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Hi all

Can anyone tell me when each variant of Space Marine Dreadnoughts were developed? More so for the Mk V as I need to know for my fluff Chapter

Thanks

I'm not 100% sure on the actual dates in fluff, but the timeline of the Dreadnought development goes like this:

- Contemptor dread used in early crusade legions from data from the Adeptus Mechanics after the unification wars/treaty of Mars. Extreamly old design originated from the dark age of technology.
- The MkIV Dreadnought armour is produced midway during the crusade, simply because the Contemptor is so large it has difficulty in some zone mortals missions and inner ship actions. The MkIV is smaller but as a result, less protected and armoured, but has just as potent weapons (with the exception of volkite and C-beam cannons that the chassis cannot handle)
- The Deredeo Dreadnought and Leviathan Dreadnought are both developed on Terra, not Mars. The Deredeo was developed as a pure fire support platform greater than even Mortis variants of current dreadnoughts can achieve, and Leviathan were developed (as theorised by some Mars Magos') to be a counter to their Thallax siege automata. These were both developed just before the heresy, and as such were rare even then.
- The legions during the hersey develop a stop gap Contemptor that uses a very unstable power reactor and is less armoured. Its faster and carries the same weapons so its just as deadly. None of these survive to 40k due to literally burning out or bring destroyed.
- After the heresy, the MkV Dreadnought was developed as a replacement of the MkIV, but not replacing it entirely. MkV was easier to produce but carried the same weaponry as the MkIV. From here, the Ironclad Dreadnought was developed along with the mortis variant.

So, in line with your question, the MkV Dreadnought was developed post heresy, but not immediately after. My initial thoughts is MkV probably became standard after the Scouring of the traitor legions but before the war of the beast, which is around the M32ish. Hope this info helps!