Red Squadron ( Rebel Alliance ) / Legends Red Squadron was an Alliance Starfighter Corps starfighter squadron active during the Galactic Civil War . Their unit specialties included starfighter dogfighting , convoy raids , convoy escort missions , planetary strafing and bombing runs , and capital ship harassments . Although Red Squadron primarily flew X - wings on their missions , they relied on the Koensayr BTL - A4 Y - wing starfighter s for missions relating to heavy bombardment . The squadron most famously fought at the Battle of Yavin and Battle of Endor . By the time of the Battle of Yavin , Alliance High Command had made Red Squadron a floating unit that could be reassigned at will , largely because of a growing list of successes in anti - Imperial missions — enough that the Empire listed them , and especially the key personnel , Commander Arhul Narra and Lieutenant Wedge Antilles , as active threats in their official field manual , the " " . History . Aboard " Independence " . A Red Squadron was stationed aboard the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser " Independence " during the buildup to the Battle of Yavin . Pilots who flew with the squadron included Lieutenant Hamo Blastwell , Keyan Farlander , Samuel Raider and Puck Naeco . Many members were transferred to Yavin Base and reassigned to different squadrons for the Death Star assault . Battle of Yavin . Red Squadron was cobbled together from pilots from the Dantooine Squadron , the Ecliptic Evaders , and the Tierfon Yellow Aces for the assault on the Death Star . During the battle , Red Squadron gained the distinction of being the unit that brought down the Death Star ' s defenses as well as ultimately destroying the station . But the victory came at a price . Almost the entire squadron was destroyed , except for two X - wings , flown by Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles . After the subsequent Battles and Evacuation of Yavin after the Death Star was destroyed , the squadron operated as two groups . The first was Renegade Flight under Arhul Narra , the squadron leader , and the second was Rogue Flight under Luke Skywalker . The latter group , while operating under the name Red Squadron , carried out various operations , including aiding an Imperial officer in his defection into the Rebel Alliance and rescuing Rebel - sympathizing scientists on Ralltiir after Imperial forces blockaded the planet . Immediately after the battle they escorted Chipr , a pair of " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttles owned by the Alliance , and Goat , a pair of " Delta " - class DX - 9 stormtrooper transports , to carry troops and workers away from Yavin 4 . As the Rogues became more autonomous , they became a group with no standing orders , ready any time or place for urgent missions that would arise . Renegade Flight was eventually destroyed before the Battle of Hoth , while escorting a convoy carrying supplies for the Echo Base . Aboard the " Defiance " . In the months following the Battle of Hoth , Rebel pilot Ace Azzameen flew with a Red Squadron based on the Mon Calamari cruiser " Defiance " . Battle of Endor . For the Battle of Endor , Wedge Antilles changed the name of Rogue Squadron to Red Squadron , with himself as Red Leader , to honor the heroes of Yavin . Behind the scenes . In the , Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles flew for Blue Squadron . Their squadron was changed to Red Squadron when it was realized that blue markings on the ships would be replaced by moving starfield during bluescreen shots . Consequently , the name of the fighter group the novelization called Red Squadron was changed to Gold Squadron for the film . The comic adaptation indicated that Red Squadron ( " Blue Group " ) contained only six pilots , but subsequent literature changed the number to twelve . The comic adaptation also established that Luke was the youngest member of the squadron at the Battle of Yavin . The comic differs from the film in showing one of Red Leader ' s wingmen during the trench run piloting a Y - wing . Red Squadron was also a recurring starfighter squadron in " " . However , as all Alliance starfighter squadrons in the game are merely named by colors , this designation may have been an in - mission callsign system , rather than actual squadron names . This explanation is in line with most military procedures of assigning short callsigns for operational use . Actor John Chapman claims that his character , " Gil Viray , " was Red Twelve , but the claim was unverified until it was revealed that the character Puck Naeco flew under the callsign at Yavin . The 1998 novel " " identifies Gayla Riemann as a Rogue Squadron veteran , and " The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook " claims that she flew an X - wing during the Battle of Endor . No source has revealed whether she flew with Red Squadron in the battle .