The A/SF-01 B-Wing, meaning ‘Blade Wing’, is a powerful and unconventional fighter-bomber,
designed by the Mon Calamari Quarrie, and manufactured in great numbers by Slayn & Korpil
Shipwrights, whose previous works include the Republic V-19 Torrent.
The B-Wing was designed specifically for use by the Rebel Alliance, which set it apart
from almost every other vessel in the rebellion’s service, and its introduction helped to further
diversify the Alliance’s starfighter wings.
At a length of 16.9 Meters, the B-Wing spaceframe is highly unorthodox, featuring a sleek and
armoured cockpit module, fixed to the fighter’s body with mechanical grips.
These grips were part of a unique gyroscopic control system, which allowed the cockpit
to remain level with a horizon during atmospheric combat, while the rest of the craft freely
rotated.
In space combat the gyroscopic system worked in conjunction with the ship’s s-foils,
allowing the fighter to reorient itself for landing or tight manouveres, without altering
the viewpoint of the pilot.
The ship’s two central s-foils worked in much the same way as the T-65 X-Wing’s,
extending the fighter’s cannons away from the engines and power plant, so as to offset
overheating and allow for the use of powerful high-heat weapons systems.
The B-Wing is heavily armed for its size, featuring a number of Ion Cannons, four medium
laser cannons and a powerful arsenal of guided torpedoes.
In battle, the fighters served as slow but well-shielded weapons platforms, supporting
lighter squadrons and engaging enemy warships with torpedoes.
The unusual shape of the B-Wing in fact provided a serious advantage in combat, by creating
large areas of dead space in the vessel’s forward and aft silhouettes.
This resulted in an extremely narrow attack profile which helped the B-Wing to safely
pass through point-defence fields when attacking larger warships or installations.
The Original prototype for the B-Wing, known as ‘Prototype B6’, was designed by the
Mon Calamari Shipwright Quarrie, as part of Project Shantipole, and varied slightly from
final production model of the fighter.
The prototype carried no Ion cannons on its ventral fin, but rather a rotating gunnery
module designed for a single occupant, this module worked in conjunction with three other
hardpoints to project a powerful composite beam laser, capable of inflicting serious
damage on light warships with a single shot.
This weapon drew power directly from the fighter’s Hyperdrive to function, which made self-sustained
retreat practically impossible after engagements, and the beam laser increased the production
cost of a single B-Wing drastically.
With these factors in mind, the laser was removed when Slayn & Korpil shipwrights began
production, instead adding Ion Weapons and Torpedo tubes to maintain the fighter’s
anti-warship capabilities.
The greatest strength of the Rebel Alliance has always been their strike craft, and the
introduction of the B-Wing only improved upon that advantage.
The fighter is far more durable than the fragile Y-Wing and is reliant on fighter escorts to
reach its targets, these strengths led to a number of tactical victories for the rebellion
within larger battles, the best example of which being the destruction of the Imperial
Star Destroyer Devastator during the Battle of Endor, where the B-Wings of Blade Squadron
were able to surgically eliminate the huge vessel without the support of any other fighters
or larger warships.
Representing one of the most innovative and versatile starfighter designs in military
history, the A/SF-01 B-Wing afforded a powerful advantage to the Alliance Starfleet, opening
an entirely new attack vector for engagements with Imperial Warships.
The success of the B-Wing led to a long service history extending well beyond the Battle of
Jakku, and by the time of the Resistance-First Order Conflict, the craft had been succeeded
in small numbers by the B-Wing Mark II.