IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

DO NOT post directly onto this thread. It makes it harder to navigate and update. If you want to comment on my work, for anything, do so separately please. Thank You.

This page will be used as an index for future posts in this thread. I repeat DON'T POST HERE.

Also please bare in mind this is a work in progress, and it may not necessarily be updated in any particular order, so if you want to see your favourite ship/faction on here make some noise in a separate thread and I'll prioritise the most popular one for research and profiling.

Imperial Ships

Strike Craft

• Fury Interceptor

• Star Hawk Bomber

• Shark Assault Boat

• Faustus Heavy Interceptor

Escorts

• Sword Class Frigate

• Firestorm Class Frigate

• Cobra Class Destroyer

• Tempest Class Frigate

• Falchion Class Frigate

• Turbulent Class Heavy Frigate

• Havoc Class Raider Frigate

• Claymore Class Corvette

Light Cruisers

• Dauntless Class Light Cruiser

• Defender Class Light Cruiser

• Enforcer Class Light Cruiser

• Endeavour-series Light Cruisers

Cruisers

• Lunar Class Cruiser

• Gothic Class Cruiser

• Dominator Class Cruiser

• Dictator Class Cruiser

• Tyrant Class Cruiser

Battle Cruisers

• Overlord Class Battle Cruiser

• Mars Class Battle Cruiser

• Armageddon Class Battle Cruiser

• Mercury/Orion/Long Serpent Class Battle Cruisers

• Chalice Class Battle Cruiser

• Jovian Class Battle Cruiser

• Dominion Class Battle Cruiser

Grand Cruisers

• Avenger Class Grand Cruiser

• Vengeance Class Grand Cruiser

• Exorcist Class Grand Cruiser

• Furious Class Grand Cruiser

Battleships

• Emperor Class Battleship

• Retribution Class Battleship

• Apocalypse Class Battleship

• Oberon Class Battleship

• Invincible Class Fast Battleship

• Nemesis Class Fleet Carrier

• Victory Class Battleship

• Vanquisher Class Battleship

• Gloriana Class Super-Battleships

Chaos Ships

Strike Craft

• Swift Death Fighter

• Doom Fire Bomber

• Dread Claw Assault Pod

Escorts

• Infidel Class Frigate

• Idolater Class Frigate

• Iconoclast-Class Destroyer

• Apostate Class Heavy Frigate

Light Cruisers

• Harbinger/Hellbringer Class Light Cruiser

• Pestilaan Class Light Cruiser

Cruisers

• Murder Class Cruiser

• Carnage Class Cruiser

• Slaughter Class Cruiser

• Devastation Class Cruiser

• Emasculator Class Cruiser

• Inferno Class Cruiser

Heavy Cruisers

• Hades Class Heavy Cruiser

• Styx Class Heavy Carrier

• Cardinal class Heavy Cruiser

• Acheron Class Heavy Cruiser

• Hecate Class Heavy Cruiser

• Hellfire Class Heavy Cruiser

Grand Cruisers

• Executor Class Grand Cruiser

• Retaliator Class Grand Cruiser

• Repulsive Class Grand Cruiser

Battleships

• Despoiler Class Battleship

• Desolator Class Battleship

• Desecrator Class Battleship

Space Marine Ships

Strike Craft

• Thunderhawk Gunship

• Caestus Assault Ram

Escorts

• Gladius Class Frigate

• Nova Class Frigate

• Hunter Class Destroyer

Cruisers

• Strike Cruiser (and Vanguard Sub-Class)

Battleships

• Battlebarge

Eldar Ships

Strike Craft

• DarkStar Fighter

• Eagle Bomber

Escorts

• Hemlock Class Destroyer

• Hellebore Class Frigate

• Aconite Class Frigate

• Nightshade Class Destroyer

• Shadowhunter Escort

Light Cruisers

• Aurora Class Light Cruiser

• Solaris Class Light Cruiser

Cruisers

• Eclipse Class Cruiser

• Shadow Class Cruiser

• Dragonship

• Wraithship

• Torture Class Cruiser

Battleships

• VoidStalker Battleship

Dark Eldar Ships

Strike Craft

• Raptor Fighter

• Slavebringer Assault Boat

Escorts

• Corsair Class Heavy Raider

• Blade Lotus Class Raider

• Sigil Class Light Raider

• Immortal Class Heavy Raider

• Venom Blade Class Frigate

• Hatred Class Frigate

Ork Ships

Strike Craft

• Ork Fighta

• Ork Fighta-Bommer

• Ork Bommer

Escorts

• Brute Ram Ship

• Onsault Class Attack Chip

• Savage Class Gunship

• Ravager Class Attack Ship

Light Cruisers

• Lite Kroozer

Cruisers

• Kill-Kroozer

• Terror Ship

Battle Cruisers

• Hammer Class Battle-Kroozer

Battleships

• Deathdeala

• Slamblasta

• Kroolboy

• Gorbag's Revenge

Tau Ships

Strike Craft

• Barracuda Supremacy Fighter

• Manta Missile Destroyer

Escorts

• Kir'qath (Defender)-Class Frigate

• Skether'qan (Messenger)-Class Starship

• Kass'l (Orca)-class Gunship

• Kir'la (Warden)-Class Frigate

• Kir'shashvre (Castellan)-Class Heavy Frigate

Light Cruisers

• Il'Porrui (Emissary)-class Cruiser

Cruisers

• Il'fannor (Merchant)-class Cruiser

• Lar'shi (Hero)-class Cruiser

• Lar'shi'vre (Protector)-class Cruiser

Battleships

• Gal'leath (Explorer)-class Starship

• Or'es El'leath (Custodian)-class Battleship

Tyranid Ships

Escorts

• Vanguard Drones

• Escort Drones

• Krakens

Hive Auxiliary Vessels

• Narvhal

Cruisers

• Razorfeind

• Devourer

Battleships

• Hive Ship

Necron ships

Strike Craft

• Doom Scythe Attack Craft

• Night Scythe Assault Craft

• Night Shroud Bomber

Escorts

• Dirge Class Raider

• Jackal Class Raider

Light Cruisers

• Shroud Class Light Cruiser

• Khopesh Class Light Cruiser

• Cartouche Class Light Cruiser

Cruisers

• Scythe-Class Harvest Ship

Battleships

• Cairn Class Tombship

Adeptus Mechanicus Ships

Escorts

• Sword Class Frigate (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Gladius Class Frigate (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Firestorm Class Frigate (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Nova Class Frigate (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Cobra Class Destroyer (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Hunter Class Destroyer (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Tempest Class Frigate (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Falchion Class Frigate (Ad-Mech Patterns)

Light Cruisers

• Endeavour Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Defiant Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Endurance Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

Cruisers

• Lunar Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Gothic Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Dominator Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Dictator Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

• Tyrant Class (Ad-Mech Patterns)

Battleships

• Ark Mechanicus

Misc Ships

Civilian/Auxiliary

• Imperial System/Auxilary Vessels

Demiurg

Kroot

Nicassar

Rak'Gol

Rouge Trader

Imperial Strike Craft
Spirit of the Aquila

Fury Interceptor

Length: 75 metres

Wing span: 40 metres (main), 20 metres (secondary)

Crew: 4 (1 Pilot, 1 Gunnery Officer, an Engineseer or tech servitor and a Navigator).

Sub-light engine: 1 Mars-pattern 'Ascender' plasma-thrust engine

Power supply: 1 Mars-pattern Plasma Fusion Generator.

Standard Armament: 12 Mars-pattern Mk-22F 'Fury' Lascannons, 2 Mars-pattern 'Hellstrom' Missile launchers (with 9 independently targetable Plasma, Melta or Cluster Munition warheads each. Fury stores ammunition and loading mechanism for 3 full reloads per launcher.)

Machine spirit: M31 Signus-minoris class (the same kind used for the Warhound scout-titans)

Warp capable: yes

Lore: The Fury Interceptor was designed and built in the closing years of the Great Crusade, M31, as a proposed replacement for the notoriously unreliable and hard to handle Wrath Class Starfighter by Fabricator Kane of Mars. The Fury was initially only intended as a stop-gap while the Imperium looked to produce an even more deadly fighter, this fighter design (unfinished and rejected due to the Horus Heresy) would later become the Swift Death fighter of Chaos.

Since the initial creation of the Fury, the design has been expanded upon and improved. The interceptor now carriers 12 weapon hard points and multi-role missile launchers with a large stock-pile of missiles on-board; the original having 8 weapon hard points and no missiles. The modern variants of the Fury also being warp-capable allowing for independent raiding, pursuit and resonance missions the craft not requiring a carrier to be present in a system in order to perform its duties (at least for a relatively short duration, it will need to rearm missiles and refuel/repair at a carrier or on a planet after a few hours of fighting).

The Interceptor is not as mobile or numerous as its Chaos competitor, but is faster in a straight line, more versatile due to its ability to warp independently and fire missiles as well as packing significantly more firepower than the much smaller Chaos dog-fighter. The Fury also possess heavy armour plating, capable of withstanding a handful of hits from a lascannon before succumbing to damage sustained if nothing critical is hit.

While the Fury was superior to the Swift Death in several departments, squadrons of Furies would find themselves outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and surrounded by swarms of Chaos fighters during the Gothic War. But the superior firepower and durability of the Fury often meant pilots could shoot their way out of sticky situations and use the craft's high speed to zoom away; turning in to decimate many more enemy craft in a new attack run. Earning a deadly a well respected reputation among pilots on all sides.

Star Hawk Bomber

Length: 120 metres

Wing Span: 75 metres (main), 50 metres (secondary)

Crew: 10 (4 gunners, 1 pilot, 1 co-pilot, 2 engineer, 1 targeteers, 1 navigator)

Sub-light engine: 1 Mars-pattern 'Implacable' plasma-thrust engine.

Power supply: 1 Mars-pattern Plasma Fusion Generator.

Standard Armament: 2 twin-linked lascannon turrets (1 chin mounted, 1 tail mounted), 1 twin-linked multilaser turret (dorsal mounted), 2 twin-linked Heavy Bolter turrets (main-wing mounted, remotely controlled), bomb-bay capacity for up to 50 Plasma, Melta or Cluster heavy missile warheads, 20 High-Yield Plasma or Melta bombs or 2 Plasma, Vortex or Melta torpedoes.

Machine spirit: M33 Signus class (same kind used in the Thunder Hawk gunship and Reaver class battle titan)

Warp capable: yes

Lore: The Star Hawk is one of the heaviest craft of its type in the galaxy. There are very few bombers that can match the Star Hawk for sheer brute power: Star Hawks being more than capable of cracking open even the toughest hulls and equipped with enough Point Defence to deter all but the most determined enemies. The craft was first built in M33 for the Imperial navy by Fabricator-General Kane, shortly after Kelbore-Hal's fall to the ruinous power during the Horus Heresy, the newly formed Imperial navy being in desperate need for a dedicated bomber attack-craft. The monstrous beast of a ship that is the Star Hawk being the result of that request.

The nearest competitor, the natively-developed Chaos Doom Fire bomber, is a pathetic attack craft when compared against the Star Hawk. The Chaos craft having barely a third of the total firepower and a lacking PD suite when compared directly to the Imperial monster. Where the Star Hawk falls is in the numbers and the speed/mobility of the bomber.

The Doom Fire can generally keep up with most fighters in a straight line, and deploy in large groups. The lumbering Star Hawk has no hope of keeping up with it's fighter escort, and despite the impressive array of bombs and thick armour together with the excellent PD of each bomber; they appear only in very small groups on Imperial carriers, making them vulnerable to attacks. The fact they are warp capable, however, does also provide them a level of flexibility that no Doom Fire could ever fill.

The Star Hawks' massive size and heavy armour/armament making it suitable for civilian enforcement when the deployment of warships is either unnecessary or are required elsewhere. Some minor human empires and rebellions even considering the Star Hawk a full warship as opposed to a strike craft.

Shark Assault Boat

Length: 55 metres

Wing Span: 30 metres (main), 15 metres (secondary)

Crew: 3 (1 pilot, 1 gunner, 1 Navigator)

Sub-light engine: 1 Mars-pattern 'Avast' plasma-thrust engine.

Standard Armament: 2 Mars-Pattern Mk21G 'Hammer' Lascannons (forward mounted, double as las-breaches and anti-ordnance weapons), multilaser turrets (dorsally mounted), 4 Magna-Melta blast charges (1 required for a standard hull breach)

Machine spirit: M33 Signus class

Troop capacity: 80 Naval Arms-men or ratings plus their equipment

Warp capable: yes

Lore: Large and simple is the best way the Shark assault boat can be described. Designed by Kane as a stop-gap to replace the thunder hawk as an assault transport in the Imperial navy while a more effective design could be created. But it proved so effective that the replacement never became necessary.

The shark was fast, able to match the Fury for acceleration in a straight line, and possessed a small but effective suite of weapons that allowed it to defend itself in an attack. The assault boat also boasting a very high troop capacity, and could generally ensure they were deployed to the target without difficulty.

The Shark could also be reused, while Dread Claw assault pods that were previously used by the Imperial Army, and are still used by the Chaos war fleets, can only be used once and had no defences or significant armour protection of their own. Completely dependent on fighter protection, and ultimately much shorter ranged than the Sharks. The Sharks ability to make Warp jumps also making it an excellent raiding and transport vessel if the need for one arises.

Regardless of the Shark's general quality, assault actions are still rare and unpopular with the Imperial Navy. No carrier vessel smaller than a battleship carries a significant number of these, the Imperial Navy rarely boarding an enemy vessel unless they have a clear need to do so or have crippled and immobilised the target first.

Faustus Heavy Interceptor

Technically, this is a fan-art piece of a Fury Interceptor, but no images; art or otherwise, exist of the Faustus. Although it seems there has been confusion between the two fighters in this particular piece of art.

Length: 100 metres

Wing Span: 50 metres

Crew: 3 (1 Pilot, 1 gunner, 1 Navigator)

Sub-light engine: 1 Mars-pattern 'Implacable' plasma-thrust engine.

Standard Armament: 2 Mars-pattern Mk-22F 'Fury' Lascannons (mounted on the wings), 4 Mars-pattern Mk-32H 'Faustus' Autocannons (mounted on the wings), 1 Mk-12J 'Hellblaster' Heavy Plasma Cannon (chin mounted), 2 'HellStorm' missile pods (10 independently targetable Plasma, Melta or Cluster Munition warheads each, storage and mechanism for between 2 and 10 reloads depending on equipment fit), capacity for up to 12 Plasma, Melta or Cluster heavy missile warheads, 5 High-Yield Plasma or Melta bombs or 1 Plasma, Vortex or Melta torpedo

Machine spirit: M33 Signus class

Warp capable: yes

Lore: These craft were created as advanced scouts and heavy interceptors for the Imperial Navy alongside the Fury.
Initial variants of the Fury, after entering widespread service, lacked missiles or Warp capability; much like their predecessor the Wrath. The Imperium, now realising the severely depleted numbers of Thunderhawks and Stormravens could no longer fill the heavy interceptor role or perform recon for the Navy, where desperate for a craft to fill the capability gap. The Mechanicus was presented with a request for a Heavy fighter that was heavily armed and armoured and could perform warp jumps and forward reconnaissance for the navy. The idea being that the Fury would fill a purely fighter role.

The resulting craft technically fit the requirements exactly. While she was exceptionally large for a fighter craft, she was very heavily armoured and armed: being equipped with 4 autocannons, 2 lascannons, a plasma cannon and 2 missile pods with 10 missiles in each . She could also carry heavier anti shipping missiles, plasma bombs or a single torpedo under against her belly. Making her the first and only true fighter bomber the Imperium ever produced.

She had a crew of 3: the Pilot (who doubled as the targeteer for the bombs or torpedo), a co-pilot and an Astropath/Navigator who was seated separately above and behind the cockpit.

The ship did however have flaws. For one, she was slow, she manoeuvred more like a bomber than a fighter: slow speed, lumbering, slow to react to threats and utterly incapable of dog-fighting and had no point defence to defend herself if a fighter got on her tail. This lead to the Faustus being phased out of active service as larger, updated, models of the Fury where Warp capable and carried their own missiles (albeit less of them). However, many veteran pilots of the Faustus were reluctant to transfer over to the newer Furies, as the firepower and versatility of the Faustus together with its ability to weather a savage battering made it a fond favourite for some.
For this reason, despite officially not being in front-line use, some battle fleets still field a small number of these as bomber-escorts and long-range recon craft.

In the Gothic War, a significant number were reactivated for use. Pilot opinions were mixed. While the abnormally large and unresponsive fighters just seemed like las-bait to some, to others the firepower, durability and versatility of the platform made them very quickly develop a bond with the craft: arguing you were more likely to get back home at the helm of an old and reliable Faustus then a new and flimsy Fury.

Imperial Escorts
Numerous as the Stars

Sword Class Frigate

Size: 1.6 KM long, 0.3 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 26,000

Max Acceleration: 4.5 g

Defences: Double-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 1 double-barrelled laser-based sub-macro turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 8 laser-based sub-macro cannons (4 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Sword Class is one of the oldest Imperial ship design still in service, dating back to the Age of Strife, its design refined to a very fine level: being battle tested across many millennia and an uncountable number of battles. The sword, like all escorts, is very small and fast by Imperial Navy standards. They are also extremely numerous, any space faring planet being easily capable of constructing the simple and well known vessel either on the ground or in orbital shipyards.

The Sword's combat capabilities, despite being common as dirt, are nothing to turn your nose up at. The rather large array of laser-based weapons are excellent for chewing apart opposing escorts and civilian shipping, massed volleys from squadrons of these frigates even cable of presenting a major threat to larger capital ships. The Sword Class also stands out among escorts for her armour.
She is still poorly armoured, being only able to withstand the stray light macro cannon shell or two, and still vulnerable to any form of enemy lance: but her thicker than average bulkheads and prow armour make her difficult for other escorts to deal with.

The Sword Class has seen extensive service across the Imperium, and with Pirates, being one of the most heavily mass produced vessels in Imperial History. Sword Class vessels have been found raiding convoys, escorting convoys, hunting down stragglers and enemy escorts after a major fleet engagement; and escorting larger Imperial capital ships into the line of battle (a Battleship without at least 2 or 3 Sword Class escorts being a rare sight indeed in the Imperium).
Her versatile armament, high speed, respectable armour for her size and cheap construction making her perfectly adjusted for nearly any duty an escort could be expected to fulfil: her armour and firepower proving just enough to present a very difficult adversary for any opposing escorts to deal with.

Firestorm Class Frigate

Size: 1.8 KM long, 0.3 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 25,000

Max Acceleration: 4.4 g

Defences: Double-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 1 double-barrelled laser-based sub-macro turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 4 laser-based sub-macro cannons (2 per broadside), 1 Light Lance (prow mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: Firestorm Class is a modification of the Sword Class made by the Gareox 'Young School' fleet lords in M35. Much of the Firestorm remains unchanged from the Sword Class in appearance and interior, although there is one major difference: her armament. Firestorm has fewer broadside weapons batteries, and less powerful engines, but that excess power goes into supporting a Prow-mounted lance. This Lance is deadly to other escorts: having the accuracy to hit them even while manoeuvring and the power to overwhelm their thin shielding and flimsy armour and cause massive damage to their systems. The Lance also has double the range of the more conventional weapon batteries found on the Sword Class, the Firestorm's firepower is also enough to present a devastating threat to fleeing and damaged capital ships: a pack Firestorms able to quickly close the distance and volley-fire Lance bolts into the stricken adversary.

These small and dangerous vessels have seen extensive service, much like the Sword class, by the side of convoy operations, supporting larger capital ships and hunting stragglers/survivors after a major fleet engagement. The Firestorm also has a darker side: being a personal favourite among many pirates. Fast, cheap, and enough firepower to quickly cripple a target vessel: swarms of these ships have been seen assaulting convoy operations across the Imperium to devastating effect, the little terrors able to quickly get the prize and scarper before an Imperial retaliation fleet can get into place.

Cobra Class Destroyer

Size: 1.5 KM long, 3 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 21,000

Max Acceleration: 7.6 g

Defences: singular-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 4 light torpedo launch tubes (prow mounted), 3 Sub-Macro weapon battery turrets (one dorsal/prow mounted, 2 flanking the prow)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: In the competition for most numerous warship in the Imperium, the Cobra is a serious contender, roving swarms of the destroyers being found in service with every fleet in the Imperium and with pirates.
The cobra class is designed around being a fast torpedo boat: which make a squadron of these dangerous warships a lethal threat to even the largest capital ships. The warship is also very poorly armoured (like all escorts), and the fastest warship in Imperial Navy service (fast even among other escorts), making the warship incredibly hard to hit with anything other than a lance as they make their torpedo runs and a nightmare to try and catch as they run for the cover of their home fleet/base. A single Cobra destroyer being the only ship able to escape the Yuctan incident in M40 (The Imperial navy's first encounter with a Necron fleet).

The Cobra Class is however extremely weak for attacking other escorts, her three tiny weapons batteries being simply too small to do any real damage and too short range to contest the laser-based weapons batteries, making the Cobra purely a torpedo boat with batteries for self-defence.

A variant known as the Viper Class exists that has another set of torpedo launchers, and a variant known as the Widow Maker trades its dorsal sub-macro cannon for more powerful augur arrays.

Tempest Class Frigate

Size: 2.1 KM long, 0.4 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 36,000

Max Acceleration: 4.8 g

Defences: Tripple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 3 double-barrelled laser-based sub-macro turret (dorsal and dorsal/prow mounted), 8 Melta-pulsar cannons (4 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 4 Shark Assault boats

Lore: Tempest is a strange escort in a few way. For one she is huge, about a third larger than the Sword Class, and has prow Armor that wouldn't be out of place on a light cruiser: being triple-armoured and heavily reinforced for an escort. She is armed with a battery of short range melta pulsar Weapon Batteries on each side of the ship, as well as three of the fairly typical laser based Weapon batteries mounted dorsally in turrets. She is also unique among escorts for having limited carrier capacity in the form of a single squadron of assault boats, as well as boarding equipment and a full complement of ratings and boarding personnel.

The ship was designed by Battle fleet Calixis to combat pirate operation. The idea was that the weaker weapons normally found on pirate vessels (like on the Iconoclast-Class Destroyer and, to a lesser extent, the Havoc Class Frigate) would be unable to kill the frigate due to her heavier Armor, and unable to shake off the ship in a straight line, firing her dorsal laser batteries while in pursuit. Then the ship could be left crippled burning after a single broadside form the melta pulsars or, if the cargo was sufficiently large or important, board the criminal ship and retake any cargo that may have been stolen.

This ship proved so effective in this role that the ship began seeing use against large threats to the Imperium. Although the ship was mostly useless in defensive operations, due to her incredibly short range and poor broadside and rear Armor, she proved very deadly in any offence. Able to close the distance quickly and do heavy damage, even to ship many times her size, with a mix of boarding actions and Melta pulsar bolts.

Falchion Class Frigate

Size: 1.4 KM long, 0.3 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 21,000

Max Acceleration: 4.6 g

Defences: Single-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 2 light torpedo launch tubes (prow mounted), 18 Sub-Macro mass driver cannons (9 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: Falchion Class is a warship designed as a smaller and lighter version of the Endeavour-series Light Cruisers, first proposed by Forge World Voss to conserve resources and increase the number of escorts in service with battle fleets. The initial design was stolen by Chaos forces and would become the Infidel Class frigate first seen in M40, but modified design of the Falchion would be see production and service with the Imperial Navy in M41. The Falchion's heavy armament of broadside weapon batteries and a pair of torpedo launchers allow the Falchion to engage both other escorts and larger vessels with a degree of versatility that other frigates and destroyers can't match: the large number of sub-macro weapons making short work of escorts weapons and the torpedoes able to do significant damage to larger ships, making this frigate a sort of hybrid between a destroyer and a frigate.

The class's relatively young age does mean that many in the Imperial Navy question its effectiveness, but the craft has thus far proven itself to be at least a partially competent design. Like all Voss designs, being a very innovative hybrid of existing Imperial Navy designs.

When compared to the more common sword class, the Falchion is better armed for dealing with a variety of targets, but significantly less well armoured, although the Falchion does have more slightly more powerful engines. The class tends to perform better in defensive roles and can be surprisingly effective in the hands of a skilled captain.

The Falchion Class performed well defending against the Chaos invasion of Abumbria in M41, a pair of the vessels being pitted against a small invasion fleet of a dozen vessels: 10 escorts (mostly the Falchion 'sister class' Infidel frigates) and a pair of harbinger light cruisers. The Falchions were able to use their high speed to evade the chaos fleet's initial assault and, although unable to stop the initial landing, strike back with torpedoes and cripple one of the light cruisers. In a running battle lasting several weeks the two were able to destroy the light cruiser and several of the chaos escorts before finally being able to assist in the valiant defence of Imperial ground Forces on the Planet.

Turbulent Class Heavy Frigate

Size: 2.5 KM long, 0.5 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 35,000

Max Acceleration: 4.1 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 2 Escort class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 1 double-barrelled laser-based sub-macro turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 6 Light Macro Cannons (3 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 3 Arvus lighters

Lore: Turbulent Class is rare breed of escort: having armour and firepower to contest a Light cruiser, but in a much smaller escort-sized package.
The Turbulent Class is a warship designed by (and found exclusively within) battlefleet Calixis. The idea was to build a cheap and easily mass produced vessel that was capable of destroying any opposing escorts, and present a devastating threat to larger vessels when deployed in grouped (following the line of thinking of the largely successful Endeavour Class Light cruiser).
This came in the form of a battery of Light Macro Cannons, a single laser-based weapon battery and very thick armour and shielding for an escort.

The problem with the design was that the escort had sacrificed much of the speed an escort would be expected to have, barely keeping up with light cruiser in a straight line and having very poor mobility: this, together with the complicated construction for an escort, meant that the Turbulent was not adopted outside of Battlefleet Calixis; the Firestorm being seen as a superior option for an escort-sized firepower supplement.

Despite this the Turbulent has seen service against various enemies of the Imperium with varying degrees of success, the Macro argument proving as deadly as her designers had hoped when engaging other escorts.
Despite opposition from outside Battlefleet Calixis, and being an unpopular choice with younger Admirals with the Battlefleet, many of the senior Admirals at the top of Battlefleet look upon the Heavy Frigate fondly: many of their successful careers starting at the helm of a Turbulent Class.

Havoc Class Raider Frigate

Size: 1.8 KM long, 0.3 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 26,000 (in Imperial service, more in pirate service)

Max Acceleration: 4.6 g

Defences (In Imperial service): faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shields

Standard Main Armament: 6 fixed Prow Sub-Macro mass drivers, 2 Sub-Macro Plasma turrets (dorsal/prow mounted), 4 Sub-Macro plasma cannons (2 per broudside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Havoc was originally created in M36 by the fleet lords of Calixis as a merchant raider and civilian enforcement vessel for the Imperial Navy. While the Havoc performed perfectly well in these roles, being fast and more than well armed enough to fulfil these duties: many admirals mistrusted the designs lack of an armoured prow and nasty tendency of suffering damage against even light threats. The trusty Sword: being infinitely more reliable, versatile and durable; was much preferred by the vast majority of fleet admirals.

Eventually the escort found its way into the hands of rogue traders and Pirates where it swiftly became a firm favourite. Relatively fast, easily modified, and cheap to build and maintain while packing a savage array of weapons meant it was perfect for attacking convoy operations in groups and tearing through lighter Imperial shipping and civilian transports. This, of course, being similar to the role it fulfilled with the Imperial Navy.

Despite this, many variants have remained in service or been recaptured by numerous Imperial battlefleets: the ship now seeing service with rogue traders, merchants, pirates, civilians, the Imperial Navy, Chaos war fleets and even some alien empires. The Frigate being one of the most heavily mass produced ships in the known galaxy. Every contractor, space-dock and space faring planet producing at least a dozen of these every decade.

Claymore corvette

Size: 0.9 KM long, 0.2 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 18,000 (in Imperial service, more in pirate service)

Max Acceleration: 7.4 g

Defences: singular-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 1 Sub-Macro Mass Driver turrets (dorsal/prow mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 1 Arvus lighter

Lore: The smallest vessel to see use by the Imperial Navy on a large scale, the Claymore was another escort creation by battlefleet Calixis. The small and fast ship being well equipped with auspex equipment for its size and more mobile than any other escort in Imperial service.

However, it proved good for little more than scout and patrol duties in the Imperial Navy. Lacking the firepower or armour to compete with any other escort, which meant it was never widely adopted outside of it's native battlefleet of Calixis.

The ship does, however, see plenty of service with pirates. The ship being easy to build and hide away, and well armed enough to rip apart lightly protected transports: large groups of up to 8 of these corvettes rushing the unwary or poorly defended, grabbing their loot, and escaping before most have a hope of catching the corvette. Or, alternatively, hiding away in tight and obscure places in order to transmit information on any potential threats to pirate warlords.

Imperial Light Cruisers
Humble Warriors

Dauntless Light Cruiser

Size: 4.5 KM long, 0.5 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 65,000

Max Acceleration: 4.3 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 light cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 2 double-barrelled light macro turrets (dorsal and dorsal/prow mounted), 12 light macro cannons (6 per broadside) and either a Prow lance or 6 torpedo tubes.

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Apulia lander

Lore: The Dauntless Class is possibly the most heavily mass produced capital ship-sized warship in Imperial history. The ship has a long history, dating back to the early Great Crusade era, and has filled the same role successfully for over ten thousand years.

The Dauntless is designed as a versatile, cheap and reliable scout cruiser platform that was primarily optimised for recon, enforcement and patrol: but could fill a wide range of combat applications and roles. Both primary variants of the ship possess many light macro cannon, powerful argur equipment and escort-like speed and mobility. The light cruisers finding a balance of firepower, speed, utility and protection for a low price and rapid production time. The light macro cannons being much smaller and less taxing on the battle fleets to keep supplied, trading stopping power and range of their larger cousins for a faster rate of fire in combat, making them perfectly suited for chewing apart similarly sized targets and escorts.

The Lance dauntless is even more deadly towards escorts and leans more heavily towards the raiding and anti-piracy potential of the ship. The lance more than capable of overwhelming an escort's defences and destroying the in only a couple of shots.

The Torpedo Dauntless focusses more on providing the ship a means to fight larger ship and support the fleet in larger combat actions. The Dauntless able to send a volley of deadly Melta, Plasma or vortex warheads into much larger and slower to manoeuvre threats.

While the Dauntless may not be nearly as powerful as their line-cruiser cousins, nor as cheap, numerous and easy to hide as escorts, they fit a valuable role in the Imperial Navy. Its long service life, even by Imperial standards, a testament to the ship's overall quality. Even if the light cruiser often over-looked in favour the pride of the fleet: the battlecruisers and battleships, or the more powerful but generally less flexible line-cruisers.

Defender Class Light Cruiser

Size: 4.5 KM long, 0.5 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 65,000

Max Acceleration: 4.1 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 light cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 3 Light-Lance turrets (dorsal and dorsal/prow mounted), 12 light Macro Cannons (6 per broadside), 1 prow Lance

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander

Lore: The Defender is a modification of the Dauntless first put together as a proposal by the Fleet admirals of battlefleet Tempestus as part of plans for dedicated anti-piracy fleets laid out in M38. This line of planning and design eventually culminating in the fearsome Invincible Class Fast Battleships in M41.

The Defender modification saw most of the Dauntless' argur equipment removed, removal of her dorsal Macro Cannon armaments and power taken away from her engines; the excess power and turrets being taken away to allow for the fitting of three light lance turrets equipped with the same weapons found on the tried and tested Firestorm Frigates.

While this servilely limited the ability of the ship to fulfil patrol errands and scouting duties, it was a significant boost in firepower. The ship still retained a high speed, respectable protection for the weight class and now had enough firepower to stand toe-to-toe with some line-cruisers. Where the ship shined, however, was in systematically taking apart smaller or similarly sized vessels.

The rapid-fire cannons and lances able to tear apart most opponents before they stood a chance of doing Signiant damage to the Defender. This also made her excellent in convoy patrols. While she was virtually blind alone, with other ships to draw fire and spot targets: The Defender alone could repulse all but the most determined of attacks. The Alien Bane, achieving an incredible kill tally in throughout the Gothic War by defending convoy operations: destroying 17 escort-sized pirate vessels and some 204 pirate strike craft in one battle.

Enforcer Class Light Cruiser

Size: 4.5 KM long, 0.5 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 70,000

Max Acceleration: 4.3 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 light cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 2 double-barrelled light macro turrets (dorsal and dorsal/prow mounted), 2 Hangar decks (1 per broadside), a Prow lance turret.

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 4 Valkyries, 12 Thunderbolts, 12 Marauders, 20 Furies, 4 Star Hawks.

Lore: The Enforcer Class is a warship feared by many, being a symbol of Imperial power and authority over lesser human empires on many worlds, the Enforcer Class seeing not nearly as much service in front-line combat as in wide use as a PDF ship and keeping worlds from rebelling against the Imperium.
The Enforcer Class armament reflects this: a pair of light hanger bays, ensuring that Imperial forces on the ground always have air supremacy over any insurgency, and a turreted lance for destroying enemy strongholds on the ground, space installations and any space-faring vessels the rebels may possess with extreme prejudice and efficiency.
The Enforcer being so effective in this role that one of them, the Imperial Ghost, preventing chaos-fuelled rebellion in an entire sector: destroying chaos and rebel escorts across multiple planets and supporting Imperial ground forces across the sector until an Imperial fleet could respond.

Despite the Enforcer being very well suited to crushing revolts and small-scale fleet combats, she is poorly suited to larger fleet engagements: her low-ish light cruiser armour as well as small number of batteries and strike craft making her an easy target to overwhelm and destroy for other light cruisers and escorts squadrons: although the turreted Lance can be extremely dangerous to unshielded targets.

The Enforcer Class did see some service in the early stages of Gothic War, Battlefleet Gothic being desperate for carrier capable warships. She performed well against pirate fleets, turreted Lance and strike craft proving an effective counter to the swarmed and poorly armoured vessels: but proved to be a dismal warship when fighting larger threats, being replaced in the light-carrier role by the Dictator class in the mid and late Gothic War.

Endeavour-series Light cruisers

The Endeavour Class

The Defiant Class

Endurance Class

Size: 3.8 KM long, 0.5 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 58,000-61,000

Max Acceleration: 3.9 g

Defences: Triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 light cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament:

Endeavour: 8 Macro Cannons (4 per broadside), 2 torpedo launchers.

Endurance: 2 Plasma-Lance batteries (1 per broadside, 2 six-barrelled turrets per battery), 2 torpedo launchers.

Defiant: 2 hangar bays (1 per broadside).

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: (all 3 ships): 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, (Defiant only): 25 Furies, 16 Star Hawks

Lore: The Endeavour series is a group of three light cruisers which are all classes interchangeable with each other in all regards bar armament.

The series of light cruisers stared with the Endeavour class. The Endeavour class was suggested by the fleet lords of battlefleet Calixis in M33. The newly formed and very escort and Light cruiser-heavy battlefleet having a desperate need for more warships that could carry line-ship weaponry. Not having the time or resources to mass produce Line-cruisers, the Calxis fleet lords design and had built a small and cheaply built light cruiser that maximised armour protection and firepower above speed or arguer equipment. The resulting ship was the Endeavour class. Slow, by light cruiser standards, but still fast enough to outrun most larger ships: and armed with a deadly battery of Macro Cannons on each broadside and boasting thick all-round armour protection. The ship very rapidly found itself amid a massive production demand, the light cruiser finding itself in use across the Imperium with nearly every major battlefleet placing orders for them to act as protective escorts for battleships and battlecruisers.

The Endurance Class came much later, in the 2nd War for Armageddon. Battlefleet Armageddon was suffering a steep attrition rate at the hands of the Orks, and it was clear that the Endeavour and its Macro Cannons (although easy to produce and replace) where inadequate vs heavy Ork armour. The battlefleet modifying its Endeavours instead with Plasma lances that could cleave through even the heaviest armour: a group of Endurance Class vessels being more than capable of taking apart even an Ork battleship in very short order.

The Defiant Class came into being in the opening years of M41 with battlefleet Gothic. The battlefleet was desperate for carriers, many of the fleet admirals firmly believing that the future of the Imperial Navy lay with assault carriers and hoped that strike craft would give the edge they needed over the many pirate, Ork and Eldar threats that constantly assailed them. The Defiant wasn't an ideal conversation, sacrificing any gun-armament or torpedoes for pure hanger space. This made the ship surprisingly capable in carrying large squadrons of bombers, but at the cost of being cripplingly vulnerable to opposing ships. The defiant being incapable of serving on the frontline without at least moderate support.

Imperial Cruisers
Ever Reliable

Lunar Class Cruiser

Size: 5 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 95,000

Max Acceleration: 2.5 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Macro Cannons (4 per broadside), 4 plasma Lances (2 per broudside) and either 6 Torpedo launchers or a Nova Cannon.

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Apulia lander

Lore: The Lunar is the workhorse, backbone and most common line cruiser of the Imperial Navy. She was created in M33 to replace the outdated and inefficient Relentless, Murder and Emasculator Class cruisers and provide the Imperium with a single mass-producible multirole line-cruiser. It proved a wild success. The next most common cruiser, the Gothic, outnumbered by about a third by Lunar Class cruisers.

Primary reason for this is the ship's armaments. She has a plasma lance battery per broadside, each lance having respectable range and terrifying anti-armour capabilities; a battery of Macro Cannons that can make short work out of anything it hits and act as suppression as well as either 6 torpedo launchers or even the legendary Nova Cannon. She also has a large cargo capacity, effective auspex equipment, and a pair of extended command and control towers and secondary bridge to allow the ship to fulfil flagship duties for smaller fleets as well as direct strike craft groups launched from carriers onto key targets. Retaining average mobility, speed and armour protection for a line cruiser alongside this versatility.

While the lunar may not be as impressive in any one role as some other Imperial cruisers, the fact she can fill such a wide variety of roles makes her a highly valued ship by nearly every battle fleet in the Navy. Vast flotillas being found everywhere in the Imperium and most battle lines being made up mainly of these cruisers.

Gothic Class Cruiser

Size: 5 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 93,800

Max Acceleration: 2.5 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 4 Plasma 'Purgatory' Lance batteries (2 per broadside), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander

Lore: The Gothic Class is largely considered a failed experiment by the Imperial Navy.

The Cruiser was originally conceived to hopefully fill the same role as the mighty Apocalypse Class Battleship, which was becoming increasingly rare due to the inability to construct further vessels of that class. The battleship having a vast armament of exclusively lances that could overwhelm and destroy any vessel's defences in minutes under a massed and concentred barrage. The converted Lunar, named the Gothic Class, designed to be a cheap supplement for this role.

Unfortunately, this dream was never realised, the Gothic had very serious issues from the start. First, the power transfer technology for the Apocalypse's massed lances was lost, and only a limited number of shipyards could produce the Imperium's complex, arcane replacement; only inefficient and much less effective power transfers could be fitted to most of these cruisers. Even that proving complicated and time consuming to produce.

Secondly, the lances and new power conduit required a new armour profile which made the Gothic far too heavy and sluggish with conventional cruiser engines. Designers compensated by literally removing all armour from several main areas of the hull. The new armour layout and power consumption of the Gothic's lances preventing the chance of a Nova Cannon being added, unlike the Lunar on which she was based.

When the Gothic was finally put through combat trials, her first commanders discovered a third devastating setback. The Gothic's vaunted lances were too weak and too few to cripple other cruiser-class vessels with a single broadside (as the Apocalypse could do), and were too delicate to be fired rapidly without a serious risk of shipboard explosions. This lead to the saying: 'A lone Gothic is a dead Gothic', as the ship had to be escorted by another cruiser to be effective against most enemies.

Despite its initial failures, the Gothic class quickly found a niche: being an incredible counter to escort type vessels. The concentrated and highly accurate lance strikes from a Gothic were perfect for picking off frigates and destroyers as they attempted to close in on fleets for attack runs. And the Gothic's armour, though underwhelming for a cruiser, was more than sufficient to withstand hits from its smaller targets. Making the Gothic a favourite for anti-piracy operations and convoy escorts, where more successful and generally useful cruisers would be wasted: many Gothic cruisers being produced to fill exactly those largely less-important roles.

Dominator Class Cruiser

Size: 5.4 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 98,000

Max Acceleration: 2.4 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 16 Heavy 'Titian Forge' Macro Cannons (8 per broadside), 1 Prow Nova Cannon

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander.

Lore: The Dominator is the deadliest and least common of the Imperial cruisers. This ship has roughly average armour and speed, but has a terrifying array of weapons for a ship of her weight class: being the only cruiser to boast a Nova Cannon as standard and Heavy Macro batteries equal in strength to the mighty Retribution battleship, although the limitations of the cruisers power supply allowing only half the range of the much larger battleship.

The idea behind the design was quite simple. The cruiser would deploy in small groups behind the main battle line on major combat fronts, using its Nova cannon to cripple any large enemy vessels attempting to break the line, and moving in to plug gaps and hunt stragglers with its massive macro batteries. On the offensive, a pack of Dominators would use their nova cannons to cause mass confusion and destruction as they close on enemy battle groups, get inside their formation, and tear it open with salvoes from their Heavy Macro Cannons. A handful of these Line cruisers able to rip apart fleets of ships much larger than themselves.

The cruiser wasn't unstoppable though; she was vulnerable to Ordnance and lacked strike craft or Lance batteries to defend herself effectively against smaller vessels. The Nova Cannon and Heavy Macro batteries also had a slow rate of fire, so anything that could withstand the first salvo was likely to be able to destroy the warship.

Regardless, the ship was very successful, and adored by both her crews and admirals for her reliability and flexibility on the battlefield. However, the ship came into her own in the Gothic War. One Dominator, the Hammer of Justice, found herself in an ambush where she was flanked by a pair of Chaos Carnage class cruisers: The Dominator proceeded to reduce both cruisers to floating hulks in seconds under a full barrage from both broadsides. Another, the Depth of Fury, desperately defended the shine world of Kathur against a fleet lead by the dreaded Death Guard legion flagship: Terminus Est. The Depth of Fury destroyed scores of escorts, a Styx Class Heavy Cruiser, and vaporised several decks on the Terminus Est with a Neutronium shell shot from her Nova Cannon (coming very close to destroying the massive warship), before succumbing to catastrophic damage done across 90% stricken cruiser's decks. No Imperial survivors were found on board.

Dictator Class Cruiser

Size: 5.1 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings (Lunar conversion 5 KM long)

Crew: 100,000

Max Acceleration: 2.5 g (lunar conversation), 2.8 g (purpose-built)

Defences: Tripple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Macro Cannons (4 cannons per broadside), 2 Hangar decks (1 per broadside), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 50 Furies, 24 Star Hawks

Lore: This warship was originally built as a stopgap measure to address Battlefleet Gothic's desperate need for carriers during the early stages of the 12th Black Crusade in early M41. The first Dictators were built from the wrecks of damaged or destroyed Lunar-class cruisers. Collapsed interior spaces were gutted and converted into hangar space, and lance batteries were traded for launch bays. For a ship built out of shipwrecks, the Dictator served its role as a cruiser/light carrier hybrid admirably well. They would escort convoys, flagship long-range patrols and spearhead pirate interdiction operations. During actions against pirates, packs of Dictators would flush Ork and human raiders out of asteroid fields with swarms of bombers so that they and the rest of the fleet could blow them apart under massed macro cannon fire.

The Dictator class quickly came into high demand during the Gothic War. Shipyards began producing purpose-built Dictator hulls with improved auspex sensors and engines for greater long-range strike potential. The Dictator class rapidly replaced the Lunar class and ineffective escort carriers as the primary escort cruiser. It was the Dictator class that proved instrumental in the destruction of Pirate's Haven, the primary base of operations for Ork and human pirates. Such was the ships success that by the end of the Gothic War, the Dictator class outnumbered the Lunar class and had largely replaced them as the primary fleet cruiser in battlefleet Gothic.

One Dictator, the Lord Solar Macharius, gained great fame under the command of Flag-Captain Leoten Semper. Flag-Captain Semper distinguished himself and his ship by delivering the first detailed auspex scans of the Planet Killer to Battlefleet command, routing a Chaos armada besieging Helia IV and securing cooperation between Eldar and Imperial forces in the final stages of the war.

Tyrant Class Cruiser

Size: 5 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 92,000

Max Acceleration: 2.2 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Plasma-Macro Cannons (4 per broadside), 8 Macro Cannons (4 per broadside) and either 6 torpedo launchers or a Nova Cannon

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander

Lore: The Tyrant's defining feature is its plasma-based main armament. Plasma Macro weapons being conceived in early M38 as part of an Imperial effort to extend the range of Macro weaponry. It was discovered that shells of fusing Plasma had double the range of the projectiles fired by conventional Imperial Macro cannons and where simpler and quicker to build than the heavier Laser-Macro cannons. At short range, the effects of these weapons were grisly: at the area of impact, molecules literally fused together and chunks of the ship's hull were vaporised. The intense heat generated by short-range plasma hits would render heat-sensitive enemy Lances temporarily inoperable. But there was a catch: The Plasma began to fade and fizzle out at standard Imperial engagement ranges, meaning that Plasma macro cannons could only damage unshielded escorts at the edge of their 'effective' double range.

The Tyrant was the first warship to be equipped with these weapons. She is also characterized by her slower speed and strong armour for a cruiser. The speed handicap is a result of the power-hungry cooling system required for the Tyrant's Plasma weapons, even with the restriction to just one plasma battery. Extra armour was added to increase survivability during her lumbering attack runs, giving the Cruiser a better chance of surviving and winning exchanged where she was out manoeuvred.

The experimental nature of the Tyrant's weapons meant that initial production runs were limited to specialized forge worlds. During this time, a fielded Tyrant was a rare sight. It was not until M39 that the new cruiser saw widespread production on general-purpose industrial worlds. The Tyrant experienced a sudden boom in popularity at that time, rapidly replacing the Lunar class as the preferred line-cruiser in several high profile battlefleets. Heavy armour and powerful, extended range, Macro weaponry made the Tyrant an ideal cruiser to accompany battleships and battlecruisers in the line of battle. Lord Admirals giving glowing first impressions of the new Line-Cruiser. However, as her limited stopping power at range became better known, she fell from favour with many admirals, and her low speed meant that she was ill-suited for a chase and couldn't react quickly to changing battle situations.

Despite her fall from her earlier popularity in M39, a sizable number of Tyrant class vessels are still in service across the Imperium, with dozens of new ships of this class built daily. The Tyrant proving her worth in various major battles, adding solidarity to cruiser formations and making excellent escorts for battleships: The Plasma batteries on the Tyrant being superior for taking down smaller targets, allowing the battleships to focus on larger targets unmolested. The Tyrant also having massive potential for damage in a close-range brawl.

Imperial Battle Cruisers
Queens of the Void

Overlord Class Battle Cruiser

Size: 5.3 KM long, 0.85 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 100,000

Max Acceleration: 2.4 g (standard speed), 2.9 g (boosted)

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 battle cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 16 Heavy Plasma-Macro Cannons (8 per broadside), 2 dorsal Laser Lance turrets (dorsal) 6 Torpedo launchers.

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Apulia lander

Lore: The Overlord Battlecruiser was the Imperial answer to the increasing numbers of Chaos Heavy Cruisers, and was built with a powerful power plant taking heavy inspiration from the experimental and potentially xenos power plant fitted to the Acheron Heavy Cruiser.

Designed in M39 by Battlefleet Obscurus in response to increased activity from Chaos war fleets. The battlecruiser incorporating a heavier variant of the Plasma-macro cannons pioneered by the Tyrant, the larger cannons having improved long-range killing power and rate of fire due to the battlecruisers massively powerful energy reserves; a pair Laser Lance's with much longer range than the older plasma-lances and a set of ever-simple and reliable torpedo launchers. This battlecruiser very quickly becoming a firm favourite across the Imperium, seen as the model by which all Imperial battlecruisers should be judged by. The ship having generally all-round good characteristics: Being fairly well armoured, decently fast and Heavily armed, fitting all criteria favoured by the Imperial Navy.

The Overlord has, despite its comparatively short service life in the navy, become one of the most common sights in large battlefleets and easily the most numerous of Imperial battlecruisers by M41. The battlecruiser being an excellent warship for destroying large fleets of similarly sized warships or brawling with larger battleships for a short time. Its armament and capabilities being close to the legendary Retribution Battleship, earning it the nick name 'The poor-man's Retribution', the battlecruiser being much cheaper and lacking the same firepower and durability of the larger battleship: although the ship had advantages of her own.

For one she was faster and more mobile by a large margin than the battleship, and had a vast power reserve that permitted the battlecruiser to put on sudden boosts of speed, range and firepower; although Imperial captain where under strict orders to not do this unless absolutely necessary due to the severe strain placed on the Battlecruiser's generators.

Needless to say, the battlecruiser is adored by admirals and captains across the Imperium: The Ship making a name for itself in nearly every major war since its creation.

Mars Class Battle Cruiser

Size: 5.4 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 107,000

Max Acceleration: 2.3 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 battle cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Heavy 'Titian Forge' Macro Cannons (4 per broadside), 2 plasma lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 2 hangar decks (1 per broadside), Prow Nova Cannon

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 50 Furies, 30 Star Hawks

Lore: The Mars class has about average speed and armour, but its weapons load out certainly was designed with flexibility in mind: with Nova cannon and Launch bays for long range strike support, and Dorsal plasma Lances and Heavy Macro Cannons for tearing apart enemy cruisers at mid-range and in close quarters. The original intention of the Battlecruiser is unknown, given the secretive nature of its origin and the design's incredible age. The ship originally created on Mars for the Imperium's use in the later days of the Horus Heresy.

This warship has seen perhaps the most dramatic change of favour in the history of the Imperium of Man. One of the oldest Battlecruiser classes, originally exclusively produced by the Ring of Iron shipyards of Mars, spent its first few millennia of existence being ridiculed by most of the Imperial Navy for being 'under-gunned' for a Battlecruiser: The Overlord Class being later seen as vastly superior. No Forge Worlds other than Mars constructed the ship, no orders were placed for the ship, and construction of the Ship was halted entirely by M39.

Now, in late M41, the Mars class is one of the most common and respected ship classes in the Imperium, largely replacing the Overlord as the primary Battlecruiser with Battlefleets Calixis and Kronos. This dramatic change of favour was brought about by the performance of the Mars class in the Gothic war.

The shift in the Mars' fortune began with a pair of the ancient, unpopular battlecruisers serving with Battlefleet Gothic when Abaddon launched his offensive. Both vessels served with distinction; the Imperius in particular fighting in nearly every major fleet engagement of the war, cementing a fearsome reputation for her high kill tallies among Pirate and Chaos fleets.

The Mars proved to be exactly the ship that the Battlefleet needed: long range firepower and carrier capacity on a chassis that was entirely capable of fulfilling long range escort/patrol duties with few escorts of its own being required. Although neither did anything especially notable when compared to their Overlord-class cousins, they proved that the Mars class was a powerful and valuable asset to any large fleet. Imperium-wide mass production resumed in early M41, followed shortly thereafter by widespread deployment into every major Battlefleet.

Armageddon Class Battle Cruiser

Size: 5 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 98,500

Max Acceleration: 2.4 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 battle cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Heavy 'Titian Forge' Macro Cannons (4 per broadside), 2 Plasma lance batteries (1 per broadside), 6 torpedo tubes

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander

Lore: This ship was a hurried class of warship, built exclusively from the wrecks of Lunar class cruisers in Battlefleet Armageddon, to try and increase the rate at which 'new' capital ships could be produced to feed the high attrition rate of the Wars for Armageddon. The Battlecruiser keeps the Lance batteries from the Lunar class, and much of the interior is left largely untouched. But that is where similarities end: a second plasma reactor is placed in an extended rear section to power the dorsal lances and extend the range of all lance weapons on the ship, Macro Cannons removed and replaced for Heavy Macro Cannons as well as armour hastily applied to nearly every major section of the ship to try and prevent the ship from becoming a wreck again.

The ship itself served its purpose well. It provided Battlefleet Armageddon with a further means to replace losses in the ongoing war against the Ork hordes, and the larger array of weapons and greater survivability enhancing the performance of the ship in combat 10-fold when compared to the Lunar class they once were: having firepower comparable to a Battleship. However, the ship does have one glaring weakness: it is hellishly cramped. The ship, despite extensive hull refits on most variants, isn't any larger than the Lunar class it is based of off... yet carries 3,500 more crew members to service the greater number of weapons and power conduits.

This glaring weakness is what has largely prevented most other battlefleets from adopting the design. The short effective operation range making it poorly suited to the long range Escort and Patrol errands, which are common in the spread-out sectors of the Imperium, and the lack of carrier capacity making it incompatible with the Fleet preferences of many battle fleets, Gothic in particular having a very damning opinion of the 'Rust-Bucket Battlecruisers'. Although some other Battle Fleets have since been seen making their own native variants of the Armageddon Battle Cruiser from their Lunar casualties.

Mercury/Orion/Long Serpent Class Battle Cruisers

Long Serpent Class

Mercury Class

No Orion Picture, couldn't find one

Size: 5.3-5.5 KM long, 0.85-0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 100,000-110,000

Max Acceleration: 3.1 g

Defences: Triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 battle cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 16 Heavy 'Sun Breaker' Laser-Macro Cannons (8 cannons per broadside, Mercury class), 16 Super Heavy 'Serpent' Missile batteries (8 cannons per broadside, Long Serpent class), 16 Heavy 'Extinction' Plasma-Macro cannons (8 cannons per broadside, Orion Class), 2 Laser Lance turrets (dorsally mounted), Prow Nova Cannon (Mercury and Orion Class), 6 prow torpedo launchers (Long Serpent Class)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander

Lore: These ships where specifically designed to kill pirates, and where the second phase of Battlefleet Tempestus' plans to create an anti-piracy fleet lead by admiral Knightsbridge in M41, this cruiser being built from experiences learned during the conflicts in Barbus Costa during the Gothic War.

All these ships boated a very high standard speed a battlecruiser, had a large array of brutally powerful and accurate, yet complex and expensive, Macro weaponry that could each vaporise an escort with a single well-aimed shot; as well as a pair of laser lances and a deadly Nova Cannon each.

The plan with this series of vessels was really very simple: groups of the battlecruisers would run down pirate fleets, corner them, and destroy them under Nova Volleys and heavy laser-macro, Missile and Plasma barrages. The design philosophy of 'larger than anything faster, and faster than anything larger' prevailing with this warship type, large areas of these ships given only minimal armour reinforcement. Knightsbridge and his followers supremely confident that anything that could piece its hide could be outgunned or outrun by their new creation.

Chalice Class Battle Cruiser

Size: 5.1 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 98,200

Max Acceleration: 3.4 g

Defences: triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 battle cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 28 Macro Cannons (14 per broadside), 2 Plasma lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander

Lore: The Chalice Class battlecruiser was an experiment performed by the Admirals of Battlefleet Calixis to improve the speed with which the Imperial Navy could deploy heavy firepower to key strategic locations. The Battlecruiser was classed as a 'Fast Heavy Cruiser' by her native Battlefleet, her design very much being of the 'Faster than anything bigger, Bigger than anything faster' line of thinking: being armed with an impressive number of Macro cannons and a compliment of torps and Dorsal Lances to provide options for engagement of larger targets and dealing with escorts/cruisers at mid-range.

The speed of the Challice Class far outstripped all its compatriots, being the fastest large capital ship produced in millennia by the time of her construction: this would be both her greatest strength and her downfall. The stress placed upon the plasma generators that propelled the ship was such that they had a nasty tendency to rupture, she also lacked armour, as the Imperial ship designers where under the impression that any enemy would be dead or far too slow to catch and kill the Chalice. Both of these major weaknesses making her an unpopular choice for large fleet engagements, however she is still a prized ship for her rarity, incredible speed and breath taking beauty for an imperial production vessel.

Jovian Class Battle Cruiser

Size: 5.4 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 117,000

Max Acceleration: 2.3 g

Defences: tipple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 battle cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 2 Laser Lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 4 hangar decks (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 110 Furies, 66 Star Hawks

Lore: Jovian herself spent her life as a Mars Class Battlecruiser. Having served with Mars, Battlefleet Gothic and fighting her final battle with Battlefleet Bakka against Hive Fleet Behemoth while trying to defend Macragge along with the rest of her Battlefleet, the Ultramarines chapter fleet and Battlefleet Tempestus in M41. But her story didn't end there. The wreck of the venerable Mars class would find herself the centre of attention for the Imperial admiralty, as the lesson learned from the battle with the new tyranid threat had taught them that only lances and Strike craft mattered in a fight vs the tyranids: as staying at long range from their menacing short range vessels was all that mattered.

The idea was to have the ship's Nova cannon and macro cannons striped to make room for more hanger capacity and free up power for superior engine function and Lance range. Although the idea repulsed the more hard-line 'Big-Gun Lobby' admirals, who insisted that lances where the way forward against the tyranids, the design went ahead: the destroyed Nova cannon and prow armour replaced with a new prow, and lance batteries removed for more hanger capacity.

The newly created Jovian Class would go to see large scale production with Battlefleet Gothic, and lesser production with other battle fleets. The Jovian class seeing extensive service against Orks, raiders and Tyranids across the Imperium in late M41.

Dominion Class Battle Cruiser

Size: 5.3 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 106,000

Max Acceleration: 2.5 g

Defences: tipple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 battle cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament:2 Plasma lance batteries (1 per broadside, 2 Laser Lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 2 hangar decks (1 per broadside), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 50 Furies, 24 Star Hawks

Lore: The Dominion Class was designed as a modern replacement for the aging Mars Class design, proposed by the Fleet-Lords of Battlefleet Bakka. The idea behind the design was to create a vessel with firepower more akin to an Apocalypse Class Battleship, but with superior Speed, cheaper production costs and not sacrificing the Hanger capacity (Carriers being in desperately short supply for Battlefleet Bakka at the time).

The designers with Battlefleet Bakka apparently didn't learn from the Gothic class. The firepower of the Lances proving ineffective against anything larger than an escort, and the Hanger capacity was no greater than that of a Dictator class Cruiser, which was much faster and cheaper to produce.

The Dominion class did, however, shine against the Tyranids in the First Tyrannic War, where the combination of Lances (which had a grizzly effect on the bio-ships of the Tyranids, much like a long range flame-thrower in space) and strike craft (as staying at range and keeping the massive ships distracted was key to survival in fleet engagements against the Tyranids) proved very effective against the Tyranids. However, the slow rate of fire of the Lances did mean they had to deployed in groups or with a heavy escort to be used to their full effect.

Imperial Grand Cruisers
Old Faithful

Avenger Class Grand Cruiser

Size: 7.5 KM long, 1.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 141,000

Max Acceleration: 1.6 g (2.2 g in some cases)

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 4 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 64 Macro Cannons (32 per broadside) (some having 32 total Macro Cannons and 16 Heavy 'Titan Forge' Macro Cannons, as well as 3 dorsal lance turrets)

Standard secondary Armament: missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Apulia lander, 2 Devourer Drop Ships

Lore: The avenger is one of the oldest Imperial ships that still sees some service in M41. Famed for its reliability and dependability, even now, these ships have largely fallen out of service with the Imperial Navy. Before the time of the Imperial Navy, these ships where essentially pocket battleships: deploying in small groups with full-battleships (acting like body guards) and fulfilling combat duties as the flagships of Cruiser flotillas.

The Avenger filling very much a 'Brawler' or 'Line Breaker' assault role is armed with massive broadsides of cruiser-grade macro cannons in such a concentration that they can make short work of anything it can bring them to bear on, although they are short ranged. The ship also featuring massively thick armour and multiple layers of void shielding, although the ship is cripplingly slow and has no prow armour or frontal armaments.

The Imperial Navy in M36 attempted to extend the life of the Grand Cruiser by replacing the lower-most broadside with more modern Heavy Macro Cannons, some even receiving speed upgrades and dorsal lances by being equipped with newer battle cruiser power plants. For a long time, these upgrades have kept the Avenger loyally serving the Imperium in active combat roles, although most began being moth balled or repurposed as heavy cargo haulers by M39 and only a handful serve with major battle fleets by late M41. The slow speed and lack of an armoured prow meaning the ship frequently suffered minor to moderate damage trying to close with targets, making them expensive additions to the fleet, the Grand cruiser ultimately achieving the same thing as an Overlord battlecruiser in a less efficient manner.

Despite this, the Avenger is still held in high regard, and even retains flagship roles in many minor battle fleets. The ships massive broadside armament and heavy durability making it a deadly foe even to battleships in a close-ranged brawl.

Vengeance Class Grand Cruiser

Size: 7.2 KM long, 1.2 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 139,500

Max Acceleration: 1.7 g (2.2 g in some cases)

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 4 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 4 Heavy Plasma Lance batteries (2 per broadside), 16 Macro Cannons (8 per brousdies), 12 Heavy Macro Cannons (6 per broadside) (modernised versions equipped with 4 forward-mounted Heavy Torpedo Tubes)

Standard secondary Armament: missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 2 Devourer Drop Ships

Lore: The Vengeance is believed to have been the evolution from the Avenger Class, featuring slightly superior speed and a more versatile range of broadside armaments. While avenger being a 'line breaker' and a 'brawler' the Vengeance seeming to fill a more general purpose fire-support role. The ship is still very old, and not many are seen in late M41, the design dating back to before the Great Crusade.

The Vengeance armament reflects it's more versatile nature: having two different calibres of macro cannon, for dealing with smaller targets or battleships, and several heavy Lances that can make short work out of anything the Grand Cruiser chooses to engage.
The Vengeance still, regardless, falls to the same weaknesses that befell all Grand Cruisers: the lack of a prow, slow speed and no frontal weapons. The Vengeance also suffering from a lack of PD. The few missiles and auto cannons she is equipped with being easily overwhelmed by strike craft.

However, the potent armament and durability have prompted some battlefleets to keep them in service, able to fill a similar role to full battleships in smaller battlefleets. Modernisation including improved power supply, more modern engine drive systems and forward mounted torpedoes.

Exorcist Class Grand Cruiser

Size: 7.3 KM long, 1.1 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 112,000

Max Acceleration: 1.9 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 4 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 32 Macro Cannons (16 per broadside), 4 hanger decks (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 1 Tetrarch assault-lander, 3 Devourer Drop Ships, 40 Thunderbolts, 30 Marauders, 20 Valkyries, 4 Vultures, 75 Furies, 26 Star Hawks, 6 Shark Assault Boats

Lore: The Exorcist is a grand cruiser that has done very well for itself in M41 in finding a role to fill. The Grand cruiser is the second fastest among regular Imperial Grand Cruisers and the only one that has managed to adapt adequately to the shifting and changing of time. This being due largely to her massive carrier capacity.

Her high carrier capacity has made her a firm favourite with many fleets. The ship still sees front-line service as a system-enforcement vessel, fleet- ground support ship, Invasion ship and an exploration vessel. The ship being very well suited to operating for extended periods of time without maintenance or support due to its high durability and capacity to defend itself. The carrier capacity it has being easily interchangeable with a wide variety of craft to specialise it into more specific roles.

Although many have still been moth balled in favour of either the Emperor Class battleship, the Nemesis Class Battleship or the Jovian Class Battle cruiser, there are still no other ships that can combine carrier capacity, Macro-firepower and durability like the Exorcist does.

Furious Class Grand Cruiser

Size: 7.4 KM long, 1.6 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 112,000

Max Acceleration: 2.5 g

Defences: Triple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 4 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 32 Macro Cannons (16 cannons per broadside), 3 plasma lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 2 Devourer Drop Ships

Lore: This ship is the last known class of Grand Cruiser to be produced: the fastest of the Grand cruisers, and the only one to have an armoured prow and frontal weapons.

The ship dates to the late Great Crusade and Horus Heresy period. It was built to provide the Imperial Navy with a more up to date version of a Grand Cruiser, taking the prow section of a Retribution and marrying it to the hull of a Repulsive-class Grand Cruiser. Also, creating a new and experimental engine for the new Grand cruiser.

The result was a Grand Cruiser as fast as a Line-cruiser that was armed and armoured like a battleship. Unfortunately, it was costly and complicated to produce, as well as the engine and warp drive having serious reliability problems: many ships losing power to their engines for no apparent reason or getting lost in the warp.

Although the ship was a very successful combat vessel, elsewhere it was woefully lacking for reliability. As such, it wasn't widely adopted. The Furious Class being the final nail in the coffin for most attempts to bring the Grand Cruiser back into the Imperial fleets. By M41, battleships and battlecruisers replacing the ancient ships in their old roles.

Imperial Battleships
Pride of the Fleet

Emperor Class Battleship

Size: 8.5 KM long, 3.1 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 220,500

Max Acceleration: 1.6 g

Defences: Tripple-armoured prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Heavy 'Titan Forge' Macro Cannons (4 per broadside), 4 hangar decks (2 per broadside), 5 Heavy Macro Turrets (dorsally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: turbolasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Apulia lander, 2 Tetrarch assault-landers, 4 Devourer Drop ships, 40 Thunderbolts, 30 Marauders, 20 Valkyries, 12 Vultures, 110 Furies, 40 Star Hawks, 12 Shark Assault Boats

Lore: This warship has been the pride of Imperial fleets for over ten thousand years and has served the Imperium as the mainstay and flagship of nearly every major fleet. The large number of massive Heavy Macro Cannons powered by huge plasma reactors able to propel the immense projectiles far beyond the range of most cruisers and Battle cruisers and smash them into unrecognisable burning hulks; and great swarms of strike craft able to choke any attempt by smaller vessels to destroy the ponderous warship as well as reach out and strike fleets from frightening ranges due to the advanced long range auspex.

The Emperor Class is commonly used to bring powerful re-discovered colonies and rogue human empires into line with Imperium: able to choke the atmosphere of planets with swarms of hundred-metre-long bombers and masses fighters; the massive imposing shape blotting out the sun above the planet's capital from low orbit as it destroys whole fleets of lesser warships at the head of an Imperial fleet.

The battle honours claimed by the Emperor class are beyond counting: having served a major flagship role in nearly every major conflict in the Imperium for over ten millennia, the Gothic War was no exception. Lord Admiral Von Ravensburg, commander of Battlefleet Gothic, led his Battlefleet against Abaddon from the bridge of the ancient Emperor class warship the Divine Right. The Divine Right had already achieved legendary status before the war: lost in the Warp during the Horus Heresy, found thousands of years later fused with an ancient Chaos space hulk, somehow still battle-ready and uncorrupted by the taint of Chaos. The warship displayed an incredible resistance to Chaos weaponry, and with its power Von Ravensburg ultimately broke the backbone of Abaddon's armada at the Battle of Gethsemane. It was there that the Divine Right led the battlefleet directly into the centre of the Chaos formation, destroying several of Abaddon's largest warships and forcing a retreat straight into a carefully prepared Eldar ambush. The Divine Right not only survived the battle, but led from the front without receiving critical damage. She and her Admiral pursued the Warmaster and his defeated fleet to the Schindlegist system where she would destroy many more of Abaddon's ships using her massive Macro Cannons.

The ship continues to serve as Battlefleet Gothic's flagship: the ship's renown being such that a monument to the vessel was built on Holy Terra, next to a statue of her Captain; Von Ravensburg, and inscriptions of the names of all those who served with the Battlefleet (from Von Ravensburg himself to the lowliest merchants).

Retribution Class Battleship

Size: 8 KM long, 2.9 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 195,500

Max Acceleration: 2.1 g

Defences: Triple-armoured prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 24 Heavy 'Titan Forge' Macro Cannons (12 per broadsides), 5 Heavy Lances, 6 super heavy torpedo launchers.

Standard secondary Armament: turbolasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 1 tetrarch assault-lander, 2 Devourer drop ships

Lore: This Battleship is the purest expression of what the term Battleship is intended to mean, with unmatched fire-power and immensely thick armour and shielding. This Battleship is the battleship of the Imperial Navy. This Class of warship is the backbone, and muscle, of the Imperial Navy: having the most armour and most ferociously powerful broadsides of any class in the Imperial Navy (which are both impressive claims given the competition), very few classes in any Navy able to challenge her power in a gunnery duel. The Retribution is the ultimate expression of Imperial ship-building process, being the absolute zenith and purest incarnation of Imperial Naval doctrine, standing for everything the Imperium values most in a vessel: firepower and protection.

The ship's armament is an all-big-gun layout of Heavy Macro Cannons (an impressive 12 of the huge cannons per side), 5 dorsal lances to fend off escorts and finish off crippled opponents and a group of huge torpedo launchers, able to cripple any other other capital ship with one massively devastating hit. The ship also boasts an impressive power plant, which allows it to boost the range of the cannons and lances beyond the reach of most Battle Cruisers and Cruisers. The ship's tactical application is simple, unchanged for millennia, and terrifyingly effective. The ship closes with its enemy, firing a swarm of massive torpedoes into the mass of enemy vessels, the massive adamantine prow and multiple thick layers of shielding protecting against all but the very heaviest of enemy fire: and then opening with a devastating barrage of Heavy Macro Cannon fire, crippling or destroying anything unlucky or foolish enough to find itself in the path of the broadside. The ship is also the backbone of any large battle line, providing the heaviest fire support and the most well protected hull to the line of warships.

The warship has seen service in nearly every major Imperial conflict for over ten millennia, alongside her sister class the Emperor Class, and earned great renown and a fearsome reputation from countless battles. Battlefleet Gothic, like all major Battle Fleets, fielded several these Battleships in fleet formations. Battlefleet Gothic's Retribution battleships were all ancient warships, dating back to the earliest days of the Imperium: one of them, Blood hawk, had served against the largest Ork Waaagh in history lead by the legendary Ork Warboss 'The Beast', served during the Age of Apostasy as well as serving loyalist forces in the Horus Heresy. These venerable vessels proved devastating wherever they engaged, dominating the flow of the battle as their heavy broadsides tore apart Battleship and Cruiser alike.

Apocalypse Class Battleship

Size: 8.3 KM long, 3 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 200,000

Max Acceleration: 1.9 g

Defences: Triple-armoured prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleships class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 6 Heavy Plasma Lance Batteries (3 per broadside: 6 eight-barrelled turrets per broadside), 5 Heavy lance turrets (dorsally mounted), Prow Nova Cannon

Standard secondary Armament: turbolasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 1 tetrarch assault-lander, 2 Devourer drop ships

Lore: This vessel is a terrifying opponent to behold, able to reduce whole fleets to chunks of molten slag in an incredibly short period: the awesome power and increasing rarity of the ancient vessel making her a highly sought after Battleship by many Admirals of the Imperial Navy. This warship is the sniper and heavy fire-support battleship of the Imperial navy.

This warship is truly an Ancient design, the ship pre-dating the Horus Heresy by at least a millennium, best estimates putting the original designs age as far back as the beginning of the Great Crusade and the birth of the Imperium of Man. The ship is a rare gem in the Imperial Navy, production of the Mighty vessel no longer possible, much of the technology and means of production for the ship being since lost in the mists of time: this makes the ship highly prized and a great loss to the Imperium if lost (the Class being named 'The Queen of the Void'). Many attempts have since been made to try and replicate the vessels might, but most have failed horribly. The ship class herself is an awesomely powerful Battleship, being equipped with a Nova cannon and a vast number of long range lances, having firepower in one broadside comparable to the Retribution Class: however, a slow rate of fire means that Retribution keeps the crown for most powerful broadsides. However, the lances prove to have various strengths over the more common Macro broadsides: they are more accurate (meaning they are devastating to escorts and light cruisers), they ignore heavy armour and are more effective vs void shielding (meaning that battleships have much to fear from an Apocalypse's broadside) and the Nova cannon is the perfect weapon for dealing with any escapees or for causing mass destruction and confusion as the Battleship closes in on her prey.

The Battleship, despite the increasing rarity of the Class, can be found in service with nearly every major Battle fleet: able to reduce any enemy fleet to a collection of burning hulks in seconds (with only a relatively small escort required to protect against strike craft). Despite this, the Battleship did not reportedly take part in the Gothic War, but is a popular (and surprisingly common) warship with Battle fleet Armageddon: serving as a perfect counter to the escort heavy, short range and tough armour of Ork fleets; the large number of lances carving through their heavy armour from far outside their effective engagement range.

Oberon Class Battleship

Size: 8.3 KM long, 3 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 202,800

Max Acceleration: 1.9 g

Defences: Tripple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Heavy 'Titian Forge' Macro Cannons (4 cannons per broadside), 2 Hangar decks (1 per broadside) 2 Heavy Plasma Lances (1 per broadside), 5 heavy lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 1 tetrarch assault-lander, 2 Devourer drop ships, 40 Thunderbolts, 30 Marauders, 10 Valkyries, 6 Vultures, 55 Furies, 20 Star Hawks, 6 Shark Assault Boats

Lore: This ship is believed to be as old as the Apocalypse Class, having no dedicated Imperial shrine (like the Apocalypse) given its more secular history. The ship is also widely believed to be the ship that the Emperor class was built from (having suspiciously similar interiors and auspex equipment) but the exact age, purpose and origin of the design is shrouded in mystery. The ship also becoming increasingly rare, production of the vessel having long-ago ceased in favour of her successor the Emperor Class.
The Oberon Class herself is a swiss army knife among battleships, having at least one battery of all standard Imperial weapons used in the Imperial navy: a Launch Bay, a Lance Battery, a Battery of Heavy Macro cannons, Torpedo Launchers and Dorsal Lances.
This gives the Oberon options, a lot of options, for dealing with just about any enemy a battleship may face: sending a mixed assault of torpedoes, Macro cannons shells, lance bolts and strike craft which is very hard for any-one adversary to defend against alone. The ship also features advanced auspex sensors: allowing the ship to detect incoming enemies and launch a retaliation strike, from whatever of her weapon systems are in range, before they are even aware of the Battleships presence.

This combination, together with the trademark heavy Imperial Battleship armour, makes the Battleship perfect for long range patrols, heavy escort duty and small-scale engagements: able to remain self-sufficient for extended periods of time, with minimal escort required, able to deal with any adversary she may run into.

However, this versatility is also her biggest weakness.
She can't produce the swarms of fighters that an Emperor or Nemesis can, match the awesome raw firepower of the Apocalypse or Retribution or even hope to hold a candle to the insane speed of the Invincible class. This has lead the Oberon to be rarely seen in major fleet engagements in the Imperium: often being held in reserve to scout out dangerous or contested areas of space, provide heavy escort to critical convoy operations and take part in extended patrols in occupied space for enemy threats.
Oberon Class battleships did see serve with Battlefleet Gothic in the Gothic War filling these roles, but never took part in any of the main fleet engagements: seen as an inferior choice to the Retribution for line combat, and less effective in flagship duties when compared to the Emperor.

Invincible Class Fast Battleship

Size: 8 KM long, 2.9 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 200,000

Max Acceleration: 4.3 g

Defences: Triple-armoured prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 6 battleships class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 24 Heavy 'Sun Breaker' Laser-Macro Cannon (12 per broadside), 5 Heavy Laser Lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: turbolasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 1 tetrarch assault-lander, 2 Devourer drop ships

Lore: This warship is the brain-child of Admiral Kisher, of Battlefleet Tempestus, in early M38.
The admiral was a very frustrated man. He was tired of Ork pirates, Heretical raiders and Eldar corsairs constantly slipping inside the borders of the Imperium and reaping havoc on supply convoys: and then the Imperial fleet being unable to chase down and catch the assailants without suffering casualties. The Invincible Class was Kisher's answer to 'The Pirate Problem'. The ship combined the fearsome firepower of the Retribution, with the speed and mobility of a light cruiser.
The concept of how the ship would perform was quite simple: the battleship would hunt in packs, with a small escort of light cruisers for dealing with any close-in opponents, and destroy roving pirates and raiders. The ship could also mercilessly chase down enemy light cruisers and cruisers, attempting to escape after a raid of on friendly convoys.

The ship did however have one serious flaw: her armour.
Despite being frequently told that the massive power conduits that powered the ship's propulsion were too poorly protected, and being recommended to go with a smaller power-plant by many magos within the Mechanicus, Kisher (and his supporters) wouldn't do anything to the design if it sacrificed speed. The result was the Warship being very poorly armoured for an Imperial Battleship, having armour that would normally be found on an Imperial cruiser.
This, together with its similar appearance to the more common and well-known Retribution Class, meant that many admirals employed the ship like a retribution in the main line of battle with disastrous results. This lead to widespread disillusionment with the design, the Invincible Class vessels being referred to as 'Kisher's Kombustibles'.

However, when used in her intended role and as a heavy escort, she was devastatingly effective.
One Eldar fleet came across a group of 4 Invincible Class vessels patrolling in the Tempestus sector. The Eldar captain seeing what was in front of him as a gift, mistaking the 4 Invincibles for 4 Retributions caught without their escorts (as the Invisible does look similar to the Retribution), believing the cumbersome vessels would be unable to react and catch his much more nimble ships.
The Eldar captain launched the surprise attack, destroying the light escort compliment and damaging the starboard batteries on one of the Invincibles, and then breaking off to make another run... only to discover in horror that the huge Imperial vessels were keeping pace with his ships and slowly destroying them under massed Heavy Laser-Macro Cannon fire.
Caught off guard and desperate to regroup and re-assess the situation the Eldar attempted to retreat, only to be relentlessly pursued by these surprisingly nimble Imperial Battleships. Unable to run, and with no clear edge over the larger warships, the Eldar were slaughtered to the last under a barrage of Heavy Macro fire.

This, alongside other examples of the previously ridiculed warships destroying the Imperium's enemies, now making it a firm favourite of Admiral Knightsbridge and his followers. Adopting and modifying the design to be the ultimate climactic design and flagship for their anti-piracy fleets in M41.

Nemesis Class Fleet Carrier

Size: 8.5 KM long, 3.1 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 250,000

Max Acceleration: 1.6 g

Defences: Tripple-armoured prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 6 hangar decks (3 per broadside), 5 Heavy Laser Lance Turrets (dorsally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: turbolasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Apulia lander, 2 Tetrarch assault-landers, 6 Devourer Drop ships, 40 Thunderbolts, 30 Marauders, 20 Valkyries, 12 Vultures, 185 Furies, 56 Star Hawks, 24 Shark Assault Boats

Lore: Despite being a relatively new design, predominantly seen in service with Battlefleet Gothic in M41, the Nemesis Class origins can be traced back to M36 with the 'Gareox incident' in Battlefleet Bakka. The 'Gareox incident' was a series of fleet exercises with Battlefleet Bakka, between the 'Young school' Admirals and the 'Big-Gun lobby' admirals, to prove the combat effectiveness of their fleet concepts and designs (diplomacy and politics having broken down after a millennia of stalemate) and was effectively an Imperial Civil-War in the Bakka sub-sector. The 'Young school' where insistent that Battleships and macro cannons were obsolete, fast attack carriers and long range lances where the way forward for the Imperial Navy. However, the combat saw the tried and tested Imperial designs winning out over the experimental Despoiler Class the younger Admirals had created, the Emperor class proving vastly as both a battleship and carrier. Bitter, with their reputation destroyed among the Imperial Admiralty and with the threat of charges of Heresy for their unauthorised ship design: the desperate admirals handed their service and remaining 3 Despoilers to Chaos.

One of their early proposals (before they created the Despoiler Class and turned to chaos) was to have the Emperor Class converted into a dedicated carrier, removing the Heavy Macro cannon turrets and batteries for more hangar bays and Dorsal lances, the Emperor class would then also have a surplus of energy to greatly improve speed and lance range.
This obviously repulsed by the Big-Gun lobby, who stood by and supported the old Imperial designs, being fans of line-combat and broadside warfare.
However, later experiences from the Gothic War and First Tyrannic War would present the need for a dedicated fleet carrier, and (despite the design origin, and heavy stigma still placed one the ship among the admirals of Battlefleet Bakka, who protest the vessel is an affront and betrayal to the Imperial Navy) the Emperor class conversion into Nemesis Class carriers began with Battlefleet Gothic, Tempestus and Calixis in M41.

Nemesis herself had exactly the effect that her supporters had been hoping for, able to throw up vast swarms of fighters to swamp and overwhelm enemy fleets from extreme range, and long range dorsal lances for fending off closing escorts.
She does require a heavy escort, another battleship, a Battlecruiser or a detachment of cruisers: but the advantages she provides over Tyranid and pirate threats are enough to cement the Nemesis as a favourite among some battle fleets in the Imperium.

Victory Class Battleship

Size: 8 KM long, 2.9 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 200,000

Max Acceleration: 2.1 g

Defences: Triple-armoured prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleships class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 6 Heavy Laser Lance Batteries (3 per broadside: 6 eight-barrelled turrets per broadside), 5 Heavy Laser Lance turrets (dorsally mounted), Prow Nova Cannon

Standard secondary Armament: turbolasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 1 tetrarch assault-lander, 2 Devourer drop ships

Lore: The Victory Class is believed by many to be a modified Retribution Class Battleship, having largely similar layouts internally and externally, but with an all-lance armament as opposed to the more standard Macro Cannon Batteries. The most commonly believed reason for such modifications being to replicate the massively successful Apocalypse Class Battleship. These ships are all also extremely old. How old is unknown due to the stubborn refusal of Mars to share their records of the ship, but Conqueror at least is known to have to have lead the unification/crusade fleet that ended the age of strife in the Tempestus Sector during the Great Crusade: essentially being one of the ships present at the founding of Battlefleets Temestus and Bakka and the birth of the Imperium.

Only 4 of these ships are known to be in service, all with Battlefleet Bakka: Victory, Argus, Conqueror and Hammer of Scaro (the only ship of the class to have 9 Torpedo launchers as opposed to a Nova Cannon). All these ships seeing service during the First Tyranic War in the defence of Macrage against the Tyranids.

The Victory Class with their long-range lances and Nova Cannons proving exceptionally deadly against the massed swarms of biological tyranid vessels, many of the tyranids being literally cooked alive by the blast from the Nova Cannons and Lance bolts, their fire-power and armour protection allowing all 4 to survive the intense series of fire fights that ensued in the Ultramarine sectors.

All 4 Victory Class warships are currently undergoing crew retraining and rearmament in preparation for further service with Battlefleet Bakka.

Vanquisher Class Battleship

Size: 8.3 KM long, 3 KM abeam at the wings (can vary massively, different battle fleets and even fleet admirals refitting and purpose-building unique and highly customised warships)

Crew: 205,000

Max Acceleration: 1.9 g

Defences: Tripple-armoured adamantium prow, faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Super Heavy 'Victus' Missile Batteries (2 batteries per broadside), 4 Heavy Plasma Lances (2 per broadside), 5 Heavy Lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 1 Aquila lander, 1 tetrarch assault-lander, 2 Devourer drop ships, 12 Furies

Lore: The Vanquisher Class is a Unique vessel. The ship combines long range lance batteries with Macro Cannons in one broadside and has limited carrier capacity.

Only one Vanquisher is known to exist in the 41st Millennium, the Vae Victus, a Ship which was built at the special request of Lord High Admiral Javor in M32 at the shipyards of Hydraphur: although more ships of a similar layout to this Battleship are known to have been in service in small numbers during the Horus Heresy and Great Crusade, all are currently lost and believed to have been destroyed since or during the Horus Heresy.

Vae Victus herself appears like a highly modified Apocalypse Class Battleship at a first glance: have a broadside armament consisting largely of lances and dorsal lances, but the Vanquisher has little in common with the Apocalypse: having distinctly a different interior system layout and power plant, missile weapons and carrier capacity. She once had a larger series of Strike Craft launch tubes in the forward section of the ship and under the prow, an old and experimental precursor to the existing Ordnance launch bays, and a single battery of Lances and Macro Cannons together with Dorsal lances. Making her more like the Oberon Class Battleship. She has since been refitted to have her early hanger launch tubes replaced with specially made missile launchers and Prow Torpedoes, a small number of the strike craft launch tubes are still in action however and are used to launch scouts and small escorts of fighters.

The Vanquisher is typical in her armour layout, and the combination of many long-range lances and missile batteries makes her a deadly foe to any she came across, the carrier capability also making her not so vulnerable to Ordnance. Vae Victus served with Battlefleet Ultima in a similar role to the Retribution Class Battleship: Heavy Line Ship and Assault Battleship.

She left Active service with Battlefleet Ultima in M38, but is being re-activated for active service in M41.

Gloriana Class Super-Battleship
One of a kind

Vengeful Spirit

Iron Blood

Ark Imperial

(Specifications vary too greatly to reasonably generalise. Each ship is unique and radically different from one another.)

The Gloriana is now a ship mostly found in Chaos service, but this ship class has come to represent the history of the Imperium: once proud symbols of power and the Emperors will incarnate, they now represent the uncertain and dark future the Imperium faces following the Horus Heresy.

These Warships were the only true Super-Battleship Class ever created by the Imperium that saw active service with the Imperium before, during and immediately after the Horus Heresy.

These Warships were constructed at the request of the Emperor Himself following the unification of Terra and Mars. These Warships would dwarf anything within or without the Imperium and act as the Flagships for his mighty Crusade fleets and Space Marine legions. The ultimate expressions of Imperial power in the wider Imperial Army.

No two Gloriana Class were ever the same, each warship being built to specific requirements of each Primarch that would captain them:

Vengeful Spirit, of the Lunar Wolves/Son of Horus/Black Legion and was Horus's personal flagship. Him being Warmaster, and the Emperor's favoured son, allowing him to have a ship that dwarfed all the other Gloriana Class warships in size and power. Now one of the largest and most powerful ships the Chaos War fleet possesses.

Conqueror, of the World Eaters. Being Angron's ship, was much faster than most Battleships despite its immense size, had a terrifying boarding capacity and short range battery fire-power. The ship, now marked with Khone's favour, having its prow replaced with a large claw: able to catch and draw in any ship attempting to flee the Gloriana's unparalleled wrath.

Hrafnkel, of the Space Wolves was essentially an oversized Retribution Battleship, dwarfing even other Glorianas, only Horus's Vengeful Spirit being larger and more powerful than it. The ship notably swatting aside the Thousand Sons' flagship and space fleet with ease at the Burning of Prospero.

Iron Blood, of the Iron Warriors had a large number unique and terrifyingly powerful Weapon batteries that were poorly understood even then. The ship also has had no windows or visual observation decks of any kind. The coldly efficient mind of Perturabo seeing no need for anything beyond augur scanners to observe what he simply viewed as 'targets'.

Swordsman, of the White Scars featured incredible speed, but was more in line with the size and power of a standard Battleship. Like an armoured version of the modern Invincible Class presumably.

Nightfall, of the Night Lords differed in the huge number of traps it had at its disposal and grim displays of torture and madness on the inside, a controversial and untrusted ship even at the time of the Great Crusade, this ship often inspired fear upon any who faced it in battle.

Red Tear, of the Blood Angels. A ship of breath taking beauty and grace, despite its immense size, having the effect of instantly restoring morale to any fleet she was a part of.

Fist of Iron, of the Iron Hand. Notable for almost single-handedly crushing the Diaspex: a technologically advanced diplomatic federation of planets consisting of multiple Xenos races and human colonists. The combined fleets of this federation and its many allies being incapable of doing any significant damage to the ship as it systematically destroyed their planets one at a time with its immense weapons batteries.

Macragge's Honour, of the Ultramarines. The least heavily modified ship. In many ways, she was the model for the Gloriana as a Class. Also, the only registered Gloriana still in active Imperial service in late M41, although not actively due to heavy damage sustained fighting tyranids.

Endurance, of the Death Guard. Slowest of the Glorianas, but featured impressive fire-power, armour and shielding even for a Super-Battleship. A very hard opponent to kill, slow but assured destruction for whole fleets that where unfortunate enough to face it.

Photep, of the Thousand Sons. A massive carrier infused with strange reality-bending arcane features, making the ship a very difficult foe to close with and a lethal long-range combatant.

Fidelitas Lex, of the Word Bearers. Little is known of this warship beyond its incredible power and massive size, presumably like the Hrafnkel.

Flamewrought, of the Salamanders. Essentially a Super Heavy version of the Apocalypse, with its over-sized Nova Cannon literally called 'Vulcan's Hammer' and large number of unique lances.

Invincible Will, of the Dark Angels. This mighty vessel is known to have had much in common with Macragge's Honour, although smaller and faster.

Shadow of the Emperor, of the Raven Guard. Much about this ship is unknown, as the ship did not live a very long life in the Imperium, being destroyed not long after she was constructed as one of the last Glorianas to be constructed. The ship that destroyed her being the Terminus Est, a Gloriana prototype vessel that now serves as the Death Guard Flagship after the destruction of Endurance to the Imperial Armada.

Alpha and Beta, of the Alpha legion. Two identical ships that were smaller than most Super Battleships, but had versatile armaments; like the Oberon but far surpassed the capacity of a standard Battleship. The two rarely being far apart, together being able to wreak havoc on whole fleets of lesser warships.

Amphion, of the Imperial Armada. 'The last Gloriana', and briefly the flagship of the entirety of the fledgling Imperial Navy immediately following the Horus Heresy. She led the unified Imperial Armada that pushed Chaos forces out of the Imperium and into the Eye of Terror. It is unknown what became of her, the last she was seen was leading a Battleship squadron into the heart of the Eye of Terror in hot pursuit of Chaos vessels. She has not been seen since, many believe she has been destroyed by Chaos, but a few believe she continues to travel the warp, destroying daemon and warship alike as the mighty vessel overlooks the safety of loyal captains in the warp.

Ark Imperial, while not officially recognised as a Gloriana Class vessel, this super-sized carrier is strongly believed to be one of the Gloriana Class warships that was struck from records shortly before the Horus Heresy. Equipped with a huge array of weapon batteries, plasma lances, and super heavy missile batteries; she outclasses any other Imperial battleship in the 41st millennium for raw firepower and still carries enough fighters and bombers to overwhelm whole star systems. She served as the Flagship of Battlefleet Gothic until the discovery of the Divine Right. She is now the last known ship of her kind serving with Battlefleet Gothic.

Chaos Strike Craft
Spreading Terror

Swift Death Fighter

Technically not a Swift Death (its a hell talon), but no official pictures exist of it (that aren't of the tiny TT models...)

Length: 40 metres

Wing span: 15 metres

Crew: 1

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: 6 Lascannons (wing mounted)

Machine spirit: hosts a Daemon or spirit of war.

Warp capable: no

Lore: SwiftDeath fighter design started as a project of Kelbor Hal towards the end of the Great Crusade era to eventually become the standard fighter of the Imperial army. Following the outbreak of Horus Heresy, the plan was cancelled, and Kelbore Hal's fall to Chaos and defeat on Mars at the hands of Fabricator Kane, meaning the design was taken to the Eye of Terror and presented to Abaddon the Despoiler. The design immediately going into production and becoming the standard fighter of the Chaos War fleets.

The fighter was designed to be superior to the original Fury interceptor but has lost many of its old advantages when compared to the modern Fury. The newer Imperial interceptors having warp capacity, are faster and have more than double the armaments and durability. This does not, however, mean the SwiftDeath is outclassed.

The Chaos fighter is impossibly mobile. Able to pull off manoeuvres that shouldn't be possible for any human pilot. The original design already had increased mobility as a strong point, but demonic blessing, the pilot being permanently fused with the fighter and its systems; and sometimes said pilot being a traitor marine have all contributed towards making this advantage even more exaggerated. The Swift Death is also more than capable of killing a Fury despite its superior protection, and due to their smaller frames, lack of need for large crew quarters or ammunition of any kind means they outnumber Imperial squadrons on Chaos carriers by at least 2 fighters to each Fury interceptor.

The large numbers of Swift Death Fighters proved so deadly it caused a massive shift in the Imperial Navy towards carriers, experienced pilots in the navy only able to survive or escape by remaining at a distance and hoping the Chaos horde didn't catch them.

Doom Fire Bomber

Again, just a proxy, no official pictures that aren't terrible

Length: 60 metres

Wing Span: 40 metres

Crew: 5 (2 gunners, 1 pilot, 1 Heretek, 1 targeteer)

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: 1 twin-linked multilaser turret (dorsal mounted), 1 twin-linked multilaser turret (chin mounted), bomb-bay capacity for up to 20 plasma or cluster missiles, 8 plasma bombs or 1 plasma, Warp-field or melta torpedo.

Machine spirit: hosts a Daemon or spirit of war

Warp capable: no

Lore: The Doom Fire was developed by the Dark Mechanicus to combat the Marauder bomber that was used as the standard bomber of the Imperial Navy before the more wide-spread use of the Star Hawk. The Doom Fire completely eclipsed the smaller Marauder bomber. It had a significantly larger bomb load, a comparable PD suite, better armour protection and superior speed/mobility. This dominance over the Imperial Craft being one of the factors that lead to the Marauder being relegated to only ground-support duty. The Star Hawk now having replaced the Marauder completely as a void-bomber.

Vs the monstrous Star Hawk the Doom Fire is essentially a light bomber. While it can't compare for bomb capacity, PD suite or armour protection; they are faster, more mobile and come in greater numbers. The Doom Fire still being more than capable of cracking open most vessels with its payload, greater number of craft to shoot down per squadron and the superior speed and mobility of the bomber making them a lethal threat to all shipping that becomes the target of a Chaos Carrier.

Dread Claw Assault Pod

Length: 20 metres

Wing Span: N/A

Crew: N/A

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Standard Armament: N/A

Machine spirit: hosts a spirit of war.

Troop capacity: 8 Chaos Space Marines or around 16 renegade troopers.

Warp capable: no

Lore: These serve as both the means for Chaos space marines to assault a planet and to board enemy vessels. Unlike the Shark assault boat, they have no permanent crew at all (rendering them much less manoeuvrable, reducing effective range), these are also exceptionally common craft and used often by Chaos war fleets. They are also very small, largest variants not exceeding a combined length of 20 metres.

They operate quite simply by ramming into the hull of an enemy at extreme speeds (they must be fast, since they can't steer to adjust for evasive action like a Shark can) in great numbers and dislodge a small team of chaos space marines directly into the hull once the hull is breached by Melta charges. The large claws preventing the pod from being sucked out into space after making a breach.

Unlike the IN, every chaos carrier is equipped with assault pods. Offensive assault actions being quite common for Chaos.

Chaos Escorts
The Eternal Menace

Infidel Class Frigate

Size: 1.5 KM long, 0.3 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 24,000

Max Acceleration: 5 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 4 sub-macro plasma weapon batteries (2 per broadside), 4 light torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Infidel is the original design for, and 'sister class' to, the Falchion Class frigates in service with the Imperium. The Infidel was effectively designed as a replacement for the Cobra Class destroyers, having the same number of torpedo tubes and similarly high speed, but with greater ship-to-ship firepower and armour protection. Combining the duties of torpedo boat with a fearsome battery of plasma weapons and frigate durability. When compared to the Falchion she has comparable armour, has similar speed and more torpedo launchers; but has weaker weapon batteries. The Conflict of Abumbria demonstrating the superiority of the Imperial weapon batteries, the Falchions able to evade the mass torpedo attacks and destroy the Infidels with their greater number of mass-driver weapon batteries.

The deadly combination of the armour and firepower of a frigate with the torpedo armament and speed of destroyer did make the Infidel a deadly threat to the Imperium in large fleet engagements and in raids however. Squadrons could launch many torpedoes to break up formations and cripple large targets, then close in and destroy enemy escorts and even damage larger targets when focusing fire with their weapon batteries. They could shrug off damage from similar sized weapon batteries and make a swift get away with their high speed. Most notable action of the Infidel being when Talon squadron, made up of 5 Infidels, critically damaged the Ship of Rogue Trader Jeremiah Blitz in the Calixis sector. The enraged outlaw swearing to reduce every Infidel he saw henceforth into drifting wrecks.

Idolator Class Frigate

Size: 1.6 KM long, 0.4 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 26,000

Max Acceleration: 4.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 1 lance battery (4 lance barrels, prow mounted), 4 laser-based sub-macro cannons (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Idolator is a mysterious and terrifyingly powerful escort that continues to prove an enigma to Imperial fleet intelligence. Little about this ship is known beyond the numerous confrontations involving vessels and what could be salvaged from wrecks. Best guesses put the ship's origin being from Xana II, a forge World corrupted by Chaos near the Eye of Terror, and the ship incorporates technology which is of Tau origin. How and when Chaos got their hands on such technology is unknown, but what this Xenos technology is used for is clear in the ship's armament.

The Idolator has a prow mounted lance battery, a feat that should be impossible for a ship of her size given the power requirements, and a few highly accurate and long range weapon batteries. The stolen technology is being used to enable the Idolator to power a cruiser-grade lance battery, as well as an advanced targeting matrix allowing for the terrifying accuracy at long range. The Idolator is also faster than its Imperial rival, the Firestorm, the only comfort the Imperial navy having in terms of advantages being that the Idolator is not as numerous as the Firestorm nor is it as heavily armoured. The Idolator's firepower and speed make her a true menace to ships of any size. A single Idolator able to match the firepower of a whole squadron of other escorts, a group of the tiny terrors able to systematically take apart larger cruisers and even Battleships in relatively short order with their lances.

Iconoclast-class Destroyer

Size: 1.3 KM long, 0.4 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 16,500

Max Acceleration: 7.2 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 10 sub-Macro Weapon batteries (4 on each broadside, 2 on frontal turrets)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 2 Arvus lighters

Lore: Iconoclast is perhaps the most numerous vessel in service with Chaos. The ship is also a rare vessel for being a ship in service with Chaos which is of neither Imperial or Chaos origin, the Iconoclast being designed and built by pirates and private dockyards. The ship design's age is unknown, but being produced on mass by both Chaos in the Immaterium and by pirate and traitor dock yards hidden across the Imperium, the ship is the most numerous and frequently sighted Chaos service vessel. Frequently being found raiding convoys and attacking space stations across many sectors within the Imperium seemingly since time began.

The Iconoclast follows a simple, pirate-centric, design philosophy: Stick as many guns as possible onto as fast a ship as possible with as much cargo space possible. This means the Iconoclast stands out among other escorts for its impressive number of short-range weapon batteries and high speed. However, she has thin armour even by escort standards: a Sword Class frigate is able to tear a Iconoclast in half with its Laser-based batteries. The Iconoclast mostly gets around this weakness by being so incredible numerous. Roving swarms of the ships being found in service with Chaos and Pirate forces. With private forces its high speed is used to get in among convoy columns and blast any enemy escorts into oblivion with the large number of plasma weapon batteries, cripple the transport's engines and life support systems, and then get away quick with a substantial amount of loot using the ship's larger-than-average cargo bays. In Chaos service, they are used as a disposable shield for larger vessels and as cannon fodder in large assaults, the ships often being crewed by Pirates and mercenaries joining the Chaos fleets through promises of riches and spoils of war.

Apostate Class Heavy Frigate

Size: 3 KM long, 0.5 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 34,000

Max Acceleration: 4 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 Escort class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 1 Lance turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 4 Laser-Macro Cannons (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: It is unknown exactly when or for what purpose the Apostate was designed to fill, but the Imperial Navy's encounters with the ship have confirmed it is highly effective as both a combat vessel and a commerce raider.

The ship is uncharacteristically large and slow for a Chaos vessel, much like its Loyalist cousin the Turbulent in that regard, but it also carries a monstrous armament. Each Apostate is equipped like a miniature cruiser: with a front-dorsal lance turret and a (albeit small) battery of macro weapons. This makes the Heavy frigate a brutal opponent for any who face her in a gunnery duel, able to stand toe-to-toe with any light cruiser; her only real weaknesses being her slow speed and relatively weak armour protection. A Dauntless cruiser, or even a Turbulent Heavy Frigate, being quite capable of catching her and ripping through her thin protection: provided they can survive the savage reply to such an attack first.

Chaos Light Cruisers
Death Dealers

Harbinger/Hellbringer Class Light Cruiser

Size: 4.6 KM long, 0.45 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 60,000-72,000

Max Acceleration: 4.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 light cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 2 dorsal 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-macro turrets, (Harbinger) 2 Lance batteries (1 per broadside), (Hellbringer) 2 Hangar decks (1 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: (both ships) 4 Arvus lighters, (Hellbringer only) 85 Swift Death fighters, 108 Hell Blades, 60 Doom Fire bombers, 78 Dread Class assault pods.

Lore: This class of warship is perhaps the deadliest warship of her weight class. She is a native design of Chaos, heavily inspired by old Imperial designs, and the intention of the design appears to have been to stick as many dangerous weapons as possible onto a Light Cruiser. The class is frequently used in raids and in lesser-planetary invasions for her incredible mix of firepower, speed and the hellbringer's strike craft/landing craft/assault boats.

The twin classes are infamous among Imperial fleets: the appearance of one of either of these vessels sending shivers down the spine of the captain of any cruiser and spelling doom for any escort, space station or light cruiser. This is due to the Light Cruisers armament of Heavy plasma-macros being of the same kind found on larger cruisers of Chaos, as well as the Hellbringer having capacity to launch a respectable number of strike craft of varying types, and not sacrificing any of the speed. The sister of the Hellbringer, the Harbinger, replacing their hangar bays with lances of the same kind found on larger Chaos cruisers, to only further increasing its ship-to-ship lethality vs its peers among other factions. Often the only clues a Hellbringer or Harbinger will give that it was ever there, if not spotted immediately, being the gutted wrecks of its victims. The Light Cruiser is however a glass cannon. Having pathetically thin armour that can easily be overmatched by her rival, the Dauntless, being especially vulnerable to Imperial broadsides and torpedoes even by Chaos standards.

The Light Cruiser appeared in great numbers in the Gothic War. The Chaos Predators tearing a bloody path through the Battle Fleets reserve of Light Cruisers and Escorts: but it was the carrier capacity of the Hellbringer that made them especially deadly. Already able to produce a fair few squadrons alone, when deployed on masse like in the Gothic War, they could swamp and overwhelm even the largest fleet formations; which pushed Battlefleet Gothic to scramble for carrier capable vessels.

Pestilaan Class Light Cruiser

Size: 5 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 50,000 + unknown number of daemons of nurgle

Max Acceleration: 2 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 light cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 20 Plasma-Macro Cannons (10 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: The exact origins of this ship are unknown, given the ship is so horribly bloated and warped that no identification can be given to it from any records uncovered by the Navy. The ship is an ungainly and clumsy looking thing and, for a Light Cruiser, its speed and manoeuvrability are appallingly bad as well as having a less than impressive armament of two short range weapon batteries. However, the ship is a surprisingly hard nut to crack, able to take a savage beating. The true power of the ship however is hinted at in the fleshy sores that are open on the ship's hull and the rusted, bloated appearance: this ship found only among Nurgle fleets.

Getting close to this ship is suicide. Many an Imperial Captain have looked upon the vessel as easy prey, only to get too close and claimed by Nurgle's taint. The ship spreads diseases through its weapons batteries, demonic-assisted boarding and some other unholy means that is yet to be determined but is, fortunately, short in range. These diseases effectively render any ship dead-in-space: being extremely fast spreading and lethal, only known 'cure' being to pledge one's allegiance to Nurgle, thus expanding the numbers of the plague fleet and repeating the cycle of corruption.

These warships are perhaps the most feared warships among experienced Imperial Captains and Admirals, captains for its ability to inflict terrible illness and infliction upon their ship and Admirals for its ability to expand the numbers of Chaos fleets while thinning the Imperial ranks. Although small, and relatively rare, vessels in the Gothic War: Captains where under strict orders to 'Kill on Sight; and quickly!', failure to do so meaning execution for anyone who survived the encounter.

Chaos Cruisers
Core of the Fallen Fleet

Murder Class Cruiser

Size: 5.1 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 75,000

Max Acceleration: 2.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 40 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-macro cannons, (20 per broadside), 2 Heavy Lances (prow mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: In service with the Imperial Battlefleet Obscurus to act as the primary fleet cruiser from M33-M37, a majority of these vessels were sold off to Rogue Traders after being replaced by the largely superior Lunar Class: which had more powerful broadsides, more lance batteries, had more armour, could fit a Nova Cannon and was cheaper to mass produce. Some of these vessels would eventually find themselves in Chaos hands, being first seen in numbers in service with Slaaneshi fleets in M39, and seen in wider service in M41.

The Murder Class, despite being inferior to the Lunar when dropped from service, has had various upgrades during its service with Chaos. The Batteries and Lances (which were already longer range than on the Lunar) are now capable of hitting targets far beyond what should be possible for such weapons, her speed has also seen an increase despite already being faster than average for her weight class: now capable of manoeuvring more like a Light Cruiser than a Cruiser. In Chaos service her armament configuration remains unchanged, but more deadly than ever: a pair of prow-mounted Heavy Lances with enough power to punch through the armour of a Battleship with ease, and a two batteries of plasma weapon batteries with a withering rate of fire and impressive range.

The Murder Class has a lethal track record.

Its batteries are a huge threat to any escort or Light Cruiser it faces, as well as being excellent weapons for tearing down the shields on larger warships to open them up for a devastating double heavy-lance strike which is capable of crippling even battleships in a single hit (Some Variants of the Murder having their weapons batteries removed entirely and replaced with lances to make it a pure lance boat, like on the Plagueclaw and Despicable Ecstasy).

This became apparent during the Gothic war: where the Retribution Class Battleship, the Relentless Persecution, and her escorts were ambushed by the Murder Class Vessels Monstrous and Steel Fang. Both Cruisers flanked the formation and fired a massed crossfire of plasma rounds from the cover of debris from a previous battle: The Escorts and Light Cruisers with the lone Battleship quickly disintegrated and the void shield generators on the Battleship burnt out under the concentrated fire, but the batteries were only capable of doing superficial damage to the Battleship's thick hide of adamantine composite armour. Before the Battleship could fire its reply from its far deadlier Heavy Macro Cannon broadsides, both cruisers had maneuverer to fire their Heavy Lances into both sides of the mighty vessel: four Heavy Lance bolts and series of rippling explosions later, the Battleships magazine and generator were destroyed, causing the imposing shape to disappear in a massive fireball of death and destruction.

The Murder Class would perform similarly well in various battles across the Gothic Sector during the War, being a continuous dagger in Battlefleet Gothic's side: being equally as deadly in any role the Chaos Admirals chose to employ the Murder in.

Carnage Class Cruiser

Size: 5 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 73,000

Max Acceleration: 2.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 40 Phased Plasma-Macro Cannons (20 per broadside), 2 Heavy 'Hector' Plasma-macro turrets (dorsal)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: This ship was originally intended as a test bed for an experimental Phased Plasma battery, the ship designed to use these weapons to Support the Imperial fleet by pouring a large volume of fire into approaching enemies attempting to break the Main Battle Line. the phased Plasma batteries having a massively improved rate of fire and range when compared to the standard Macro cannons, and not suffering from the same 'fading' issues of other plasma-based weaponry. The Carnage class herself designed to be fast: so that she could always keep at a range where her poor armour and exposed power supply couldn't be exploited by an enemy, and could take advantage of the ships mid-long range advantages over other weapons batteries. This ship however had numerous issues, mainly in the form of poor crew comfort (even by Imperial navy standards) and massive technical issues with the power supply for the ship's armament and engine. This lead to the ship being maddening to operate, driving crews and captains into a continuous state of rage and discomfort which proved the perfect foundation for Heretical thought to take root. The very first Carnage Class, the Relentless (renamed the Initiate of Skalathrax after joining the Chaos fleet), turning on the convoy it was escorting, destroying it utterly, after a particularly maddening series of breakdowns.

The Carnage is now only found in Chaos service. The Long-Range rapid-Fire batteries able to annihilate whole squadrons of escorts and light cruisers in very short order, although the lack of fire saturation and accuracy at extreme range make it so the Carnage presents little threat to larger warships while alone, although is exponentially more deadly the closer they get for other cruisers. The Carnage Class is a true terror when combined with a ship armed with Lances. Long-range rapid-fire batteries rapidly overwhelming the shielding on any vessel, allowing for a devastating lance strike into the un-shielded hull of the now exposed capital ship. The Carnage is also a nightmare once it gets among convoys and groups of damaged capital ships, able to fire a huge volume of shots out in all directions, anything attempting to flee unable to get outside of its range before being torn to pieces under the heavy concentration of plasma projectiles.

The Carnage Class is also the Worst nightmare of any Eldar fleet. Able to overwhelm the Holo-Fields on the vessels with a massive volley of projectiles, from far beyond their effective range, and tear apart their flimsy hulls under a rapid succession of savage plasma impacts.

Slaughter Class Cruiser

Size: 4.8 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 70,000

Max Acceleration: 3.1 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 24 Heavy 'Destructor' Laser-Macro Cannons (12 per broadside), 4 lance batteries (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: This vessel was designed for hit-and-run attacks and anti-piracy patrols by the Imperium. The ship had an experimental Fusion-based power plant which allowed for a number of high energy weapons to be equipped to the vessels: being equipped with an, extremely rare mixed battery, of High-yield lances and Hard hitting mid-range weapons batteries which would later be named 'Destructor Cannons' by Chaos forces. The ship also had extraordinary speed. Able to catch and even outrun the fastest of escorts, one of the fastest (if not the fastest) cruiser ever being built by the Imperium These vessels faced many complications in construction: complexity of its power plant and mixed weapons batteries meant that construction of these vessels was excruciatingly slow, as was any form of repair or maintenance. This is largely believed to be the cause of the Madness that often consumed the crews assigned to these vessels, leading to almost the entire ship class to revolt to Chaos by M34, the ability to build more being lost after one Slaughter Class Cruiser (the Soulless) raided and destroyed the data banks containing the schematics for the construction and repair of the ship's power plant.

The Slaughter has a fearsome reputation on the Battlefield: Destructor cannons overwhelming shielding and escort squadrons in rapid succession, to be followed up by a strike from high yield mid-range lances able to tear through even the thickest of capital-ship armour with ease, making the ship one of the more feared among Imperial crews. The speed making it impossible to run from the vessels savage firepower.

One Slaughter Class would earn a legendary reputation in the Gothic War. Being named Kill Frenzy for the crazy broadcast being repeated across all Frequencies which consisted purely of the words 'KILL FRENZY KILL FRENZY KILL FRENZY KILL FRENZY' voice increasingly deranged and wild as the battle progressed: the captain showing a total disinterest in anything other than destroying Imperial ships. Going as far as to ram straight through an Imperial light cruiser and attempt a second ram after having batteries knocked out and burning while under heavy fire from Macro Cannons, any Imperial vessel attempting to flee in terror only being relentless pursued by the crazed captain.

Devastation Class Cruiser

Size: 5 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 80,000

Max Acceleration: 2.7 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 12 Heavy 'Destructor' Laser-Macro Cannons (6 per broadside), 2 lance batteries (1 per broadside), 2 hangar decks (1 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 88 Swift Death fighters, 102 Hell Talons/ Hell Blades, 68 Doom Fire bombers, 88 Dread Claw Assult pods

Lore: This cruiser is a rarity among Chaos War Fleets. Having never served among Imperial fleets for one, it's a native modification to an existing vessel in service with the Chaos fleets (many believe this original ship to be the Slaughter Class), as well as being a break from the highly aggressive all-or-nothing profile of the Chaos fleets: being that the ship was built to protect and escort other Chaos vessels.

The Ships armament reflects the defensive orientation of the vessel: she has one battery of, fairly typical, mixed Lance and laser-based weapons; but she also has a launch bay. This Launch bay has an impressive capacity for a cruiser-type vessel, able to double the number of squadrons of its Imperial rival (The Dictator Class), she is also extremely fast by cruiser standards (like all Chaos Cruisers, speed being a major weapon for traitor fleets). The exact intention of this ship was to counter the massed torpedo attacks of Imperial and Ork fleets which often crippled Chaos fleets, limiting their ability to manoeuvre while dodging torpedoes which proved deadly to the thinly armoured ships when hit, allowing the enemy to close relatively unharmed. Devastations would use fighter screens to destroy the majority of the lethal projectiles, as well as preventing enemy strike craft from getting close to the cruisers as they poured fire into the opposing fleet from afar. The Devastation could also very quickly adapt to when the Chaos fleet made the inevitable aggressive push on the disorganised and crippled enemy: remaining useful by lancing and bombing unshielded targets as well as launching swarms of Dread claw drop pods filled with Chaos Space Marines to overwhelm ships from within.

The Devastation is greatly valued by both Chaos Warlords and Pirate Warbands. Filling a capability gap in the Chaos fleet as well as having very high speed, firepower and cargo space making it an excellent raiding vessel for Pirates. The Devastation served in the Gothic War also, and is one of the ships that caused Battlefleet Gothic to make the dramatic shift from All-Big-Gun warships to Carrier Heavy formations.

Emasculator Class Cruiser

Size: 5.0 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 72,000

Max Acceleration: 2.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 20 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-macro cannons, (10 per broadside), 2 Lances batteries (1 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Emasculator was the first, failed, attempt to design a multi-role cruiser armed with Lances and Batteries: The Lunar Class quickly replacing her after only 6 or 7 centuries of service. Like the Murder: a lot of Emasculators found their way into Chaos service through a large quantity of them being sold to rogue traders. Despite being inferior to the Lunar Class, she had longer range lances and batteries as well as having better speed: this only being made more so after chaos was done tainting the vessel. Like the Lunar Class that succeeded her and her original design intention she is a particularly versatile ship. Her high speed and long ranged batteries together with lances mean she is nightmare for escorts and light cruisers, while able to apply similar tactics as the murder Class when dealing with larger targets: able to take down shields with the batteries to follow up with a powerful lance strike (although not to the same effect as the Murder).

Just like the Murder, this vessel was first seen in wide use by Slaaneshi war fleets (for reasons still not determined) before seeing the first major distribution of the Cruiser during the Gothic war in M41 (again, just like the Murder Class). She proved especially deadly as an escort raider, able to quickly sweep aside most escorts and tear into the vulnerable transports, to then use her superior speed to out-run any Imperial response.

Inferno Class Cruiser

Size: 5.0 KM long, 0.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 72,000

Max Acceleration: 2.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 1 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 20 Phased Plasma-Macro cannons (10 per broadside), 2 lance batteries (1 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Inferno is believed to be an early design and a later counterpart of the Carnage. However, it was marred by technical difficulties and not entirely successful in overcoming many of the shortcomings experienced by the Carnage in maintaining and powering its long-range batteries. The Inferno was quickly supplanted in front line units by more modern types. Even the Bastion fleets have not had an example of this class for many centuries, though several were known to be maintained by the Adeptus Mechanicus as experimental platforms and other such uses. A small number were known to turn renegade before the class was entirely removed from service by M35. None were known for certain to have been present during the Gothic War, though the Havoc and Cerberus are both known to have operated throughout Segmentum Obscuras and the Northern Rim. The Pillager and Rampage on the other hand have spent little time in Segmentum Obscurus since going renegade, and for many centuries their whereabouts were unknown until scattered reports concerning these two vessels surfaced in the vicinity of the Maelstrom in M37.

Several vessels of this class were reported in various engagements at Cadia, Kantrael and Agripinaa. While only the Pillager was identified with any certainty, at least two or three of these ships must have participated in the war for the vast distances between systems they were sighted in. The ship is effectively a Carnage class with an added lance deck to increase its firepower vs larger targets and give it a greater self-sufficiency in patrol and anti-piracy operations, turned heretic for many of the same reasons and has a similar role to the Carnage.

Chaos Heavy Cruisers
The Battle Cruisers of Yesterday

Hades Class Heavy Cruiser

Size: 6KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 102,000

Max Acceleration: 2.6 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 2 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 40 Phased Plasma-Macro cannons (20 per broadside), 2 lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 2 Heavy Lances (prow mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Hades Class was once a prized vessel in the Imperial navy, considered the backbone of many Battle Fleets from M33-M35. The ship is effectively an up-armoured Carnage Class with Dorsal Lance turrets, prow Heavy lances and improved power plant along with an extended hull to facilitate the new weapons and crew. The purpose of these upgrades being to provide the Carnage with a more effective means to fire at targets directly forward of the ship and improve its effectiveness at long and mid ranges. The Armour being put in place to make the, already dangerous, brawling abilities of the Carnage more sustainable. Taking elements of the Murder Class Cruiser and combining them with the longer ranged batteries of the Carnage.

Although these upgrades were quite simple the effect was impressive. The Hades now had a full 360-degree arch of fire, could present a serious threat to any target at any range, a vast improvement over the limited usefulness of the Carnage which was only effective from mid-range vs soft targets for the most part. Staying in service longer than the Murder Class due to the greater concentration of more versatile lance armaments, superior protection and longer ranged batteries.

The fall of Hades to Chaos occurred due to the Overlord Class Battlecruiser. After the development of the Overload from the Acheron tests, it became clear the Battlecruiser had various advantages over the Hades: she retained the dorsal lances, have Heavy Macro Cannons with much greater killing power at mid and short range, as well as heavier armour on a chassis which was smaller and could move just as quickly, if not quicker. The final nail in the coffin being its surplus energy reserves also capable of extending the battlecruisers range and rate of fire. The Hades was dropped from service quickly following the mass adoption of the Overlord Class, disappearing completely from Imperial formations very quickly.

The Hades would once again serve as the backbone of a fleet: The Chaos fleet in M41 during the Gothic War. The Hades Class saw extensive service as the mainstay of the Chaos fleet, serving in all operational theatres from supporting planetary invasions to being the flagship for raiding parties. These ships were, unusually for Chaos vessels, able to match most of their Imperial counterpart in a battle at any range making them exceptionally deadly enemies to face during any engagement. These Hades Class had also all once served with Battlefleet Gothic, Abbadon hand-picking the most well decorated and celebrated of them during Imperial service and sending them against their ex-Battlefleet. Many of these prestigious vessels and their veteran-hero captains went from revered legends to hated enemies. As they committed hideous crimes across the Gothic sector, Battlefleet Gothic forces to either kill their one-time idols or watch them butcher civilian populations from orbit.

Styx Class Heavy Carrier

Size: 6.3 KM long, 1 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 132,000

Max Acceleration: 2.6 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 2 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 2 lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 1 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-Macro Cannon turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 4 Hangar decks (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 200 Swift Death fighters, 288 Hell Talons/Hell Blades, 108 Doom Fire bombers, 120 Dread Class Assault pods

Lore: Prior to the Mars Class, from M32-M33, the Styx Class was the mainstay fleet carrier for the Imperial navy. It was much cheaper and more numerous than the Emperor, and faster, and had the same carrier capacity together with a self-defence dorsal lance for dealing with escorts. Unfortunately for the Styx, this less-than-impressive armament, together with poor armour protection would be her downfall with most Battle Fleets. Carriers where already niche and unpopular vessels with many battle fleets, being employed by necessity as opposed to any actual preference: The Mars Class changed this. Despite having half the Carrier capacity, the Mars was much better armed for engagements of any range. Despite accusations of being under gunned, the Mars Class was vastly superior to the Styx, the Styx rapidly dropping from active service to be sold off or mothballed.

It's unknown exactly how or when Chaos forces got their hands on the Styx, but it was most likely through the rogue traders Styx Class vessels were sold to: there where exactly 7 recording sightings prior to the Gothic War, all being far apart in terms of time, but all occurring in the Obscurus Sector. The most notable of these early encounters being when 5 ships of the class where caught in a raid on an Imperial Orbital Outpost in M35. The Heavy Cruisers had only a small escort of 3 Harbinger Light Cruisers and a small assortment of escorts, but the vast swarms of strike craft the 5 where capable of throwing up meant the Station was being overwhelmed by the sheer mass of ordnance it had to target. The Retaliation fleet, led by an Apocalypse Battleship arrived just too late save the station, the station's primary generator being crippled and its orbit destabilized just as the prow of the first Imperial escort emerged from the warp. The battle lasted only a couple of hours, most of the Chaos fleet being annihilated, but the oldest identified vessels, Heartless Destroyer, could escape with relatively minor damage. This same Styx Class would go on to serve in the Gothic War and be one of the small few Chaos vessels to survive the War.

The Gothic war was when the Styx appeared in large-scale use with Chaos fleets. They were used throughout the war as flagships for strike groups sent to invade planets across the Gothic Sector, their vast carrier capacity allowing them to carry a sizable invasion force and air support all on their own, the rest of the strike force defending them from Imperial retaliation and bombarding key positions and cities across the planet from orbit. They were also used as dedicated Fleet Carriers in large fleet engagements, just one of them being able to match the carrier capacity of an Emperor Class Battleship and pin down Imperial fleets under a constant Strike craft harassment. They were also scarily efficient at shutting down convoy operations in large areas of space. The Styx Class proved so potent that she directly influenced the mass adoption of the Dictator Class, alongside the extremely dangerous Harbinger Light Cruisers and Devastation Cruisers. One Styx, the Lord Seth, flagging the assault fleet attacking Helia IV, took part in the first major conflict where Dictator Class vessels fought with the Styx. Several Dictators lead by Flag Captain Semper in his Dictator cruiser, the Lord Solar Macharius, lead a fair-sized fleet to victory against the Chaos invaders, massed torpedoes and strike craft attacks from range crippling the Styx before they could retaliate and mopping up the other vessels with a mix of bombers and macro cannon fire. The Styx remained a potent enemy to the very end of the Gothic war however, and she remains the go-to carrier for the Chaos fleet despite there now being plenty of carrier competition among the ranks of the Imperial Battle Fleets these days.

Cardinal class Heavy Cruiser

Size: 6 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 105,000

Max Acceleration: 2.6 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 2 cruiser class Void shield.

Standard Main Armament: 2 Lance turrets (dorsal mounted), 1 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-Macro Cannon turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 4 Plasma Lance batteries (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, (in Imperial service) 1 Aquila lander

Lore: This Heavy Cruiser was originally designed in M33 to fill a similar role to the Apocalypse Class Battleship, being armed with many long-range lances capable of overwhelming enemy cruisers, as well as deal with swarms of enemy escorts and light cruisers. The concept being that the Cardinal could deploy these larger number of Lances to critical areas far faster than any Battleship could, as well as being a cheaper and easier to produce vessel. Unlike the later Gothic Class Cruiser, the Cardinal was largely successful in Imperial service in this role. While still not matching the Battleships awesome power, they were still able to present a serious threat to formations of cruisers and smaller vessels, while having an impressive speed for her Weight Class.
She also had enough armour to shrug off the armament found on most cruiser-type warships, and a greater number of Cardinals could be put in service with fleets due to their easier construction and cheaper maintenance cost when compared to the Apocalypse.
The Heavy Cruiser is also a unique vessel for being a ship that actively serves with both Imperial and Chaos fleets to this day (although in very small numbers with the Imperial Navy) and the only Heavy Cruiser class still in regular use with the Imperial navy.

The Cardinals large scale fall to Chaos came with the appearance of the Mars Class Battlecruiser.
The Cardinal had similar firepower to a battleship, but couldn't match it: while the Mars Class (with her Heavy Macro Battery and Nova Cannon, while retaining dorsal lances) could match the firepower of a battleship as well as having carrier capacity. The Cardinal, while still powerful and useful to the navy, was simply outclassed by the Mars: despite many hardliners claiming her to be 'under gunned' (which only worsened the position and reputation of the Cardinal).
This fall from grace meant that many Cardinals were found to be neglected in maintenance and, gradually, the means/knowledge required to replace and repair the ships disappeared into obscurity. Outraged, many captains of Cardinals took their ageing vessels and denounced the Imperium in favour of serving with Chaos War Fleets.

The Cardinal has seen service on both sides of various conflicts across the Imperium, first being seen in large-scale Chaos use in the Gothic war as a Heavy raider and dedicated Lance boat, her high speed and moderately high armour protection allowing her to survive most Imperial retaliations. She frequently proved to be a deadly pair for the Carnage Class cruiser, and as the Heavy Firepower of chaos fleets, providing knock-out blows for Chaos cruiser formations.
She is also still in service with Battlefleet Bakka and Battlefleet Tempestus in the Imperial Navy, mainly because of her brutal effectiveness against pirates and Tyranids but also because Bakka was one of the few Battle Fleets reluctant to take the Mars Class over the Cardinal, much of the criticism of the Mars Class coming from the Admirals of said Battlefleet.
A pair of Cardinals of Battlefleet Bakka served against Hive Fleet Behemoth in defence of Macragge. One, the Silent Flame, was lost to friendly fire in transit to her defensive position, being believed to be a heretic raider. The other, Sebastian Thor, served with distinction against the Hive fleet. She defended her small area of space, with an escort of Firestorm frigates, Dauntless and Endurance Light Cruisers and a singular Gothic Class; against swarms of thousands of Tyranid vessels. The concentrated, long range, lance firepower of the Cardinals small formation of Warships being enough to cut a fiery swath through any bio-ship foolish enough to try assault the lethal mini-fleet. The Sebastian Thor, despite losing much of her escort, would survive her intense week-long firefight and continues to serve with Battlefleet Bakka to this day.

Cardinals also notably severed in the vicious Badab war in M38 for both sides of the conflict. Many ships changing hands several times throughout the course of the war, admirals on both sides never sure to whom the next Cardinal would belong to; an unconfirmed, but presumably high, tally of friendly-fire occurring on both sides.

Acheron Class Heavy Cruiser

Size: 6 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 105,000

Max Acceleration: 2.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 2 Cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 2 Lance turrets (dorsal mounted), 1 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-Macro Cannon turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 4 Lance batteries (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: Acheron Class was a test bed for an ancient experimental weapons system and power plant found in Sector 51 by a patrol from Battlefleet Gothic, the origin and age of said weapons and power plant are unknown, being found within a space hulk which is believed to have been xenos in origin (although whether this is true, or simply captain folklore and rumour, is unknown). The Acheron Class is effectively a Cardinal Class with standard Lances and power plant replaced with the older re-discovered lances and generator. These old lances had a more efficient power distribution in its shots, generating less heat and distributing the extra power retention equally over the entire area of the lance impact as opposed to only the centre of the area of impact, which greatly improved the performance of the lance's penetrative power/damage to be more in line with what a Heavy lance would achieve (but with a lower power requirement, due to the smaller weight class weapon). The experimental power plant also enabled these lances to fire beyond the range of most Cruisers and match the range of even the most long-range batteries on battleships, the frightening power of the generator also accelerating the (already fast) Cardinal chassis to speeds more typical of a light cruiser.

Despite the clear advantages these weapons and power plant offered, the Mechanicus refused to work with them and wouldn't produce any more Acheron Class vessels because of the shady origins of the Tech possibly being of Xenos design. This means that only one un-named (designated BF/67-A) and incomplete Acheron Class was built by the Imperium, although experiences from the trials of the Acheron inspired the Overlord Class Battle Cruiser which had a largely copied (but less efficient) power plant. The singular Acheron Class test subject was left immobile in orbit above a backwater outpost world in the gothic sector and was largely forgotten. The Acheron would become a centre of attention again during the Gothic War however.

During the Chaos offensive, one of the Chaos strike groups stumbled across the Acheron in orbit above the seemingly insignificant world. Before blowing it apart, the Chaos admiral recognised its similarity to the Cardinal Class Heavy Cruiser, and life-sign scans showed it was un-crewed. Confused, Curious and Cautious: The Chaos fleet closed in to inspect the new warship, and quickly discovered the power of the power plant and lances equipped on the vessel, immediately setting to work getting the thing repaired, rearmed and crewed. Two Weeks later, when work on the on the Acheron had nearly finished, an imperial fleet flagged by a Retribution Class Battleship arrived under strict orders to destroy the Acheron at any cost. After a pitched 8-hour battle between the Chaos and Imperial fleets the now-named Chaos Eternus Acheron Class escaped into the warp under heavy fire from Macro Cannons, leaving behind a graveyard of Chaos and Imperial vessels in her old resting place.

Hecate Class Heavy Cruiser

Size: 6.3 KM long, 1 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 122,000

Max Acceleration: 2.6 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 2 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 2 lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 1 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-Macro Cannon turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 2 Hangar decks (1 per broadside), 2 Lance batteries (1 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 100 Swift Death fighters, 188 Hell Talons/Hell Blades, 66 Doom Fire bombers, 60 Dread Class Assault pods

Lore: he Hecate Class is a far more recent Chaos-native design based off the Styx Class Heavy Cruiser, her first recorded sightings of the vessel being in M39, and first recorded deployments being during the Gothic War.
Despite the potency of Heavy-weight Carrier Styx Class, Chaos Warmasters realised the need for a carrier capable of defending itself against a modest sized fleet without a considerable escort. For a while the answer had simply been to mass Harbingers with a Styx and overwhelm them with sheer volume of strike craft, with lance and weapons batteries from the Styx and Harbingers for fending off survivors.
This proved inconvenient and unreliable however. For one, it was hard to sneak more than one vessel through Imperial defences without being detected, meaning ships had to be sent to rally locations one-by-one or risk detection; and the formation was extremely fragile as it relied on light cruisers that could be easily destroyed by any Imperial vessel given even a shadow of a chance to fire back.

The Hecate design was built to address these issues.
She had slightly heavier armour, allowing her to withstand cruiser-grade weaponry at mid-range for a limited duration, and featured an extended Dorsal lance battery and a battery of Lance weapons to replace one of the Launch bays. While this meant a lower number of strike craft on the ship when compared to the Styx: when deployed in the same Harbinger formation the difference in strike potential at long range was negligible. But the formation suddenly experienced more success when Imperial forces began to close, the large number of lances able to tear through large groups of enemy escorts, light cruisers and cruisers.
The Hecate could also be self-sufficient, not having to depend on a formation of escorts, being quite capable of fending off a variety of different enemies entirely by herself.

Hellfire Class Heavy Cruiser

Size: 6 KM long, 0.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 108,000

Max Acceleration: 3 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating

Standard Main Armament: 40 Heavy Laser weapon batteries (20 per broadside), 2 lance turrets (dorsally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Hellfire Class is a strange vessel design by Imperial standards.
This ship was designed and built in M33, the concept of the design was to produce a ship capable of bring massive firepower upon an enemy fleet quickly and from a longer range than most could engage, effectively a long-range lance boat. Although the ship did have dorsal lances, most of its firepower came from many experimental laser-based weapons batteries. These weapons batteries behaved a lot like light lances found on escorts and light cruisers both in terms of power consumption and damage output, but they had a far longer range, easily able to match the engagement ranges of most standard lances as well as being packed in great concentration on the Heavy Cruiser's broadsides.
These strange weapons, together with the dorsal lances and requirement for high speed meant that the Hellfire is unique among Imperial production vessels for having no void shields: the power requirements of the weapons and engine simply making it impossible for any cruiser-sized ship to support the shields. To back this up, the Hellfire had no armour worth mentioning, anything larger than an escort could shred this ship apart.

The Hellfire had mixed reception with Imperial Admirals and crews. Admirals loved the range it could engage at, its burst firepower and speed; but hated the fragility and constant need for an escort. Crews loved its firepower and speed also, allowing captains to dictate engagements and rendering the ship virtually immune to pirate raids; but cramped conditions and poor vessel survivability meant morale often plummeted during extended fleet engagements and while not on duty.
Although never officially discharged by the Imperium: most Hellfire captains despised the conditions them and their crew where being put under, most turning heretic by M35, and Imperial Admirals weren't fond of how easily they could be destroyed during fleet engagements; most battle fleets not deploying those left in active service, by M36 the Hellfire being a virtually unheard of vessel in the Imperial Navy.
The Hellfire has since been seen in Chaos use for blocking convoy operations, commerce raiding and blockading Imperial worlds, but is rarely used in large scale offensive operations.

Chaos Grand Cruisers
Disgraced Relics

Executor Class Grand Cruiser

Size: 7.6 KM long, 1.8 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 143,000

Max Acceleration: 1.9 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 4 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Lance batteries (4 per broadside), 4 Heavy Lance batteries (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: This class of Grand Cruiser was designed and built for use by Battlefleet Cadia in the defence of the Cadia gate, its intention being an upgrade over the Vengeance Class and one of the few ships in the Imperial arsenal to match the Apocalypse battleship for lance broadside firepower.

Almost all of these rare vessels where arranged into a single squadron of giant cruisers, Blood Royale leading them. The Executors roamed the border of the Eye of Terror, using their extended range Heavy-Lance weaponry to annihilate anything foolish enough to try and break out of the Gate long before they realised they were in range. Their effectiveness grabbed the attention of Chaos forces and, one day, the Grand Cruisers disappeared without a trace while on one of their long-range patrols.
For six centuries all the Grand Cruisers where believed lost (the experience promoting the Imperium to split up its Grand Cruisers more sparsely, to prevent the loss of several of the ancient vessels at a time) until they suddenly appeared in the Gothic Sector... as part of a massive chaos warfleet.
The powers of Chaos had further increased the already upgraded range and speed beyond what should be physically possible: The Executor now a truly deadly threat to anything that dares challenge the Grand cruiser, regardless of protection and range.

Retaliator Class Grand Cruiser

Size: 7.5 KM long, 1.6 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 144,000

Max Acceleration: 1.7 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 4 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 8 Heavy Macro Cannons (4 per broadside), 2 Lance batteries (1 per broadside) and 4 hanger decks (2 per broadside)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 200 Swift Death fighters, 288 Hell Talons/Hell Blades, 108 Doom Fire bombers, 120 Dread Class Assault pods

Lore: Retaliator Class vessels served the Imperium as dedicated blockade vessels, anti-piracy ships and as PDF vessels from M32-M35 primarily in the Eye of Terror region but also seeing service with Imperial forces in the Galactic East. In M35, the Industrial World of Galan V and the entire garrison fleet surrounding the planet (that included a majority of the Retaliator Class vessels) rebelled against the Imperium and turned to Chaos. A two-day long intense naval battle took place around Galan V's moon between Imperial Cruiser squadrons and the rebel fleet, the remaining Retaliators and their escorts broke off and retreated for the Eye of Terror. Having received heavy damage at the hands of the Imperial Cruiser, and despite inflicting heavy losses, where faced with overwhelming imperial reinforcements (which included an Apocalypse Class battleship).
When seen again by Imperial forces: the Retaliators where deadlier, twisted, parodies of the vessels they had been. Battery and lance range impossibly extended by supernatural means, Strike Craft replaced for smaller and more mobile Chaos models: pilots reduced to an unholy union of flesh, bone and machinery.
Although rarely seen, as Chaos fleets primarily use them to blockade important planets which are under invasion and for defensive operations, one renegade Retaliator is known to still be at large in the Imperium in the Kronus sub-sector: the Monarch of Whispers, which continues to terrorise Imperial convoys and planets across the sub-sector to this day.

Repulsive Class Grand Cruiser

Size: 7.4 KM long, 1.6 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 114,000

Max Acceleration: 2.2 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 4 cruiser class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 32 Macro Cannons (16 cannons per broadside), 3 plasma lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 6 torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Repulsive was designed to be the ultimate evolution of the Grand Cruiser concept in M34, armed with long range lances, more powerful battleship-type engines, extended-range weapons batteries and forward mounted torpedoes deployed on a more heavily armoured prow-section. The cruiser was quite simply designed to address all of the recurring issues with the Grand Cruisers still in service with the Imperium.
The Repulsive (original name long lost, being nicknamed such by Imperial crews while in Imperial service and officially classes as the 'Repulsive Class' while in Chaos service) had some disturbing complications from very early in her design stage. A series of strange and perfect coincidences allowing the development to be unusually speedy and successful on the ship, and allowing for several batches of the cruiser to be produced in rapid succession not long after being developed in lightning speed... only for a disturbing number of these ships to be 'lost in the warp' in their first few jumps. Eventually the Imperium picked up the pattern, discontinuing the Grand Cruisers from service and production (and losing the ability to continue producing them not long after), this cruisers ugly reputation of dragging crews into the Warp already earning it the name 'Repulsive': the few remaining being relegated to planetary defence duties, being unable to warp between sectors.

Many of these 'lost' Grand Cruisers where immediately being prepared to be put into active service with Chaos fleets.
The Repulsive Class saw extensive upgrades to her speed and range by her new Chaos masters, the twisted powers of Chaos empowering the ship's systems beyond the limits of the simple physics of Real-Space.

The Repulsive is a truly deadly adversary to any who try to engage her, her long range batteries (and even longer range Lances) tearing into formations from far beyond the effective engagement range of most Imperial vessels. She is also a rare vessel among Chaos fleets for having forward torpedo armament, only further increasing her fearsome firepower at extreme ranges, she's also unusual for having Heavy armour: able to withstand an Imperial Battle Cruiser broadside long enough to fire at least one terrifyingly powerful broadside in return.
The Repulsive is also frequently used in raids on Imperial worlds and in planetary invasions.

Chaos Battleships
Terror Incarnate

Despoiler Class Battleship

Size: 8.3 KM long, 3.1 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 242,000

Max Acceleration: 1.8 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 40 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-macro cannons (20 per broadside), 2 Lance turrets (dorsally mounted), 2 Heavy Lance turrets (Dorsal and Dorsal/prow mounted), 3 Hanger decks (1 per broadside, 1 prow mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 200 Swift Death fighters, 288 Hell Talons/Hell Blades, 108 Doom Fire bombers, 120 Dread Class Assault pods

Lore: This ship has a long and turbulent history within the Imperium. The Despoiler Class was the ship created by the 'Young School' Admirals (inspired by the ancient Death Guard Battleship Terminus Est's design) of Battlefleet Bakka during the 'Gareox incident', following a millennia long dispute of All-Big-Gun Battleship designs vs Attack Carriers for future Imperial ship-building revolving around battleships. During this Imperial civil war, some 14 Despoilers and their fleets faced off against 15 Emperor Class vessels and their own fleets. The Despoilers Class proved to have much superior speed, and attack range with its batteries and mix of heavy and standard lances, but only just matched the carrier capacity of the Emperor and was far more fragile. Although 2 Emperor Class vessels were destroyed, and a further 3 crippled, the Despoiler proved unable to match the Emperor as a Battleship and was no better as a Carrier: only 3 Despoilers surviving the conflict as the fearsome firepower of Heavy Macro Cannons tour the large and relatively fragile targets to pieces.
All three of these Battleships and their architects would turn to chaos.
Since then the Despoiler has become yet faster, and has a far more deadly arsenal of lances and strike craft.

The Despoiler is armed with a pair of Heavy Lances, both capable of firing directly forward or over the broadsides of the ship, and a centre mounted battery of dorsal lances for fending off escorts and finishing crippled opponents. She also has two lots of Weapon Batteries on each broadside of the ship, and a number of weapon batteries flanking and protecting the large prow mounted launch bay; a further 2 launch bays being found on the broadsides of the ship directly behind the prow section.
This fearsome array of weapons makes her a deadly opponent, especially at long range: where her lances, long range weapon batteries and strike craft swarms can overwhelm an opponent before they are even given a chance to close in and return fire. Her high speed making this range advantage all the more crushing, as she is difficult to catch with anything larger than cruiser, but anything smaller than a Battleship is quickly overwhelmed by the catastrophic damage the Despoiler can dish out.

The Despoiler would see action in Chaos service from M39 onwards, destroying entire cruiser flotillas and convoys before word of the attack could even reach a retaliation fleet, a Despoiler attack very rarely leaving any survivors to tell the tale of the savage assault.
But the next major engagement would be the Gothic War of M41. The remaining 3 original Battleships and their younger chaos-born sisters served as the spearhead to the Chaos offensive, being the head of the lethal dagger aimed at the heart of the Imperium. They proved deadly against any opponent, the Despoiler getting a re-match with its nemesis, the Emperor Class, and proving to now be a far worthier opponent of the lordly Imperial Vessel, a number of Emperor Class Battleships being reduced to drifting hulks before the advance of Chaos.

Desolator Class Battleship

Size: 8 KM long, 2.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 201,000

Max Acceleration: 2.2 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 24 'Hector' Heavy Plasma-macro cannons (12 per broadside, dorsally mounted), 6 Lance batteries (3 per broadside), 1 Lance turret (dorsal/prow mounted), 6 prow torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters

Lore: The Desolator is a vessel with mysterious and long-lost origins dating back to the very earliest days of the Imperium, using technology now long-lost to the Imperium, the design believed to have been in service with the Imperium from M31-M34 before the 5 existing vessels defected to Chaos for (mostly) unknown reasons (one of them, the Torment, being captured by Chaos forces in M33). The most infamous among them being the first to defect, believed to have Defected in M33, the renamed Eternity of Pain has since destroyed seven Loyal Imperial Battleships of various classes and countless smaller vessels: continuing to elude the Imperium to this day.
The original design of the Desolator is rumoured to have served as the basis for the Apocalypse Class, her large armament of long-range lances mirroring her loyal counterpart, and the small numbers of the ship being constructed possibly being prototypes for the technology used on the Apocalypse. However, none of this is known for certain, as neither warship are understood well by the Mechanicus and records have been long-lost.

The Desolator is armed with full broadsides of long-range lances, a large number of Dorsal Weapon batteries and prow mounted torpedo launchers. This, together with her high speed, allows her to hold opponents at long range where she can tear into them with long range weapon batteries and lances; using her prow torpedoes to disperse any enemies attempting to close with her.
This lethal long range armament and speeds has made the Desolator a true menace for any Imperial fleet, being deadly to a ship of any size, kiting her Battleship rivals with her speed as her lances rip through their thick hides and tearing apart anything smaller in mere seconds under a barrage of Torpedoes, Lance bolts and Plasma projectiles.

The Desolator has been seen in service with chaos in raids and offensives across the Imperium, most notable being the prior-mentioned Eternity of Pain which continues to reap a bloody toll on the Imperial Navy's Battleships, and a number took part in the Gothic War. The Desolators proved instrumental to Chaos forces during this Black Crusade, able to cause crippling damage to the imposing and deadly Imperial Battleships as well as provide an excellent platform for orbital bombardment of key Imperial Worlds. The large number of lances capable of accurate surgical strikes to annihilate Imperial cities or destroy planets outright with a full-power broadside.
The class served as Heavy Fire support throughout the war, destroying hard targets and stitching Imperial formations with a barrage of Lance strikes to allow the cruisers chance to unleash their own lethal firepower without fear of retaliation.

Desecrator Class Battleship

Size: 8 KM long, 2.9 KM abeam at the wings

Crew: 224,000

Max Acceleration: 2 g

Defences: faramite-alloy armour plating, 8 battleship class Void shields.

Standard Main Armament: 6 Lance batteries (3 per broadside), 3 Lance turrets (dorsal and dorsal/prow mounted), 2 hanger bays (1 per broadside), 6 prow torpedo launchers

Standard secondary Armament: Turbo lasers, missile banks and autocannons (belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 4 Arvus lighters, 100 Swift Death fighters, 144 Hell Talons/Hell Blades, 54 Doom Fire bombers, 66 Dread Class Assault pods

Lore: The Desecrator Class is a recent Chaos modification of the Desolator Class Battleship made at the request of Abaddon the Despoiler in preparation for the Gothic War. The Purpose of the design was to increase the, already large number, of Attack Carriers in the Chaos Armada and expand the Chaos Battleship fleet; to allow for more spearhead vessels meaning a greater number of avenues of attack. The idea being to swamp Imperial forces under an assault from multiple fronts across an area of space covering hundreds of planets each, stretching any Imperial reinforcements thin and wide, to allow for the Battlefleet to be easily overwhelmed in small chunks at a time.

The Desecrator Class bares many similarities to the Desolator she is based off of in both appearance and armament.
Retaining the frontal torpedo launchers and most of the lance batteries; however some changes have been made to the armaments of the vessel. For one the Desecrator has a dorsal lance mounted overlooking the prow of the Battleship, as well as along the spine of the ship, and a pair of launch bays replacing the two forward-most lance batteries.
Although her carrier capacity isn't very impressive by Battleship standards, It's sufficient for systematically taking apart enemy Cruisers and escorts as well as provide an extra defence against torpedo and strike craft assaults. The frontal lance, in combination with these strike craft and the torpedo launchers, giving her impressive frontal firepower at long range; able to cripple enemy vessels and disperse enemy formations as leads assaults into enemy battle lines. Her carrier capacity and lances also making her very well suited to the fire support role also, able to stay behind the main advance and escort them in with fighters while providing covering fire from her large number of long range lances.

The Desecrator performed well during the Gothic War.
She proved to be an excellent break-through warship, able to apply large amounts of firepower very quickly to key areas in Imperial Battle lines and create openings for the deadly Chaos Cruisers to follow and tear the tight formations open, the battleship then providing fire support in taking out harder targets among the disorganised melee.
Although these tactics where deadly, and dedicated Desecrator-lead assault was rarely unsuccessful in breaking up formations, her armour was not sufficient to allow for the survival of the Battleship following the initial push: Rival Imperial Battleships like the mighty Retribution even able to blunt such assaults with their awesome broadside firepower.
But the Desecrator is still a true menace in any offensive operation, and the bane of any cruiser unlucky enough to be faced with this aggressive terror.

Eldar Strike Craft
Silent Assassins

DarkStar Fighter

Length: 60 metres

Wing span: 40 metres (main), 15 metres (secondary)

Crew: 1 (sometimes not piloted, instead 'piloted' by a spirit-stone)

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: 4 Light Star Cannons

Webway capable: Unknown, presumed yes

Lore: Very little is known of this craft due to very few surviving encounters with them.
At first glance, they appear similar to the Fury in shape and size (being quite large for a fighter at 60 metres in length), and their armament of 4 Star Cannons (one per wing-tip, two in the nose) are exceptionally deadly: but that is where similarities with the Fury ends.

For a start, she requires only a pilot: the GhostStar variant, not requiring any crew at all as they are piloted via spirit-stone.

They are nimble beyond imagining compared to any human craft, able to seemingly turn on the spot and immediately change course and direction: dodging even the most well-aimed las bolts in mid-flight, this advantage only exaggerated by the Eldar pilots super-human reaction speeds.
It is also nightmarishly difficult to target, yet alone hit, a DarkStar. They have similar Holo-Field technology equipped to Eldar warships, confusing augurs and cogitators into believing there are in fact hundreds of targets, none of which may show the actual location of the DarkStar on scopes.

Fortunately for Imperial shipping, most don’t have any missile, torpedo or bomb armament (although the Star Cannons can still do damage to even heavily armoured Imperial Escorts and System vessels) and are launched only in small squadrons that never seem to exceed 4 craft. Eldar Corsair and Craftworld carriers also don’t carry very many strike craft. Most only carrying a total of 16 DarkStars, only the dreaded Void Stalker can carry significantly more at roughly 50 fighters total.

Eagle Bomber

Length: 80 metres

Wing span: 60 metres (main), 30 metres (secondary)

Crew: 1 (sometimes not piloted, instead 'piloted' by a spirit-stone)

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: 2 Light Star Cannons, 1 Light Shadow Lance, 10 bomb warheads (Plasma, Vortex or Sonic) or 20 missile warheads (Plasma, Vortex or Sonic)

Webway capable: Unknown, presumed yes

Lore: These are considered by many to be the deadliest bombers known to man.
They have more in common with fighters than bombers. They are fairly small for bombers and extremely nimble, able to easily outrun and outmaneuver most fighters. She typically has a crew of one, which is also unusual for a bomber (ghost variants having no crew). She also has the same holo fields as all Eldar spacecraft.

Her armaments for her size, however, are brutal. She has 2 Star Cannons and a down-scaled Shadow Lance (all in the nose) and a small payload of very exotic warheads. While she never carries more than one torpedo, 10 bombs or 20 missiles the warheads are equipped with far deadlier ordnance.

Sonic Charge Warheads can shake apart a ship or station to its very foundations and cause irreparable damage to the ship's innards, Vortex torpedoes can rip chunks of a ship’s hull in oblivion and plasma torpedoes which can phase inside of even the thickest of armour and rend a ship's hull apart as it detonates from beneath.

Again, the Imperium counts itself fortunate that these bombers are not more numerous. They have not yet been seen deployed in groups larger than 3 and most carriers don’t carry more 8 in total, although the number of Eagles that can launch from a Void Stalker add to the incredible fear said ship inspires in the hearts of experienced admirals: it being able to launch 20 of the deadly bombers.

Eldar Escorts
Eldar Mainstays

Hemlock Class Destroyer

Size: 1.4 KM long, 0.2 KM abeam at widest point

Crew: 10,000

Max Acceleration: 9.5 g

Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.

Standard Main Armament: 1 Pulsar Lance, 6 Light StarCannons (all frontally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary Craft: N/A

Lore: The Hemlock is notable for its simplicity of design. She consists of a powerful pulsar lance, highly efficient sublight drives (solar sails), and little else. Admiral Grove once made the observation of the Hemlock as "...more of a mobile gun than a proper starship", comparing the escort to a 'mobile monitor'. With the power needed for the stellar drives and pulsar lance, even considering advanced Eldar power plants and propulsion technology, the Hemlock probably cannot generate a stable interior environment for much than the crew members needed for steering the ship and firing the pulsar. This makes it especially vulnerable to boarding actions from any enemy - if they can get close enough to the extremely fast and mobile ship to attempt to board (+1 enemy modifier for boarding on TT) - as she has a minimalist crew at the best of times.

Hemlocks are almost exclusively ships of the line and cheap firepower for an Eldar fleet.
They are straightforward and brutal. They swoop in with lances blazing, make a kill on an unsuspecting cruiser or even a battleship, then duck for cover. Or swarm in large numbers to protect large Eldar vessels and further devastate fleets due to the much greater number of lances squadrons of these ships can provide. Far more dangerous weapons and ships than their closest comparable counterparts, the Idolator and the Firestorm.
Full squadrons of six are a bit overkill, but 2 squadrons of 3 or 4 can be really devastating and sufficient to cripple even the largest capital ships while providing diversion and better manoeuvering than one big squadron, as well as better angles of fire: 2 squadrons firing from different directions being much harder to escape from and counter effectively with your broadsides as they run for cover, also harder for opposing escorts to chase down (if hey can catch a Hemlock at all).

The Hemlock is essentially an Escort sized Lance boat: able to provide heavy firepower for their size.

(Assisted by HuvalC)

Hellebore Class Frigate

Size: 1.6 KM long, 0.3 KM abeam at widest point

Crew: 12,000

Max Acceleration: 9 g

Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.

Standard Main Armament: 1 Pulsar Lance, 4 Light StarCannons, 1 StarCannon (all frontally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary Craft: N/A

Lore: In the table-top, Hellebore were the least used of Eldar escorts, due to its high point cost. However, stat-wise it is very attractive, with its very good speed, hitting power and its versatility. Despite its fragileness (as an escort) it carries almost the armament of a light cruiser and is able to inflict tons of damages on larger vessels.
Basicly, an extremely fragile and overpriced escort with extremely powerful weapons: pulsar lance and star cannons, same armanet as an Eldar CL. Also worth keeping in mind that, despite the high firepower per ship, not many could ever be put in a squadron due to their cost. A much larger squadron of Hemlocks normally being more sustainable and better value for points.

While not as specialized as the other escorts, hellebores may be very good complements for a squadron of Nightshades, saturating the flank of the map with torpedoes, then lock on the next turn following torpedoes to hit enemy's line ships back. One weapon battery is few, but a squadron of 2 Hellebores and 2 Nightshades represent 4 Eldar weapon batteries in addition to two lances, which can be very effective in defensive actions.
In addition a squadron of 2 Hellebores may be a good escort for an Eclipse.

The Hellebore is basically a glass cannon, even in a fleet of glass cannon, with massive firepower for her weight class but being a very easy target to kill (once caught).

(Assisted by Ouroboros85)

Aconite Class Frigate

Size: 1.4 KM long, 0.3 KM abeam at widest point

Crew: 11,000

Max Acceleration: 9 g

Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.

Standard Main Armament: 10 Light StarCannons (all frontally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary Craft: N/A

Lore: Like all Eldar Escorts, the Aconite is a simple yet elegant design making use of highly advanced technologies allowing the ship speed and mobility uncommon even among escorts, although the minimalist crew and total lack of armour render her (and other Eldar vessels) highly vulnerable.
The armanet of the Aconite is also devastating by Escort standards, possessing an abnormally large bank of StarCannons in its nose. The exact role of this escort isn't entirely known (as is the secretive nature of the Eldar), but Imperial Navy tacticians speculate its design was intended to counter other escorts and hunt down convoy operation; a pair of the tiny vessels able to match the firepower of cruiser and easily catch any vessel in the Imperial arsenal.

The only limiting factor of the Aconite is her vulnerability. Although she possesses void shields, her flimsy hull, small crew and tiny size mean a single lance or Macro Cannon hit will practically vapourise her. This may be an issue for all Eldar vessels, but the eldar themselves typically prefer to reserve the Aconite for defensive operations: the StarCannon armanet requiring time to wear down its opponents, time most Eldar captain can ill-afford to waste and allow their enemy to retaliate. The Hemlock, and even the Hellebore, being typically more commonly seen in use by the Eldar in raids.
Despite this, a large swarm of Aconites is to be feared, as a large enough group can quite easily rival a battleship in sheer gun-firepower; many an attacker have been foolish enough to forget that.

The Aconite is the Light GunBoat of the Eldar fleet.

Nightshade Class Destroyer

Size: 1.2 KM long, 0.5 KM abeam at widest point

Crew: 8,000

Max Acceleration: 10 g

Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.

Standard Main Armament: 4 Light StarCannons, 2 Light Torpedo Launchers (all frontally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary Craft: N/A

Lore: The Nightshade is probably the most easily distinguished among the Eldar escorts.
For one, she has a distinctive 'winged' solar sail layout, but also her design is much more in line with that of a conventional Imperial Destroyer: although FAR faster and better armed than any destroyer in Imperial service.

The role of these ships in combat is really very simple. They use their incredible High speed and tiny, nimble, frames to close with an enemy capital ship: and then unleash a pair of devastating Vortex or Neutron Torpedo Warheads directly into the target from very short ranges. The ship is almost always left a floating wreck by such an attack, the tiny destroyers spending most of the rest of the battle assisting in hunting down escorts with their modest StarCannon armament. This is largely very similar to the role the Cobra Class is intended to fill in Imperial fleets: although the Cobra will almost always outnumber Nightshades in a battle by at least 2 to 1, the Nightshade is without a doubt far more effective at carrying out its lethal duty.

Shadowhunter Escort

Size: 1.4 KM long, 0.2 KM abeam at widest point

Crew: 8,000

Max Acceleration: 9.6 g

Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.

Standard Main Armament: 1 Shadow Lance (Frontally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary Craft: N/A

Lore: The Shadowhunter is an escort seen only in use with craftworld eldar as a point defence monitor, of sort, poorly armed and armoured; but very fast and numerous. The shadowhunter is, even by Eldar standards, a very simple design: it is effectively nothing more than a single Shadow Lance, a bridge and a solar sail.
The Shadow Lance itself isn't as powerful as a Pulsar lance, as well as being very short ranged, the lack of any StarCannons making this the Shadowhunter's only armament. For this reason, a single Shadowhunter is no threat, even to other escorts in some cases: but they never deploy alone.

The Shadowhunter is always seen deployed in vast swarms around Craftworlds, the hundreds of tiny vessels quickly surrounding and enveloping anything that may threaten the craftworld, firing repeated shadow bolts into their target; much like a swarm of killer bees defending a nest. They are rarely, if ever, seen outside of this protective role.
These ships also served a very important role in protecting Lyandan from Hive fleet Naga, as the two swarms collided, buying the CraftWorld the time it needed to finish fortifying against the attack. Although almost all the Shadowhunters where lost, a few survived to assist Prince Yriel's corsair fleet in pushing the fractured Tyranid fleet away from the crippled CraftWorld.

The Shadowhunter is the point defence escort of the Eldar CraftWorld fleet.

Eldar Light Cruisers
Killers in the Void

Aurora Class Light Cruiser

Size: 4 KM long, 1.4 KM abeam at widest point

Crew: 48,000

Max Acceleration: 8.6 g

Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.

Standard Main Armament: 2 Pulsar Lances, 4 Torpedo Launchers (all frontally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary Craft: 4 Nightwing fighters, 4 Vampire Raiders

Lore: Very little of the Aurora is known for certain beyond its terrifying firepower and incredible speed.
Prior to the Gothic War, the only encounters with what would be identified as the Aurora where short and brutal, very little surviving to tell the tail of the attack: no trace of the ship itself left behind as it slipped away into the murky depths of the void before any Imperial ship could hope to catch the raider.
The armanet of the Arora consists of Pulsar Lances and Torpedoe launchers, the perfect armament for delivering crippling blows very quickly following a successful ambush, even the largest of Battleships being susceptible to such a lethal punch.

The Aurora's mysteries where somewhat cleared up during the Gothic War, as the Imperial Navy operated in close cooperation with the Eldar Corsair fleets in the Gothic Sector, the Imperium learning of its deployment and class name. The Aurora made a full display of its capabilities at the Battle of Gethsemane. Following a brutal exchange between Von Ravensburg's battleships and the bulk of the Chaos Armada, a large number of Eldar rushed from behind Imperial lines and out of Ambush positions to assail the now broken and fleeing Chaos fleets. At first many Imperial captains assumed they had merely broken positions and where running to a swift demise, only the large number of Auroras among the eldar formations where swifty able to obliterate Chaos capital ship after Chaos capital ship, with no return damage seemingly taken.
The Eldar made several passes and flanking maneuvers throughout the remainder of the battle, sealing the fate of the vast majority of Abaddon's once mighty assembled Armada, as the Chaos ships where separated with an unstoppable sledge hammer ahead; and uncatchable assassins all around.

The Aurora is the heavy hitting ambush cruiser of the Eldar fleet.

Solaris Class Light Cruiser

Size: 4.2 KM long, 0.4 KM abeam at widest point

Crew: 55,000

Max Acceleration: 8.4 g

Defences: Wraithbone armour, Holofeild.

Standard Main Armament: 6 StarCannons, 1 Hangar Bay (all frontally mounted)

Standard secondary Armament: Missile Banks and Shuriken Cannons (broadside, belly and spine mounted, undetermined numbers)

Auxiliary craft: 16 DarkStar Fighters, 8 Eagle Bombers, 30 Nightwing fighters, 20 Vampire Raiders, 10 Phoenix Attack Craft and 10 Vampire Hunters

Lore: The Solaris is very similar to the Aurora in all but armanet, many Imperial captains mistaking the Solaris for the much feared Aurora: leading to many tactical errors and morales breakages. Her armanet in weapons may not be as powerful as the Aurora, so she can not deliver the same lethal punch, but the Solaris is by no means the weaker of the two.
Her Carrier capacity, although limited, yields some of the strongest Strike Craft known to the Imperium. No Ordnance gets by a Solaris, and very little escapes its bomber assaults, as well as its powerful StarCannon armament being capable of tearing through even the thickest of sip hides with seemingly effortless ease.

The ship was first identified by the Imperium by Battlefleet Gothic in M40 during one of the first major engagements with Prince Ilmarth and the Soul Reaver's Eldar Corsair fleet. Battlefleet Gothic, dramatically underestimating the power of eldar ships, launched an all out assault on the Yurol Nebula that the Eldar fleets where basing from. The plan being simple: two fleets comprising of larger battleships and Battlecruisers would flank the nebula while flotillas of cruisers and escorts would push into the Nebula and force the Eldar onto the Heavy Guns.
The Solaris came into its own in this battle. The Imperial ships, already hampered by low visibility, where haunted by a group of Eldar Solaris CLs and Strike Craft squadrons. Ship after ship suddenly going silent as a Solaris and its lethal Ordnance emerged to claim their lives, and disappear before a retaliation could be mounted. Several cruisers and countless Light Cruisers and escorts fell to Solaris attacks before Imperial admirals finally called off the attack; the newly discovered Light Cruiser earning a reputation as a ruthless killer and a true nightmare for less capital ships and escorts to deal with. The Class would also later resurface in the Gothic War, where they proved instrumental in helping to turn the tide against the Chaos carrier fleets.

The Solaris is the Light Carrier of the Eldar fleet.