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Just a couple of questions about Space Marine Chapters and their naval forces:

1) What is the minimum tonnage needed to carry a full codex compliant Space Marine Chapter? I imagine either a Battle Barge or three Strike Cruisers, but say Chapter does not have a Battle Barge and the Mechanicus is especially angry with the Chapter over something; what then?

2) Can a Space Marine Chapter make use of stock Imperial Navy ships? Has this happened in the 41st Millennium?

The standard complement is one squad on escorts, one company on strike cruises and 3 on a battle barge as per the BFG sources. A "standard" Chapter has 2-3 battle barges and I think up to 10 strike cruisers. Now in sheer volume a single battle barge could hold an entire chapter but those standard complements are post-Heresy. It could also be to avoid having all eggs in one basket, risking everything if one barge is destroyed.


Space Marine Chapters are not supposed to have Imperial Navy capital ships (though non-lance escorts seem to be ok) or lance weapons post-Heresy as the Imperial Navy was meant to be able to outfight them in space in order to act as a check to any rebellious Chapters. Chapters descended from the Legions might get away with skirting the rules and have to at least not be too blatant about it, but newer Chapters likely have to stay within the rules lest they end up like the Astral Claws and get accused of private empire building.

Realistically you could easily carry a full chapter in the smallest Space Marine vessel, the Hunter Destroyer.

A Battle Barge would probably carry not only one chapter, but all the Space Marine chapters in existence.

A Strike Cruiser - or indeed even a smaller Destroyer/Escort - is big enough to carry a whole Chapter and all their gear. Imperial ships are HUGE.

The problem would be putting that all to use. The standard doctrine (1 company per cruiser, 3 on a barge) is used because those vessels have enough Drop Pod tubes and launch bays for Thunderhawks etc that the marines can actually pull off a fast planetary insertion in full force. With a non-optimized transport they'd be reduced to going down much slower since it only has so many bays and might be unable to launch pods.

Spetulhu wrote:
A Strike Cruiser - or indeed even a smaller Destroyer/Escort - is big enough to carry a whole Chapter and all their gear. Imperial ships are HUGE.

The problem would be putting that all to use. The standard doctrine (1 company per cruiser, 3 on a barge) is used because those vessels have enough Drop Pod tubes and launch bays for Thunderhawks etc that the marines can actually pull off a fast planetary insertion in full force. With a non-optimized transport they'd be reduced to going down much slower since it only has so many bays and might be unable to launch pods.

Yes and no.

Yes; A destroyer is a kilometre and a bit long, and has a crew in the thousands, so a chapter can 'disappear' into the crew of a destroyer.

No, because carrying a thousand marines, a hundred tanks, half a dozen thunderhawks and a couple of heavier landing craft in a carrier deck, and vast quantities of armour and ammo spares, along with training facilities, serfs and armourers, etc, etc, takes up vast amounts of space, and marines aren't [i]wandering around maintenance crawlspaces welding; they're in addition to the crew.


A strike cruiser carries a battle company plus tanks, attached scouts and veterans, and sufficient thunderhawks, stormravens and drop pods to get them safely to the ground in a way that is actually useful.

A Battle Barge carries three.


so, theoretically, you need a pair of battle barges and four strike cruisers to carry a company - in practice most chapters have their own fleet of 2-3 battle barges and ~ 10 strike cruisers - giving you the ability to deploy individual companies or strike forces without committing a battle barge which is irreplacable and slow, and giving it 'empty' warships for fleet combat and escort duty.

locarno24 wrote:
No, because carrying a thousand marines, a hundred tanks, half a dozen thunderhawks and a couple of heavier landing craft in a carrier deck, and vast quantities of armour and ammo spares, along with training facilities, serfs and armourers, etc, etc, takes up vast amounts of space, and marines aren't [i]wandering around maintenance crawlspaces welding; they're in addition to the crew.

They do have all sorts of cargo bays, the gear and marines would fit in some way. Just not in any way useful for getting them to battle fast. And ofc no training facilities. In addition, while a marine is a heavily indoctrinated warrior-monk, he'd still start getting mildly irritated at having to sit in lotus position for 18 hours a day while crew members and servitors keep tripping over him. Let's not even consider the folly in cramming the Flesh Tearers into a small vessel not meant to carry marines...

Depends on thr battle barge to.

A old Heresey ere ship is designed to carry far higher compliments than the later produced models, they may max on 3 company deployments but they could easily carry 1000 plus there gear if you pushed and overloaded the ship. There's room, it not be ideal by any means though.

Old ships have entire decks unused as not got the need or want to use them.

The Eternal crusader is special case, it had massive retrofitted extra bays and more. A modified original era battle barge it can deploy 6 companies.

There not Ment to have stock navy ships but some do have more ship to ship oriented warships, crusading chapters etc and contraversy wise, lance escort destroyers.

A space Marine upgraded destroyer can sometimes carry a small unit of marines, 10 or so of required. It's not ideal but they do in a pinch when heavier class ships unavailable or you need somthing smaller.

Lastly, they have to carry goliath amounts of supplies. Fuel, arms, ammo, materials, food, water and so to last a multi decade campaign if need be.

A crusading chapter has to carry everything and anything they need when they plough the void. Entire decks dedicated to engineering, machining, apocharoan and training bays and decks.

So you may soon fi up that giant battle barge.

Space marines can use any and all means necessary to carry out their missions.

Even if imperial navy is not optimal for them.

The first rule of Space Marines.

Never ask questions about Space Marines.

Edit:. You can apply that to the Navy however you want...