THE SHIPS OF THE LINE OF BATTLE

FROM DREADNOUGHTS TO BATTLESHIPS

THE BATTLESHIPS

THE VICTORY CLASS BATTLESHIP

The Victory class was originally thought to be an overlay of the lance armament on a standard Retribution template. This has however never been verified since the Technomagi of Mars refuse all requests for access to their records. However rumours now circulate that suggest the Victory class owes it's origin not to the yards on  Mars but to the alternate STC operated on Antibes III until that unfortunate planets cleansing in the Gethsemane rebellion. "Imperial Will" is therefore credited as an Antibes III STC original design Victory class battleship. The vessels armament of lance and Nova cannon make it a vessel to be feared with both heavy hitting power and high accuracy at extreme ranges, however the loss of it's original design and the inability of of the Mars shipyards to reproduce it's design effectively mean that it is a rare ship in the imperial fleets. "Imperial Will" was consigned to the Golgotha spiral in the 39th millenium and served without major incident until the recent secession when it is believed to have joined the rebellion. It is suspected that the Imperial Will was the rebel flag ship during the battle for the relief of paradise.

"IRON LADY" Demolisher Class  Monitor

                                         The Demolisher class Monitors are rebuilds of the sovereign lord class pre heresy BB's. They are characterised by a powerful lance armament that can be modified and increased with diminishing range but are defensively weak as power consumption increases

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THE RETRIBUTION CLASS BATTLESHIP

The Retribution class battleships date from the early days of the imperium. The traditional armoured prow and the distinctive multiple-tube plasma engines mark them as products of the Martian shipyards.

The Model is a conversion from a single plastic cruiser kit with plastic card additions.. This was one of my early BFG attempts and I have learnt a lot since then...heheheh

THE EMPEROR CLASS BATTLESHIP

The emperor class battleships are amongst the oldest serving vessels in the fleet. The class dispenses with the armoured prow and instead carries a mass of sensor probes and forward turrets giving it improved leadership qualities.. Its launch bays can launch a storm of defensive fighters or if fitted out to do so assault boats or clamps.

THE EMPRESS BATTLESHIP..

Noah Ben Shalek scratched his head in a bemused, detached fashion as he reviewed the problem in front of him... The policy of the shalom shipyards was to build their own designs... Except in the case of battleships.. The initial investment costs made building such gigantic vessels from scratch, almost prohibitive for the frontier worlds.. Oh they could manage it at a push but it tied up the yards for years.. An enterprising chap, Tech priest Noah had come up with a brilliant solution.. He ordered the basic hull from the empire yards and then fitted them out at Massada .. Brilliant absolutely brilliant... It cut down on shipping costs reduced the degree of skilled labour required and as he always ordered fleet deals he got them cut price... heheheh .. What more could the governor want...

This occasion was different however and as a result he was in the words of the prophet Wadahee Pashid, "totally buggered".. A Retribution class the governor wanted .. No problem.. Quick call to Mars, basic hull and other fleet utilities ordered at a knock down price... Wonderful .. Six months delivery ... Diligently the Massada yards produced the six gun decks and the dorsal batteries he would need to fit out the Retribution...Everything was perfect... Then it happened.. Majestically the hull drifted into Massada orbit. Huge awesome and imposing, with its prow weapons batteries gleaming in the light of the Shalom sun, reflected from Massada's atmosphere...

"FORWARD WEAPONS BATTERY" screamed Noah... " By all that’s holy " the pillocks had sent him an Emperor.... Then it hit him.. All was not lost.. Ever resourceful Noah did some quick power calculations. The gun platforms would fit nicely into the vacant spaces on the standard size weapons decks, The lances were the same and what’s more important all that power that had been soaked up by the carrier facilities that made the Emperors so slow would be available to him.. After a few minutes jogging on his electropad, The Empress gun ship was destined to join the line of battle.. The weapons battery on the prow meant the prow was under armoured but hells teeth, it would still be a powerful ship... proudly Noah printed the design to paper...

THE EMPRESS CLASS BATTLESHIP

IMPERIAL WIZARD CLASS (PRE HERESY) BATTLESHIP

                                         The Imperial Wizard class BB are products of the same era as the vengeance grand cruiser and the Admiral class carrier, conceived and fabricated in the pre Horus heresy period of the empire when  ship design was at it's pinnacle of achievement. It was among the first batch of warships to be built with the distinctive Imperial armoured prow and was designed at a time when ship building skills were capable of a great many technological skills that elude today's ship builders . it's heavy armour and vast long range hitting power made it a feared opponent . Very few Wizards remain in service today and those that are, are highly prized by their captains and admirals alike. There are many that regret that modern shipyards are no longer capable of reproducing the grace and power of these ancient vessels.   However they are not without their problems. Very few yards have the skills to maintain these vessels in good working order and they are very prone to break downs . When working at the extremes of their physical capabilities they have been known to fail.   

You can see full details of the class at