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I know that the Officer of the Fleet could be just about any commissioned officer of the fleet (maybe non-commissioned as well), but what fleet officer would typically be helping out an Astra Militarum regiment in battle. The same question, but a Militarum Tempestus force as well? Are these officers just acting as representatives of the nearest navy?

If one was to have a few Valkyries assigned to their Astra Militarum regiment or Militarum Tempestus regiment, and an officer of the fleet was sent to act as the leading officer for them, what rank would the officer likely hold?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
This is just to help me come up with lore for my Militarum Tempestus regiment, but I am rather curious.

I have done some research on Imperial Navy ranks before, and they are a bit inconsistent.

The most likely answer is "some grade of lieutenant". They are the most junior officers within the Navy and basically fulfil the vast majority of shipboard officer tasks.

An NCO Petty Officer of some kind is also a likely possibility, depending on the size of the force being liaised with.

Note that Imperial Navy attack craft squadrons have their own ranks- the liaison officer may be drawn from these too.

This Lexicanum page is very good for ranks- I would recommend using a rank from the junior officers or senior NCOs.

Note that in real-world militaries, very junior officers have often held a significant amount of responsibility in liaison roles. In the British Army in WWII for example, a lowly 2nd Lieutenant operating as a FOC for a company had the discretion to direct all local artillery batteries within range to fire at a single target if they deemed the threat significant enough (this could equate to several battalions of artillery!). Therefore, don't shy away from giving the role to a very junior officer.

 Haighus wrote:
Therefore, don't shy away from giving the role to a very junior officer.

Or lower-ranked (but experienced) NCO of some sort. IIRC last time people asked this question current/former service members said that the guy on the ground calling in close air support for NATO troops is often some sort of Sergeant (there's a lot of them in the US system ofc). One would expect him to increase a bit in rank for every magnitude of weaponry he can request, but not endlessly - the senior officers will be commanding a fighter wing or standing on the bridge of a cruiser, deciding whther they can and should answer the call for help.

I agree, judging by the images at the bottom of the article he seems to be modeled on a junior officer, or a lower ranked officer. The highly ranked officers will be needed on the ship to coordinate. While you the Navy of all forces is more likely to have more standardised ranks galaxy wide, individual flotillas, sub sector command and patrol fleets especially aeroanutica regiments are liable to have their own names. You could also get some inspiration reading about ranks in existing militaries and forge some headcannon, if warrant officer or 4th Lieutenant don't thrill you.

Junior Officer. I agree a high ranking NCO could do the job, but the model is clearly in an officer's uniform:





I would say reasonably junior - so Lieutenant or Sublieutenant - because an officer's decorations are worn under the aquila (see above), and he doesn't appear to have any aside from the warp-compass.

It is indeed a surprisingly faithful model reproduction of the artwork I use for my profile picture Goes all the way back to Jes Goodwin concept sketches. It is definitely a lieutenant- all ranks above lieutenant are commanding ships of some kind, they would be directing the strikes from orbit, not giving coordinates on the ground. Navy Lieutenants go several ranks higher than Guard lieutenants- they are not directly equivalent ranks.

However, whilst that is the official model, that doesn't mean that a senior NCO would never be assigned to the role, if you used a model with a different appearance.

Of course, there are up to a dozen levels of LT, with the 1st as the 1st Mate, thereafter down commanding subsections of the ship.
I could imagine the liason being being a single gun or gunnery section's 2nd or 3rd in command, and the unit he is attached to request support from that gun or section only, or for attack craft, being the sub-commander of one hanger deck, and the unit's assistance requests go to that one squadron or company under that deck officer's command.

I do have the old Imperial Armour, it talks about support on the Lightning strike page; Lightning Strikes would form circling "taxi ranks" of support awaiting call from the front lines, making missile runs before rearming, outting the next one on point awaiting the call.
I should imagine these wings would be from the same squadron, or at least all from his attached regiment on the flight deck in any case. The 5th ed Advisors entry doesn't say much other than "Officers of the Fleet are proud, aloof, stern men..." suggesting NCOs are probably less common than commissioned officers if their attitude is anything to go by at least.


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On a side note, I miss vandettas. I should get IA Index for the IG, at least then I get Vulture rules too. Effectively heavy 6 lascannon yes pls.

Kai Calimatinus wrote:
On a side note, I miss vandettas. I should get IA Index for the IG, at least then I get Vulture rules too. Effectively heavy 6 lascannon yes pls.

Given the kick up of the Imperial Navy's profile with Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2, I'd really like to see the Fury.
Granted, it's primarily a voidcraft, but frankly it's no less aerodynamic than the Thud, and the forward firepower would be terrifying.....

locarno24 wrote:

Kai Calimatinus wrote:
On a side note, I miss vandettas. I should get IA Index for the IG, at least then I get Vulture rules too. Effectively heavy 6 lascannon yes pls.

Given the kick up of the Imperial Navy's profile with Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2, I'd really like to see the Fury.
Granted, it's primarily a voidcraft, but frankly it's no less aerodynamic than the Thud, and the forward firepower would be terrifying.....

Furies are voidcraft, but most patterns can operate within atmosphere. They are actually noted in the old Codex: Armageddon from 3rd ed as operating from Armageddon alongside Thunderbolt squadrons to intercept Ork drop-craft.

The forward firepower is indeed terrifying, 10 heavy lascannons and a large missile launcher in the FF version you picture.

The issue with getting a Fury model is they are big! The known lengths in the fluff are at least equivalent to a Thunderhawk in length, up to 70m (much larger than a Thunderhawk!). 70m is almost the width of a typical 40k table... I think the variance is explained by the term "Fury" referring to a variety of similar patterns of void interceptors used by the Imperium.


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The FF depiction does look awesome though! It also works with the lower end of Fury size, which is at least feasible for a tabletop model!

Yeah, 80m is the number I've seen but still. Which is funny because that's longer than an Emperor class Titan is tall if GW's "official" numbers are right. So by "Heavy Lascannons", they would have to be turbo lasers. Which to be fair makes some kind of sense; Hawk Gunships mount 1, old BFG Thunderhawk Annihilators probably had a few, and they are less than 30m. So yeah, Fury's are pretty monstrous and no one mentions them, because next to ships the size of a very small country, they are pretty teency.

 Apple Peel wrote:
I know that the Officer of the Fleet could be just about any commissioned officer of the fleet (maybe non-commissioned as well), but what fleet officer would typically be helping out an Astra Militarum regiment in battle. The same question, but a Militarum Tempestus force as well? Are these officers just acting as representatives of the nearest navy?

If one was to have a few Valkyries assigned to their Astra Militarum regiment or Militarum Tempestus regiment, and an officer of the fleet was sent to act as the leading officer for them, what rank would the officer likely hold?

Automatically Appended Next Post:
This is just to help me come up with lore for my Militarum Tempestus regiment, but I am rather curious.

Probably anything from Petty Officer, up to Lieutenant would be the most likely, depending on the size of the deployment. An Ensign might be appropriate - some nephew of a captain on his first combat assignment, out to prove that he's worthy of being a Fleet Officer proper.

Kai Calimatinus wrote:
Yeah, 80m is the number I've seen but still. Which is funny because that's longer than an Emperor class Titan is tall if GW's "official" numbers are right. So by "Heavy Lascannons", they would have to be turbo lasers. Which to be fair makes some kind of sense; Hawk Gunships mount 1, old BFG Thunderhawk Annihilators probably had a few, and they are less than 30m. So yeah, Fury's are pretty monstrous and no one mentions them, because next to ships the size of a very small country, they are pretty teency.

To be fair, GW isn't exactly consistant with the size of emperor titans either.....

BFG Thunderhawk Annihilators couldn't have been carrying many turbolasers since they replace their troop capacity - you could fit one either side of the model in a 'waist mount' but that's about it before the ship stops being a thunderhawk.
Frankly, it'd be an interesting variant for forgeworld to bring out, along with other oddballs from Aeronautica Imperialis like the Marauder Colossus ('Grand Slam/Tallboy' bomber) or Maruader Vigilant (AWACS)

The FF depiction does look awesome though! It also works with the lower end of Fury size, which is at least feasible for a tabletop model!

Indeed. In fact the front end look very much like it shares some heritage with the Marauder Bomber