Gladius Frigate

Space Marines Portal

This article is about the frigate class. For other uses of Gladius, see Gladius (disambiguation).

Gladius Class frigate of the Ultramarines^[3]

The Gladius Class Frigate is part of the Space Marine Fleet, fulfilling a role similar to that of the Sword Class Frigate in the Imperial Navy. It is also used by the Adeptus Mechanicus Fleet.^[2]

Overview

The ship is crewed mainly by chapter serfs, with only a single squad of Space Marines on board, either on the bridge, or at other command posts around the ship.^[1]

The Gladius is armed with a mid-sized weapons battery, much like the Sword class, but its engines are about twenty percent more powerful than the Sword. This enables the Gladius to take advantage of the enemy's movements, darting into holes left in the battle line, and using its weapons batteries to good effect. The ship is shielded as well as any other escort, but due to the nature of its role in combat, has an excellent turret array for its size, comparable to that of a standard Imperial Navy cruiser.^[1]

Notable Ships

• Grand Duke of Talassar^[4]
• Runehelm^[6]
• Sword of Ultramar^[4]
• Vesalius^[5]

Sources

• 1: Battlefleet Gothic Armada, pg. 25
• 2: Fanatic Online #92 - Vessels of Mars: Ships of the Adeptus Mechanicus, by Nate Montes, Robert Henderson, and Ray Bell.
• 3: http://www.specialist-games.com/battlefleetgothic/assets/lrb/A_ImperialVessels.pdf (Specialist Games: Imperial Vessels) (site no longer online, no archived version found, last accessed unknown
• 4: The Chapter's Due (Novel) - Ultramarines: The Second Omnibus, Chapter Five
• 5: Fabius Bile: Primogenitor (Novel), Chapter 4
• 6: Psychic Awakening: Saga of the Beast, pg. 14 — Ambush at the Gnarion Reef