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Blade Squadron was a B-wing starfighter squadron, consisted of an elite group of fighter pilots,^[6] that served with the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic during the Galactic Civil War.

The squadron fought during the Battle of Endor, where they single-handedly destroyed the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator. The squadron's patch, a B-wing over a lightning bolt, was captioned with the words "strike as lightning" in Aurebesh.

In 5 ABY, Blade Squadron also saw action at the Battle of Malastare, during which Gina Moonsong disobeyed Blade Leader Braylen Stramm's orders and attacked Moff Pandion's vacation palace on the planet. Later, a group of X-wing starfighters were added to escort the B-wings in Battle for Kuat Drive Yards and Battle of Jakku.

History[]

Taris shipyards[]

Blade Squadron carried out an attack on an Imperial shipyard in the Taris system. X-wings from Luke Skywalker's Rogue Squadron provided cover for the bombers during their bombing run on the shipyard.^[5]

Battle of Endor[]

Blade Squadron participated in the Battle of Endor, led by Wing Commander Adon Fox, as a full B-wing flight and many of the detachment's newest recruits flying their first mission.^[7] Upon realizing the trap the Empire had set, the squadron's rearguard mission was promptly aborted, and Blade Squadron was reassigned to attack the blockade of Imperial ships. Adon Fox ordered his B-wings to target the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator, which he recognized as the ship that destroyed his wife's transport during the evacuation of Hoth^[1] in 3 ABY.^[8] The Devastator was successfully destroyed along with Admiral Jhared Montferrat, its commanding officer. This cleared a pathway for the remaining Rebel Alliance starfighters to start their attack on the Death Star. Blade Squadron suffered heavy losses, including the death of Blade Leader at the hands of Commander Gradd's TIE Interceptor.^[1]

After Endor[]

Following the victory at Endor, the surviving B-wing pilots each received a Medal of Bravery. Braylen Stramm was promoted to Wing Commander and given command of Blade Squadron. Gina Moonsong was promoted to Lieutenant. Due to heavy losses suffered in the battle, the squadron received three new cadets (Cutter Poole, Yori Dahn and Jordan Karls), who were assigned to Moonsong's section. With the cadets untested and very little time to teach them, Moonsong promptly interviewed each one and then immediately introduced them to Fanty, who would go on to start their training early the following morning.^[2]

Battle of Malastare[]

Blade Squadron's next operation was at the Battle of Malastare, their mission was to destroy an Imperial communications hub on the planet of Malastare. To get through the planetary shield, Admiral Ackbar's technicians determined that the B-wings would need to aggregate their ion cannon beams, converged at precisely the same coordinates on the shield to create a temporary aperture, which allowed the squadron to pass through. The electromagnetic surge of the flickering shield was too much for Jordan Karls (Blade Seven), and destroyed his ship. Stramm and his B-wings concentrated on bombing runs of the target, while Moonsong and the rest of the squadron distracted incoming TIE Fighters and ground defense batteries. Cutter Poole (Blade Five), was killed by a pursuing TIE fighter. Stramm's orders were to target just the planet's shield generator and communications hub, however Moonsong disobeyed orders and destroyed Moff Valco Pandion's vacation palace.^[2]

Battle for Kuat Drive Yards[]

Prior to the Battle for Kuat Drive Yards, Stramm was relieved of flying duties and assigned to the MC80 Star Cruiser Amalthea to help Commodore Kyrsta Agate coordinate the overall fleet action, which involved multiple squadrons of fighters and cruisers. The battle was long and drawn out, which lasted many days. An X-wing escort section was added to Blade Squadron, now led by Moonsong, to supplement her B-wings. The battle took its toll on the squadron, so when X-wing pilot Johan Volk was injured in combat and excused from flying duties, Stramm was temporarily substituted in to Volk's slot, and flew as Lieutenant Sandara Li's wingman.^[3]

Battle of Jakku[]

Blade Squadron, still composed of B-wings and X-wings, participated in the Battle of Jakku. During the attack on the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Ravager, Moonsong's B-wing was caught in the tractor beam used to pull the Ravager down to the planet's surface and resulted in both ships crashing on Jakku. Moonsong survived the crash, however her ship was destroyed and she had no way of communication back to Ackbar and Fighter Command on Home One. Together with Temmin Wexley from Phantom Squadron, who crashed his X-wing too, they managed to find New Republic ground soldiers nearby. However, due to strict radio silence orders, Moonsong was still unable to call for help. With no other option, they assisted ground forces in a mission to attack an Imperial supply convoy. Moonsong then attempted to broadcast a distress message using the Imperial equipment from the convoy. Stramm led Blade Squadron's B-wings down to the surface in a rescue mission and successfully saved them from remaining Imperial forces.^[4]

Behind the scenes[]

A group of B-wing starfighters first appeared in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.^[9] It wasn't until the 2014 short story Blade Squadron that they were identified as Blade Squadron.^[1]

When the short story was published on StarWars.com, the character Fanty was replaced by an unnamed character as Blade Four, with the former's lines given to Gina Moonsong instead. This has since led to some confusion among fans. Specifically, StarWars.com states Blade Four was destroyed at Endor, but Fanty reappears in the follow up short story Blade Squadron: Zero Hour.

In Part I of the short story Blade Squadron, it states Adon Fox is flying an A-wing at Endor, but later in the same battle he's in a B-wing. This is likely the result of a typo, as the ship is only specifically identified as an A-wing on one occasion, and the story mentions features unique to the B-wing, like a gyro-stabilized cockpit.

Appearances[]

• Star Wars Battlefront II (Mentioned only)
• Lost Stars webcomic
• "Squad Goals, Part One" — Star Wars Adventures (2020) 11
• Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
• "Blade Squadron" — Star Wars Insider 149–150 (First identified as Blade Squadron)
• "The Levers of Power" — The Rise of the Empire (Indirect mention only)
• "Blade Squadron: Zero Hour" — Star Wars Insider 160
• Star Wars: Squadrons (Mentioned only) (DLC)
• "Blade Squadron: Kuat" — Star Wars Insider 168
• Aftermath: Empire's End (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
• "Blade Squadron: Jakku" — Star Wars Insider 172

Sources[]

• Blade Squadron: Part One Short Story on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Blade Squadron, Part Two on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 6 (Databank A-Z: Jar Jar Binks–B'omarr Order)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 8 (Databank A-Z: Master Chief Bric–C-3PO)
• SWCE 2016: Star Wars Publishing Panel Liveblog on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Star Wars: On the Front Lines
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 67 (Helmets: B-Wing Pilot)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 67 (Weapons & Uniforms: Blade Squadron)

• Rebel Starfighters Owners' Workshop Manual
• Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition — Hotshots and Aces Reinforcements Pack (Card: Gina Moonsong) (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
• "Pilots of the Rebel Alliance" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: Timelines
• Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
• B-wing Fighter in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references[]