Tiger Squadron

Tiger Squadron, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, although officially named the 1st Rebel Volunteer Group (RVG) was an Alliance to Restore the Republic starfighter squadron formed in 1 ABY shortly after the Battle of Gerrard V. The pilots were mostly recruited from the Alliance Army, the Alliance Fleet, the Alliance Marines, and a few members of SpecForce, for cover operations, recruited under Chief of State sanction; the ground crew was mostly recruited from the Alliance Army, although some were former members of the Alliance Fleet.

The group consisted of 20 starfighters with about 8 bombers. It trained at Hoth for less than two weeks in 1 ABY, with the mission of defending the planet against Imperial forces. However, the mission statement was quickly abandoned in favor of an attack squadron, as twenty other squadrons were already defending Echo Base. Arguably, the group was a private military contractor, and for that reason the volunteers were sometimes called mercenaries. The members of the group had lucrative contracts with salaries ranging from 350 credits a month for a mechanic to 950 credits for a squadron commander, more than two times what they had been making in the regular Alliance forces.

The Tigers' shark-faced fighters and bombers were considered among the most recognizable of any individual combat spacecraft of the Galactic Civil War, and they demonstrated innovative tactical victories when the news in the main worlds controlled by the Alliance was filled with little more than stories of defeat by Imperial forces.

The group first saw combat during the Raid on the Balmorra, almost immediately after the Battle of the Jade Moon. It achieved notable success during the lowest period of the war for Rebel and other Allied Forces, giving hope to Rebels that they would eventually succeed against the Imperials, who had majorly embarrased them at the Battle of Correlia. While cross-referencing records after the war revealed their actual kill numbers were substantially less, the Tigers were paid combat bonuses for destroying more than 300 enemy fighters, while losing only 10 pilots on combat missions. In 4 ABY, after the Battle of Endor, the RVG was replaced by the 23rd Fighter Group, which was later absorbed into the New Republic 14th Starfighter Force with General Chenaut as commander. The 23rd FG went on to achieve similar combat success, while retaining the nose art and fighting name of the volunteer unit.

Behind the Scenes
Tiger Squadron is based on the real-world fighter group the Flying Tigers, or the 1st American Volunteer Group, which served in World War II on the side of the Allies against the Axis powers during 1941-1942, and in 1942 was replaced by the 23rd Fighter Group from the 14th Air Force.