R-22 Spearhead/Legends

The R-22 Spearhead was a fast starfighter design, modified by Jan Dodonna and Walex Blissex into the Rebel Alliance's fast RZ-1 A-wing interceptor.

It came into test production run before the Battle of Yavin, and later, two of the craft participated in that same battle, both of which survived.

Behind the scenes
Against proper canon, according to which the A-wing was made after the Battle of Yavin, EU sources that take place before that time, such as Star Wars: Droids, Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Wars: Rebel Assault, feature A-wings. The two latter call the by name, instead of 'Spearheads'.

It's supposed that the Spearhead was 'invented' by the Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy in order to explain their presence that time.

The name 'A-wing' in those sources, therefore, is probably a mistake. However, we can assume that "A-wing" was already a nickname of the Spearhead among Rebel pilots to keep a consistency to names of the other crafts (X-wing and Y-wing). If so, it's normal to believe that this nickname was later established officially when the "normal" A-wing was made.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Droids
 * Star Wars: X-Wing (as A-wing)
 * Star Wars: Rebel Assault (as A-wing)