Stormbird: Difference between revisions
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The Thunderhawk’s big older brother and predecessor, the Stormbird was to the Legiones Astartes of the Great Crusade what the Thunderhawk is to the Astartes Chapters of the 41st Millenium: a primary means of transport and air support for Space Marines. The Stormbird, however, was much bigger, able to carry up to 50 Space Marines | The Thunderhawk’s big older brother and predecessor, the Stormbird was to the Legiones Astartes of the Great Crusade what the Thunderhawk is to the Astartes Chapters of the 41st Millenium: a primary means of transport and air support for Space Marines. The Stormbird, however, was much bigger, able to carry up to 50 Space Marines as well as dreadnoughts and rhinos, was protected by 2 void shields, and armed with a ton of firepower. So it was basically an Imperial [[Manta]] for all intents and purposes. | ||
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 was just too big and expensive to be of practical use anymore. | 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 was just too big and expensive to be of practical use anymore. | ||
Revision as of 18:53, 9 May 2016
The Thunderhawk’s big older brother and predecessor, the Stormbird was to the Legiones Astartes of the Great Crusade what the Thunderhawk is to the Astartes Chapters of the 41st Millenium: a primary means of transport and air support for Space Marines. The Stormbird, however, was much bigger, able to carry up to 50 Space Marines as well as dreadnoughts and rhinos, was protected by 2 void shields, and armed with a ton of firepower. So it was basically an Imperial Manta for all intents and purposes.
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 was just too big and expensive to be of practical use anymore.
It’s unknown if there are any Stormbirds still left in the vaults of today’s Chapters, though Traitor Legions like the Word Bearers are said to still have a few around, and if Forge World’s recent development of a Stormbird model is anything to go by, odds are there probably will be a couple of modern chapters that will be revealed to, surprise, surprise, still have their Stormbirds as well.
Just how different Forge World's Stormbird is to the one pictured in older fluff is rather interesting, as Forge World has generally tried to maintain the old Rogue Trader look when updating the old material. Whether this is simply a very different pattern of the same general aircraft (a distinct possibility, as one of the apparent advantages of the Thunderhawk over the Stormbird was that it was a standard template design and the Stormbird was not), or if the Sokar has retconned the old one out of existence, is debatable.
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.
Gallery
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The only image of a Stormbird people had for years (and the basis for many an awesome scratch-build) before Forge World came out with the Sokar Pattern.
