Bearing Lifter The Bearing Lifter was a modified Gallofree Yards GR - 75 medium transport of the Rebel Alliance Fleet during the Galactic Civil War . With enhanced sensor , navigation , and communications systems and other stealth countermeasures , the " Bearing Lifter " was designed to evade long - range Imperial scanning . As one of thirty GR - 75 medium transports stationed at the Alliance High Command ' s Echo Base on the ice planet Hoth , the " Bearing Lifter " participated in the Rebel Alliance defeat at the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY . Rebel pilot Gemmer Sojan conducted the " Bearing Lifter " safe evacuation from Hoth , though it was one of just thirteen Rebel transports to survive the engagement . Description . The " Bearing Lifter " was a ninety - meter - long GR - 75 medium transport originally manufactured by Gallofree Yards , Inc . Later modified to serve the Rebel Alliance ' s transport fleet , the " Bearing Lifter " outer hull bristled with antennas and mechanism clusters for its enhanced sensor , navigation , and communications systems . In addition , the transport ' s upper and lower hull surfaces were covered with specially - coated , heavy armor plating that absorbed most casual sensor emissions and masked the transport from long - range Imperial scans . Further internal stealth countermeasures served to defeat closer scans but with unreliable effectiveness . The " Bearing Lifter " was minimally armed with laser cannons and equipped with sublight engines . History . Starship manufacturer Gallofree Yards went bankrupt several years before the Battle of Yavin , with many of its remaining transports winding up in the hands of the Rebel Alliance . The Rebellion purchased these outdated transports at greatly reduced prices , but they required a good share of regular maintenance . The " Bearing Lifter " entered Rebel service by 0 ABY and was one of the few true space transports operating with the Alliance Fleet during the Galactic Civil War . The Rebellion reserved the " Bearing Lifter " and similar transports for the primary purpose of moving personnel and support equipment from one Rebel base to another in the event of evacuation . The " Bearing Lifter " was later one of thirty Rebel GR - 75 medium transports stationed at the Alliance High Command headquarters of Echo Base on the Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth . During the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY , in which the Empire invaded the compromised High Command outpost , the Echo Base evacuation plan required the Rebel transports to survive a blockade run through the waiting line of " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers in Hoth ' s orbit under starfighter escort and covering fire from the base ' s v - 150 Planet Defender ion cannon . Despite the Empire destroying or capturing seventeen of the thirty evacuation transports during the battle , which culminated in a resounding Rebel defeat , Gemmer Sojan of the Rebellion ' s Blue Squadron safely piloted the " Bearing Lifter " away from Hoth . Commanders and crew . Remaining Rebel pilots of Blue Squadron and Green Squadron who did not man Echo Base ' s snowspeeders as part of Rogue Group during the Battle of Hoth were tasked with overseeing the evacuation of the Rebels ' GR - 75 medium transports . The Human male Gemmer Sojan , Blue Four , piloted the " Bearing Lifter " on its successful departure from Hoth . Behind the scenes . The " Bearing Lifter " was first mentioned in " The Star Wars Sourcebook " , co - authored by Bill Slavicsek and Curtis Smith , and published in November 1987 as supplementary material for West End Games ' " " . The text uses an original concept illustration from the film to depict the " Bearing Lifter " as an example of a Rebel transport . In December 2013 , the " Rogues Gallery " department from " Star Wars Insider " 146 established the " Bearing Lifter " as one of the Rebel Alliance GR - 75 medium transports that facilitates the evacuation of Echo Base on Hoth , as seen in " The Empire Strikes Back " .