Y-wing

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Template:SW Craft The Y-wing is one of the Rebel Alliance starfighters in the fictional Star Wars universe. In the movies, it is seen in Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

One of the most durable and reliable starfighters in the galaxy, designed to excel in close-quarters combat, Y-wings also perform well as light bombers and escort vehicles. The Y-wings primary weapons are a pair of laser cannons and a rotating ion cannon, but it can also carry proton torpedoes, concussion missiles, and proton bombs. Although used heavily before the Battle of Yavin, they were widely replaced by X-wings in later years.

Despite its age, the Y-wing has become one of the Rebel Alliance's most impressive starfighters, serving admirably at the Battle of Yavin and other important conflicts. Prior to the introduction of the X-wing starfighter, Y-wings were the flagship fighters of the Alliance. Near the Battle of Endor, the Y-wing was expected to be phased out completely in favour of the newer B-wing, since latter was more heavily armed as well as also having ion cannons. However, the B-wing suffered from technical difficulties and shortages of skilled pilots, and the Y-wing retained the advantage in manuverability as well as armour protection (thought the B-wing has stronger shields).

The twin-engine Y-wing, at 16 meters long, is a multipurpose ship originally designed to serve as both an attack fighter and bomber. The resilient starfighters can deliver and withstand a great deal of punishment, but they lack the payload capacity, speed, stealth and maneuverability of many modern Imperial attack fighters.

Fortunately, the Y-wing is easily modified and can be reconfigured in countless variations. Rebel technicians often strip a Y-wing of bulky armor and generators before an assault on an Imperial convoy, or prepare the craft for bombing runs by adding more powerful shields and significantly increasing the vehicle's payload. In many cases, the removed armor plates were simply left off to enable easier repairs, as they were often in the way of routine maintanence. Y-wings also serve on diplomatic escort missions and for long-range patrols. The BTL-A4 Y-wing (LP), or Longprobe, has extra provisions, more powerful sensors and a sophisticated navigation computer specifically for patrol and reconnaissance duty.

Regardless of a specific fighter's configuration, each Y-wing has three main components. The armored forward cockpit module houses the pilot, targeting systems, weapon controls, and life-support systems. The Y-wing's Novaldex power generator and Koensayr R300-H hyperdrive unit are housed in the midsection, which is simply a reinforced central spar extending from the cockpit. Attached to this spar is a thin cross-wing, which contains the Thiodyne 03-R cryogenic power cells and connects the craft to two immense Koensayr R200 ion jet sublight drives.

In the cockpit, the pilot controls a pair of forward laser cannons and the twin proton torpedo launchers. The Y-wing is also equipped with a turret-mounted ion cannon, located atop the canopy. An extended version of the Y-wing cockpit supports a copilot, who generally functions as a gunner in charge of the ion cannons.

Like the X-wing, an R2 or R4 astromech droid fits into a droid socket behind the cockpit and monitors all flight, navigation and power systems. The droid can also handle fire control, perform in-flight maintenance, and reroute power as needed. Most importantly, the R2 unit stores several hyperspace jump coordinates to allow quick retreats.

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