Rebel pilots, also known as Alliance pilots, Rebel fighter pilots or Alliance Starfighter Pilots, were pilots who served both the early rebel movement and later the Rebel Alliance under the Alliance's starfighter corps. They fought in countless battles against the Imperial forces during the lead up to and during the Galactic Civil War. They piloted starfighters such as A-wings, B-wings, X-wings, and Y-wings, as well as low altitude vehicles such as T-47 airspeeders.
Hera Syndulla led a squadron of X-wings and Y-wings against the Lothal blockade.
During the early rebellion, isolated rebel cells combated the Galactic Empire. Rebel pilots in Phoenix Squadron flew A-wing starfighters in deep space raids against the Empire's convoys. After the action at Mustafar, the crew of the Ghost joined the Phoenix Cell, but their RZ-1 A-wing interceptors were outmatched by the Sith Lord Darth Vader during the Imperial attack on the cell. Although the Phoenix Home was lost, the cell managed to escape. Phoenix rebel pilots later fought in the Imperial blockade of Ibaar, although Phoenix Leader was killed during the first strike against the Imperial starships. After the second and successful attempt to get through, Hera Syndulla was promoted to his former position.
In 2 BBY during Operation Handoff, pilots of Gold Squadron worked with members of the Ghost crew to protect Senator Mon Mothma from the Empire. After successfully bringing her to Dantooine, Mothma united the Phoenix cell and other rebel cells together as the Alliance to Restore the Republic. During the Battle of Atollon, Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Seventh Fleet defeated the pilots and forces of the Alliance, forcing the Phoenix Cell to abandon its base on Atollon. Its survivors went to Yavin 4 and became part of the Massassi Group. Captain Syndulla and a squadron of BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers later undertook a failed supply mission.
General Jan Dodonna explaining the weak spot of the Death Star.
Before the Battle of Yavin started, pilots of the Rebel Alliance were given a task to destroy the Empire's superweapon, the Death Star. With the valuable information R2-D2 provided after Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor found it on Scarif, the Rebels learned that the Death Star had a small exhaust port which might be a good spot to place proton torpedoes in order to destroy the space station, because Galen Walton Erso projected the port betraying the Empire and giving a chance to the Rebels of destroying his station.
Luke Skywalker, a well-known Rebel pilot
Once the mission briefing ended, members of Red Squadron and Gold Squadron were assigned to their X-wings and Y-wings. Soon after they were launched to space, they entered the Death Star's magnetic field and began the attack. During the attack run on the station's surface, they encountered turbolaser defenses. Due to the X-wings' small and fast body, the station's turbolasers weren't quite effective to the Rebel fighters. Noticing that fact, Darth Vader personally led a TIE/ln space superiority starfighter squadron in his TIE Advanced x1 to bring down the Rebels himself.
Red Squadron flying through the trench.
During the race in the trench, Vader killed several Rebel pilots including Gold Squadron members Jon Vander, Dex Tiree, and Davish Krail; Garven Dreis, leader of Red Squadron; and Biggs Darklighter, close friend of Luke Skywalker. As Vader took aim at Skywalker's fighter, however, the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Han Solo, appeared from above, and destroyed one of his escort TIE fighter pilots. As a result of Solo's distraction, Skywalker had a clear chance to fire torpedoes to the exhaust port. Aided by the Force, the torpedoes entered the exhaust port, reached the Death Star's main reactor, and caused a chain reaction which ultimately made the entire structure explode.
When the battle ended, the only surviving rebel pilots with the crew of the Falcon were Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, and Evaan Verlaine. After the Royal Award Ceremony, Verlaine accompanied Princess Leia Organa in a mission to rescue the survivors of Alderaan.
Although the Rebel Alliance achieved a major victory at Yavin, they were forced to abandon their base and fled. Skywalker formed Rogue Squadron during the Assault on the Mako-Ta Space Docks. The rebel pilot Tan Leader was killed during the evacuation of Tiferep Major. The rebels eventually settled down at a remote ice world of Hoth. They were found by one of the Imperial probe droids searching through the galaxy, and as a result, Death Squadron came to the Hoth system.
But because of Admiral Kendal Ozzel's mistake, the Rebel Alliance noticed the approaching Imperials and activated a planetary shield generator which could protect their base from orbital bombardments. With the plan to bombard the rebel base from orbit precluded, Vader Force choked Admiral Ozzel to death and ordered General Maximilian Veers to lead the ground forces and destroy the shield generator.
Rogue Squadron flying towards the Imperial walkers.
While the Empire was planning the assault, the rebel defense line was formed to hold off the attackers until the rest of the Alliance members evacuate the planet. When the rebels spotted the Imperial AT-AT walkers, rebel pilots employed T-47 airspeeders to face them.
Rogue Squadron, led by Skywalker, led the air defense against the Imperial AT-ATs. Wedge Antilles and gunner Wes Janson utilized tow cables to entangle an AT-AT's legs to disable the Imperial Walker. This strategy was effective by focusing on the weak spot of the walker, but they were eventually defeated by the superior firepower of the armored walkers. The Empire claimed victory in the battle, while the rebellion and its pilots were forced to flee the planet. The Alliance Fleet spilt into different cells, but Imperial Commander Ellian Zahra was able to locate the Fourth and Eighth Divisions by using a signal analysis protocol she'd created. When she was attacking the Fourth Division and its pilots, however, the Millennium Falcon arrived. The Falcon and the other remaining Rebel forces escaped her grasp.
One year after the devastating defeat on Hoth, the Rebel Alliance gathered for planning a large-scale assault on the newly constructed second Death Star. When the Alliance Fleet exited hyperspace in the second Death Star's vicinity. Realizing that it was a trap, the fleet, led by Admiral Gial Ackbar, and several rebel pilots with General Lando Calrissian in charge, engaged the Imperial fleet in point-black range.
Devastator destroyed by members of Blade Squadron.
During the battle, Blade Squadron, which consisted of A/SF-01 B-wing starfighters, encountered the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator commanded by Admiral Jhared Montferrat. Despite the disadvantage in firepower, two rebel pilots, Gina Moonsong and Braylen Stramm, managed to hit the Star Destroyer's navigational shielding, leading to the destruction of the ship.
When the Death Star's shield was down, several pilots, including Norra Wexley, entered the Death Star's superstructure with the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Calrissian and Nien Nunb, to reach the station's reactor core and destroy it. Meanwhile, an A-wing pilot Arvel Crynyd flew his craft towards the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor. By his sacrifice, the bridge was destroyed, bringing the massive star destroyer to its end.
Inside the Death Star, Wedge Antilles took a shot on the Death Star's power regulator. The following shot by the Falcon destroyed its main reactor and they flew their way out. The Death Star exploded just after the Falcon came out, and later on Endor, the rebel pilots celebrated their victory with the Ewoks and the rest of the Alliance members.
The Battle of Endor saw the death of many pilots, including Green Leader Arvel Crynyd, Blade Leader Adon Fox, Ekelarc Yong, Grizz Frix, and Sila Kott. After the rebellion became the New Republic, New Republic pilots served in the Defense Fleet.
In the end, the colorful flight suits and symbols of rebel pilots became associated with the concept of freedom itself. Indeed, by the end of the Galactic Civil War, many citizenry would look back on the conflict with nostalgia, while others worried that the lessons of the war had gone unheard to the younger generation. To them, the pilots and heroes of the past were nothing more than figures in a textbook, while pilots of the New Republic enjoyed massive popularity and rejoiced in the peace of their time, without the requirement of sacrifice or hardship.
Thirty years after the Galactic Civil War, Wedge Antilles and a number of other former rebel pilots would join the Resistance to fight against the First Order. Upon the rise of the First Order, pilots of the Resistance Starfighter Corps would borrow the uniforms, codes and tactics of the old Rebellion, led by several veteran Rebel pilots of the Galactic Civil War. In taking the iconography of the old rebel pilots, the Resistance pilots knew they were inheriting visual representations of freedom for use against the First Order. Among the Resistance's ranks included Nien Nunb, the ex-smuggler turned war hero, along with Gial Ackbar and other celebrated members of Alliance High Command. Furthermore, the new pilots of the Resistance would all be trained in flight maneuvers named after pilots of the old war, such as the Skywalker Swoop, Antilles Intercept, and Porkins Belly Run, along with utilizing updated X-wing fighters, such as the T-70.
New Rebel pilots were required to watch The Pilot and the Rebellion, an introductory document and video during recruitment sessions.
Rebel pilots were trained "on the fly" by their superiors, while most new recruits already possessed keen starfighting abilities. It was common practice for rebel pilots to be taught and utilize the scatter protocol, which set up a practice of randomly choosing a path through hyperspace after each operation before rendezvousing with the Alliance Fleet in an attempt to evade any possible Imperial pursuit.
Though many rebel pilots lack in formal training, they make up for it with their battle experiences and usually outperformed many imperial pilots. Though, some pilots do have some formal training from the Imperial Navy before their defection to the Rebel Alliance, such as Jon Vander, Braylen Stramm, Attico Wred, Biggs Darklighter, Jake Farrell, Lindon Javes, Derek Klivian, Yrica Quell, and Wedge Antilles.
Rebel pilots with assorted helmets and different colored flight suits
Rebel pilots wore orange, blue, green, white, grey, or red flight suits with a flak vest and Diagnostech life support unit on top.
Their flight helmets were often decorated with the Alliance starbird although could be customized with squadron insignia or images of personal significance. Typically the K-22995 light flight helmet, these helmets had a number of standard features, such as a retractable polarized visor and localized atmospheric field generator.
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