BTL-A4 Y-wing

# Description

The **BTL-A4 Y-wing starfighter** was the one-man version of the BTL-S3 starfighter model. It was used by the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars and the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps during the Galactic Civil War. An effective marriage between speed and firepower, Y-wings served their respective causes extremely well.

## History

With the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Imperial Navy placed their emphasis on the doctrine that space superiority was won and held with capital warships. This meant that hyperdrive-equipped snub-fighters fell out of favor, and Koensayr lost this important government contract. Because of this, it was forced to sell much of its stock to local planetary defense markets. The Empire intervened, and many unsold, repossessed and surplus Y-wings were allocated for salvage yard reclamation, to be scrapped for parts.

 File:Reklam Y-wings.jpg
Despite this, elements of the nascent rebellion against the Empire would take this chance to steal numerous Y-wings in several raids, including a mission mounted by the Spectres - members of the Phoenix Cell - in 2 BBY, in which five Y-wings were stolen from Reklam Station, intended to be delivered to General Jan Dodonna's Massassi Group. Soon after, these raids would ensure that Y-wings became very common within other rebel cells, and led to them being used in simulated engagements at the Skystrike Academy; five of Gold Squadron's Y-wings, as part of Operation Handoff, notably escorted the fugitive Senator Mon Mothma to Dantooine, where the Alliance Fleet was massed, and the Alliance to Restore the Republic would be formed.

After its formation, the Rebel Alliance used extensively modified Y-wing during the Galactic Civil War against the Empire. Originally designed for close-quarter combat and bombing runs, the Y-wing served as the Alliance's original attack starfighter prior to the introduction of the superior X-wing. Despite its inability to maneuver as well as later Rebel starfighters, as well as the designing of Slayn & Korpil's A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter as a potential replacement for the aging bomber, its durability ensured its presence in all major battles against the Empire.

The craft notably participated in the Battle of Scarif, where its use by Gold Squadron was instrumental in the destruction of the Shield Gate and the acquisition of the Death Star plans. Led by Captain Vander, the Y-wings inflicted damage on the Shield Gate and single-handedly disabled an Imperial Star Destroyer, turning the tide of the battle.  They also served during the Battle of Yavin, where the Alliance deployed the bombers in an attempt to destroy the approaching Death Star, which in turn was threatening to destroy the Alliance's hidden fortress on Yavin 4. Flying with two wingmen, Jon Vander (Gold Leader) attempted to skim the meridian trench, and fire proton torpedoes into the thermal exhaust port to destroy the battlestation. During the battle, all but one of the eight Y-wings were destroyed, including three by Darth Vader in a TIE Advanced x1 starfighter. However, Luke Skywalker, a farmboy from Tatooine and the son of Darth Vader, was able to fire the shot that destroyed the Death Star.

Following the Rebel defeat at the Battle of Hoth, Y-wings were among the ships of the Alliance Fleet that met at the rendezvous point. Y-wings also joined the Rebel Fleet to attack the Death Star II at Endor. During the battle, Y-wings were deployed as Gray Squadron. Under General Lando Calrissian's orders, they joined in attacking Imperial Star Destroyers at point-blank range, and then followed him into the Death Star after its defenses were knocked out by Han Solo's ground team. Inside the Death Star, one Y-wing, flown by Norra Wexley, broke off and led TIE fighters away from Calrissian's strike group, which succeeded in destroying the battlestation.

## Behind the scenes

 File:MCQ-ywing.png
The Y-wing is based on concept art made by Ralph McQuarrie. The starfighters seen in the first *Star Wars* film, *A New Hope*, were models produced by Industrial Light & Magic and filmed against blue screens. When Joe Johnston refined the Colin Cantwell and Ralph McQuarrie Y-wing designs for construction into a visual effects model for *A New Hope*, he posited that the starship was once a sleek vessel that was chopped and stripped like a hot rod by Rebel Alliance technicians.

Designer Russell Chong spearheaded the development of the earlier Y-wing models first seen in the *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* animated series, based on that original concept. "The Y-wing was a really fun project, bringing it back fully faired," he said. According to Chong, "We back-engineered the Y-wing and turned it back into a bomber. I took images of the actual Y-wing model from the files at Lucasfilm and I designed our new version over it. We revitalized the bubble turret that Colin Cantwell and Ralph McQuarrie had developed. All the body panels are very much the same as the original Y-wing. I did my best to give it the same styling and the same look as the original Y-wing."

# Notes

1. ↑ Green Squadron, Blue Squadron, Gold Squadron, Rogue Squadron, Red Squadron]], Grey Squadron
2. ↑ 16.24 meters with engine nacelles stripped
3. ↑ Star Wars Rebels episodes Steps Into Shadow (first identified as a Y-wing light bomber), The Antilles Extraction, (Appears in simulation), Hera's Heroes (Wreckage only), Secret Cargo, Zero Hour, In the Name of the Rebellion, The Occupation, Kindred, Crawler Commandeers and Rebel Assault
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
*Star Wars*: Episode IV *A New Hope*
*Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*
*Star Wars*: Episode VI *Return of the Jedi*
4. ↑ These events take place in or after *Star Wars Rebels episode Steps Into Shadow*, which is the first known episode to take place in the second year before the Battle of Yavin. As such, we can deduce that this event takes place in the second year before the Battle of Yavin. For more information, see Wookieepedia's Timeline of *Star Wars Rebels* Events.</ref>

# Sources

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 *Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars Rebels episode Steps Into Shadow
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 *Star Wars*: Episode IV *A New Hope*
4. ↑ Star Wars Rebels episode Zero Hour
5. ↑ *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 *Star Wars*: Episode VI *Return of the Jedi*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Databank - Y-wing Starfighter
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Star Wars: Card Trader
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Databank - Y-wing starfighter
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 *Star Wars: Ships of the Galaxy*
11. ↑ *Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles*
12. ↑ *Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance*
13. ↑ *Star Wars: Rogue Squadron*
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 *Rebel Alliance Sourcebook*
15. ↑ *Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy*
16. ↑ Star Wars Rebels episode The Antilles Extraction
17. ↑ Star Wars Rebels episode Secret Cargo
18. ↑ Star wars Encyclopdia - Y-wing starfighter
19. ↑ B-wing fighter biography gallery
20. ↑ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*
22. ↑ DB Old Y-wing straighter
23. ↑ "Designing the Clone Wars". Official Star Wars Blog, July 25, 2008.
 (First appearance)