Gloriana Class Battleship
The Gloriana Class Battleship was an ancient and powerful Battleship design used by the Legiones Astartes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.
Overview
The Gloriana Class Battleship was an ancient Terran design which alongside similar vessels like the Promethean Class Cruiser and Tiamat Class Destroyer were forgotten technological relics, even by the time of the Great Crusade. They far surpassed the contemporary Imperial designs in capability.[10]
Officially classified as a type of command Battle Barge, the vessels were around 20 kilometers in length, though their size and appearance varied greatly.[1] These massive ships were frequently used as flagships for Imperial fleets and even Primarchs. The Gloriana Class vessels are the largest known Imperial warships after the Phalanx and Furious Abyss-class vessels.[1] Some of the largest known Gloriana-class vessels were the Vengeful Spirit, Conqueror, Hrafnkel, and Iron Blood.[4]
The Dark Angels had perhaps the greatest fleet of the Space Marine Legions during the time of the Horus Heresy, including many advanced relic ships. These including multiple Gloriana Class vessels.[10a] Besides the Invincible Reason, the Dark Angels fielded two more Gloriana class vessels at the Battle of Advex-Mors, one of which was destroyed.[10c] Later two unnamed Dark Angels Gloriana Battleships were seen during the Thramas Crusade.[10b]
As of M41, the design appears to have fallen out of use.[1][2][3]
Named Gloriana Class Battleships
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal, pg. 96
- 2: Collected Visions, pg. 38
- 3: Betrayer (Novel), Chapter 21
- 4: Wolf King (Novella)
- 5: The Horus Heresy Book Five - Tempest, pg. 20
- 6: Fear to Tread (Novel), Chapter 20
- 7: Dark Imperium (Novel), Chapter 19
- 8: Ruinstorm (Novel)
- 9: Legacy of Russ - Part 8 - Fate Unbound
- 10: The Horus Heresy Book Nine pg.86