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K-2SO beats up the troopers easily. Up in the sky, the bombers are preparing to attack. Just as they start the attack run, TIE fighters come in from the shield and swarm the rebel fleet.

JON VANDER (GOLD LEADER): Red Leader, this is Gold Leader, we’re starting our attack run on the shield gate. Keep it tight and watch out for those towers.

GOLD PILOT: More fighters. Form up, at 65.

What does "65" mean?

Jason Neville
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  • Presumably either a) where the fighters are coming from or b) where Gold Pilot wants them to form up. – TheLethalCarrot May 07 '21 at 08:03
  • Related Pilot chatter : https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/187426/what-are-the-pilots-in-a-new-hope-talking-about/187434#187434 – Jontia May 07 '21 at 08:56

2 Answers2

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You can hear the pilot in question here at about 1:59 in this video, saying "form up, at[?] six five". As she's speaking, the scene cuts to three X-wings flying in loose formation.

It's not entirely clear what "six" and "five" refer to but the visual implies that she's in the lead X-wing and was instructing her two wingmen to form up in some specific way. I think the most likely explanation is she wanted them at the five and six o'clock positions behind her, which is roughly consistent with how we see them flying.

Withad
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    The video clip helps a lot, but it's very difficult to hear what there is between "form up" and "six five". Might be "at", might be "and". –  May 07 '21 at 09:04
  • @Snow You might be right. I thought she wasn't saying anything but after turning my volume up, I'm pretty sure I can hear an "at" in there. I'll edit my answer. – Withad May 07 '21 at 09:15
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    I just had a look at the novelization and this section of dialogue doesn't exist there. –  May 07 '21 at 10:11
  • "I think the most likely explanation is she wanted them at the five and six o'clock positions behind her" - she would probably have then said "6 and 5". This also isn't a great combat formation, as it means the fighter on her six is prevented from firing past her. – HorusKol May 07 '21 at 14:09
  • Unfortunately The Mouse has taken down the video, do you reckon you could find another one perhaps? – fez May 12 '21 at 13:39
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I don't have any canon answer here, but I believe that the actual words in the script are "six five", not "sixty five".

Obviously, this implies a grid reference, so we can reasonably assume that the battlefield is split up into a grid for ease of reference. We don't know how many squares there are in this grid, but it's a location reference of strategic importance.

  • In military communications, numbers are almost always enunciated individually for clarity - 180 degrees would be "one eight zero", fifty nine would be enunciated "fife nine". You're right that this is obviously some kind of location marker. – HorusKol May 07 '21 at 08:36
  • While I think both answers offer good and valid possibilities, the fact is we can't really know exactly what 6-5 is referring to. It could be a attack pattern, an order to change formation, the incoming heading of the targets, or even a shorthand for the type, number, or formation of the incoming enemy. – GeoffAtkins May 07 '21 at 11:06