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.

Known as "crosses" due to their distinct shape, the B-wing was designed by the Verpine company Slayn & Korpil in cooperation with then-Commander Ackbar.

Characteristics


The fighter delivered by the Verpine was a truly innovative design. Somewhat reminiscent of the H-60 Tempest bomber, and using a wing configuration similar to Slayn & Korpil's earlier V-19 Torrent starfighter, the B-wing had a somewhat ungainly appearance resembling a top-heavy cross when fully unfurled.

The B-wing was a highly adaptable design, with modular hardpoints and other components. Its weapons could be reconfigured more easily than many other Alliance fighters. The B-wing also had a unique rotating cockpit module which was independently stabilized to allow the pilot to coordinate advanced flight and attack maneuvers. The fighter was powered by either of two engine systems: a Quadex Kyromaster engine with four thrust ports, or four Slayn & Korpil JZ-5 fusial thrust engines.

The B-wing carried an unusually high payload for its size, due to its designation as an assault fighter. 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, though some B-wings had four auto-blasters. The B-wing was originally designed with a unique fire-control system which fires low-power lasers at a target to give the computer range and vector information for the torpedoes and ion cannons.

While its strong deflector 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 fulfilled its purpose as a dangerous foe against many light capital ships. The B-wing would go on to participate in many battles throughout the Galactic Civil War, and would lend design elements to other vessels. 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.



Like its predecessor, the Y-wing, the cockpit could be detatched from the rest of the ship, but unlike the Y-wing, the B-wing's cockpit could be ejected into space and support atmospheric re-entry.

The B-wing/E (or B-wing Expanded) was a modification to the original Slayn & Korpil B-wing design. 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 rotating hull system 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, and the cockpit rotation system could get stuck in one position. 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.

History
The development of the B-wing began shortly after the Battle of Yavin. The small-unit starfighter tactics of the Rebellion were having a greater effect on the forces of the Imperial Navy than many Imperial commanders thought possible. As a response to this threat, the Empire began to produce and deploy more capital ships with a primary role of anti-starfighter defense. The primary vessel used for this strategy was the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate, a starship with which the Alliance was already quite familiar.

The Rebels couldn't afford to field the kind of overwhelming space forces that the Empire could bring to bear in fleet engagements. The Alliance's primary assault fighters, the outdated Y-wings, took horrendous losses in capital ship assaults. A new tactic was needed if the Rebel Alliance Fleet was to continue having any impact on the Galaxy.

Fortunately, one advantage the Rebels had over their Empire was their people. Appoximately a year before the Battle of Yavin, the Rebels executed a raid on an Imperial Lambda-class shuttle near Eriadu. The Alliance rescued the renowned Mon Calamari tactician Ackbar, in a military operation the Empire might not have bothered to commit for one of their own personnel. As a commander in the Alliance Fleet, Ackbar revolutionized the strategy and tactics of the Alliance.



Ackbar knew that the only solution to the Empire's new convoy defense plan was to use equally powerful starships, which the Alliance could not afford to waste, or to create a starfighter especially for this purpose. Alliance High Command agreed, and placed Ackbar in charge of the Shantipole Project. Ackbar went to the Roche system and enlisted the aid of the Verpine colonies of Slayn & Korpil.

Working under Ackbar's direction, Slayn & Korpil produced the first prototypes of the B-wing starfighter in the Roche asteroids. They were delivered to the Alliance despite Imperial interference. Imperial District Commander Bane Nothos was aware of the project, and decided to allow development to proceed so he could capture the fighters for the Empire. The Empire's efforts to capture the blueprints of the B-wing were actually foiled by the first combat flight of the original prototypes.

Despite its limited numbers at the time, it was a key Rebel craft in the Battle of Endor, where a squad of these fighters took down an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer. After the battle, the B-wing's modular design allowed it to be retrofitted with sprayers for firefighting duty on Endor.

B-wings continued to serve in the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic and Galactic Alliance fleets as a heavy assault starfighter. B-wings were present in the Battle of Bakura. The B-wing fighter also featured significantly in the campaign against Warlord Zsinj, where the B-wings of Nova Squadron were instrumental in defeating Razor's Kiss and Iron Fist. General Salm's Defender Wing was partially retrofitted with B-wings during the campaign against Zsinj. Also, at least one squadron of B-wing starfighters was present at the liberation of Coruscant. A wing of B-wings would also serve against Delak Krennel and his Ciutric Hegemony.

B-wing squadrons were present at the Battle of Almania, the Battle of Adumar, and the Second Battle of Mon Calamari. Luke Skywalker flew a B-wing into Nam Chorios. As it was designed by Admiral Ackbar, the B-wing seems to have enjoyed high popularity among Mon Calamari pilots since Ackbar and Terpfen used expanded versions as their personal shuttles, there was a squadron present when Admiral Daala attacked Mon Calamari, and a Mon Calamari pilot flew a B-wing as part of the Second Battle of Borleias.

Modified B-wing fighters were also used by the Sacorrian Triad during the First Corellian Crisis, but with a larger cockpit and with the lower weapons replaced by an unwieldy ground-based turbolaser cannon. These "Uglies" were largely unsuccessful against the Bakuran fleet.

B-wings continued to play the vital role of heavy assault fighter for the New Republic and its succesor, the Galactic Alliance, throughout the Yuuzhan Vong War. The B-wing fighter continued to serve in the Galactic Alliance Fleet.

Known B-wing units

 * Lancer Squadron
 * Solar Wind Squadron
 * Nova Squadron

Behind the scenes

 * Due to the craft's unusual shape, some planned sequences with the B-wing were cut from Return of the Jedi. Because of this, the B-wing is not explicitly shown in action during the Battle of Endor in RotJ. In fact, after the ships fly away from the still-active shield at the start of the battle, the B-wing is hardly seen at all.


 * The craft derives its name from the fact that the crew labeled the two new Rebel starfighter models in Return of the Jedi as "A fighter" and "B fighter". While the A-wing looks similar to a capital A, the B-wing, on first glance, does not resemble its namesake. However, when viewed upon from a certain angle, it looks like a lowercase b. The in-universe answer is that "B" stands for "Blade", making the craft's full name "Blade-wing starfighter".


 * The appearance of the B-wing in the Star Wars: Droids episode "The New King" is disputed, as the B-wing may not have been manufactured by that time.