Info on the Temblor Bomb

Aeronautico

Rear Admiral
Hey, does anyone have any additional information on the Temblor Bomb, the warhead that destroyed Kilrah? We know that it destroyed planets by triggering worldwide earthquakes and was a particularly strong weapon against tectonically unstable planets, but what else do we know about?

Does it fit the characteristics of a missile or a torpedo?
 
Hey, does anyone have any additional information on the Temblor Bomb, the warhead that destroyed Kilrah? We know that it destroyed planets by triggering worldwide earthquakes and was a particularly strong weapon against tectonically unstable planets, but what else do we know about?

What kind of information are you looking for? Everything we know about the Temblor Bomb comes from Wing Commander III and its novelization, plus a reference or two to the post-war effects in False Colors. Here's a quick and dirty writeup, which could probably be significantly improved:

Y-22A-1 Temblor Bomb
The Temblor Bomb was a tectonic-frequency weapon with a 267.5 megaton yield. It was designed to be dropped at a juncture of active fault lines, where it would generate the proper seismic resonant frequency to trigger increasingly devastating earthquakes. On a handful of tectonically unstable planets, these quakes would be enough to shake the planet apart.

Development
The bomb was designed by Dr. Philip Severin, one of the Terran Confederation's leading scientists. Severin's team began testing a tectonic frequency weapon in 2659-2660 and had designed the bomb itself by 2667. The final stages of the weapon's development were interrupted when Severin was captured by the Kilrathi. In 2669, Terran Confederation Marines, supported by the TCS Victory and under orders from Covert Operations, raided a prison camp in the Alcor System to recover Severin and allow for completion of the bomb.

The bomb's final form was first tested, under combat conditions, on a Kilrathi-occupied planet in the Hyperion System on 2669.262. The successful drop was made by a YF-103 Excalibur flown by Colonel Christopher Blair. Hyperion was destroyed.

Operational History
In the months following the Battle of Earth, the Terran Confederation military focused on a strategy which would end the war by destroying Kilrah itself, beheading a still-functional Empire. The Temblor Bomb was supported by the Terran Confederation Convert Operations division as their choice for such an attack. With the spectacular failure of the Navy-backed Project Behemoth, Vega Sector Headquarters authorized General James Taggart to coordinate a Temblor attack on the Kilrathi homeworld.

Covert Operations personnel delivered a pair of Temblor Bombs to a hidden asteroid base in the Kilrah System in preparation for the attack. Taggart chose the TCS Eagle to launch the attack on Kilrah, which he personally accompanied. The Eagle encountered unexpectedly stiff resistance and was forced back with heavy damage.

Taggart then switched to a stealth approach. He delivered the Eagle's surviving Shroud-equipped production F-103 Excaliburs to the TCS Victory's Gold Squadron. Two flights set off under sensor cloak for the Kilrah System, refueling at hidden asteroid bases. Only a single fighter, flown by Colonel Christopher Blair, survived the three-part fight to Kilrah's atmosphere. Blair delivered the bomb on target at a major fault line on 2669.267, completely destroying Kilrah and leading directly to the Empire's surrender.

The status of the second operational bomb is unknown.

Aftermath
The Temblor Bomb's functionality was kept highly classified after the war, leading to a belief among many that the weapon could be used to attack any planet.

Does it fit the characteristics of a missile or a torpedo?

Odd question - why would it be either? The name specifically says it's a bomb, after all. (The Wing Commander III novel does describe it (from Blair's perspective) as being 'torpedo shaped' -- but I think the similarities end there.)
 
Wow, that's explains a lot. I didn't know about the Eagle at all. Thanks a lot, LOAF. May I ask permission to use this info to write a Temblor Bomb article on the WCPedia?
 
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