Stormblade

The Stormblade super-heavy tank is a variant of the Astra Militarum's Shadowsword Titan-killer tank. It is armed with a Plasma Blastgun instead of a Volcano Cannon, but it is still able to perform the role of Titan-hunter on the battlefield.

Stormblades are built on Forge Worlds that lack the ability to build true Shadowsword tanks, and thus have to compensate by using different weaponry and other less advanced technologies than the original.

On the battlefield, the Stormblade's primary function is to blast Titans and enemy super heavy armour into oblivion, although unlike the Shadowsword, it is more of a medium-range heavy support vehicle than a pure Titan-killer.

Unlike the Shadowsword's Volcano Cannon, the Stormblade's Plasma Blastgun is a less voracious consumer of energy and can be fired either at full power or in short bursts, granting the Stormblade a much greater tactical flexibility that the Shadowsword at the cost of some firepower. The Plasma Blastgun's multiple settings allow the Stormblade to engage both infantry and armoured targets with relative ease.

Additionally, the photonic cells serving as onboard ammunition forgo the use of the capacitors which so hamper the Shadowsword, granting the Stormblade better speed, manoeuvrability and the capacity to sport 2 twin-linked Heavy Bolters and 2 Lascannons as secondary armament, enough to fend off any marauding infantry or smaller armoured vehicle.

Like all super-heavy tanks of the Astra Militarum, the Stormblade's very presence on the battlefield is a potent morale booster for rank-and-file Imperial Guardsmen, and it is for that reason that some senior officers requisition a Stormblade to serve as their personal command tank.

Such vehicles are outfitted with powerful Vox-casters and tactical arrays, allowing the officer to remain aware of the pace of battle while taking the field.

Although the Stormblade does not suffer from some of the disadvantages of the Shadowsword, it is still a slow and ungainly vehicle, whose fixed main gun requires the whole vehicle to be bodily aimed at the intended target.

This precludes any front-line usage, for a fast opponent will be able to manoeuvre around the tank, while a canny one will aim for the tracks, preventing the Stormblade from adjusting its aim further.

The Plasma Blastgun is also less efficient as a pure Titan-killer than the Shadowsword's Volcano Cannon, for it does not have the needed power to punch through Void Shields nor the extreme range of the larger weapon.

Unlike the Shadowsword, which can operate as a lone Titan-hunter, the Stormblade must be supported by the other elements of the Imperial Guard to unleash its full potential.

History[]

The Stormblade came into being in a manner that demonstrates the feudal nature of the Forge Worlds and their relationship with one another and Mars. Certain Forge Worlds lacked the necessary STC imprints to construct the Shadowsword super-heavy destroyer and, due to internecine political and doctrinal differences, were unable to secure them from the Red Planet.

The magi of another great Forge World, Ryza, perceived a means of circumventing the issue and gaining power for themselves in the process. Ryza, known for its mastery of plasma technology, built the first of the Stormblades, a weapon to rival the Shadowsword, and ceded its pattern to those lesser Forge Worlds who would enter into mutually beneficial compacts with them.

The elite Solar Auxilia of the Excertus Imperialis, maintained treaties of provender with many of these domains, and while Shadowswords were a rare commodity often reserved for the dedicated super-heavy regiments of the Imperial Army, Solar Auxilia Cohorts had ready access to the Stormblade.

Stormblade0000 — A *Legiones Astartes* Stormblade of the ancient Iron Warriors Legion during the Horus Heresy.

The Legion Stormblade utilised by the Legiones Astartes was a variant of the Imperial Army super-heavy tank constructed on the Forge World of Lucius and equipped with a mighty Plasma Blastgun. This weapon occupied a tactical niche between the much heavier Turbolaser Destructor carried on the Shadowsword and similar, but lighter weapons carried on smaller vehicles.

The Plasma Plastgun was simpler to maintain and supply than the Turbolaser, giving the Stormblade an extended operational range, and its Space Marine crew were a lot more resistant to the heat and radiation generated by its enormous reactor array than the crews of Imperial Army Stormblades.

The majority of Space Marine Legions maintained a stock of Stormblades amongst their super-heavy tank formations, though some only utilised them as Legion reserves and did not commit them to the line as a matter of course.

The Iron Warriors and the Iron Hands had both been known to utilise armoured vanguards comprising Stormblades, often flanked by Predators and Sicarans.

Just as it was ten millennia ago, in the 41st Millennium, many Forge Worlds still lack the ability to build Shadowswords and instead build Stormblades. Even though it was never considered an official STC design, it does not lack in performance and thus is a very popular choice of super-heavy tank for the Astra Militarum when a true Shadowsword is not available.

Most Stormblades, along with the Shadowsword and Stormsword, are built on the Arkurian Pattern chassis, although more conservative Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus view the rarer Mars Pattern chassis as superior.

Armament[]

Stormbladedetails — Stormblade schematic and size comparison to an Imperial Guardsmen

The Stormblade is armed with a massive casemate-mounted Plasma Blastgun. Normally found only on Titans, this weapon is ideal for both anti-armour and anti-Titan roles.

The potent capacitors and power generator used by the Shadowsword is replaced by large photonic fuel cells that power the Stormblade's main gun.

The extra space that is left over with the replacement of the Volcano Cannon's systems is used to house a well-designed cooling system which keeps the weapon from over-heating while the tank's crew is protected from the heat by thick ceramite heat shields.

The Stormblade is preferred by many Astra Militarum tank regiments over the Executioner variant of the Leman Russ tank due to its cooling systems reliability and its overall firepower.

The Stormblade replaces the Shadowsword's sponson-mounted targeters for two Lascannons, but retains the two twin-linked Heavy Bolters. The Stormblade can also have a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, Improved Communications equipment, a mine sweeper, a pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or Storm Bolter, and Smoke Launchers.

The Stormblade is always outfitted with Searchlights, which are used to highlight enemy infantry for attack with the tank's sponson weapons.

At one time in the past these tanks could also be equipped with external Hellion Missile Racks, but these were prone to exploding catastrophically when hit by enemy weapons fire.

After three Stormblades of the Phyressian 31st Heavy Tank Company were destroyed in this way, Hellion Missiles were deemed unsafe to be carried on these vehicles and were withdrawn from Imperial service.

Unit Composition[]

1 Astra Militarum Stormblade (Astra Militarum only, 41st Millennium)
1 Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tank (Legiones Astartes, 31st Millennium Only)

Wargear[]

A standard Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tank of the Horus Heresy era was armed and equipped with:

A Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tank could take the following sponson-mounted weapons:

2 Twin-linked Heavy Bolters
2 Lascannons (Located on top of the other sponson weapons)

A Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tank could replace its two sets of sponson-mounted twin-linked Heavy Bolters with the following weapons:

2 Twin-linked Heavy Flamers

A Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tank could take one of the following pintle-mounted weapons:

Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tanks also had a variety of vehicle equipment such as:

Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher
Armoured Ceramite Plating

Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tanks could also be upgraded to a:

Super-Heavy Command Tank

Legion Stormblade Super-Heavy Tanks could also be upgraded with:

Space Marine Legion Crew - Replaces the vehicle's human crew with Legiones Astartes Space Marines

Known Regiments That Use Stormblades[]

Solar Auxilia Cohorts (Great Crusade & Horus Heresy eras)
Cadian 98th Armoured Regiment
Death Korps of Krieg 1st Heavy Tank Company
Death Korps of Krieg 61st Tank Regiment
Death Korps of Krieg 11th Heavy Armoured Regiment
Death Korps of Krieg 12th Heavy Tank Company
Phyressian 31st Heavy Tank Company
Sarenian 5th Heavy Tank Company
Vaust 14th Regiment

Known Stormblades[]

Huntsman - Vaust 14th Regiment

Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications[]

**Arkurian Pattern Stormblade**
Vehicle Name:	Stormblade	Main Armament:	Plasma Blastgun
Forge World of Origin:	Ryza, Lucius	Secondary Armament:	2 Lascannons, 2 Twin-linked Heavy Bolters
Known Patterns:	I - VII	Traverse:	2 degrees
Crew:	1 Commander, 1 Driver, 1 Main Gunner, 1 Remote Gunner, 1 Comm-Operator, 1 Engineer	Elevation:	-2 to 12 degrees
Powerplant:	MR507 v18 Multi-Fuel	Main Ammunition:	16 Shots From Fuel Cell
Weight:	310 Tonnes	Secondary Ammunition:	1600 Rounds
Length:	13.5 metres	Armour:
Width:	8.4 metres	Armour:
Height:	6.3 metres	Superstructure:	220 millimetres
Ground Clearance:	1.2 metres	Hull:	210 millimetres
Max Speed On-Road:	25 kilometres per hour	Gun Mantlet:	200 millimetres
Max Speed Off-Road:	18 kilometres per hour	Vehicle Designation:	0427-658-0251-SB04
Transport Capacity:	N/A	Firing Ports:	N/A
Access Points:	N/A	Turret:	N/A

Sources[]

Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy, pp. 99-104
Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pp. 8, 106-111, 267, 276-277
Imperial Armour Volume Five - The Siege of Vraks, Part One
Imperial Armour Volume Five - The Siege of Vraks, Part Two
Imperial Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymeara
Imperial Armour - Apocalypse, pg. 8
The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 54-55
The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 23, 181, 242-243
The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 88, 288
The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 16, 38
The Horus Heresy: Legiones Astartes - Age of Darkness Army List, pg. 85