Debris Scavenged
The destruction of enemy ships yields a certain quantity of Debris Scavenged (or Spoils of War as described in the 3DO manual). These Resource Units (RU) are gathered only after the entire enemy battlegroup has been vanquished; if you flee from battle you get nothing. The RU value of the debris scavenged from a single ship is one-eighth of the ship's total RU value. The RU value of a ship is 100 times the ship point value in the Super Melee gamemode.
Exceptions to this are the Slylandro Probe, which gives 550 RUs -- approximately one third of its value, and the Melnorme Trader, which gives 450 RUs -- equivalent to one quarter of its value. No debris is scavenged from your own ships that were lost in battle.
Note: Ordering a Slylandro Probe to self-destruct yields RU without having to go into battle.