A-wing
Encyclopedia
A-wings are fictional Rebel Alliance
and New Republic
starfighter
s in the Star Wars
universe. They first appear in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
and subsequently in the Star Wars Expanded Universe
's books, comics, and games.
s seen in The Empire Strikes Back. The model was built by Wesley Seeds and Lorne Peterson of Industrial Light & Magic, and included a pilot figurine based on a World War I
German airman. A battle-damaged engine "wing" was also created, and could be snapped into place to represent a damaged fighter.
Ralph McQuarrie
's A-wing concept art showed them to be blue in colouration; because of bluescreen
technology limitations, this was changed to red.
between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire; however, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
states that they are poorly shielded against attack. A-wings from Green Squadron participate in the Battle of Endor depicted in Return of the Jedi. At Endor, an A-wing piloted by Arvel Crynyd (Hilton McRae
) crashes into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, resulting in the Executor crashing out of control into the second Death Star
.
The A-wing's backstory shows its creation by Jan Dodonna (Alex McCrindle
), based on his analysis of the role of speed in the Battle of Yavin. However, the A-wing appears in several Expanded Universe works set before or during the events of A New Hope, including the X-Wing
flight simulator
and the Droids
cartoon series. To resolve this inconsistency, Daniel Wallace created the R-22 Spearhead when writing The New Essential Guide to Characters in 2002, naming it the basis of the A-wing design.
The A-wing's speed is used in the "A-wing Slash" maneuver depicted in Timothy Zahn
's novel Dark Force Rising
. The A-wing is also flyable in Battlefront II
and the Rogue Squadron series, and it appears in other LucasArts Star Wars titles such as Empire at War
.
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
and New Republic
New Republic (Star Wars)
The New Republic is a government in the fictional Star Wars universe.When the Rebel Alliance re-established the Old Galactic Republic after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, it became known as the New Republic, just as the original Galactic Republic had become known as the Old Republic by that...
starfighter
Starfighter
"Starfighter" is a science fiction term used to describe small, fast, usually one-manned craft designed for armed combat .The appearance and use of fictional starfighters is often modeled on fighter aircraft, with little regard for the actual physics of spaceflight...
s in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
universe. They first appear in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
and subsequently in the Star Wars Expanded Universe
Star Wars Expanded Universe
The Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars,...
's books, comics, and games.
Origin and design
The A-wing was one of two new Rebel Alliance starfighters created for Return of the Jedi. Dubbed the A fighter as it was the first of the two designs created, the starfighter was intended to resemble the snowspeederSnowspeeder
A snowspeeder is a Rebel Alliance vehicle featured in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and several books, comics, and video games in the Star Wars Expanded Universe...
s seen in The Empire Strikes Back. The model was built by Wesley Seeds and Lorne Peterson of Industrial Light & Magic, and included a pilot figurine based on a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
German airman. A battle-damaged engine "wing" was also created, and could be snapped into place to represent a damaged fighter.
Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph McQuarrie is a conceptual designer and illustrator who designed Star Wars , the original Battlestar Galactica , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Cocoon, for which he won an Academy Award....
's A-wing concept art showed them to be blue in colouration; because of bluescreen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
technology limitations, this was changed to red.
Depiction
A-wings are described as the fastest starfighters in the warGalactic Civil War
The Galactic Civil War is a fictional war from the Star Wars galaxy. It serves as the setting for the original trilogy of films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, as well as many novels, comics, and video games in the Expanded Universe.The war was fought between the...
between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire; however, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for Windows and the Nintendo 64 in December 1998...
states that they are poorly shielded against attack. A-wings from Green Squadron participate in the Battle of Endor depicted in Return of the Jedi. At Endor, an A-wing piloted by Arvel Crynyd (Hilton McRae
Hilton McRae
Hilton McRae is a Scottish actor in the fields of theatre, television and film.-Career:McRae was part of the radical theatre group 7:84 before graduating from Edinburgh University, and by 1977 he had joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His most mainstream American film was his role as Green...
) crashes into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, resulting in the Executor crashing out of control into the second Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
.
The A-wing's backstory shows its creation by Jan Dodonna (Alex McCrindle
Alex McCrindle
Alex McCrindle was a British actor. He is best known for his role as General Jan Dodonna in Star Wars.-Biography:...
), based on his analysis of the role of speed in the Battle of Yavin. However, the A-wing appears in several Expanded Universe works set before or during the events of A New Hope, including the X-Wing
Star Wars: X-Wing
Star Wars: X-Wing is the first LucasArts DOS computer game set in the Star Wars universe, as well as the lead title in the X-Wing computer game series. It simulates the experience of combat in the A-wing, X-wing, and Y-wing starfighters of the Rebel Alliance...
flight simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
and the Droids
Star Wars: Droids
Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...
cartoon series. To resolve this inconsistency, Daniel Wallace created the R-22 Spearhead when writing The New Essential Guide to Characters in 2002, naming it the basis of the A-wing design.
The A-wing's speed is used in the "A-wing Slash" maneuver depicted in Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...
's novel Dark Force Rising
Dark Force Rising
Dark Force Rising is a 1992 novel, the second book in the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.-Plot:Prior to the Clone Wars, the Old Republic had constructed a fleet of 200 Dreadnaughts that were highly automated. This reduced their crew complement from 16,000 to 2,000 without diminishing their firepower...
. The A-wing is also flyable in Battlefront II
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Star Wars: Battlefront II is a first/third-person shooter video game developed by Pandemic Studios, and published by LucasArts. The game is the sequel to the successful Star Wars: Battlefront and features new vehicles, characters, game mechanics, maps, and missions...
and the Rogue Squadron series, and it appears in other LucasArts Star Wars titles such as Empire at War
Star Wars: Empire at War
Star Wars: Empire at War is a 2006 real-time strategy game developed by Petroglyph Games and published by LucasArts. Set between Episode III and Episode IV, it focuses on the fledgling struggle between the Empire and the Rebels. It uses Petroglyph's game engine Alamo. The most recent patch was...
.