Green Wing Green Wing was the call sign of a male member of Green Squadron , a Rebel Alliance RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor unit that fought during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY . During the Alliance Fleet ' s engagement with the Imperial Navy above the Forest Moon of Endor , Green Wing flew into combat alongside Gold Leader General Lando Calrissian , Red Leader Commander Wedge Antilles , and Blue Leader Merrick Simms in an attack on the Empire ' s main communications ship , which had been jamming the Rebel Fleet . As the four pilots moved in on the Star Destroyer , Green Wing ' s starfighter was hit by enemy fire , and he crashed into the communications ship ' s forward batteries . This sacrifice enabled Calrissian and Antilles to destroy the warship — though Simms was killed as well — and stop the Imperials ' jamming of the Rebel flotilla . The Alliance forces would go on to destroy the second Death Star and win the battle , despite many casualties . Biography . Though the designation " Green Wing " could be used to refer to Green Squadron , the Rebel Alliance RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor squadron , as a whole , it was given as a comm - net designation to a male pilot serving as the second - in - command of Green Squadron under Green Leader Arvel Crynyd in 4 ABY . When Bothan spies brought the knowledge of a second Death Star in the Endor system to Alliance High Command , Alliance Chief of State Mon Mothma announced her decision to attack the Death Star during the final stage of its construction — while Emperor Palpatine , ruler of the Galactic Empire , was aboard the battlestation . A Rebel armada , including Green Wing and his squadron mates , commanded by the Mon Calamari Admiral Ackbar from the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser " Home One " , would attack the Death Star while an Alliance strike team , led by General Han Solo , attempted to destroy the bunker on Endor that produced the Death Star ' s protective deflector shield . Green Wing and the Alliance Fleet emerged from hyperspace only to find that the Death Star ' s shield was still active , and that the Imperial Navy , led by the Star Dreadnought " Executor " , was waiting for them . As the two armadas engaged each other , the Rebels learned that the Death Star ' s superlaser was active when it destroyed the Star Cruiser " Liberty " . General Lando Calrissian , commander of the Rebel starfighter forces as Gold Leader in the YT - 1300 light freighter " Millennium Falcon " , realized that the Alliance Fleet wouldn ' t stand a chance against a fully - operational Death Star . He informed Ackbar that their best bet for survival laid in engaging the Imperial Star Destroyers at point - blank range while they awaited the destruction of the shield generator protecting the battlestation . As the battle progressed , Green Wing flew alongside Calrissian , Red Squadron Commander Wedge Antilles , and Blue Squadron Leader Merrick Simms in an attack against the Empire ' s main communications ship , which had been jamming the Alliance Fleet ' s sensors and thus preventing them from knowing whether or not the shield protecting the Death Star was active . The communications ship had been damaged in an attack by a Rebel cruiser , but the Imperial destroyer had managed to obliterate its attacker , and its crew had begun repairs . The Rebel pilots , knowing that the Imperial warship could become fully operational again if they did not strike immediately , moved to intercept their target , flying in a manner that made them virtually invisible to the communications ship ' s personnel . Calrissian ordered Green Wing and the rest of the group to increase the strength of their forward deflector shields , while Antilles , in his T - 65 X - wing starfighter , led the group in closing their formation and diving toward the destroyer ' s axis at a ninety - degree angle before leveling out slightly more than fifteen meters above the ship ' s hull and cruising along to reach their target . Immediately , they began to draw fire from the warship ' s batteries , and before he could coordinate with the other fighters in launching their assault , Green Wing was hit by enemy fire . With his starfighter critically damaged and on the verge of exploding , he steered his craft directly into the communications ship ' s forward weapons . The resulting explosion ripped through the destroyer ' s port side . Green Wing ' s sacrifice enabled the three pilots to fly into the communications ship ' s cargo bay , where its main reactors were located . The trio managed to score a direct hit on the power generators , and the resulting explosions ripped apart the destroyer . Calrissian and Antilles successfully escaped the inferno , but Simms did not , as his fighter was gripped by the shock wave and thrown into the hull of a smaller Imperial warship — which was then also destroyed . With the communications ship gone , the Imperials ' jamming of the Rebel Fleet ceased , but to their horror , they discovered that the deflector shield enveloping the Death Star was still active . Eventually , Solo ' s strike team managed to destroy the shield generator bunker on Endor , which enabled Calrissian and Antilles to lead Rebel fighters into the Death Star ' s superstructure and take out its main reactor , destroying the battlestation and securing a victory for the Alliance . Personality and traits . Green Wing was a Rebel pilot who served as Arvel Crynyd ' s second - in - command in Green Squadron . As the squadron ' s second - in - command , he assumed a leadership role within the squadron . During the Battle of Endor , Green Wing participated in an attack on the Imperial communications ship alongside Calrissian , Antilles , and Simms . Green Wing ' s fighter was heavily damaged by enemy fire during their attack run , but he was able to regain enough control of his craft to steer it directly into the communications ship ' s forward batteries , sacrificing himself . In doing so , a hole opened in the destroyer ' s hull , which allowed the three other pilots to maneuver their craft into the warship ' s interior and ultimately take down the destroyer , eliminating the Imperials ' jamming of the Rebel Fleet and ultimately giving the Rebels an advantage in the remainder of the battle . Behind the scenes . This otherwise - unidentified pilot , known by his squadron call sign " Green Wing , " first appeared briefly in the 1983 , in which he is shown participating in a Rebel attack on the Imperial communications ship during the Battle of Endor . Though this character did not appear in the film , he was given entries in all three editions of " A Guide to the Star Wars Universe " , the " Star Wars Encyclopedia " published in 1998 , and " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " published in 2008 . His entry in the original " A Guide to the Star Wars Universe " confirmed that this pilot was male , something not mentioned in the novelization . The other Green Wing . In the " Return of the Jedi " novelization , another character designated " Green Wing " appears during the final assault on the Star Dreadnought " Executor " in the closing acts of the Battle of Endor , some time after the initial Green Wing ' s death . This second Green Wing plays somewhat of an important role ; he accompanies Green Leader in attacking the bridge of the Imperial flagship . His one line of dialogue , along with the following text , seems to indicate that his proton torpedoes are responsible for the destruction of the " Executor " bridge rather than Green Leader ' s suicidal tactic shown in the film .