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[[Image:HiveCroneArt.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hive Crone]]
The '''Hive Crone''' is a species of flying [[Tyranid]].

==Overview==
Hive Crones are used to establish air superiority over worlds targeted by the [[Hive Mind]]. It is a creature perfectly adapted to aerial combat, able to wrestle enemy aircraft out of the skies. This is accomplished thanks to the living missiles known as [[Tentaclid]]s which attach themselves to its wings.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|2}} Once the skies have been cleared of hostile forces, Hive Crones will soften up ground targets with its [[Drool Cannon]], splashing its prey in acidic digestive fluids. But even without these impressive weapons a Hive Crone is still deadly, as it is able to fly close enough to its quarry to tear them asunder with its bladed spurs on its underside. Before reaching a target planet, Hive Crones also protect [[Bio-Ship]]s in space from enemy fleets. Here they fly along enemy vessels, ripping open their hulls to expose them to the cold vacuum.{{Fn|3}}

Hive Crones are bred with the same basic components as the [[Harpy]], but are nonetheless markedly different due to their set of dorsal chimneys which emit a cloud of toxic gas. In addition, the Hive Crone has bulging sacs on its underbelly which carry the acidic bile for the creature's drool cannon.{{Fn|2}}

Hive Crones often use flocks of [[Gargoyles]] to screen their attacks against enemy aircraft, dropping out at the last moment to fall upon their prey in one decisive strike. At the [[Battle of St. Mere-Salias]], several wings of [[Valkyries]] were lost when the Hive Mind employed such tactics. The Hive Crone that came to be known as [[Bloodwing]] was responsible for no less than thirteen confirmed kills during this engagement, each marked by a precision thrust of its wing-tip through the cockpit of an Imperial fighter, impaling the pilot through his flight chair. These distinctive tactics have led to several [[Aeronautica Imperialis]] training facilities seeking out veteran pilots of the [[Tyrannic Wars]] to better tutor their pilots in combating these biological horrors. Unfortunately for the [[Imperium]], such surviving experts are few and far between.{{Fn|4}}

==Images==
[[Image:CroneMini.jpg|thumb|center|350px|Hive Crone]]

==See also==
*[[Species of Tyranid]]

==Sources==
*{{Endn|1}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440160a&prodId=prod2340092a Games Workshop]
*{{Endn|2}}: [[White Dwarf January 2014]] - ''Hive Crone''
*{{Endn|3}}: [[Codex: Tyranids (6th Edition)]] (E-Book) - ''Forces of the Hive Mind''
*{{Endn|4}}: [[Codex: Tyranids (8th Edition)]] (E-Book) - ''Skyswarm Bioforms'', pg.47

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[[Category:Fleet (Tyranids)]]
[[Category:Flyers]]
[[Category:Troops (Tyranids)]]