Darth Vader's personal TIE Advanced was a starfighter piloted by Darth Vader throughout the Galactic Civil War, leading Black Squadron, and notably flown during the Battle of Yavin. This vessel represented a modified, early iteration of the TIE Advanced x1 series, standing as the very first one produced in its limited run.
Compared to the standard TIE/LN, the TIE Advanced x1 boasted superior speed. Its armament included fixed, heavy twin blaster cannons, and it could also deploy secondary ordnance such as cluster missiles. Moreover, diverging from most TIE models, the TIE Advanced x1 came equipped with a hyperdrive, a deflector shield generator, a more powerful solar ionization reactor, and a reinforced hull.
The Advanced x1's cockpit offered more space than typical TIE fighters, accommodating Darth Vader's above-average stature. Santhe/Sienar Technologies constructed it to Vader's precise requirements at the Sienar Advanced Projects Laboratory.
Unlike the standard model, Vader's TIE Advanced was also fitted with a life-support system, apparently.
Upon completion of Darth Vader's TIE Advanced x1 by Sienar Fleet Systems, Taed Augustus, the Marketing Relations Manager, personally delivered the new starfighter to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Regrettably, Taed exhibited excessive familiarity towards the Dark Lord, addressing him as "Darth" repeatedly. Vader, displeased by the SFS official's disrespect, used the Force to choke Augustus to death during the presentation.
While overseeing the creation of clones of his deceased apprentice Galen Marek on Kamino in 1 BBY, Darth Vader utilized his customized TIE fighter as transport to the Timira City Cloning Facility, where the Marek clones were housed. Before Vader could eliminate the most recent flawed clone, who didn't meet his standards, the clone escaped, killing all the Imperial machines and stormtroopers in his path. Aware that the clone aimed to flee Kamino, Vader attempted to stop him, but the clone managed to steal the Dark Lord's own TIE fighter.
Piloting Vader's TIE Advanced x1, the clone journeyed to the Imperial-occupied world of Cato Neimoidia. As the TIE fighter was registered as Darth Vader's personal craft, Baron Merillion Tarko assumed the Dark Lord was making an unscheduled visit. He greeted Vader's arrival at the landing platform with a stormtrooper escort. However, he was surprised to find the TIE fighter piloted by someone unknown to him. When it became clear that the pilot intended to rescue General Rahm Kota, he attempted to kill the clone. The Imperials' efforts failed, resulting in the deaths of numerous Imperials, including Tarko.
Following the incidents on Kamino and Cato Neimoidia, Vader recovered his ship, which later saw action during the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY. During the battle above the first Death Star, it was accompanied by two carefully selected Imperial pilots flying standard TIE/LN starfighters. After destroying a number of Rebel fighters, it went out of control when one of Vader's Black Squadron wingmen collided with it while trying to evade cannon fire from the Millennium Falcon. After the Death Star's destruction, the Sith Lord entered hyperspace and landed safely on the planet Vaal. The ship sustained damage from small asteroids in Vaal's orbit, forcing Vader to crash-land. Upon his return to the Empire, Vader ordered the craft recovered for repairs and stored on his personal ship, the Executor.
Vader's TIE was later destroyed while docked on the Super Star Destroyer Executor when it crashed onto the surface of the second Death Star during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.