The Koensayr series Y-wing assault starfighter/bomber are a series of fictional spacecraft from the Star Wars franchise. They are depicted as fighter-bombers of the Galactic Republic, Rebel Alliance, New Republic and the Resistance. Within the Star Wars setting, Y-wings are known for being ideally suited for anti-shipping, close air support, air interdiction, escort, force protection, and ground attack missions. Y-wings made their first theatrical appearance in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and have featured in movies, television shows, and the Star Wars expanded universe's books, comics, and games.

Origin and design

Colin Cantwell, who also designed the saga's TIE fighters, initially designed the Y-wing with a large bubble turret for a gunner. However, the dome did not appear properly when filmed against bluescreen and subsequent designs omitted the turret. According to Colin Cantwell's estate, he was directly inspired by the Grumman TBF Avenger when designing the Y-wing, borrowing elements such as the turret gunner seated behind the pilot.

Depiction

Reference material states the Galactic Republic commissioned Koensayr Manufacturing to produce the BTL-B, which is known as the original version of the BTL Y-wing during the early part of the Clone Wars. This original version of the BTL Y-wing, as depicted in the Clone Wars 2008 television series, features heavy armor plating encasing a forward module that connect to two powerful ion engines. The module seats a pilot in the cockpit and a gunner in the bubble turret. An astromech droid (which serves as the fighter's navigation system) fits into a dedicated socket behind them. The module also carries the starfighter's armaments, including a pair of torpedo launchers capable of launching bombs, cluster missiles and other ordnance. Stripped down, heavily modified, and retrofitted versions of the exact same original BTL Y-wing model produced by Koensayr replace the bubble turret with a remote-controlled turret: the BTL-S3 seats the gunner behind the pilot in the cockpit and the BTL-A4 removes the gunner and gives the pilot control of the ion cannons.

Y-wings are prized for their durability and long-range striking capability during the Clone Wars but afterwards are decommissioned by the Galactic Empire and relegated to military surplus sellers or scrapyards. The nascent Rebel Alliance seeks to buy or commandeer as many Y-wings as possible to build out its forces. Once acquired, technicians modify the fighter-bombers to make them more suitable to the Rebellion's hit-and-run tactics. The resulting modifications make these Rebel Y-wings faster and more lethal than their original version and they become the most readily available starfighters to the Rebellion during the Galactic Civil War. but was later revised to be Evaan Verlaine following the acquisition by Disney). Luke Skywalker pilots a Y-wing in the animated segment of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Y-wings make a brief appearance at the end of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when the heroes are reunited with the Rebel fleet, and feature alongside other Rebel starfighters during the climactic space battle of Return of the Jedi (1983).

After the Empire is defeated, Koensayr introduces a new version of the Y-wing to capitalize on the fighter's popularity. This BTA-NR2 model features various upgrades but emulates the look of the Rebel-modified Y-wings. This is because the public is more familiar with this version and because it allows for greater customization.

Cultural impact

Ken Napzok in Why We Love Star Wars: The Great Moments That Built a Galaxy Far, Far Away argues that the Y-wing is the true workhorse of the Rebellion but that it gets unfairly overshadowed by the classic X-wing and other starfighters. Admitting that it is a slower and bulkier design, he nevertheless points out the critical role it played in the Rogue One movie proved its worth as a vital Rebel asset for softening Imperial defenses. He also highlights a larger point that such fun and often silly debates about little details in the Star Wars saga are what attract many fans to the series.

Writing for the Smithsonian, Cory Graff contrasts the Y-wing and X-wing working together with another complimentary pair: the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane during the Battle of Britain. He states that the X-wing's popularity "is not unlike the preference wartime magazine photographers showed toward the stunning Spitfire fighter, while the workhorse Hurricane was all but ignored. Lucas’ war-wagon Y-wing received similar treatment." The in-universe explanation for how the Y-wing was stripped down to make it faster mirrors how many fighters of the time were similarly converted for reconnaissance duties. He also draws parallels between the design of the Y-wing and another fighter, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, with both featuring centrally-located cockpits and twin booms.

In July 2024, a miniature of the Y-wing, used in the filming of the original Star Wars movie and identified as the model flown by Gold Leader, was sold at auction for $1.55 million USD. It was one of only two "hero" miniatures that were created for filming close-up shots. The auction was held by Heritage Auctions, which began the bidding at $300,000.

Lego has released multiple Y-wing sets starting with their first one in 1999, which was part of a combo pack along with a TIE Fighter. Two of these were part of the Ultimate Collector Series (UCS), one in 2004 and again in 2018, which have high piece counts and meticulous detailing. The second UCS Y-wing set consisted of 1,967 pieces and when fully constructed measured 2 inches high by 24 inches long and 11 inches wide. It also came with a display stand and sold at retail for $199.99 USD.

See also

  • List of Star Wars spacecraft

References

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