Imperial Navy Logistic Ships: Difference between revisions
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Popular among poorer Chartist Captains, these ships are unassuming but reliable and even carry small weapons batteries for defence against pirates. However, as civilian vessels, they don't last too long against an actual naval warship. | Popular among poorer Chartist Captains, these ships are unassuming but reliable and even carry small weapons batteries for defence against pirates. However, as civilian vessels, they don't last too long against an actual naval warship. | ||
Compared to the Imperial Transport, the Vagabond is smaller but more manoeuvrable. They are vital for interplanetary trade, but when it comes to | Compared to the Imperial Transport, the Vagabond is smaller but more manoeuvrable. They are vital for interplanetary trade, but when it comes to long distance interstellar trade, the Imperial Transport is far more cost-effective; carrying more cargo at a longer distance for around the same price. | ||
*'''Length:''' 0.8-1km | *'''Length:''' 0.8-1km | ||
Revision as of 14:01, 1 August 2020
The Imperial Navy could boast about having the biggest and baddest ship and all, but even they know that the survival of the Imperium of Man would be impossible without the presence of their logistics and cargo ships. These guys are the literal lifeblood of the IoM. They may be unamored and lightly armed, but these humble barges could dictate the survival of entire star systems just by their captain's temperement of trade.
Transport Ships
Clippers
Fast Clipper
The Ferraris of naval vessels.
Fast Clippers are extremely swift vessels used by Merchant Fleets of the Imperium. Utilizing improved main drive engines that take up more than half of the vessel's mass, most of the power from these engineering plants are directed to propulsion. However, as a result, these ships are virtually unarmed and rely solely on great speed to avoid enemy raiders.
Imperial Navy commanders have commissioned some dockyards to modify Fast Clippers for naval purposes, as with minor modifications they can become suitable for military use.
- Length: 3km
- Acceleration: 5 gravities max sustainable acceleration
Orion
The Orion Class Star Clipper is a light Imperial vessel.
Considered a rarity amongst the Imperium's starships, these vessels are designed for cargo transport at high speeds. Orion's are constructed to transport smaller, high-value cargoes that must reach their destination quickly or through hostile territory.
Rather than rely on armed escorts, Orions travel alone. Often they are successful in their runs, but they do have one major drawback. The redundant internal bulkheads and exterior armor that would normally be added has been forgone in order to increase speed and cargo capacity. As a result, a few hits can easily cripple an Orion.
- Length: 3km
- Mass: 8 megatonnes approx
- Crew: 14,000 crew, approx
- Acceleration: 5.4 gravities max sustainable acceleration
Cargo Haulers
Cetaceus
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A small but extremely THICC transport ship. The Cetaceus-Class Transporter, or the Whale as it is sometimes referred to, is an Imperial vessel used exclusively by the Imperial Navy to transport manpower and equipment from battlezone to battlezone.
They perform a similar role to that of a Space Marine Battle-barge, yet without the heavy firepower or capacity to launch drop pods and on a much smaller scale.
Like other deployment/carrier vessels, whaleships can carry upwards of a single regiment of Imperial Guard units with all associated equipment and vehicles. However, they are unique in that the associated guard units are not actually held within the vessel itself at all, but within specially designed interplanetary dropships that are stored within the hull, ready to be launched when the carrier reaches position. The whaleships; are also capable of carrying all of their own support craft, from Minotaur-class Tug vessels, Devourer Dropships, and strike craft, deploying them from the large open launch bay at the fore of the vessel in addition to the dropships.
Unlike the launch bay on more common Imperial carriers, the support craft is stored within three massive decks that are exposed to the vacuum of space. Therefore each support craft is self-sufficient and only dependent on the carrier for warp travel from location to location.
The Cetaceus itself is particularly well armoured, and, since much of its hull space is taken up by empty storage, it is capable of operation even after massive hull damage (up to 75% structural damage has been noted with continued operation).
- Length: 400-500m
Vagabond
One of the most common commercial transport ship.
The Vagabond-Class Merchant Trader is a transport spacecraft used by the Merchant Fleets. A common sight in the Merchant Fleets, Vagabonds are small multipurpose vessels able to transport a wide variety of cargo and even passengers.
Popular among poorer Chartist Captains, these ships are unassuming but reliable and even carry small weapons batteries for defence against pirates. However, as civilian vessels, they don't last too long against an actual naval warship.
Compared to the Imperial Transport, the Vagabond is smaller but more manoeuvrable. They are vital for interplanetary trade, but when it comes to long distance interstellar trade, the Imperial Transport is far more cost-effective; carrying more cargo at a longer distance for around the same price.
- Length: 0.8-1km
Tarask
The Tarask-Class Merchantman is used by the Imperial Navy, Adeptus Mechanicus, PDFs, and countless Merchant Fleet guilds as well as pirates for the millennia. A stout, dependable light vessel with spacious cargo hold and a surprisingly simplistic design, the Tarask Class is versatile and can be easily maintained.
However, the ships prove easy prey for Ork pirates and renegades throughout the Galaxy. As a result, they have sprouted numerous variants and modifications in the ongoing battle to stay one step ahead of their hunters.
The most famous of these ships was Priano, where the captain rammed an Ork Kill Kroozer, crippling it at the cost of both the ship and crew.
- Length: 1km
Imperial Transport
Your vanillas of Transport Ships. Imperial Transports are the merchantmen, freighters, and support vessels that ply the space lanes, carrying the trade that is the lifeblood of the Imperium. From the dozen or so transports of a single planetary invasion to the hundreds - or even thousands - that participated in the Gothic War, the humble transport is as vital to victory in a conflict as the mighty Battleships that they supply.
Though slow, ungainly, and poorly-armed, transports are often called upon to defend themselves in battle. Fighting against impossible odds, such battles invariably result in heavy losses to the transports, as they simply cannot match up to a dedicated warship.
Chaos forces often rely on hijacked Imperial transports, as these lazy fucks seem disinclined to build something as mundane as a food-hauler. Crewed primarily by pirates, cultists, and renegades, these captured ships will begin to show signs of the warping influence of Chaos after enough years under their dark new masters.
- Length: 2km
Fuel Transport
A cousin of the Imperial Transports.
Fuel Transports are a vital part of Imperial supply chains, as they ship fuel and other materials to Industrial Worlds incapable of producing their own raw materials, Imperial Guard army groups, and Imperial Navy fleets. These ships carry many smaller shuttles to ferry the fuel from ground refineries up to the Transports. Such shuttles are at least 500 meters (1640 feet) long, and around twelve of them land at a time to acquire the fuel.
They are just as slow, ungainly, and poorly-armed as its brothers, however, Fuel Transports aren't likely to be pressed into military service due to, oh I don't know, filled to the brim with explosive and flammable liquids.
- Length: 2km
Carrack
A Transport Ship that could actually handle itself against enemy engagements.
The Carrack-Class Transport is a large transport spacecraft/hauler used by the Imperial Fleet, mostly the Merchant Fleets of the Chartist Captains, but also the Imperial Navy. It is a newer class, less than a 1,000 years old, but the design is bold and strong as any transport of their size in the history of the Imperium, and has driven off many pirate raids.
It is designed primarily for transporting goods for Merchants and Rogue Traders, but the Imperial Navy may use them as troop transports. These guys are armed with at least a single battery of Macrocannons, so they could deal a surprising punch for such a small civilian vessel.
- Length: 2km
- Crew: 18,000 crew, approx
Galaxy
Another armed Transport that could defend itself.
The Galaxy-Class Armed Freighters are ancient transports used by Imperial Merchant Fleets designed during the late Age of Strife. Radically different from the newer more high-capacity Imperial Transports which have largely replaced it, these vessels retain a much more substantial weapons fit than their successors, as they were originally designed for a time when space was much more hostile before the Great Crusade.
However with the Imperium now besieged on all sides and the Imperial Navy's fleets overstretched, there has been a resurgence in the use of these vessels as Merchant Guilds seek to protect their cargoes.
- Length: 2-3km
Heavy Transport
The big brother of Transport Ships.
Heavy Transports are the large trader galleons and ore carracks that are much larger than "normal" Imperial Transports and approach the size of a cruiser. They are most often seen plying the shipping lanes of Segmentum Solar or accompanying exploring Rogue Trader fleets. Despite their size allowing them to carry more weaponry than their smaller cousins, Heavy Transports remain poorly-armed and far more vulnerable than a dedicated warship.
Heavy Transports play an important role in the Adeptus Mechanicus, these are the guys that are primarily used to transport the Titan-class war machines of the Collegia Titanica. So if you wanna know how Imperial Titans go from one planet to another, now you know.
- Length: 5km
Universe
The big cheddar cheese of Transport Ships.
The Universe-Class Mass Conveyor is a class of Imperial Transport ship of the Imperial Fleet that is basically a space Cruiseship, used mostly by the Merchant Fleets or Rogue Traders for mass-trade, and the Imperial Navy to transport large numbers of Imperial Guard to the front. They are amongst the largest class of starship produced in the Imperium, measuring nearly twelve kilometres long and capable of holding up to 500,000 passengers.
Constructing these massive ships is an immense undertaking, taking significant time and resources and thus they can only be constructed above the richest Imperial worlds. Universe Mass Conveyors are almost self-contained worlds, where entire spaceborne communities live out their lives, uncaring as to the vessel's destination or its owners' identities.
- Length: 11.9km
Other
Black Ship
Not to be confused with the Inquisitorial Black Ships.
The League of Blackships is owned by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, the other being the Scholastia Psykana. They represent the second-largest fleet in the Imperium, yes, even larger than the fleets of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
These Black Ships are meant to collect tithes of Psykers from Imperial Worlds, sometimes, at gunpoint. Some of the crew is comprised of the Sisters of Silence whose Blank nature helps control and suppress the Psykers being rounded up and shipped to be processed.
Due to their complicated mission, Black Ships maintain a crew several times higher than similar-sized vessels of the Imperial Navy. The most vital crew of the Black Ships are the aforementioned Sisters of Silence, which are well-suited to combat any psychic threat they encounter. However the majority of the crew are standard humans, and the Captains and other senior officers of the Black Ships are senior adepts of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. The ships themselves are overseen by a Silent Sister known as the Mistress of the Black Fleet.
As for the rest of the ships' crews, they are indentured workers drafted from a number of Imperial worlds situated relatively close to Terra. The Astra Telepathica have ancient contracts with these worlds, ensuring a steady flow of suitable recruits in return for exemption from Imperial Tithes. The mortal crews of Black Ships are well-trained and equipped with highly secretive exotic anti-psyker weaponry.
- Length: 3-4km
- Crew: 50,000 crew, approx
Support Ships
Basic
Armed Freighter
The hands-me-down version of a Carrack-Class Transport.
Armed Freighters are freighters that have been outfitted with military-grade weapons batteries to help protect them while operating in dangerous areas. This extra firepower comes at a price, however, as the freighter's cargo capacity is drastically reduced in order to make room for the new equipment.
Although Armed Freighters will never be mistaken for true combat ships, they have been known to lend support to outnumbered, isolated, or otherwise desperate fleets. They will often work in conjunction with a System Ship and Defence Monitor against enemy invasions.
- Length: 1km
Q-Ship
The surprise buttsex of Imperial naval vessels.
A "Q-Ship" refers to a freighter that has been outfitted with hidden weaponry and mixed in with a convoy. Such ships can come as a nasty surprise to attackers who suddenly find that their would-be prey has as much firepower as a warship.
Like the Armed Freighter but even more exasperated, a catch to a Q-Ship is that it sacrifices cargo space for ammunition storage and expensive mechanisms meant to hide such weapons. This makes Q-Ships expensive, but perfect bodyguard ships for unarmed Freighters, as a few could escort these civilian vessels and defend it accordingly.
- Length: 2km
Carriers
Escort Carrier
A civilian vessel converted as a poor man's carrier.
Escort Carriers are freighters whose cargo bays have been converted into makeshift carrier decks for the support and launching of a small number of Attack Craft such as Fury Interceptors. Designed for convoy escort duty, these ships' cramped quarters and make-shift conversion results in frequent accidents.
They are small vessels and as such, could only carry a handful of these fighters. Still, they make a great ship to harass enemy vessels while the big boys soak up the damage and go to town with the invaders.
- Length: 950m
System-boat=
Constellation
A giant AWAC. The Constellation-Class Targeting Ship is a support vessel of the Imperial Navy.
Equipped with huge detection systems, the Constellation's domes house huge detection arrays which constantly sweep the void, combing for any detection of enemy ships. It's able to link up its systems with nearby Imperial warship.
Once "online", the Constellation is able to channel its data with the fire control systems of its allies. This enables other Imperial vessels to detect enemy attacks at a greater range and target the enemy accurately long before they are in range of the foes' guns. However, it is a vulnerable vessel, as it has little offensive or defensive weaponry.
- Length: 1km
Shield-boat
Castellan
The Castellan Shield Ship is a class of support ship of the Imperial Navy.
A Battlefleet support ship, its role is to provide other warships with the vital defence they need to be able to close with the enemy. The Castellan is built around a single huge Void Shield generator which emanates from the ship in every direction and is powerful enough to extend its protection to any spaceship close to the Castellan.
As the shield absorbs damage, the Tech-Priest custodians aboard desperately work to prevent a catastrophic overload. In order to prevent a meltdown, sometimes the shield must be shut down. Thus in battle, a Castellan's captain must constantly assess the dangers of leaving the shield running or shutting it down to dissipate energy build-up.
- Length: 1-2km