Rebel pilot Rebel pilots , also known as Rebel fighter pilots were pilot s who served both the early rebel movement and later the Rebel Alliance under the Alliance ' s starfighter corps . They fought in countless battles against the Imperial forces during the lead up to and during the Galactic Civil War . They piloted fighters such as A - wing starfighters , B - wing starfighters , X - wing starfighters , and Y - wing starfighters , often piloting low altitude vehicles such as T - 47 airspeeder s . History . Battle of Yavin . Before the Battle of Yavin started , pilot s of the Rebel Alliance were given a task to destroy the Galactic Empire ' s superweapon , the Death Star . With the valuable information R2 - D2 provided after Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor found it on Scarif , the Rebels learned that the Death Star had a small exhaust port which might be a good spot to place proton torpedo es in order to destroy the space station , because Galen Walton Erso projected the port betraying the Empire and giving a chance to the Rebels of destroying his station . Once the mission briefing ended , members of Red Squadron and Gold Squadron were assigned to their X - wings and Y - wings . Soon after they were launched to space , they entered the Death Star ' s magnetic field and began the attack . During the attack run on the station ' s surface , they encountered turbolaser defenses . Due to the X - wings ' small and fast body , the station ' s turbolasers weren ' t quite effective to the Rebel fighters . Noticing that fact , the Sith Lord Darth Vader personally led a TIE / ln space superiority starfighter squadron in his TIE Advanced x1 to bring down the Rebels himself . During the race in the trench , Vader killed several Rebel pilots including Gold Squadron members Jon Vander , Dex Tiree , and Davish Krail ; Garven Dreis , leader of Red Squadron ; and Biggs Darklighter , close friend of Luke Skywalker . As Vader took aim at Skywalker ' s fighter , however , the " Millennium Falcon " , piloted by Han Solo , appeared from above , and destroyed one of his escort TIE fighter pilot s . As a result of Solo ' s distraction , Skywalker had a clear chance to fire torpedoes to the exhaust port . Aided by the Force , the torpedoes entered the exhaust port , reached the Death Star ' s main reactor , and caused a chain reaction which ultimately made the entire structure explode . When the battle ended , the only surviving rebel pilots with the crew of the " Falcon " were Luke Skywalker , Wedge Antilles , and Evaan Verlaine . After the Royal Award Ceremony , Verlaine accompanied Prince ss Leia Organa in a mission to rescue the survivors of Alderaan . Battle of Hoth . Although the Rebel Alliance achieved a major victory at Yavin , they were eventually forced to abandon their base and settled down at a remote ice world of Hoth . They were found by one of the Imperial probe droids searching through the galaxy , and as a result , Death Squadron came to the Hoth system . But because of Admiral Kendal Ozzel ' s mistake , the Rebel Alliance noticed the approaching Imperials and activated a planetary shield generator which could protect their base from orbital bombardment s . With the plan to bombard the rebel base from orbit precluded , Vader Force choke d Admiral Ozzel to death and ordered General Maximillian Veers to lead the ground forces and destroy the shield generator . While the Empire was planning the assault , the rebel defense line was formed to hold off the attackers until the rest of the Alliance members evacuate the planet . When the rebels spotted the Imperial AT - AT walker s , rebel pilots employed T - 47 airspeeder s to face them . Rogue Squadron , led by Luke Skywalker , led the air defense against the Imperial AT - ATs . Wedge Antilles and gunner Wes Janson utilized tow cables to entangle an AT - AT ' s legs to disable the Imperial Walker . This strategy was effective by focusing on the weak spot of the walker , but they were eventually defeated by the superior firepower of the armor ed walkers , forced to either retreat or shot down . Battle of Endor . One year after the devastating defeat on Hoth , the Rebel Alliance gathered for planning a large - scale assault on the newly constructed second Death Star . When the Alliance Fleet exited hyperspace in the second Death Star ' s vicinity . Realizing that it was a trap , the fleet , led by Admiral Gial Ackbar , and several rebel pilots with General Lando Calrissian in charge , engaged the Imperial fleet in point - black range . During the battle , Blade Squadron , which consisted of A / SF - 01 B - wing starfighter s , encountered the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Devastator " commanded by Admiral Jhared Montferrat . Despite the disadvantage in firepower , two rebel pilots , Gina Moonsong and Braylen Stramm , managed to hit the Star Destroyer ' s navigational shielding , leading to the destruction of the ship . When the Death Star ' s shield was down , several pilots , including Norra Wexley , entered the Death Star ' s superstructure with the " Millennium Falcon " , piloted by Calrissian and Nien Nunb , to reach the station ' s reactor core and destroy it . Meanwhile , an A - wing pilot Arvel Crynyd flew his craft towards the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer " Executor . " By his sacrifice , the bridge was destroyed , bringing the massive star destroyer to its end . Inside the Death Star , Wedge Antilles took a shot on the Death Star ' s power regulator . The following shot by the " Falcon " destroyed its main reactor and they flew their way out . The Death Star exploded just after the " Falcon " came out , and later on Endor , the rebel pilots celebrated their victory with the Ewok s and the rest of the Alliance members . The Battle of Endor saw the death of many pilots , including Green Leader Arvel Crynyd , Blade Leader Adon Fox , Ekelarc Yong , Grizz Frix , and Sila Kott . Legacy . By the end of the Galactic Civil War , many citizenry would look back on the conflict with nostalgia , while others worried that the lessons of the war had gone unheard to the younger generation . To them , the pilots and heroes of the past were nothing more than figures in a textbook , while pilots of the New Republic enjoyed massive popularity and rejoiced in the peace of their time , without the requirement of sacrifice or hardship . Upon the rise of the First Order , pilots of the Resistance Starfighter Corps would borrow the uniforms , codes and tactics of the old Rebellion , led by several veteran Rebel pilots of the Galactic Civil War . Among the Resistance ' s ranks included Nien Nunb , the ex - smuggler turned war hero , along with Gial Ackbar and other celebrated members of Alliance High Command . Furthermore , the new pilots of the Resistance would all be trained in flight maneuvers named after pilots of the old war , such as the Skywalker Swoop , Antilles Intercept , and Porkins Belly Run , along with utilizing updated X - wing fighters , such as the T - 70 . Organization . Training . Rebel pilots often were trained on the fly by their superiors , while most new recruits already possessed keen starfighting abilities . It was common practice for rebel pilots to be taught and utilize the scatter protocol , which set up a practice of randomly choosing a path through hyperspace after each operation before rendezvousing with the Alliance Fleet in an attempt to evade any possible Imperial pursuit . Equipment . Rebel pilots wore orange , blue , green , grey or red flight suit s with a flak vest and life support box on top . Their flight helmet s were often decorated with the Alliance starbird although could be customized with squadron insignia or images of personal significance .