Grisserno Grisserno was a male Rodian who served the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War . Attaining the rank of general , he flew Y - wing bombers and proved that they were an effective starfighter when used correctly despite their limitations against newer , more modern , warships . Grisserno commanded the Alliance victory at the Battle of Denab , routing the Imperial Fourth Attack Squadron and was hailed as a hero for his efforts . His son , Welinarro , briefly served the Alliance before leaving to work for the galaxy ' s criminal underground . Biography . The Rodian male Grisserno was a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War , serving in the Starfighter Corps . He sired a son , Welinarro , who also fought for the Alliance as a starfighter pilot , but who left the Rebellion for a life in the criminal underworld , leading a squadron of Gauntlet starfighter s based at Nwarcol Point on the Sisar Run . Grisserno attained the rank of general , and was noted for his skill at flying and utilizing BTL Y - wing starfighter s in combat . Along with that protégé , Horton Salm , Grisserno proved that Y - wings could still be effective combatants against modern warships . He showed that the fighters were not required to engage in dogfights to be effective ; rather , simply accelerating towards a target and relying on the gunner and wingmen to keep the fighter ' s tail clean while delivering their payloads produced the desired results . During the Galactic Civil War , an assault group of Y - wings under Grisserno ' s command engaged the Imperial Fourth Attack Squadron at Denab in the Sluis sector of the Outer Rim Territories . The ships of the Fourth Attack Squadron were mostly " Victory " - class Star Destroyers which suffered from a slow sublight drive speed . At Denab , the ships of the Imperial force were split into two wings stationed too far apart to support each other . Despite the fact that the Fourth Attack Squadron had more combined firepower that his forces , Grisserno ordered his forces to attack , targeting each wing in turn , and defeating them . Due to their low sublight speed , the wings could not move fast enough to support each other , causing them to be routed by the Alliance force . Popular opinion decreed that had the Fourth Attack Squadron been comprised of vessels with faster engines , then the Battle of Denab would never have occurred as the two wings would have been able to combine their forces and deter or overwhelm their attackers . For his role in the victory , Grisserno was regarded as the " hero of the Battle of Denab . " Personality and traits . A competent commander , Grisserno had a grasp of tactics and was able to employ them effectively in combat . He also helped to teach other Alliance members , such as Horton Salm , who would go to be one of the Alliance ' s top Y - wing pilots and commanders . Behind the scenes . Grisserno was first mentioned in " The Star Wars Sourcebook " , published by West End Games in 1987 . When the second edition of the sourcebook was released in 1994 , the reference to Grisserno remained . He was later mentioned in 1997 ' s " Secrets of the Sisar Run " , where his species was revealed , as well as his son . In 2012 , he received a mention in " The Essential Guide to Warfare " . While it was not specifically stated that Grisserno was a Y - wing pilot , a later mention of the Battle of Denab in the same book reveals that a Y - wing group was responsible for the victory at Denab .