Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps

The Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps was the Starfighter Corps of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. A unit made of Rebel pilots, they participated in many major battles such as the Battle of Yavin, the Battle of Hoth and the Battle of Endor during the Galactic Civil War. It was one of the Alliance's greatest assets.

Organization[]

Although a small, unorganized resistance against Imperial rule of the galaxy had existed since at least 19 BBY, the Starfighter Corps itself was not organized until 2 BBY.^[20] In time, the Starfighter Corps would come to encompass ships including the BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers, T-65B X-wing starfighters, T-65C-A2 X-wings, and UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support crafts.^[23] The Alliance made use of scatter protocols for its pilots in order to evade any Imperial efforts to locate the whole of a rebel force by tracking a single starfighter.^[24]

History[]

Squadrons-Xwing — Amongst the Rebel Starfighter Corps assets was the T-65B X-wing, a single-person craft equipped with an astromech droid socket.

The Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps was formed in 2 BBY as part of the larger Rebel Alliance and its allied military forces.^[20] Circa 2 BBY to 1 BBY,^[25] Rebel fighters and larger craft waged a battle above Cianap against Imperial forces.^[26] In 1 BBY,^[25] the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps partook in the failed Attack on Lothal,^[27] the successful Liberation of Erso,^[28] and the controversial mission to Eadu, which set the stage for more open warfare against the Empire. In that engagement, rebel fighters fought the Eadu Deployment and destroyed the Eadu Energy Conversion Laboratory.^[23]

Shortly after the theft of the Death Star plans at Scarif, the Empire discovered the location of the Rebels' headquarters on Yavin 4, and deployed the massive battle station to destroy the moon. The Rebels deployed a force of 22 X-wing starfighters and 8 Y-wings for a desperate assault on the space station's reactor, which was accessible through a thermal exhaust port located at the end of the meridian trench. Despite massive casualties and fierce Imperial resistance, a young pilot named Luke Skywalker used the Force to destroy the station with a pair of proton torpedoes. Out of the initial attacking force, only 2 X-wings and a single Y-wing survived the assault.^[8]

After the Battle of Yavin, the Starfighter Corps dramatically increased the size and diversity of its forces. The Alliance was able to provide Saponza's rebel cell on Tatooine with new starship classes including A/SF-01 B-wing starfighters, E-50 Landseers, Fang fighters, HWK-290 light freighters, LAAT/i gunships, RZ-1 A-wing interceptors, and Z-95 Headhunters.^[18] Within a year, the Alliance had also acquired T-47 airspeeders, which would see action at the Battle of Vrogas Vas with Cyan Squadron.^[6] After the Alliance hijacked an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Harbinger, Luke Skywalker and Sana Starros used the TIE/ln space superiority starfighters for patrol.^[29]

The Empire secured a major victory over the rebels in the Battle of Mako-Ta, which saw ninety percent of the starfighter corps destroyed.^[30] In 3 ABY,^[31] the T-47s were used at the Battle of Hoth. Although mainly used for pulling cargo sleds in the area surrounding Echo Base, a number of airspeeders served as effective atmospheric assault fighters.^[14] The resourceful pilots of Rogue Squadron used their harpoons and tow cables to tangle the legs of Imperial AT-AT walkers, and then blasted them with their laser cannons in their weakened state. Wedge Antilles employed this tactic successfully. Thane Kyrell of Corona Squadron used a different approach, slicing off a walker's foot pad with the sharp wing edge of his airspeeder.^[5]

In 4 ABY,^[31] the Starfighter Corps struck a decisive blow to the Empire in the pivotal Battle of Endor. Under the command of General Lando Calrissian, the Corps led a desperate assault on the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station. With Calrissian at the controls of the Millennium Falcon, the Rebels destroyed the new battlestation, while the redeemed Anakin Skywalker sacrificed his own life to destroy Darth Sidious.^[9] Later that year, the Alliance to Restore the Republic reorganized itself into the New Republic. As part of this wider change, the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps was reorganized into the New Republic Starfighter Corps, which continued to see action in the Galactic Civil War up to and including the Battle of Jakku.^[5]

Thirty years after the Galactic Civil War, Wedge and many other former rebel pilots would join the Resistance to fight against the First Order.

Training[]

Though many rebel pilots lack in formal training, they make up for it with their battle experiences and usually outperformed many imperial pilots. Though, some pilots do have some formal training from the Imperial Navy before their defection to the Rebel Alliance, such as Jon Vander, Braylen Stramm, Attico Wred, Biggs Darklighter, Jake Farrell, Lindon Javes, Derek Klivian, Yrica Quell, and Wedge Antilles.^[32]^[33]