That must be a strong gravitational field for the ship to go down that fast, but Jim would know astrophysics better than I do. Personally, I would have guessed that the various compounds and escaping gases violently expanding only made it look like it was going down. Or if remaining bits of the bomber are actually going through the explosion, the anti-grav generators are no longer properly balanced and are pushing the ship debris down before they give out.

This whole scene, from the start when the destroyers pop out of hyperspace to whenever this finishes up, feels like the sort of thing Star Wars fans would talk about quite a bit once the movie was out. I can imagine lots of back-and-forth about things like "Why didn't the B-wing-like ships do this?" or "Why not have more ships equipped with that super engine Allan used?".

Hmmmmm. Looking over the exploding ship again in panel 2, I think that that bit on the tail is yet another ball turret. So now it seems a lot more likely that these are intended to be a different kind of ship instead of a changed B-wing, and most likely a proper bomber-type ship as well. Which just means that now I'm wondering why aren't they trying to shoot the incoming TIE fighters. I'd hope that the ball turrets aren't just for show, but I'm not that impressed with the amount of red plasma bolts I'm seeing from the Resistance side at the moment. The B-17 Bomber I linked a couple commentaries ago that I was reminded of wasn't called the "Flying Fortress" because it ignored all the enemies flying around it.