A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter/Legends

B-wing starfighter "You're among the best pilots in the Galaxy. You'll have to be if you want to control this starship."

- Admiral Ackbar briefing B-wing pilots prior to the Battle of Endor

The B-wing starfighter was one of the largest and most heavily armed starfighters/bombers in the Rebel Alliance's fleet.

It was designed by the Verpine company Slayn & Korpil in cooperation with then-Commander Ackbar.

Details


The B-wing had a somewhat ungainly appearance resembling, when fully unfurled, a top-heavy cross. It carried an unusually high payload as part of its primary function as a fighter specifically designed to attack capital ships.

As originally designed, the B-wing carried three ion cannons, two proton torpedo launchers, one laser cannon, and two auto-blasters. Most B-wings had their two auto-blasters replaced with laser cannons to improve survivability and firepower.

While its strong shields and great firepower allowed it to be somewhat survivable in fighter engagements, it usually required an escort on the way in. However, with the firepower of many naval corvettes, it was a dangerous foe against many light ships like enemy escort frigates.

History
Sometime after the Battle of Hoth, the hull of a wrecked B-wing was used as the design prototype for the AHS-1 heavy assault airspeeder, and later models followed the same general design.

The B-wing/E (or B-wing Expanded) was a modification to the original Slayn & Korpil B-wing design. First proposed by Admiral Ackbar and the Verpine after the Battle of Yavin, the B-wing Expanded had an elongated cockpit that allowed a gunner to assist the pilot on missions. This allowed the pilot to concentrate on piloting, and resulted in the B-wing accounting for an increased number of kills in battle. It was faster and tougher than the original B-wing, but was somewhat less maneuverable. There were two models of B-wing/E&mdash;the first was simply a military ship, while the second generation (known as the B-wing/E2) was designed as a personal military shuttle. Ackbar used one of these E2-designs as his own shuttle, which he was forced to crash on the planet Vortex after it had been tampered with by Terpfen.



While the B-wing was designed to replace the aging Y-wing, the fact that it was very difficult to fly meant that it never fully succeeded in this respect. The fact that its entire hull could rotate separately from its cockpit made the B-wing a challenge to master, as well as making the ship abnormally delicate; too many sharp turns could cause extreme strain to the spaceframe. Only a few pilots were qualified to fly the ship before the Battle of Endor, resulting in a smaller number of B-wings present than expected. These difficulties forced the Rebel Alliance to invest in an upgraded Y-wing, rather than an entirely new ship, to fulfill their needs.

Despite its limited numbers, it was a key Rebel craft in the Battle of Endor, where a squad of these fighters took down an Imperial-class Star Destroyer.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Droids
 * "The New King"
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars: X-wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of power
 * Star Wars: X-wing Alliance
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * X-wing: Rogue Leader
 * Rebel Assault II
 * Dark Apprentice
 * Champions of the Force
 * I, Jedi
 * Darksaber
 * Planet of Twilight
 * Vector Prime
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Betrayal