B-wings are fictional Rebel Alliance and New Republic 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. A variety of B-wing merchandise has been released by toy companies.

Origin and design

Although initial plans called for B-wings to appear in several scenes, its narrow appearance from some angles made it difficult to see against the backdrop of space. The ship's rotating cockpit stems from an initial design for the Millennium Falcon

Millennium Falcon

The Millennium Falcon is a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe commanded by smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca...

.

Depiction

Expanded Universe material states that when the Galactic Empire

Galactic Empire (Star Wars)

The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...

 designs the Nebulon-B frigate

Nebulon-B frigate

The Nebulon-B frigate— is a fictional starship in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and the Star Wars Expanded Universe.-Origin and design:Industrial Light & Magic's Nilo Rodis-Jamero and Joe Johnston created the frigate late during...

 to protect its convoys from Rebel Alliance X-wing

X-wing

X-wings are fictional starfighters from the original Star Wars trilogy and the expanded universe. They are depicted as the primary interceptor and dogfighter of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic...

s and Y-wing

Y-wing

Y-wings are fictional Rebel Alliance and New Republic starfighters in the Star Wars universe. They appear in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as the Clone Wars TV series and the Expanded Universe's...

s, the Rebels respond by constructing the B-wing. The Verpine, supervised by Ackbar

Admiral Ackbar

Admiral Ackbar is a fictional character in the Star Wars science fiction saga. A member of the amphibious Mon Calamari species, Ackbar was the foremost military commander of the Rebel Alliance who led major combat operations against the Galactic Empire and was later integral in the formation of the...

, design and arm the fighter to engage capital ship

Capital ship

The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...

s. The B-wing's gyrostabilized cockpit allows the pilot to maintain a consistent horizon while the craft's body rotates around it. The B-wing is the largest and most powerful fighter designed by the Rebel Alliance, and it is generally viewed as the successor to the older Y-wing fighter/bomber. B-wings have powerful shields which are considerably stronger than the shields featured on most Imperial or Rebel fighter designs, and they are armed with a greater variety of weapons. B-wings participate at the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi and in numerous other engagements throughout the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

Merchandise

Both Kenner

Kenner

Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...

 and Hasbro

Hasbro

Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

 released B-wing toys, the B-wing is part of two Micro Machines

Micro Machines

Micro Machines: The Original Scale Miniatures were a line of toys originally made by Galoob in the mid 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Galoob licensed the idea behind Micro Machines from Clem Heeden, a toy inventor from Wisconsin...

 three-packs, and Lego

Lego

Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 has made two B-wing sets. A Micro Machines Alpha Fleet package includes models both of the B-wing's film appearance and of an initial production design. Decipher

Decipher, Inc.

Decipher, Inc. is an American gaming company based in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. They began with three puzzles called "Decipher" then moved on to party games and Pente sets, but since 1994 produced collectible card and role-playing games. Their longest-running offering is the How to Host a Murder...

 and Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...

 published B-wing cards for the Star Wars Customizable Card Game

Star Wars Customizable Card Game

Star Wars: Customizable Card Game is a customizable card game based on the Star Wars fictional universe. It was created by Decipher, Inc., which also produced the Star Trek Customizable Card Game and The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game. The game was produced from December 1995 until December...

 and Star Wars Trading Card Game

Star Wars Trading Card Game

Star Wars: The Trading Card Game was a collectible card game produced by Wizards of the Coast . The original game was created by game designer Richard Garfield, the creator of the first modern trading card game, Magic: The Gathering...

, respectively. The second expansion pack for 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, B-Wing, introduces the B-wing as a playable starfighter; several other Lucasarts

LucasArts

LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...

products also depict B-wings.