The Y-wing starfighter (officially known as the BTL Y-wing starfighter) is an assault bomber that appeared in the Star Wars universe.
Used by both the Galactic Republic & Rebel Alliance, the service of the BTL Y-wing originates back during the first year of the Clone Wars when the BTL Y-wings were first used by both Clones and Jedi during its service with the Republic & in the fight against the Separatist. The BTL Y-Wing was used effectively and saw extensive use for the Republic in battles it had fought against the Separatist during the 3 year period during the Clone Wars which would earn the BTL Y-wing a reputation for durability and firepower. After the Clone Wars ended, the BTL Y-wings were decommissioned by the newly formed Empire & were later sold to local planetary defenses or got sent to scrap. Years later, several decommissioned BTL Y-wings were reclaimed from scrapyards by the Rebellion & would soon get their armor paneling stripped-down and heavily modify these Clone War relic BTL Y-wings to keep them going and to fit Rebel specifications for their potential service for the Rebel Alliance and their fight against the Galactic Empire. The panel-less & heavily modified BTL Y-wings used by the Rebellion had a reputation for durability, and were used at countless Rebel bases. Their limitations were made abundantly clear at the Battle of Yavin: only one fighter from Gold Squadron (piloted by Keyan Farlander) survived the battle. The Y-Wing is easily recgonized by its distinctive narrow central hull section and two large engines set far away from the body. It was replaced by the BTA-NR2 Y-Wing, used by the Resistance.
Before the superior X-Wing was introduced, Y-Wings were the flagship fighters of the Rebel Alliance. They played a prominent role in the Battle of Vnas at Duro and the First Battle of Ord Biniir. Rebel Alliance Y-Wings saved thousands of lives by holding off Imperial TIE Bombers during the Siege of Ank Ki'Shor. Two squadrons of Y-Wings were used at the Battle of Yavin, where the first Death Star was destroyed. As the Alliance got more X-Wings, Y-Wing fighters were increasingly being used for raids on Imperial convoys, rather than engagements with TIE Fighters.
The Y-Wing is a multipurpose vessel with secondary mission profile as a light bomber. Y-Wings are devastating in close-quarters combat, where their durability allows them to withstand several blasts. It is not uncommon for a Y-Wing to be stripped down for assault runs against Imperial convoy, only to be refitted for heavy bombing attack on an Imperial base. Y-Wings are also used on diplomatic escort missions, while the BTL-A4 Y-Wing (LP), or Longprobe, has extra provisions and more powerful sensors for long-range patrol duty.
The Y-Wing has three main components. The forward cockpit module is armored and houses the pilot's station and the weapons systems. A reinforced central spar stretches back from the cockpit module; the Y-Wing's Novaldex power generator and Koensayr R300-H hyperdrive unit are crammed into this narrow frame. A cross-wing houses the Thiodyne 03-R cryogenic power cells, with two powerful Koensayr R200 ion jet sublight drives on either end of the cross-wing. Twin fabritech ANx-y long-range sensor arrays placed ahead of the engines feed data into the primary sensor array and targeting computer located between the laser cannons in the nose of the ship.
The pilot controls a pair of Taim & Bak IX4 laser cannons and twin Arakyd Flex Tube proton-torpedo launchers; a magazine of eight torpedoes can be fired from either launcher. In the BTL-S3, the most common Y-Wing configuration, an ArMek SW-4 ion cannon turret sits directly behind the pilot and is normally handled by a weapons officer. The BTL-A4, an alternative Y-Wing configuration, has only the pilot, with the ion cannon fixed directly fore or aft, to discourage close pursuit.
As in the X-Wing, an R-series astromech droid fits snugly into the droid socket behind the cockpit and monitors all flight, navigation, and power systems. The droid also can handle fire control, perform in-flight maintenance, reroute power as needed, and stores hyperspace jump coordinates.
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