Expedition Fleet
From Lexicanum
An Expedition or Expeditionary Fleet was the standard Imperial exploratory spacefaring force during the Great Crusade.
Originating from Terra, the Imperial Expeditionary Fleets dispersed all over the galaxy, carrying out the Emperor's vision of uniting known space under the banner of Humanity. Expedition Fleets had a wide remit. Their primary mission was to find lost human colony worlds and bring them into the bosom of the Imperium. Secondary missions involved the exploration of space, the cataloging of everything found, the claiming of resources in the name of the Emperor and the elimination of any alien threats.
The unification of human worlds did not always proceed without incident, as not all lost worlds showed immediate interest in making themselves subservient to the Imperium. In these cases, compliance with Imperial directives was enacted with the use of military force. These situations, as well as the ever-present alien threat, resulted in Expedition Fleets having a strong armed contingent, and were usually under the command of a military officer of the Imperial Army, a Lord Commander. In addition to a Lord Commander, each Expedition had a Master of the Fleet who was in charge of the Imperial Navy ships in the Expedition. Each of the Primarchs was able to, and often did, command an Expeditionary Fleet, attaching to it the majority of their Legion. Most Fleets had no Astartes presence at all, although some Primarchs split their Legions into small detachments that they parcelled out to various expeditionary forces.
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Known Expeditionary Fleets
In the 203rd year of the Great Crusade, War Council logs indicated that there were
- 4,287 expedition fleets engaged in active exploration
- 372 expedition fleets engaged in refit and repair
- 60,000 (approx.) detached compliance groups involved in occupation and colonisation1
4th Expedition
| De | 4. Expeditionsflotte |
Commander: Primarch Lion El'Jonson
Astartes contingent: Dark Angels Legion
Imperial Army regiments: Unknown
Notes:The Dark Angel contingent of the 4th Expedition replaced one of similar size made up of White Scars Space Marines led by an officer named Sheng Khan.2
12th Expedition
| De | 12. Expeditionsflotte |
Commander: Primarch Roboute Guilliman3
Astartes contingent: Ultramarines Legion
Imperial Army regiments: Unknown
Notes:
27th Expedition
| De | 27. Expeditionsflotte |
Commander: Unknown
Astartes contingent: Raven Guard Legion4
Imperial Army regiments: Unknown
Notes:
28th Expedition
| De | 28. Expeditionsflotte |
Commander: Primarch Fulgrim
Astartes contingent: Emperor's Children Legion
Imperial Army regiments: Archite Palatines3
Notes:
52nd Expedition
Commander: Primarch Ferrus Manus
Astartes contingent: Iron Hands Legion3
Imperial Army regiments: Unknown
Notes:
63rd Expedition
Astartes contingent: Luna Wolves Legion
Imperial Army regiments: Byzant Janizars
Notes: Legio Mortis Titan Legion attached1
| De | 63. Expeditionsflotte |
140th Expedition
Commander: Unknown
Astartes contingent: Blood Angels Legion (3 Companies)
Imperial Army regiments: Unnamed Army Regiment (4,000 strong)1
Notes: Captain Khitas Frome commanding Blood Angels
670th Expedition Fleet
Commander: Lord Commander Teng Namitjira
Astartes contingent: None, see notes
Imperial Army regiments: Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Zanzibari Hort, Crescent-Sind Sixth Torrent, Outremar, Regnault Thorns
Notes: Legio Xerxes Titan Legion attached; Primarch Alpharius and an Alpha Legion force fought as part of the 670th Fleet during the Nurth campaign, but stood outside the order of battle. Overall command remained with Namitjira.5
Sources
- 1:Horus Rising by Dan Abnett
- 2:Descent of Angels by Mitchel Scanlon
- 3:Fulgrim by Graham McNeill
- 4:Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter
- 5:Legion by Dan Abnett
