Imperial Navy

In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Imperial Navy is one of the armed forces of the Imperium of Man.

While the Imperial Guard is responsible for the Imperium's ground forces, The Imperial Navy is responsible for the fleets of warships that soar between the stars and planets in the Imperium as well as engaging threats both inside and outside the Imperium's borders.

The Imperial Navy is split into several fleets. These fleets generally have the task of safeguarding the sector after which they are named, for example Battlefleet Gothic will be protecting the Gothic sector.

The fleets are usually made three distinct types of ships: battleships, cruisers and escorts.

Battleships are huge ships, with enormous amounts of weapons and shields, and are usually the command position for the Admiral of the Fleet. Although very powerful, battleships are slow to manouver.

The majority of a fleet will be comprised of cruisers. Though not as powerful as a battleship, cruisers are much faster and can still deliver a deadly blow. There are several different types of cruiser, including those that are specialised towards destroying heavily armoured targets, and those that have large fighter bays along their sides.

Escort ships are the smallest type of ship in the Imperial Navy star fleets. They can usually be seen travelling in squadrons of 3 to 5, though larger squadrons are not that uncommon. The main task of the escort ships is to draw fire away from the capital ships so that they can get into postion quicker and safer.

The Imperial Navy is also responsible for providing air support to Imperial Guard ground forces. In this aspect, the Imperil Navy can deploy a number of different aircraft.

The main fighter aircraft of the Imperial Navy are the Lightnings and Thunderbolts. Lightnings are the faster of the two aircraft, but cannot carry as much weaponry or armour as the Thunderbolt. Because of this, Lightnings are often used as recon aircraft, while Thunderbolts are used as Air Superiority fighters.

The most successful bomber in the Imperial Navy is the Marauder. These huge aircraft have a massive bomb-bay and many large-calibur machine guns, giving it the ability to reach its target intact.

For close support, the Imperial Navy has access to Valkyrie flying transports, and the Vulture Gunship. These aircraft are not true flight craft like the Thunderbolt or Marauder, but use vectored thrust to travel quickly at low altitudes.