BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bomber

"Y-wings inbound."

- A Rebel tactician

The Y-wing starfighter was a two-seat assault starfighter used during the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War.

Characteristics
Y-wings used during the Clone Wars were crewed by a single pilot, and a gunner inside an ion cannon turret positioned behind the cockpit. Located behind the turret was an astromech droid slot. The 23.4-meter long attack starfighter had two forward-mounted laser cannons, along with two proton torpedo launchers. The wedge-shaped cockpit was placed on the front of the craft, with the central spar extending behind it. Two ion jet engines were attached to either side of the spar. The engines had exhaust nacelles and support pylons, and had domes that contained sensors on the front of the nacelles. The hyperdrive was at the rear of the spar. Squadron markings were placed on the cockpit and the forward tips of the engine nacelles.

By the Galactic Civil War, many Y-wing were stripped of their hull plating and engine nacelles for ease of maintenance as older parts often broke down, and models that eliminated the gunner's turret had been introduced.

Models
Several models of the Y-wing starfighter were used throughout the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War. The first known models used by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. Unlike its successor designs, this early model had a bubble-turret, which swivelled 360 degrees, provided a clear view for the gunner of the surrounding space. The ship was designed to operate mainly as a bomber and the Republic used them well in this capacity. The later BTL-A4 Y-wing model was a variant utilized by both the Alliance to Restore the Republic and New Republic during the Galactic Civil War. A single-seat tactical strike spacecraft, this model lacked the gunner's position of earlier models. The BTL-A4 fighters used by the Alliance had also been modified, with their hull and nacelle plating removed to increase ease of maintenance on the aging craft. This modified BTL-A4 variant saw action in the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Endor, suffering heavy losses in both engagements.

History
Produced by Koensayr Manufacturing, these fighters were a mainstay in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars. Y-wings were used by Shadow Squadron during the attack on the Separatist heavy cruiser Malevolence. During the Battle of Ryloth, a squadron of Y-wings were used to break the blockade over Ryloth. As noted by AP-5, a Republic analyst droid who helped coordinate the campaign, Y-wings tended to be a bit "buggy" during atmospheric operations. A fighter was used to drop an experimental electro-proton bomb on Separatist forces near the end of the Battle of Malastare, completely annihilating the droid army. During the Second Battle of Geonosis, Y-wings were used to bombard Confederate gunners entrenched in the surface of Geonosis.

Slayn & Korpil's A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter was designed as a potential replacement for the aging bomber. The Rebel Alliance used the Y-wing during the Galactic Civil War against Sheev Palpatine's Empire. The Alliance deployed the starfighter to their hidden fortress, and launched Gold Squadron against the approaching Death Star during the Battle of Yavin.

Flying with two wingmen, Gold Leader attempted the trench run to destroy the battlestation, but they were all shot down by Darth Vader in a TIE Advanced x1 starfighter. During the battle, all but one of the eight Y-wings were destroyed. Luke Skywalker, a farmboy from Tatooine and the son of Darth Vader, fired the shot that destroyed the Death Star.

Following the Rebel defeat at the Battle of Hoth, Y-wings were among the ships of the Alliance Fleet that met at the rendezvous point.

Y-wings also joined the Rebel Fleet to attack the Death Star II at Endor. During the battle, Y-wings were deployed as Gray Squadron. Under General Lando Calrissian's orders, they joined in attacking Imperial Star Destroyers at point-blank range, and then followed him into the Death Star after its defenses were knocked out by Han Solo's ground team. Inside the Death Star, one Y-wing broke off and led TIE fighters away from Calrissian's strike group, which succeeded in destroying the battlestation. Y-wings were also used in the Battle of Jakku with X-wings and A-wings.

Behind the scenes
The Y-wing is based off concept art made by Ralph McQuarrie. The starfighters seen in the first Star Wars film, A New Hope, were models produced by Industrial Light & Magic and filmed against blue screens.

When Joe Johnston refined the Colin Cantwell and Ralph McQuarrie Y-wing designs for construction into a visual effects model for Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, he posited that the starship was once a sleek vessel that was chopped and stripped like a hot rod by Rebel Alliance technicians. Designer Russell Chong spearheaded the development of the earlier Y-wing models first seen in the Clone Wars television series, based on that original concept. "The Y-wing was a really fun project, bringing it back fully faired," he said.

According to Chong, "We back-engineered the Y-wing and turned it back into a bomber. I took images of the actual Y-wing model from the files at Lucasfilm and I designed our new version over it. We revitalized the bubble turret that Colin Cantwell and Ralph McQuarrie had developed. All the body panels are very much the same as the original Y-wing. I did my best to give it the same styling and the same look as the original Y-wing."

The early Cantwell concept models built of the Rebel Y-wing featured an immense bubble turret dome for a gunner to sit in. The limitations of bluescreen technology at the time made such a dome impractical. Concerning the original turret design, Chong states, "I didn't want to use the actual bubble turret with the single laser cannon in the original Ralph McQuarrie illustration because it was too bulky and interrupted the sleek lines of the ship so I opted for a more aerodynamic design similar to the WWII B-17 and B-25 top turret."

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * Star Wars: Princess Leia, Part I
 * Star Wars 4: Skywalker Strikes, Part IV
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 12: Shadows and Secrets, Part VI
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 14: Vader Down, Part IV
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part II
 * Aftermath
 * Before the Awakening
 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * Star Wars: Princess Leia, Part I
 * Star Wars 4: Skywalker Strikes, Part IV
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 12: Shadows and Secrets, Part VI
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 14: Vader Down, Part IV
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part II
 * Aftermath
 * Before the Awakening
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part II
 * Aftermath
 * Before the Awakening