certain degree.

reaper63

The Speeders weren't ment to be used in Space, they were planetary vehicles. No reason to seal them for the vacume of space and not many places are as cold as hoth so why over engineer a speeder for those extremes.

Bootlegger137

Interesting points, and would explain alot (I particularly like the last point). However, they're SNOW Speeders. They really shouldn't need adapting, right?

Good points as well. However, when the Rebels escape Hoth, they use X-wings as fighter escorts for the transports...not Snow Speeders. Perhaps the lack of an R2 unit is a hinderance in interstellar travel in single or 2 man fighter craft?

The Snow Speeder always struck me as combination of (in a sense) Luke's landspeeder and a military attack helicopter. That seems to be how they were used, to me, anyway.

Can't wait to hear other takes on this!

Brinn 71

Actually, Kenner named them SNOW speeders when they released the toy in 1980. No where in the movie do they say that. They are called "Speeders" only.

My take on it, is that they were just speeders, or air speeders, or maybe even like Luke's landspeeder, so I always took it that they were adapted for the extreme cold of Hoth, as they were old, beat up, and used in much more normal conditions previous. I wonder if any survived the Hoth battle? I assume Wedge's did?

I think yodaman makes a great point though. Why didn't they use X-Wings to look for Luke? Was it too bad outside? Were they afraid of getting identified by the Empire? Is this a 30 year old plot hole?

IndyBlues

Are they officially called snow speeders? I don't recall them saying that in the film, just "speeders".

Maybe they DID have to change some things to make them adapt to cold weather. Also, it would be cool to see them used in other EU environments, since they've always been a favorite of mine.
Mike

bevbor

Are you guys mean this? T-47 airspeeder

Brinn 71

Forgot to mention... I always wondered if the twin cannons and tow cables were added by the Rebels or not?

Larry Young

Used for space travel? YOU COULD SEE THROUGH THE SIDES!

Bootlegger137

Wow...now that I think about it, you're right.

Yep. Interesting reading. Thanks for the link.

Solo4114

The Wookieepedia article covers it, really. Civilian craft modified for combat use, used in multiple environments.


In the films, though, we only ever saw them in ESB. Unless, of course, Lucas inserts them into some other sequence at a later date, which is certainly possible.

yodaman

Are you talking about just the canopy? If so, the Xwing has a similar design.

Larry Young

No, I was making a joke about the crappy mattes.

Jannix Quinn

WTF are you going to tow with that cable anyway?

Treadwell

If you're looking for EU usage, in the Marvel comic, they could be seen (alongside earlier "snow"speeder designs) in the base the Rebels used in an issue or three just prior to ESB. It was on a forest planet. When it came to ESB, Marvel dovetailed into the movie plot and designs nicely.

SSgt Burton

If any did survive aside from Wedge's, I would assume they left all of them behind in order to high-tail it off Hoth.

What kills me about that last scene on Hoth...

The Rebels have been routed. They are frantically scurrying, running from the Imperial Walkers. Everyone is making their escape as the Empire closes in and overruns the base...

And Luke nonchalantly asks R2 to get his X-Wing ready for takeoff as he strolls up. Somebody (was it Wedge? Or Hobbie?) casually wishes him good luck. These people are walking around as if it is moving day.

Weren't they just getting their asses kicked? Shouldn't they be in a little more of a hurry? It's such a contradiction to the previous battle sequence.


Kevin

Ford W Maverick

Ahh, I should have known to check Wookiepedia first! Good catch! I just asked because I always liked the ship design and the comment about adapting them to the cold. I think it would have been cool to see them on Endor or something, which, thanks to Lucas' constant computerized revisionism we may yet see...

Treadwell

Yup, that was Wedge, and Denis Lawson went to Norway to be seen walking across the snow for about 3 seconds!

By the time he's talking, though, we're on Luke climbing into the X-Wing, which was shot against sky behind Elstree. I guess they did bring an X-Wing nose, though, as seen in the previous shot.

Notice Luke holding his arm as if it's hurt when he's walking? Another bit that escaped continuity before and after.

Good thing the Empire didn't send any bombers down. "Hey, lookie at the X-Wing staging area!" BOOOM

As for the transports: there is talk of getting Leia to the "last" transport. Han drags her out of the command center and she tells the staff to "get to your transports". WHAT transports?!

Treadwell

After a quick glance via Google, it seems the issues I was thinking of took place after ESB. But still...snowspeeders without snow.

binkleywalker

And Luke and Han can survive in the cold, but the Tauntaun, an animal from the ice planet doesn't make it? What?

I know, the Tauntaun would usually be in a cave before night fall which brings the really cold weather and the rebels had amazing technology in their coats that kept them super warm. Goretex or something.

I get it.

Brian

Larry Young

The tauntaun died of exhaustion, not exposure.

Solo4114

When Luke is talking to the 2-1B medical droid, the droid says it'll take a while to evacuate the T-47s (the snowspeeders). Luke -- again, nonchalantly -- says "Well, forget the heavy equipment. There's plenty of time to get the smaller modules on board." (yes, I looked up the scene)

So, I guess either they figured they could replace them, or they simply recognized that they weren't gonna be able to salvage everything.

As for the overall "Well, that was fun. Off we go!" attitude at the evacuation, I've always looked at Hoth as the Rebellion's "Battle of France" and the evacuation itself as akin to the Dunkirk evacuation. Basically loading up everything they can, and then bugging out while they could. I guess you could argue that maybe they're far enough behind enemy lines, although that sort of calls into question the layout of everything at the base.