"Red 5" and later "Rogue Leader" don't designate Luke's ship, they designate him. It's his call-sign whatever X-wing he's flying.
Burdokva said:
* don't get me started about how stupid the entire X-Wings "are super secret top of the line stolen fighters" thing is.
The entire plot of ANH revolved around the rebels stealing the plans for the Death Star and you think the idea of them stealing a ship design is stupid?
Burdokva said:
At best they should have been the previous generation (Clone Wars/pre-Civil War years) top of te line fighters, like late 1980s Su-27s or F-15s.
That's what the Alliance used at first : the Y-wings bombers and Z-95 Headhunters, used by the Republic army during the Clone Wars (you can see them mostly during Filoni's show). They were so sturdy they were still in use during the New Republic's time. But the X-wing being a better ship was the Alliance's navy spearhead.
And the TIE's are inferior fighters. They have no shield generators, no hyperdrive and less powerful engines. The reason they seem to be faster in the trench run is because at first the rebel pilots are going in at reduced speed to be sure not to miss their target and be able to pull up on time. If you remember the moment when Luke goes in he says "we're going in full speed this time"