Salvage Tug History

Warfare isn't all space fighters dogfighting and battleships pummeling each other with plasma weapon. Wing Commander has always imagined a universe with a complex supply chain and support system behind the action with a variety of transports, depots, shuttles and other vehicles that are perhaps less sexy than a Rapier or a Bloodfang. Chief among these is the Kilrathi salvage tug, an impressive design that is only ever seen very briefly. For a better look at the tug than ever before we've recreated two images of it from panning shots (including one originally blocked by text):

On 4 July 2654, a flight Scimitars off the TCS Tiger's Claw commanded by 2nd Lt. Lindsay Price encountered a salvage tug escorted by a pair of Sartha and carrying a derelict human spacecraft. Price ordered her wingmen to attack, with 2nd Lt. Todd Marshall and 2nd Lt. Gwen Bowman each dispatching a Sartha. Despite the loss of their escort, the tug crew refused to abandon their salvage and escape. Price targeted the tug's port turret bank which initiated a chain reaction which destroyed the entire ship.

Armament

The salvage tug's largest focus is a powerful tractor beam which allows it to collect space salvage and move it across great distances. It is also well defended with four single-mount laser turrets capable of putting up an impressive amount of anti-spacecraft fire in the event of an attack.

Behind the Scenes

The Kilrathi salvage tug was created by Universal Cartoon Studios for the opening act of Wing Commander Academy's infamous crossover episode, Recreation. It appears only in the shots captured here in this one episode! The design seems to reference Wing Commander IV's twin-boom BWS Intrepid and the Star Trek franchise's Oberth-class (made famous by the USS Grissom in The Search for Spock). The detailing on the side of the hull, visible most clearly in frames where the ship's lasers are firing, references the interior ship textures seen throughout Wing Commander III.