There are other rarer Battleships, such as the older Apocalypse and Oberon classes. The two most often used classes are the Emperor (which can carry an immense amount of attack craft in addition to its normal, incredibly powerful weaponry) and the Retribution (which is noted for its powerful broadside firepower and its very large amount of torpedo tubes).
Although very powerful, battleships are very slow, hard to maneuver and cannot react quickly to enemies that rapidly change course. The Valkyrie is a larger low-altitude transport made for rapid insertions and evacuations, with enough weapons to clear a landing zone or hold off enemies while troops board.īattleships are huge ships, with colossal amounts of weapons and shields, and usually serve as the flagship for the Admiral of the Fleet, though this is not always necessarily the case. The Vulture is a flying gun platform, a two-man VTOL aircraft designed for ground attacks at low altitudes. The Marauder Destroyer is a variant of the Marauder developed for fighting Orks on Armageddon it sacrifices the older vehicle's heavy bomb payload for a massive arsenal of air-to-ground missiles and autocannons. The Marauder is a massive bomber with a crew of eight, it is armed with a small selection of air-to-air weapons for defense and a large payload of bombs for ground attack. The Thunderbolt is a larger, heavier one-man fighter powered by two turbines at the base of the wings, deployed as a ground-attack and air superiority fighter. The Lightning is a small and maneuverable one-man fighter with two centerline turbines, deployed as an interceptor or as a tank destroyer. Most of these are capable of operating in space. In this aspect, the Imperial Navy can deploy a number of different aircraft. The Imperial Navy is also responsible for providing air support to Imperial Guard ground forces. The main task of the escort ships is to strike hard and fast at specific points of the enemy armadas and to support the larger capital ships by protecting their flanks or providing additional firepower.
They can usually be seen traveling in squadrons of 3 to 6, larger squadrons are rare. There are several different types of cruiser, including those that are specialized towards destroying heavily armoured targets, and those that have large fighter bays along their sides.Įscort ships are the smallest type of ship in the Imperial Navy star fleets and comprise the numerical majority of the Imperial Navy. Though not as powerful as a battleship, cruisers are faster and can hit hard when working in teams. The main firepower of a fleet will be in its complement of cruisers. Although very powerful, battleships are slow and ponderous. These form the heart of most Imperial Battle Fleets. The fleets are usually made three distinct types of ships: battleships, cruisers and escorts though several reports have it that far more powerful variants of moon or planet sized drednoughts, warbastions, and star forts exist in huge secret fleet reserves or at notable fleets like Battlefleet Terra or exterminatus fleets.īattleships are huge ships, with enormous amounts of weapons and shields, and are usually the command position for the Admiral of the Fleet. The total number of ships they possess are astronomical, with almost 300 trillions in Port Maw alone. These fleets generally have the task of safeguarding the sector after which they are named, for example Battlefleet Gothic will be protecting the Gothic Sector. The Imperial Navy is split into an infinite amount of war fleets. While the Imperial Guard is responsible for the Imperium's ground forces, The Imperial Navy is responsible for the fleets of warships that soar between the stars and planets in the Imperium as well as engaging threats both inside and outside the Imperium's borders. The Imperial Navy is one of the armed forces employed by the Imperium.