In the end of ANH, why didn't the death star use the tractor beam to simply pull in the rebel fighters?

Some ideas, that I shot down:

1) They didn't see the need, with small fighters attacking.
-But "Sir, we have analyzed their attack sequence and there is a threat" or something like that. So they knew that it was possible the small fighters could do harm. Maybe they thought they'd destroy them, since they *could* have, had Solo not shown up?

2) It was still turned off.
-That's just plain stupid, they *knew* Ben turned it off, that's how they let them escape, by first allowing them to turn off tractor beam.... so if another ship like the M.F. comes along, it just flies right by? Doesn't make much sense.

Any other ideas? This confuses me, why they wouldn't just use it, and avoid the entire battle. :confused: :deathstar

the rebels probably planned their approach towards the death star so they would not be caught by the tractor beam

See the ''belt'' around the Death Star? I think that's where the tractor beams are.

I thought it was aroudn the entire thing -- think of it this way:

The Falcon was far enough away so that it still looked like a moon. Not a space station. This is pretty far away, and the tractor beam pulled them in. So did they just HAPPEN to be lined up with that belt, and it extends outward, but not up and down?:confused:

Actually it seemed they were aligned with the belt. Of course the tractor beam if situated around the belt it would have a certain angle where the tractor beam could be used. Besides the fighters we're too close to the surface or probably too small.

"probably too small." K, then the Falcon....:confused: :deathstar

Originally posted by Tufkad
I thought it was aroudn the entire thing -- think of it this way:

The Falcon was far enough away so that it still looked like a moon. Not a space station. This is pretty far away, and the tractor beam pulled them in. So did they just HAPPEN to be lined up with that belt, and it extends outward, but not up and down?:confused:

The TIE Fighter lured that Falcon into where the tractor beams were located. You never hear it but the command team at the Death Star woulda given the TIE Pilot orders to do that.

actually, i believe that a tractor beam is rather like a weapon...it has to be aimed at a target before activated, otherwise it won't have an effect on its target. a craft flying in a more or less straight line- like the Falcon- would be easily snagged. not so with highly maneoevrable starfighters, jerking off at a different tangent every other second. perhaps that's why the DS- and the several other capital ships which engaged in battle with starfighters in the many battles of the star wars universe (eg battle of endor. the SDs had tractors as well)- couldn't snare the fast-moving fighters with their tractor beams. just a thought.

The tractor beams are not used because they were not out to capture them, but to destroy them.

And how do you destroy a fighter?

You shoot it down. :)

And the tractor beams does not work too well so close to the station once they were on the surface firing away at it.

So why didn't they use it on them when they where comming at it?
Simply because they did not know what we know today: That a snub-fighter can destroy the station. :)

To them, this is simply an unthinkable and offensive idea.
A great station that are able to destroy earth sized planets, but can be destroyed by a small single seated fighter?
Bah, are you nuts? :D

Typical Imperial arroganse at it's finest. ;)

lol @ Jan. You know I was just about to edit my post to say exactly what you had said then XD