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Lore – On a Steel Horse They Fly: The Stormbird Dropship

By Rob Baer | February 28th, 2016 | Categories: Lore, Space Marines

warhammer-40000-фэндомы-old-warhammer-pre-heresy-759749

Come see the last true “unicorn” model wise of the 40k universe, the Legion Astartes Stormbird Dropship (and all its variants).

Source: Our Friends at Lexicanum

thanks and trolls (Mech Warrior Conversions)

Source: BullDogUK, Conversion Feature

The Warhawk VI dropship, commonly known as the Stormbird, was an assault and transport aircraft used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade, before the introduction of the smaller Thunderhawk pattern.

History

The Stormbird was developed to replace the older Skylance gunships of the Unification Wars.Capable of both void and atmospheric flight, the Stormbird was first manufactured on Terra, by the Yndonesic Bloc for use against the Panpacific tribes, during the end stages of the Unification Wars.

The Stormbird could carry at least 50 marines and was described as having missiles slung under both wings and cannons mounted under the nose and wings. They were in use throughout the Great Crusade, although by the time of the Horus Heresy, most of the Legions had switched to the smaller, more agile Thunderhawk.

secondsphere.org

Source: Secondsphere.org 3d Concept Art

The Luna Wolves were one of the few Legions that deliberately kept Stormbirds in service, since these ships had carried them into battle since the beginning. A Stormbird was piloted by two Marines sitting back-to-back, along with two hard-wired servitors.

During the Heresy, Nathaniel Garro, former Captain of the Death Guard Legion, used a Stormbird to travel to various planets, on the orders of Malcador the Sigillite. Like Garro’s Power Armour, the ship bore no Legion insignia or colours, and was a uniform grey

Since the Heresy, aging Stormbirds are still utilized by some Chaos Space Marine forces such as the Word Bearers[5]

Sokar Pattern Stormbird

sokar stormbird

Source: Forge World, Heresy Weekender

The Sokar Pattern Stormbird was a dedicated landing craft variant of the Stormbird, developed from Warhawk and Nephoros class assault craft. It was used by the Yndonesic Bloc during the Unification Wars and later adopted by the Imperium. The design was one of the larger craft used by the Imperium and was the direct precursor to the Stormbird.

Notable Stormbirds

“They sat in two rows of three, wings extended”

About the Author: Rob Baer

Virginia Restless, Miniature Painter & Cat Dad. I blame LEGOs. There was something about those little-colored blocks that started it all... Twitter @catdaddymbg