T-47 sandspeeder

The T-47 sandspeeder was a variant of the Incom T-47 airspeeder utilized by the Alliance to Restore the Republic in desert conditions during the Galactic Civil War.^[1]

Characteristics

Vortex Squadron was made up of T-47 Sandspeeders.

Like the base model, the speeder had a crew of 1 pilot and 1 gunner, although it replaced the Power harpoon launcher with a rear-mounted light repeating blaster cannon. The speeder had a max flight ceiling of 175 meters. The armor was also reduced in favor of increased maneuverability, and was painted a camouflaging reddish-orange.^[1] It was modified specifically to undergo operations in hot, dry conditions. The drive section was left exposed for easier maintenance, although the airspeeder itself was enclosed. It also had a maximum speed of 600 kilometers per hour.^[3]

Specific modifications made to the sandspeeder included advanced filters designed to prevent the build-up of sand in the craft's engines and steering flaps, cooling systems for the cockpit and engines, and a long-range radar for navigation in sandstorms.^[4]

They had been developed shortly after the Alliance had modified the T-47 airspeeder to operate on Hoth, leaving the modifications of the same airspeeder for arid environments relatively simple.^[5] The Rebel base on Arda I used Vortex Squadron consisting of sandspeeders for patrolling the Gauntlet canyon.^[1]

Behind the scenes

The Sandspeeder was planned to be implemented into Kenner's The Epic Continues storyline, but the toy line was ultimately rejected. It was included in a binder containing several images of planned toys within The Epic Continues^[6], some of which later appeared in the article Tales of Phantom Toys in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine^[7]. It eventually appeared in canon with the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game from West End Games.^[8]