B-wing

Perhaps the oddest-looking starfighter in the Rebel Alliance fleet, the B-wing fighter is as powerful as it is ungainly. The ship's structure is almost entirely taken up by its primary airfoil, which houses a cylindrical cockpit on one end, an engine cluster in the center, and a heavy weapons pod at its base. Located just below the engine cluster are a pair of S-foils which can deploy to extend the firing arc of twin laser cannons.

The B-wing's command pod has a unique gyroscopic control system. The pilot can orient it so that it always stays level with a pre-designated horizon line. No matter which way the B-wing may maneuver laterally, its pilot remains upright.

B-wing fighters figured prominently in the Battle of Endor as Alliance pilots such as Ten Numb piloted the ship into the historic showdown.

The Alliance drew many needed supplies by raiding Imperial convoys with their venerated X-wing and Y-wing starfighters. In response to this piracy, the Empire countered with heavily armed starships -- escort frigates -- protecting their shipments. The Alliance countered with the B-wing starfighter.

Developed by the insectoid Verpine of the Roche asteroid field, under the supervision of Admiral Ackbar, the B-wing starfighter is a bizarre-looking craft. Like other Verpine vessels, the B-wing has a complex gyroscopic control system that keeps a pilot along a single orientation during maneuvers. Though this stabilizes the ship as a weapons platform, the gyroscope is an engineering and maintenance nightmare.

The B-wing carries an extremely powerful array of weapons, including a heavy ion cannon, proton torpedoes, auto-blasters and a trio of laser cannons. Alternate configurations feature three laser cannons, three ion cannons, and twin torpedo launchers. Since the vessel is designed to engage capital ships, it has phenomonal firepower, but lacks speed and maneuverability.

The peculiar shape of the B-wing fighter worked against it in earning screen time. The extremely thin front and back views of the fighter made it all but disappear in shots against space, so many of the planned B-wing sequences were cut from the film.

The rotating cockpit assembly was inspired by designs originally planned for the Millennium Falcon.