Thunderhawk
From Lexicanum
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The Thunderhawk is a heavily armored space and atmosphere aircraft designed to be the ultimate Space Marine aircraft, providing air support/transport for the brothers of the chapter.
Only available to the Space Marine Chapters (and the Traitor Legions since the original design has been known since the Great Crusade) the Thunderhawk performs various duties for them: during high level space battles they act as assault/attack ships for high speed attacks toward enemy battleships or transport for boarding squads. Otherwise they are used as drop ships for planetary assaults or ground bombers for close air support and heavy bombardment missions.
Despite is bulky design, the Thunderhawk is a condensate of technology including many of the elements used in Land Raiders (machine spirit, remote targeting surveyors, long range transmitters, jamming devices and sensors as well as a Flare Launcher) however the ship forgoes speed and maneuverability for armament and heavy armor - said to be a 240mm conventional steel equivalent. This allows them to perform perfectly their task of landing rapidly and disembarking their cargo of troops. The Thunderhawk is well loved and respected by the Imperial forces for is ability to endure an amazing amount of damage and still keep flying. A Thunderhawk is especially resistant to fire/heat based weapons due to is ceramite shield design to resist the heat of multiple atmospheric entries.
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Thunderhawk Crusader (Gunship)
The standard pattern Thunderhawk Gunship (also known as the Thunderhawk Cruiser) has 3 motors (RX 9200 "Mars" pattern turbofans fueled by the on-board fusion reactor). It is able to carry 30 Space Marines or half this number of Terminators/Jump Pack equipped Space Marines. It can also carry up to one Dreadnought (with 25 Space Marines) or 7 individual Bikers. The ship's weaponry includes 4 twin-linked heavy bolters (2 turrets mounted on front wingspans and 2 turrets on the wings), a twin-linked lascannon and a Turbo Laser (even if some Chapters prefer a Battle Cannon). It can also carry up to six Hellstrike Missiles, which for some rare missions can be replaced with Heavy Bombs. The crew consist of 4 specially trained Space Marines.
Thunderhawk Transporter
The Thunderhawk Transporter is a transport variant of the Thunderhawk and is used for ground vehicle deployment with less weaponry (only twin linked heavy bolters) as a trade-off for 2 additional motors. Specialized variants are not unheard of, especially for high level Inquisitors, Chapter Masters or great heroes of the Imperium. As some Chapters do not possess the industrial equipment or manpower, Thunderhawks are frequently built on Forge Worlds. Even though most of the Chapters use their own facilities they make special efforts to ensure the security of the high level technology needed for the construction of the gunships.
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Related Articles
| The Space Marine Fleet | |
| Class | Designs |
|---|---|
| Battleships | Battle Barge |
| Cruisers | Strike Cruiser |
| Escorts | Nova • Gladius • Hunter |
| Other | Thunderhawk Gunship |
