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Hey everyone-

I've been thinking about the slang pilots use to describe ships. Often in the heat of combat, or even in regular talking in the pilots' lounge, pilots use descriptive names for the fighters they fly and fight. What follows is a list of known nicknames for fighters with details.

Z-95 Headhunter--"Skull"

Source: I, Jedi

Reason: The Z-95's high-sitting cockpit leaves the pilot exposed.

Used by: Imperials, pirates, Rebels.

X-wing--"Pointer"

Source: I, Jedi

Reason: The X-wing's long, slender fuselage.

Used by: Imperials/pirates

Y-wing--"Pig"; "Wishbone"

Source: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron; I, Jedi

Reason: The Y-wing's slow, ponderous movements and large size; the bomber's distinct shape

Used by: Rebel pilots, often X-wing and A-wing jockeys; Imperial/pirate pilots

A-wing--"Slim"

Source: I, Jedi

Reason: The A-wing's narrow profile.

Used by: Imperials/pirates

B-wing--"Cross"

Source: I, Jedi

Reason: The B-wing's odd airfoil/s-foil design.

Used by: Imperials/pirates

TIE Fighter--"Eyeball"

Source: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron

Reason: The standard TIE's single ball-shaped cockpit.

Used by: Rebels

TIE Interceptor--"Squint"

Source: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron

Reason: Reference to the TIE Fighter's nickname and the Interceptor's split/bent solar panels.

Used by: Rebels

TIE Bomber--"Dupe"

Source: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron

Reason: The TIE Bomber's double-hulled fuselage.

Used by: Rebels

TIE Advanced--"Bright"

Source: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron

Reason: Advanced models carry shield generators, hence the pilots must be "bright"

Used by: Rebels

TIE Oppressor--"Trip"

Source: Adopted from X-Wing: Isard's Revenge

Reason: Nickname given to the TIE Defenders by Rogue Squadron; given to the Oppressor in JtLbecause of the similar triple solar panel design.

Used by: Rebels (RSPA on Starsider server)

TIE Aggressor--"Tail"

Source: No EU source

Reason: Nickname given to the Aggressor by Rebel pilots due to the ship's rear-facing, deadly cannon; Aggressors' "tails" are more deadly than their bows.

Used by: Rebels (RSPA on Starsider server)

So, that leaves all the freelance craft open for nickname possibilities, as well as the Decimator and Nova Courier. As far as I can determine, YT-1300s were never given nicknames, which leaves open the possibility that neither the Nova Courier nor the Decimator needs one. Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

(Thanks for the comments on the Y-wing's nick...I had forgotten that one. Please, keep adding suggestions! If something really strikes me I'll add it to the list. Thank you!)

Halyn Lance -- Rara Avis Flight School
Common sense is highly uncommon.
...has mastered the Pilot profession.
"I'll type this slowly so even Imperials can understand..."--Michael Stackpole, RS IRC

The Oppressors were also called "Clutch" in...mmm the X-Wing series I think, due to the look of a Krayt claw clutching an eyeball.

Well, the Kimo and Dunelizard are good to go, considering they have such descriptive names anyways. I use Kimo and Lizard when talking about them in-game. The YT I think doesn't really need a nickname considering all it is is a freighter. That leaves the Skyk, or whatever it is called. I know one pilot who calls the style two Skyks staplers or soemthing because of the way they look, but it isn't a really cool name.

Gledako Fo'Kray- Retired Master Ranger
Encoded until further notice!
Proud Captain of the YT1300 Vasarian Escape- Confirmed Stats from Last Battle- at least 3 kills, 5 disables, 2 spacebombs to the rear shielding and 4 snubs to take us down. Go crew!
Current one-on-one win-loss ratio for the Escape and her Crew- 11:1

Gledako -- Mercenary Dog of Spice --

well this seems to be mostly a rebel-centric list....a lot of those names in RL scenarios were codenames given to enemy craft that had been observed but for which the manufacturing details were not discovered...things like the Russian submarines and aircraft during the Cold War. However, any military pilot worth his wings is going to refer to friendly aircraft by their proper codenames, such as Longbow for the Y-wing (not Pig, Y-wings have owned since the original X-wing game heh),and will refer to enemy aircraft by their proper designationonce thats discovered,too....MiG-17s (?)were called Foxbat in Vietnam, but no one calls them Foxbats now, they're called MiG-17s. Same for the newer MiGs, SU-27s, etc. The proper designations of Imperial ships arent going to be a secret; the only code names I could imagine there being would be for the A- and B-wing, which at this point are new secret Rebellion fighter prototypes. I'd have to assume that Privateer ships arent going to be developed in secret, since they're built by non-military shipping concerns.

Besides, typing T/I or T/Ag or X is still faster than Squint or Tail or Pointer

I think he was coming from a roleplaying perspective there- perhaps not, but in any case he wasn;t talking about codenames, he was talking about slang. Two very different things, I think.

Gledako Fo'Kray- Retired Master Ranger
Encoded until further notice!
Proud Captain of the YT1300 Vasarian Escape- Confirmed Stats from Last Battle- at least 3 kills, 5 disables, 2 spacebombs to the rear shielding and 4 snubs to take us down. Go crew!
Current one-on-one win-loss ratio for the Escape and her Crew- 11:1

Gledako -- Mercenary Dog of Spice --

I always called Y-Wings - Wishbones

Ori'ana Mala - Bounty Hunter (Elder) - Acct Cancelled 11/20/2005
Na'tal'y Kiel - Smuggler (Elder) - Acct Cancelled 11/20/2005
-----------------------------Sister's Toons----------------------------------
Bri'anne - Mala - Smuggler (Elder) - Acct Cancelled 11/20/2005
Ma'ara Kiel - Shipwright (Elder) - Acct Cancelled 11/20/2005

These would work pretty good on TeamSpeak Especially if you hada nice dogfight going and good sized group. Would flavor up the "comm chatter" a bit and shorten it down to quick one-syllable names that are easily distinguishable. More than a couple times I've flown my YT-300 (Sonik Rogue) against a Corvette and gotten frustrated because I told my gunners over TS that an Aggressor was on us and I couldn't lose it because of the turret and all I get in response was "I thought you said Oppressor...there's too many people talking to understand anything."

The Black Sun ships' names are going to have to come from their names since they're so configurable:

--Rihkzyrk(Rick-Zerk) could be "Ricks" or "Zerks"I suppose

--Ixiyens (Ix-Ehn) could be "Snubs" for one model type or "Yicks" for the name

--Kihraxz could be "Cracks"(ki-Rax) for it's pronounciation

I'm clueless as what to call the MandalMotors' Hutt ships And I don't really know what you could label the multiplayer ships:

--YT-1300 is a freighter and it looks like a freighter except for the 2 turrets

--Decimators always struck me as "Razors" looking with the 2 front hull segments to either side of the viewing window

--Nova Couriers always strike me as flying subway sandwiches with canopiedtubs hanging off the sides. /shrugs

Good thread, but a few of these ships are going to need some creative names. Hope to see some good ones that I can introduce to my regular crew

ive always called my Rihkxyrk "Rixy" and my my Ixiyen "Ixy" for short.

Master Smuggler Alliance Pilot
Master Musician (Ret), Master Creature Handler (Ret), Master Bounty Hunter (Ret)
Star Ships by IMI - Infestus Military Industries: "Look to the Sky with IMI"

tie interceptors are called " bucket heads "

They refer to Y-Wings as "wishbones" among other things in the X-Wing books.

"Reality doesn't care if you believe it." - Boba Fett - Tales of the Bounty Hunters
Narreem the Wookiee
Rebel Colonel, Vortex Ace Pilot, Master Pikeman

I called my Y-Wing the "FlyingCoffin" and the Long Bow "WidowMaker" for obvious reasons.