Sokar Pattern Stormbird

The Sokar-pattern Stormbird is a super-heavy dedicated attack lander and is one of the many variants of the Stormbird. It has served as a high-durability orbital assault craft and as a mobile bastion or firebase that could land a Space Marine strike force and withstand heavy ground fire while its cargo or troops and war machines disembarked to press the attack. The Sokar-pattern design features all-round gun turrets and dense composite armour plating comparable to that of a main battle tank and is further protected by Void Shield generators which can be extended to protect disembarking troops and war machines. Multiple thruster units ensure that even if several engines are damaged, the Sokar will remain airworthy.

History
The Sokar-pattern Stormbird was developed from the various Warhawk and Nephoros-class Stormbird assault transports utilised by the Yndonesic Bloc during the Unification Wars on Ancient Terra, and were later adapted by the Emperor for his early Space Marine Legions. The Sokar-pattern itself was one of the later patterns developed during the Great Crusade and was used as the design precursor to the smaller, more widely produced Thunderhawk Gunship. It was conceived as a specialised, high-durability orbital assault craft which could land Space Marine strike forces while under heavy ground fire. Once the craft landed it could act as a defensive bastion and firebase or it could take off and provide heavy air support for ground forces. The howl of the craft's huge engines was quite distinctive, able to be heard even over the din of battle and along with the bloodshed that follows its appearance, earned it the informal name of the Death Bird among the Imperialis Auxilia.

In the 41st Millenium
All but a legend by the final years of the 41st Millennium, no new examples of the Stormbird or any of its many variants have been constructed in almost a millennia, for much of the technology that allows such a behemoth to function is no longer understood. With armour as thick as the largest of the Imperium’s main battle tanks and the craft mounting an array of Void Shield generators, the Sokar is all but impervious to ground fire short of silo-mounted defence lasers and can unleash a significant battery of defensive weaponry.

Transport Capacity
The Sokar-pattern Stormbird has a cavernous transport bay that can hold up to 50 Space Marines at a time. The craft can alternatively it can carry up to 5 Dreadnoughts of any type; Jump Pack equipped infantry; Rapier batteries; Space Marine Bikes or Jetbikes; a Rhino armoured transport; or a mixed force of all of the above. Infantry carried by the Sokar could disembark from either the sides of the craft, or the large rear ramp, all of which were protected by the vehicle's turrets.

Armament
The Sokar-pattern Stormbird's standard armament includes four ball turret-mounted twin-linked Lascannons, two on each side of the craft, and three hull-mounted twin-linked Heavy Bolters. The twin-linked Lascannons can be replaced with Quad Heavy Bolters depending on the needs of a particular mission. The craft also carries up to six Dreadstrike Missiles under its wings, which can be replaced with either a single Macro-bomb Cluster payload or an advanced targeting sensor array that enables the Sokar to serve as a targeting relay for orbital strike craft, allowing precise strikes from the edge of space in close support of assault operations. It is also equipped with particularly dense armoured ceramite plating, and is further protected by a series of Void Shield generators which it can extend to protect disembarking troops and war machines.

Gallery
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