Despoiler-class Battleship

The Despoiler-class Battleship was originally developed during mid-M36 during a time when Battlefleet Tempestus was pervaded by the belief that attack craft were the ultimate weapon. As such, the Despoiler class is primarily based around a very large number of launch bays, which are supported in their mission by an array of long-range lances and even longer-ranged weapons batteries.

However, the program ended after the construction of just three Despoilers when it was decisively shown that attack craft did not render the "traditional" battleship obsolete. Ultimately, the three Despoilers originally saw little combat as they were used for long-range patrols in mostly unthreatened systems.

Roughly two and a half centuries after being built, the Despoiler-class Battleship Merciless Death went missing from the Amerikon Sector, reappearing thirty years later during the Banardi Conflict when it attacked sixteen Imperial transports en route to Banardi Prime. The Merciless Death would continue to harrass Imperial shipping until early M39, when it disappeared again, followed this time by the other two Despoilers. All three would reappear again during the Gothic War.

Notable Despoiler-class Battleships

 * Merciless Death - The first Despoiler to defect to Chaos, it built a long reputation as a menace to the Imperium over several millennia.
 * Damnation's Fury - Turned traitor in M39 shortly after the second disappearance of the Merciless Death, firing on a convoy it was supposed to be protecting. It is notable for its large prow lance batteries having been replaced by a large array of torpedo tubes.
 * Fortress of Agony - Defected to Chaos under similar circumstances to the turning of the Damnation's Fury