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.

The Imperial Navy is apparently the only faction that employs this to preserve the lives of pilots after their planes are shot down. In space battles, the pilots are sometimes encased in pods to be rescued later on.

For whatever reason, the supposedly more advanced Tau, Space Marines and Aeldari who value lives more are just content with letting their pilots die if their planes are shot down. There are way too many instances where a character's plane is tumbling out of control, and there is no mentioning of any saving mechanism for that.

Is there any reason for this, other than lighter aircraft are more nimble and may save the pilot by not getting shot down in the first place?

Do it right or die trying.

They value their aircraft more than their citizens?

It's WWI/WWII in space, and there's no such thing as an "ejection thruster" during that era. Any description of Imperial Navy ships saying otherwise is likely attributable to error by the authors. And if you're trying to argue about what's sensible for space battles, what on Earth are you doing discussing space opera?

On the other hand...

Does the Imperial Navy actually have a thing called a "space suit"? Space Marine armor is supposed to function as the equivalent of a space suit, and presumably both the Tau and Eldar pilots would have something comparable.

If you're in a space suit, and what's left of your space ship isn't going to explode and kill you, that space ship is probably better protection against being killed by random battle field debris or stray weapon fire than any escape pod would be. If your space ship's going to explode, how much better are your chances going to get if you eject a coffin?

By memory the T'au Barracuda has an ejectable cockpit. Other T'au craft may have similar abilities.

Yep, the Tau barracuda kit has a detachable cockpit; marine armor is a escape pod, but the marine pilots are usually crippled and hooked into the flier like the chaos equivalent; drukhari don’t care about dying as they have a pact to regrow themselves; eldar has spirit stones.

 solkan wrote:
It's WWI/WWII in space, and there's no such thing as an "ejection thruster" during that era. Any description of Imperial Navy ships saying otherwise is likely attributable to error by the authors. And if you're trying to argue about what's sensible for space battles, what on Earth are you doing discussing space opera?

On the other hand...

Does the Imperial Navy actually have a thing called a "space suit"? Space Marine armor is supposed to function as the equivalent of a space suit, and presumably both the Tau and Eldar pilots would have something comparable.

If you're in a space suit, and what's left of your space ship isn't going to explode and kill you, that space ship is probably better protection against being killed by random battle field debris or stray weapon fire than any escape pod would be. If your space ship's going to explode, how much better are your chances going to get if you eject a coffin?

The Imperial navy and airwings do have ejector seats and so on. The Phantine pilots use balloons rather than chutes, as their lower atmosphere is full of chemical fires- so the habitable zone is above all of that. This shows that not only does the Imperium protect its pilots and allow their recovery, it applies theatre specific protection.

Void fighter pilots would also have ejector mechanisms as there's a bunch of reasons you don't want to be in a crippled fighter.
-Risk of crashing, flying out of combat area
-Risk of getting shot to bits now you as a sitting duck
-Aforementioned risk of injury from the plane/ship itself, munitions touching off

first, lets clear something up, its 'ejection' not ejector seats.

I imagine that the lack of them in the lore is because of the lack of them in the stories. I'm fairly sure someone ejects in double eagle? although I may be wrong. I know the bomber crews of marauders and the like just bail out like in ww2 craft, which seems silly, but then so does having ww2 style bombers 40 thousand years in the future.

as for void fights. SM armour is sealed and suitable for the void in short periods, so I assume they'd just pop out and wait for rescue, or, as mentioned above, just stay with their stricken craft. its not like its going anywhere.

I refer you to https://www.google.com/amp/s/regimental-standard.com/2019/09/11/could-you-be-a-pilot/amp/

Please note – while all Imperial aircraft are fitted with ejector seats for your safety, only 20% are fitted with retractable cockpits in order to discourage their irresponsible use. 

Wraithbound is a short story specifically focused on aerial combat, and specifically mentions Aeldari as having ejection capability in their planes. It also shows that while ork flyboyz may not plan ahead, gretchin gunners sometimes prepare...RUDIMENTARY...emergency bail out equipment. (To whit: a parasol.)

https://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/wraithbound-ebook.html

locarno24 wrote:
I refer you to https://www.google.com/amp/s/regimental-standard.com/2019/09/11/could-you-be-a-pilot/amp/

Please note – while all Imperial aircraft are fitted with ejector seats for your safety, only 20% are fitted with retractable cockpits in order to discourage their irresponsible use. 

Regimental standard is a totally reliable narrator, staffed by men committed to the journalistic practices of truth seeking and unbiased reporting of facts.

Surely for the Craftworld Eldar all you need to recover is the black bo... soulstone!

 Overread wrote:
Surely for the Craftworld Eldar all you need to recover is the black bo... soulstone!

Silly Eldar. If soulstones can survive the crash, then why don't they build their ships out of the same material they build their soulstones, huh?

 Tiennos wrote:

 Overread wrote:
Surely for the Craftworld Eldar all you need to recover is the black bo... soulstone!

Silly Eldar. If soulstones can survive the crash, then why don't they build their ships out of the same material they build their soulstones, huh?

They can only harvest soul stones from former Eldar worlds consumed by Chaos within the Eye of Terror. Basically having to dart in, grab some stones, fight some chaos and then flee. It might work for stones that basically sit one per person (with more for mechs/warlocks etc...); but to actually build entire vehicles from or the entire army would be rather near to impossible.

 Overread wrote:

 Tiennos wrote:

 Overread wrote:
Surely for the Craftworld Eldar all you need to recover is the black bo... soulstone!

Silly Eldar. If soulstones can survive the crash, then why don't they build their ships out of the same material they build their soulstones, huh?

They can only harvest soul stones from former Eldar worlds consumed by Chaos within the Eye of Terror. Basically having to dart in, grab some stones, fight some chaos and then flee. It might work for stones that basically sit one per person (with more for mechs/warlocks etc...); but to actually build entire vehicles from or the entire army would be rather near to impossible.

You'd also be sticking stones together. It's like building a jet out of pebbles.

Besides you'd still want an ejection system. It's better to be alive than in a soulstone.