Warhammer 40K: Thunderhawk Gunship – Space Marine Warhorse

Thunderhawks have historically been the warhorse that Space Marines rode into battle. Let’s take a deep dive into their lore.

The Thunderhawk gunship is a multi-use aircraft in wide use by Space Marine Chapters. Each Chapter of the Space Marines maintains its own fleet of Thunderhawks. Normally reserved for large-scale battles, time and time again its use in the various fields of war has been proven. With such might like this, only a great threat to the Imperium can demand the use of this mighty craft.

Stormbird, the direct predecessor to the Thunderhawk.

History

The Thunderhawk was first deployed during the last years of the Great Crusade as a cheaper-to-produce replacement for the Warhawk VI “Stormbird” gunship.. Armed to the teeth with a Thunderhawk cannon and various other weapons, its use become more and more widespread.

Many Marines who rode in the newly-deployed Thunderhawks felt uncomfortable, finding them lighter and flimsier compared to the more dependable Stormbirds. During the Horus Heresy, Captain Remus Ventanus of the Ultramarines predicted that the Thunderhawk was just a “stopgap” design, and the Legions would develop a better design, or revert to the more reliable Stormbird, before long. Instead it remains the standard Marine heavy transport ten thousand years on.

Design

Thunderhawks are among the most technologically sophisticated vehicles employed by any Imperial force and as such, benefit from a number of advanced systems.

Armament

The Thunderhawk is armed with a large number of weapons, though the configuration varies. Its primary weapon is fitted on a limited traverse dorsal mount and can mount either a Turbo-laser Destructor, powerful enough to strike down even a Scout Titan with an accurate shot, or a modified Battle Cannon useful for ground bombardment.

It also has two Lascannons mounted on either attack wing and at least four Heavy Bolters in hull-mounted twin-linked sponsons, with room for four additional Heavy Bolters under the main wing tips.

In addition, each wing has three bomb pylons, each of which carry one Hellstrike Missile, three Bombs or Smart Bombs, or an external fuel pod, for a total of six missiles/pods or eighteen bombs. All of the Thunderhawk’s weapon systems are controlled by the gunner through remote multi-spectrum surveyors from the flight deck with assistance provided by the Machine Spirit.

Control Systems

The pilot, co-pilot, navigator, and gunner are all located in the gunship’s flight deck above the forward hold and in front of the upper hold. The navigator and co-pilot also control the primary narrow-band, long-range communications transmitter located on top of the fuselage, along with the sensor array and electronic counter-measures. The navigational equipment also transmits information to Space Marine command units, while an emergency location beacon will automatically begin broadcasting should the Thunderhawk be shot down.

Despite their complexity, the Thunderhawk’s systems are rugged and reliable, and are all controlled by an M33 ‘Cygnus’ class Machine Spirit. Utilizing aetheric and phlogiston feed coils, alembic shielding, and pseudo-synaptic relays, the Cygnus has a cognition speed of 40,000 co/sec with a maximum contemplation capacity of 10,000 kilobrains, making it comparable to that found in a Reaver Battle Titan.

Defensive Measures

Armour for the Thunderhawk is constructed in a similar manner to that of a Land Raider, giving it an unprecedented level of protection. An adamantium inner hull is layered on top by titanium rolled plates, followed by a thermoplas fiber mesh, and then two layers of ceramite, the second of which is ablative. The ceramic and thermplas fibre layers are increased in depth to provide the craft with additional protection in order to perform repeated atmospheric entries, making them thicker than those on a Land Raider, at the expensive of thinning the titanium and adamantium layers. These armor layers makes the Thunderhawk very well-protected and particularly resistant to Melta Weapons.

In addition to its armoring, Thunderhawks also come equipped with a Decoy Flare Launcher located in the lower rear fuselage, along with additional electronic counter-measures used to jam enemy sensors and tracking equipment.

Engines

The Thunderhawk is powered by triple RX-92-00 Mars pattern, combination rocket/afterburning turbofans mounted on each wing and under the fuselage. In an atmosphere, the turbofans provide enough thrust to propel the craft to approximately 2,000 kilometers per hour. When operating in space, the forward turbofan section is isolated from the exhaust and combustion chambers, where fuel from the onboard fusion reactor is pumped in to create a high-pressure, high-velocity stream of gasses that provide thrust.

Additional retro exhaust nozzles are located around the Thunderhawk’s hull to provide maneuverability in zero-gravity conditions. They also allow the craft to operate in hover mode when in an atmosphere. For improved atmospheric handling, the gunship features two ‘attack’ wings located above the main wings, which provide additional directional stability when making gun attacks. Their movement is synchronized and, during normal flight, are locked into position by bracing on the upper main wings, which are released when the Thunderhawk approaches a target.

Transport Capacity

At full capacity a Thunderhawk gunship can carry thirty power armored Space Marines, or half as many in Terminator Armour, divided between the upper and forward holds. It can also carry a single Dreadnought in the forward hold, which takes the space of five Space Marines, or Space Marine Bike and Attack Bikes, which take up space equivalent to three and four Space Marines, respectively. Embarked troops can enter and exit through a forward assault ramp or two access doors on either side of the forward hull.

Thunderhawk Specifications

Mission Payloads

Thunderhawks can alter the type of payload carried depending on which specific mission they are tasked to accomplish, making it a truly formidable weapons platform.

Troop Insertion Mission

• 1 x dorsal mounted turbo-laser destructoror thunderhawk cannon
• 2 x lascannons on attack wings
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts on forward fuselage
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts under wing tips

Close Air Support Mission

• 1 x dorsal mounted turbo-laser destructoror thunderhawk cannon
• 2 x lascannons on attack wings
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts on forward fuselage
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts under wing tips
• 6 x hellstrike missilesunder wings

Saturation Bombing Mission

• 1 x dorsal mounted turbo-laser destructoror thunderhawk cannon
• 2 x lascannons on attack wings
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts on forward fuselage
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts under wing tips
• 18 x high explosive and incendiary bombs under wings

Long-Range Bombing Mission

• 1 x dorsal mounted turbo-laser destructoror thunderhawk cannon
• 2 x lascannons on attack wings
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts on forward fuselage
• 2 x external auxiliary fuel pods under wings
• 4 x large guided bombs under wings (delayed fuse)
• 2 x large guided bombs under wing tips (melta warheads)

Spaceship Intercept Mission

• 1 x dorsal mounted turbo-laser destructoror thunderhawk cannon
• 2 x lascannons on attack wings
• 4 x heavy bolters in twin-linked mounts on forward fuselage
• 6 x large guided bombs under wings (plasmawarheads)
• 2 x large guide bombs under wing tips (meltawarheads)

Learn More of Thunderhawk Weapons and Tactics

Lexicanum

The Thunderhawk – when you have to make to that LZ – NO MATTER WHAT!

Author: Adam Harrison

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table. A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam's current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.