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Ambiguous Term? This article is about massive space debris. For other uses of Space Hulk, see Space Hulk (disambiguation).

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Galaxy Portal

A Space Hulk is a massive conglomeration of lost ships and wrecks fused together. They drift in and out of the warp through space and during the millennia the lost ships join together into one enormous body. Many times they are so huge that they have their own atmosphere and gravity. Since the hulks often exit and re-enter the warp seemingly at random, searching or traveling in them is dangerous in the extreme.

The Imperial Navy, and all Imperial forces and authorities as a whole, have standard orders to survey such objects and to report their location. The hulks consist of ships and items of technology millennia old, and the recoverable technology can be of immense value to the Imperium, and especially to the Adeptus Mechanicus. Thus elite Imperial forces are sent aboard to clear out infestations. Depending on the strategic situation (availability of troops, proximity to vital Imperial star systems, safety margins, etc) Space Marines are sent to purge the hulk of any alien infestations.

Space hulks are dangerous, as many times they are used as means of transport by certain unsophisticated factions. The Orks, the Genestealers, and the Chaos renegades use them occasionally to invade other worlds. As the warp jump of Space Hulks is essentially made in a random direction this gives them advantage of surprise.

Therefore the mission of boarding space hulks is extremely dangerous and normally entrusted to Terminators, the Chapters' most experienced elite who are heavily armed and armored. In some cases this is an impossible task, due to too powerful enemy resistance, too few available Imperial troops, too close to vital systems, etc. In such cases the bombardment and total destruction of the Hulk is the only viable alternative.

Space Hulks are huge and durable, as even Nova Cannon blasts aren't enough to take one down.³

Notable Space Hulks

• Devourer of Stars, used by Angron to invade Armageddon during the First War;
• Alveus Alpha Alpha Sextus, the Hulk that bore the Orks to Armageddon during their first invasion;
• The Brokenback, the Hulk that serves as the Soul Drinkers Chapter's Fortress Monastery²
• The Sin of Damnation, the Hulk assaulted by the Blood Angels in Space Hulk (Board Game) and Dark Angels in Space Hulk (video game)⁵
• The Judgment of Carrion, the Hulk that appeared in the Aurelia Sector in the Second Aurelian Crusade carrying crucial Blood Ravens artifacts within⁴
• The Spawn of Damnation, a hulk overrun with genestealers and Orks which menaced several Imperial Worlds, until it was interdicted by the Reclaimers Chapter and Commissar Ciaphas Cain^{6a, 7}.
• The Monolith of Woe, a hulk controlled by the Lords of Decay Chapter, currently pursued in the Mentieth sector ⁸.
• Unnamed Space Hulk appeared near Septimus 5 carrying artefacts dating back from the Dark Age of Technology. The Dark Angels Terminators including a large contingent of Librarians boarded the hulk and encountered large groups of Genestealers and Psychic hybrids⁹.
• Unnamed Space Hulk appeared near Perdus Magnus system; Blood Angels Captain Barik boarded with several squads of Terminators and faced off Genestealers and hybrids ¹⁰.
• Unnamed Space Hulk appeared near the Space Wolves Base 10709 around the Star of Fenris. Captains Huron Tem and Vortigern (4th Company) as well as sergeants Capel, Luther, Faust, Horst, Gunnar, Alric, Volund, and accompanying squads of Terminators boarded and fought Genestealers and Psychic hybrids ¹¹.
• The Bringer of Sorrow was boarded by Dark Angels from a transport ship named the Vengeful Blade. Captain Ares, and sergeants, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, Chammuel, Zadakiel, Jophiel as well full Terminator squads boarded the Hulk ¹².
• The Hunter of the Void, Appeared next to Macragge, The Will of the Emperor was dispatched with several terminators squads including Commander Troilus of the Ultramarines, sergeants: Notaras, Gorius, Gladius, Adrianus, and personal body guard Constantius, Primus ¹³.
• The Messenger of Woe appeared 1 light-year from the Space Wolves home world of Fenris. Wolf Lord Keurl Ironfang and squads of Wolf Guard Terminators including sergeants Gunnar, Vulpen, Grendel, Loki accompanied him on-board ¹⁴.
• Unnamed Space Hulk delivered a Genestealer force that assaulted The Imperial Battlecruiser the Sword of Halcyon. Seragent Lexon (a lone survivor) of the Blood Angels managed to reach the Imperial BattleBarge Mayan, and mount a counter attack with the support of Blood Angel Terminator squads and sergeants Jacta, lionus, Vetora, Laora, Veila, Tullar, Fultun, Marius, Sparta ¹⁵.
• The Revenant Rex, an Ork-controlled Space Hulk responsible for the destruction of an entire elite 1st Company of the Crimson Consuls ¹⁶.

Sources

• ¹: Space Hulk (Board Game)
• ²: The Bleeding Chalice by Ben Counter
• ³: Soul Drinkers
• ⁴: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising
• ⁵: Space Hulk (video game)
• ⁶: Duty Calls (Novel) - Ciaphas Cain: Defender of the Imperium (Omnibus) by Sandy Mitchell:
  • a: Chapter Three, p. 280, fn. 1
• ⁷: The Emperor's Finest (Novel) by Sandy Mitchell
• ⁸: Codex Chaos Spacemarines, 5th Ed. p.21
• ⁹: White Dwarf 133 pp.35-38
• ¹⁰: White Dwarf 137 pp.42-50
• ¹¹: White Dwarf 147 pp.56-71
• ¹²: White Dwarf 199 pp.29-35
• ¹³: White Dwarf 200 pp.85-91
• ¹⁴: White Dwarf 201 pp.49-55
• ¹⁵: White Dwarf 203 pp.33-43
• ¹⁶: The Long Games at Carcharias (Short Story)