Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
Does anyone know when the Ferret and Epee were retired, and which went first?
We don't even know *if* they were retired! We actually don't see the Epee outside of the games, so its last appearance is in 2667 (Special Operations 2)... and the Ferret last appears in Confederation colors in 2668 in Fleet Action. The Ferret was much older than the Epee, though - we've seen Ferrets as early as 2638, while the Epee entered service in 2661.
Really? I thought those were only "our" complaints. I don't remember anything in the official fiction that suggested the Epee was as awful as I remember it being in WC2. The Academy manual mentioned two aces who died in Epee's but didn't directly blame the Epee for it.
That's correct - this is basically an old fan joke that has taken on a life of its own... there's no evidence that people in the Wing Commander universe have any problem with the Epee (also, I can't really think of any missions where the Epee makes gameplay difficult, either...).