Fellblade

The Fellblade, also known as the Glaive or the Hercules, were super-heavy battle tanks used by the Space Marine Legions during the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy that followed after. Along with its sister tank, the Falchion, the Fellblade was one of the most powerful and most feared weapons used during this time. During these ancient times the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes operated very differently than in current times, they fought as front-line forces that used massive amounts of overwhelming firepower to achieve their goals, rather than using surgical strikes on enemy weak-points for which the Space Marine are known for today. In these early times the Space Marines fought on an unimaginable scale, fighting wars with tens of thousands of elite warriors all operating as one that could conquer entire planets in mere days, or even hours. These massive armies were given the very best technology constructed by the Adeptus Mechanicus, and mightiest of them all was the Fellblade. These massive tanks, which could be armed with as many as twenty different weapons at a time, could be used in any manner of warfare imaginable. Due to the size of these tanks, the only way they could be transported to a planet's surface was by Stormbirds or by Mechanicum bulk lifters. These war-machines could be used as unstoppable line-breaker tanks, siege tanks, siege-breaker tanks, tank killers, and mobile command fortresses. It is thought that some Legions, such as the Iron Warriors, Ultramarines, and Imperial Fists made extensive use of the Fellblade while others, such as the Night Lords, White Scars, and Raven Guard, who preferred hit and run tactics, may have eschewed the use of these mighty machines altogether. During the Horus Heresy these tanks were used by both sides of the conflict, by both Traitor and Loyalists alike.

In the 41st Millennium
In the 41st Millennium it is believed by Imperial scholars that after the Horus Heresy, when the mighty Legions were broken down into smaller, one thousand-man Chapters, that the mighty Fellblades and Falchions were taken from them, as they were no longer needed. These mighty machines were given over to the newly formed Imperial Guard, to serve as their most powerful weapons, a place where the Space Marines themselves once filled. There are some Imperial Scholars that believe that there may have been some Space Marine forces that refused to give up their Fellblades, and that there may still be some of these ancient machines hidden and protected to this day, awaiting for the time when they are needed the most. As for the Traitor Legions, after their defeat on Terra many of these Legions were forced to quickly retreat from Imperial territory, and during this mass retreat, known to the Imperium as the Great Scouring, many of their Fellblades that hadn't been destroyed in battle were either abandoned or scuttled, and in the ten-thousand years since the Horus Heresy any that had survived were lost to in-fighting and disrepair. Although, there are rumours of several of these machines surviving, they are warped, twisted, and tainted by the foul powers of the Warp and touched by the "blessings" of the Chaos Gods, such as the Plaguereaper of Nurgle.

Armament
The most common form of the mighty Fellblade was would eventually become known in later Imperial times as the Baneblade, armed with a turret-mounted Mega Battle Cannon with a co-axial Autocannon, a hull-mounted forward-firing Demolisher Cannon, and hull-mounted Twin-linked Heavy Bolters. The Fellblade was also armed with two sponson-mounted Twin-linked Heavy Bolters, one on each side, and two top sponson-mounted Lascannons, also one on each side. There are several different Fellblade designs that were used during the these ancient times, on one the main turret was more curved and shaped like a dome, and others had the sponson-mounted Heavy Bolters replaced with a sponson-box-mount that had three Heavy Bolters pointed in different directions, allowing the sponson-mount three different arcs of fire. While this combination of weaponry was considered adequate by many of the Adeptus Astartes Legions, many others preferred more unique loadouts, such as Plasma Weaponry, Multi-Meltas, Twin-linked Demolisher Cannons or Battle Cannons, Assault Cannons, and Heavy Flamers. These loadouts were designed to ensure the tank would excel at whatever task it was assigned, such as dense street fighting, or single-handedly laying siege to an enemy fortress. While many Astartes Legions pulled the crews for their Fellblades from their own ranks, there were others that would use human crews, mostly because the inside of these machines were hot and cramped, even without Power Armour. These tanks can also be outfitted with Pintle-mounted weapons, a Havoc Missile Launcher or Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, extra armour plating, a searchlight, and smoke launchers.

Known Fellblades

 * Khatek - Khatek was a Fellblade that belonged to the Sons of Horus Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * The Imperial Reaper - The Imperial Reaper was a Fellblade that belonged to the Death Guard Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * Dominator - Dominator was a Fellblade that belonged to the Death Guard Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * Iron Breaker - Iron Breaker was a Fellblade that belonged to the Imperial Fists Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * Sanctimonia Cruoris - Sanctimonia Cruoris was a Fellblade that belonged to the Blood Angels Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * Glory of Fenris - Glory of Fenris was a Fellblade that belonged to the Space Wolves Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * Firedrake - Firedrake was a Fellblade that belonged to the Salamnders Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * Hydra's Claw - Hydra's Claw was a Fellblade that belonged to the Alpha Legion Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy
 * Millstone - Millstone was a Fellblade that belonged to the Iron Warriors Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy

Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications
The technical Specifications for this vehicle have been lost by the Imperium.

Also See

 * Imperial Vehicles

Canon Conflicts
There are various sources that point to the Space Marine Fellblade, Glaive, and Hercules as all being different vehicles, yet these same sources also show these same vehicles all using the name Fellblade. Until more information is released regarding these vehicles, all shall be considered Fellblades or Fellblade variants. At the time of this writing the two latest Horus Heresy Novels released, Deliverance Lost and Know No Fear, have both referenced these vehicles and their sister vehicle, the Falchion, as such it is possible that more information will be released soon and when it is this page will be updated accordingly.

Gallery
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