Editing Stormbird (section)

==Overview==
By the time of the Horus Heresy, though, while some of the bigger Legions insisted on keeping their Stormbirds in service, most had begun relying more and more on the smaller and easier to produce Thunderhawk. After the [[Codex Astartes]] reforms, the ability to carry half a company’s worth of marines all in one aircraft wasn’t even arguably economical anymore, and the remaining Imperial Stormbirds were finally mothballed. A rare case of a weapon disappearing from the Imperium's arsenal, not so much because of a lost ability to produce it, but because it simply didn't fit into the changing playbook of Astartes tactics anymore. One would think they would have re-purposed them for anti-Titan operations, into heavy bombers or for transporting vehicles full time.

If the Wrymworld size chart is correct it would be possible to fit a Fellblade or two inside this thing. All they would have to do is convert that empty space for Fellblade cannons, Turbo-Laser Destructors (kind of odd that the Thunderhawk is the only Space Marine plane with an actual anti-Titan weapons isn't it?) or maybe even weapons used by Knights. With enough left over for all the ammunition or power generators, coolant, and anything else they would need. However in the Imperium efficiency and creative thinking is considered [[Heresy|Tech Heresy]]. This is even worse now that the Horus Heresy novels revealed it actually had a dedicated [[STC]] loadout that carried macrobombs.

As of the 41st Millennium, it’s currently unknown if there are any Stormbirds still left in Loyalist vaults, though Traitor Legions like the [[Word Bearers]] are said to still have a few around, and if Forge World’s recent release of the model and 40k rules for the Stormbird is anything to go by, odds are there probably will be [[Ultramarines|a couple]] [[Dark Angels|of chapters]] that will be revealed to, surprise, surprise, still have their Stormbirds as well.

It is interesting to note, though, that Forge World's stormbird is almost an entirely different aircraft from the one pictured in older fluff. Where the old Stormbird looked like a giant [[Valkyrie]] with two tiltrotor turbofan engines each almost as big as the aircraft itself, the Sokar-pattern Stormbird is basically just a Thunderhawk on steroids (The old Stormbird was also fluffed as having a ''100-marine'' carrying capacity, rather than the Sokar's 50). A bit odd, as Forge World has generally tried to maintain the Rogue Trader look when updating the old material.

As it turns out, the Sokar is simply one of several very different patterns of the same general classification of aircraft (unlike the Thunderhawk, the Stormbird is not a standard template design, more like several STC patterns in the same role), and the Sokar itself is actually among the smallest of them. Legions variously fielded Condor- (Sons of Horus), Khonsu-, and Apophis-pattern (the Wolves deployed 30 on Prospero) Stormbirds, the latter being known as "sun-killers" for their size and appearance. There was also the Warhawk-pattern Stormbird, which can carry 100 marines like the Rogue Trader version and, given its description as "monstrous and fat-bodied", likely looked like that version as well. The Sokar Pattern developed from these Warhawk and Nephoros class was used by the Yndonesic Bloc during the [[Unification Wars]].

Half a company of Space Marines is something you'll never see outside of Apocalypse level games and is already too much money for most players. Therefore (almost) no one would bother fielding an entire company just to stuff them into one vehicle. The most likely variant to see release in the coming decade or two would be the Stormbird pattern equivalent to [[Superheavy_Laser_Weapons#Single-Barrelled|Turbolaser]] Thunderhawks. With something akin to a rapid fire [[Volcano Cannon]] or a precursor to [[Macro-Accelerator Cannon]]s. Though it would just as much of a longshot for Forgeworld to release a new mold for the Sokar before 2040.

The Sokar, Khonsu and Apophis, sharing a naming convention (derived from minor Egyptian gods) are likely the last generation of Stormbirds to enter general service before the Crusade.

One notable Stormbird is the one Nathaniel Garro had pimped out for his personal use by Malcador so that he could cruise around the galaxy hunting down members for his loyalist A-Team.