Originally posted by Ladiesman^
Why not? The WC1 Bengal could be simply the next evolution of the Bengal Class. Maybe they were working on replacing the older Bengals with newer ones, the WC1 variety. When the Claw was damaged, they figured instead of repairing it just to decommision it again, they'd just make "Tiger's Claw" one of their new Bengals.
It's not a perfect explanation, but it's an attempt.
Originally posted by Bandit LOAF
It's made very clear that they're the same ship.
The 625 length in the Handbook is for the original Bengal class, *not* the Tiger Claw.