Y-wing

Called 'the workhorse of the Rebel Alliance,' the Y-wing was the Rebel's primary fighter prior to the introduction of the X-wing, and it retained an important role as a bomber and assault fighter even after that.

The Y-wing sports a pair of nose-mounted laser cannons and a double ion cannon mounted on a swivel over the cockpit. The craft can carry either a proton torpedo launcher for anti-ship work, or a proton bomb system for attacking ground targets. It has a hyperdrive, allowing it to make bombing runs without the need for a carrier to transport it to its destination.

While the Y-wing was able to engage TIE fighters reasonably well - in no small part due to its heavy armor and powerful shields, which compensate for its low speed and poor maneuverability - the X-wing proved superior in that role. And, while Y-wings are adequate in an anti-ship function, they are inferior to the more heavily armed B-wing in that area. As such, Y-wings were used primarily as light bombers, and as general-purpose fighters where other craft were unavailable or unnecessary.

The weakness of the Y-wing as a superiority fighter was shown in the trench run on the first Death Star. It was origninally planned that the Y-wing's proton bombs would be the death blow to the massive battlestation, but of the many Y-wings sent out, only one returned - and an X-wing's proton torpedoes saved the Alliance.

Record 138 - vehicle/ship class - Last update 28 Mar 2007, 23:14:48

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