The 501st

Hey Everyone,

So thought I’d show off something new and exciting for Luna Wolves, The Fleet. So over the years I’ve gathered quite abit of battle fleet gothic and thought I'd put it to some use. The hardest part was the limited amount of Chaos and grandcruisers that where in the fleet to be re-purposed but I think I found a good balance between older style and newer ships. This is also my first experiment of writing some fluff for the army so as always hope you enjoy.  

 

--------------501st Expeditionary  Report--------------

Expenditory Commander: Captain Soban 14th Company XVI Legion

To: XVI Legion Command, Imperial Remembrance Order.

Subject: 501^st Expeditionary Fleet Assets and Brief History

Subject of this report as per request by the Imperial Remembrance Order and request of XVI Legion Command, I have prepared a brief report of the history and some of the ships of the Line of the 501^st Expeditionary Fleet presently under command of Captain Soban  of the 14^th Company. It is hoped that this can be recorded for future generations as well as give a combat profile of the fleet for future legion tasks. This report will briefly go into the lowest tons of ship all the way to the flag of the fleet.

The Smallest Vessel presently in service with 501^st is the numerous transports of the fleet. Ranging from troop transports of the Imperial Army, to ammo and fuel transports these vital ships form the backbone of the fleets logistics.

The 501^st presently has 6 sword class frigates that work as escorts in the fleet. Seen in the image from top left to bottom the list of the ships are as follows, Sword of Cthonia, Gladis of Luna, Dagger of Mars, Cutlass, Katana, Kiliji. These are the work horses of the fleet. While in combat they serve as an escort for larger ships and during prolonged campaigns as a patrol frigates. Most of the frigate presently seen though are recently acquired due to attrition in the fleets many campaigns and due to the fact frigate rarely survive long in void combat.

The Gothic Cruiser Warspite is a recent addition to the 501^st Expeditionary Fleet. Originally laid down in the gothic sector, this ship would serve in multiple battle groups of the XVI Legion till it was passed on to the 501^st Expeditionary Fleet. Many believe this is due to the unproven design over other cruisers that have served since the founding of the crusade. Despite its newer age this ship has proven itself to be an able cruiser especially paired with the cruiser Luna as both have shown time and time again as an able combat pair.

The Lunar Cruiser Luna, a deadly ship and also one of a newer design. Laid down at the Luna shipyards in the Sol system, the Lunar Cruiser was a new design that is slowly being spread through out the Imperial Fleet. Of interesting note Imperial records show that there is several Lunar class Cruisers that share the name Luna, whether this was an oversight by the shipwrights of Luna is ,at this point, speculation. Another note this cruiser is modified, removing the aft lance bay for flight deck and launch bay for storm eagles and other drop ships. This was a special request by the Expeditionary Fleet due to duel needs for a space superiority vessel as well as invasion transport. Despite the last of the after lances, the forward section is a heavy lance section that allows it to fire more often then traditional lances, meaning no loss of firepower is found in the ship. This has proven this design to be very reliable and makes this make a requested upgrade on new Lunar Class Cruisers being currently manufactured for Legion Fleets.

The Mars Class battle cruiser, the Eye of Cthonia. A heavy ship that serves as a carrier and rear support. The Eye of the Cthonia was laid down at the Iron Ring. Early crusade this ship has only served in the 501^st Expeditionary Fleet. Serving as a bombardment ship due to its nova cannon as well as a primary invasion ship it has proven to be less fearsome as its firepower would note. Due to this and its weapons, this ship is left in the rear of the fleet as a rear guard and long range bombardment ship. This ship was originally going to be transferred out for a new strike cruiser but due to growing needs of the Crusade it has kept this ship on the front lines. Despite its being undergunned this ship does have a high amount of battle honours including the Keylek Campaign, Romulas Crusade, and many more.

The Hades Class Heavy Cruiser, the Hellion, is one of the oldest ships in the fleet and has served since the founding of the 501^stExpeditionary Fleet. Laid down in the Ring of Iron of Mars, this ship was one of 5 ships to form the initial fleet. Due to its advance age this venerable ship has seen some of the greatest battles of the fleet and has always pulled through. Being a heavy ship this is one of the main combat ships and has claimed numerous ships in its service to the Emperor. Its greatest battle honor to date is still the second battle of Romulas in which this ship acting as command ship for a smaller flotilla of ships were patrolling the outer system to protect against a counter attack of the proctorerant fleet that just months before the 501^st pushed out. During this time the small combat patrol was under attack by 2 heavy cruisers of the proctorerant fleet. Despite the opposing heavy cruisers better armament and the Hellion losing all its escorts it was able to destroy both the heavy cruisers. The hellion has since been known as this time as a capable ship killer and is often in charge of the fleets vanguard.

The Vengeance is  a sub class of the Cardinal Class Heavy Cruiser. The ship is a unique example in which the traditional dorsal lances are removed in order to give the ship a vertical launch bay in which to launch invasion craft. During actual combat though, this launch bay is closed so as not to expose the weaker deck armour or the landing craft inside. The Vengeance itself has a fearsome reputation in the fleet due its impressive weapons as well as kill tally. The ship presently has the second highest kill record falling just under the flags tally, due to this it has given this ship the nickname of the Slaughter.

The Devastation Class Cruiser, the Vanquisher, is one of the oldest ships in the fleet. Laid down just before the great crusade begun, she would see service in a few fleets in the first two years of the great crusade till she was moved to the 501^stExpeditionary Fleet. A very able ship with a impressive array of weapons as well as one of the largest flight marks, this ship as the main carrier of the fleet for naval engagements. Due to her multi-role and impressive abilities as a ship it has marks the Vanquisher as the secondary command ship in the fleet who's battle honours include the Pacification of Luna, Pacification of Oort Cloud, and of course the Romulas Crusade.

The Desolator Class Battleship, Wolves Honour, is the current flag of the fleet and also one of the longest serving ships in the Great Crusade. Serving as a flag ship in multiple fleets and fighting in the Fierce Pacification of the Oort Cloud. During that part of the Campaign she was heavily damaged and almost Abandoned to rot in a moth ball yard due to her damage. It was here that 14^th company, wishing to rejoin the crusade and secure a heavy asset for its forming Expeditionary Fleet, requested the battleship to be repaired and given to their growing fleet. The request was granted the ship was re-christened the Wolves Honour. During this time she would be refitted as a Legion Astartes Battle Barge and could hold several hundred legionaries plus armour giving the ship a improved planetary invasion role. From this time she served as the Flagship of the fleet and has gained a reputation in the fleet as a fierce combatant and reliable ship.

Famous Battles of the 501^st

1^st Battle of Romulas

The 1^st battle of Romulas is still recorded to date as one of the most fearsome naval campaigns conducted by the 501^stExpeditionary Fleet. The 501^st was in charge of removing a Remeant Protectorate strong on the planet Romulas. This would be a daunting task for the 501^st as Romulas was guarded by several heavy platforms as well as a impressive fleet that had advanced weapons. The Protectorate fleet had at least one battleship class as well as several cruisers and a few escorts.

 

Despite the Impressive weapons arrayed against the fleet the 501^st also a impressive ship roster. At the time the fleet had temporarily under its command: 8 cruisers, 2 grandcruisers and also the battle ship Wolves Honour, backed up by scores of frigates and cobra destroyers. The fleet was the highest number of ships under the fleets command and would be enough to crush many systems over. Despite its high numbers though the Protectorate had the technological edge as well as the home turf knowledge of defending its system .

The Romulas system it self was also another issue for the fleet. Shrouding the main plant was a ring of small asteroids and other large spatial objects that gave the defender an advantage as an attacker would have to navigate the dangerous ring. This though did blind the defenders and if the fleet could advance quick enough they wouldn’t see the assault till it was too late.

 

The battle itself was actually handled at the edge of this ring of asteroids where the two fleets clashed. The Imperial fleet was ambushed and as due to the mass of asteroids they were unable to evade at first causing 3 cruisers and the grandcruisers,Emperors Wraith, to be destroyed in the opening engagement.  This was a crippling blow to the Imperial but the 501^st did not give up.

The one major advantage the Imperial had was the cargo the surviving ships had, Legionaries of the 14^th Company of the Luna Wolves. The commander picked to quickly close the range to the Protectorate fleet and unleash boarding torpedos and storm eagle ships on the defending fleet, this would prove devastating. The unexpected assault from boarders took the defenders by surprise and quickly the flag ship fell to the Vengeful Luna wolves.

 

After the flagship was removed, the 501^st had a easy time removing the surviving cruisers and the few escorts. With fleet removed the next task would be to remove the orbital defense platforms which at this point at been out of range of the main combat. Knowing that the surviving ships he had at his command would have a hard time engaging the surviving platforms, a new plan had to be made. Spending the next few weeks gathering intelligence the 501^st prepared for the next phase.

 

During those weeks Imperial Intelligence as well as recons by the fleet were able to gather a great deal of information from the capture Protectorate flag ship. During the course of interrogation of surviving personal as well as the flags databanks, a weakness was discovered in the orbital net. A single platform was found to be controlling the entire network and if it was removed the entire network could be brought down. It was at this time a plan was drawn up and then enacted.

 

The plan was very bold though, there would be some sacrifice. Using the protectorates own flag and the surviving grand cruiser, Imperial Justice, it was decided that in order to remove the platform they would use the flagship to ram it. In order to do this the Imperial Justice tethered the massive flagship and set a direct course. It was expected though that the grandcruiser would not survive.

 

With a skeleton crew of just volunteers on both ships they begun their assault. The Imperial justice moving at full speed was a slow behemoth taking fire as it approached. On fire and with multiple hull breaches, the commander of the ship decided not to remove the tethered line and kept on a direct course to ensure the impact was made. It was a mammoth explosion. As the two ships and the platform met, the defenses fell silent.  The bitter battle was won with high causalities on both side.

 

End Report.

 

 

 

So this is the report and the first major fluff for the army I do hope you enjoy it and this final picture of the fleet. Be sure to let me know if you enjoyed it and if I should go on with this fluff reporting in the future.

General Soban 

Signing off till next time