A question about VF-1s quantity in Macross

[Rand]

I was browsing through the Macross Compendium site and came upon a stat that the SDF-1 carried 212 Valkyries during the TV show. In those 212, 20 or so were VF-1S version. My question is, why Focker and Hikaru are the only one to use use a 1S? And they had to share! I admit I haven't seen an episode of the original Macross in 15 years but I don't remember anyone else flying a VF-1S.

[JsARCLIGHT]

The VF-1S is reserved for flight squadron leaders. In SDF TV you never really see any other squadrons (except for split second shots of them getting blown away) and you never see any other squadron leaders other than Roy and Hikaru as the story pretty much focuses on them. There is also a pretty good chance that most of those 20 VF-1S fighters onboard got blown up real good over the course of the various encounters with the enemy... leaving only a handful left over. That "20" number was most likely what they had on hand when the initial attack on ataria island took place. By the time they got back to earth and by the "Love Drifts Away" episode I'd imagine they would have been restocked... but after the battle they would have been back down to a handfull again.

I myself would have liked to have seen one of the other squadron leader's VF-1Ses just to see what kind of goofy paint job they had.

[Anubis]

Maybe they angle Shin in as another squadron commander, assuming they do some epilogue at the end of Zero.

[maxjenius81]

The VF-1 complement on SDF-01 on launch day was 144 -1A, 36 -1J, and 9 -1S as well as 23 -1Ds. Fokker and Hikaru didnt have to share, but it was simply an effecient use of resources. Ony a ship with limited fighters, why waste a fighter that is perfectly flyable aside from a few small bullet holes. However, the impact on moral....well...probably not to good. I wouldnt want to fly in a fighter that someone else died in.

[KingNor]

  I wouldnt want to fly in a fighter that someone else died in.

happens all the time in war, flying planes or opperating equiptment that other soldiers died in, its called "Tough crap" in the military.

Edited September 23, 2003 by KingNor

[Graham]

Maybe they angle Shin in as another squadron commander, assuming they do some epilogue at the end of Zero.

I have a strong feeling that Shin will die in episode #5, perhaps while saving Roy?

Graham

[Chowser]

happens all the time in war, flying planes or opperating equiptment that other soldiers died in, its called "Tough crap" in the military.

and then it's, "let's split his gear"

[myk]

The VF-1 complement on SDF-01 on launch day was 144 -1A, 36 -1J, and 9 -1S as well as 23 -1Ds. Fokker and Hikaru didnt have to share, but it was simply an effecient use of resources. Ony a ship with limited fighters, why waste a fighter that is perfectly flyable aside from a few small bullet holes. However, the impact on moral....well...probably not to good. I wouldnt want to fly in a fighter that someone else died in.

True, but if my "big brother" had died in his fighter I would be more than happy to climb in it and deal out some death to the people that killed him....

[JB0]

There is also a pretty good chance that most of those 20 VF-1S fighters onboard got blown up real good over the course of the various encounters with the enemy... leaving only a handful left over.

Except I'd expect the squadron leaders were all ace pilots like Focker instead of raw recruits with a talent for getting shot down like Kakizaki.

Attrition on the 30 1Ses should've been a LOT slower than, say, the brown 1As that they stuffed full of raw recruits with no flight experience, much less combat experience.

If, say, 1 in 10 valks destroyed is a squad commander, than by the time the last 1S goes up in smoke, they're OUT of valkyries. Completely.

If 1 in 5 is a squad commander, then they're down to 62 valks TOTAL by the time the last 1S goes up.

It's a very simple equation, really.

182-30X = # ovf valks remaining after all 1Ses are destroyed, assuming no new ones are made or acquired.

182 = 212-XM = all non-1Ses on the Macross.

M = # of non-1Ses destroyed for every 1S. X = # of 1Ses destroyed.

Once you drop below about 1 in 4, you have a reasonable # of valks left over after complete 1S destruction.

But the ratio shouldn't be that bad to begin with.