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That would work with what we've seen.

It would also mesh with why most other sources peg them as shieldless. If all they had was weak nav shields most people might not consider that any shielding at all.

That and a single medium rated laser cannon shot and punch past the shields and take out the fighter as if the shields didn't exist.

The effectiveness of shields on fighters is heavily overstated in the EU. All but two fighters in the entire film series were destroyed with a single hit.

Most of the fighters lost in the attack on DS1 were destroyed by multiple shots from Vader's fighter. So I'm not sure how you could say that all but two...

Deepcrush wrote:While listed as fragile and underpowered next to X-Wing (which is spoken directly as being able to destroy the TIE in a single shot)

Whoever wrote that needs to watch ANH again. Not only are X- and Y-wings are as easy to destroy as TIEs, with several (Gold 5, both of Red Leader's escorts and Biggs) being destroyed by single hits, but the same claim of being able to destroy TIEs with single hits is made regarding the Millennium Falcon. We also never saw TIEs taking any glancing hits - all observed shots either missed or were dead centre of the cockpit ball. I would say it's likely that a solid hit from fighter-wattage lasers would take out any opposing fighter - it's only glancing hits that shields are effective against.

Deepcrush wrote:Most of the fighters lost in the attack on DS1 were destroyed by multiple shots from Vader's fighter. So I'm not sure how you could say that all but two...

A single volley then - and that's giving a lot of the fighters hit the benefit of the doubt. The two TIEs destroyed were also hit with multiple shots. The only fighters on which any shield effects were observed were the first X-wing lost in the dogfight, Luke, Red Leader and Wedge. On the other eight hit we saw nothing of the sort.

Captain Seafort wrote:A single volley then - and that's giving a lot of the fighters hit the benefit of the doubt. The two TIEs destroyed were also hit with multiple shots. The only fighters on which any shield effects were observed were the first X-wing lost in the dogfight, Luke, Red Leader and Wedge. On the other eight hit we saw nothing of the sort.

A single volley? Would that be a double shot since TIEs fire both cannon at the same time or six shots since Vader's fighter triple tapped when fired? That still means that each of the Rebel fighters took between 2 and 6 shots to furball.

While we have a canon statement that a single medium laser is enough to take out a TIE.

It doesn't make the greatest of sense but it is what it is.

Well, pondering it a bit, they've gotta have something to deflect small debris so they're not swiss-cheesed. A light nav shield would work wonders plugging that little hole, there.

Of course at the start of the battle the rebel leader ordered everyone to double their shields up to the front. Might have left the X-Wings vulnerable to attack from behind in an attempt to help keep the Death Star's guns off them.

But they also ordered them to "stabalize your rear deflectors. Watch for enemy fighters!"

That may mean that they rebalanced their shields... Though that is an "If".

Did any of the X-Wings actually get destroyed by forward fire going down the trench?

No, they were all lost to Vader. IIRC.

No fighter was hit by fire going down the trench.