Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Found this in "tales of heresy / call of the lion":

Around them the hangar was full of drop pods, the immense shapes of castellan class bombers and harbinger assault craft, as well as
the hawk like forms of five deathbird interceptors.

So i've thougth battle barges in that era carry drop pods and stormbirds, but this reads like some other available vehicles.

Space marines and bombers?
Deathbird = variant of the stormbird?
Harbinger assault craft = described as small fortress with 8 lascannons, several HB and ML.

Is this common equipment or legion specific stuff?
Where may i find more info about these "flyers" ?

Where did you find this?

Lord of battles wrote:Where did you find this?

Found this in "tales of heresy / call of the lion":

1hadhq wrote:Found this in "tales of heresy / call of the lion":

That book from BL=> Tales of heresy.
This short story inside this book => Call of the lion.
Page 283

I was wondering about this very same thing after reading that story. My guess is that with the sheer number of marines in each legion they were a lot more willing to use them in combat support roles. After the heresy and the dismantling of the legions, chapters could not afford to put a marine inside of a fighter craft when he could be in a tactical squad. A guardsman can not kill nearly as many enemies on the ground as a marine but I bet that kill ratio is a heck of a lot closer in air combat.

I'm not sure that there is very much information out there about Heresy-era flyers but you could look at Dan Abnett's novel "Double Eagle" for 41st Millennium action. And of course there is always FW's Aeronautica Imperialis. IN the meantime, I will look through my copy of the Collected Visions again but I don't think it had anything on that.

How big was a stormbird anyway? I get the impression it could land a company's worth of marines.

What we have is:

Horus rising. Vengeful spirit carrying at least 12 stormbirds.
Lokens 10th company uses them to descent. Not sure if they need all of them.

Sure is the stormbirds are heavier than t-hawks. But older too, so could be better protected and slower.
Anyone knowing their size?

All I could find

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Stormbird

found more

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/harbinger.htm

'cept this Harbinger looks bigger than a 'small fortress'