Typhon Heavy Siege Tank
The Typhon Heavy Siege Tank was a heavy assault vehicle used by the Legio Astartes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.
Overview
Named after the 'Great Beast' of Terran myth, it was developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus simultaneously with the Spartan Assault Tank and as a result shares its basic hull, armour, and chassis designs. The Typhon is a mobile gun and siege platform which operates a single massive Dreadhammer Cannon.[1]
The design itself was created in response to a request from Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors, who demanded a vehicle that could deploy rapidly but also carry heavy fortress-breaking firepower.[1] As with many other classes of heavy tank, the Typhon fell out of use in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy. Some Chapters still have small numbers of Typhons in service; still a lot of Masters of the Forge are reluctant to use Typhons in all but the direst circumstances, believing that their creation's bonds with Perturabo may stain their machine-spirits forever.[2a]
The main weapon of the Typhon is a Dreadhammer Cannon, which can demolish any enemy fortifications and since the Great Crusade has proved a strong addition to any Space Marine army for sieges.[2a] Those belonging to the Dark Angels' Dreadwing were known to employ esoteric void munitions.[7]
Chaos Space Marine warbands are still known to use Typhons, but these are relics of the Great Crusade and have long since been Daemonically corrupted.[4]
Typhons could further be outfitted with Flare Shields.[8]
Technical Information
| Vehicle Name: | Typhon Heavy Siege Tank[2b] | Main Armament: | Dreadhammer Cannon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forge World of Origin: | Mars/Anvilus Nine | Secondary Armament: | Lascannon sponsons |
| Known Patterns: | I-III | Traverse: | N/A |
| Crew: | Commander, Driver, Gunner | Elevation: | From -10-5° to +20° |
| Powerplant: | meta-thermic hybrid with auxiliary reactor | Main Ammunition: | 12 Rounds |
| Weight: | 170 tonnes | Secondary Ammunition: | Unlimited cell feed |
| Length: | 10m | ||
| Width: | 6.1m | Armour | |
| Height: | 5m | ||
| Ground Clearance: | 0.5m | Superstructure: | 95mm |
| Fording Depth: | Hull: | 95mm | |
| Max Speed - on road | 35kph | Gun Mantlet | N/A |
| Max Speed - off road: | 30kph | Vehicle Designation: | Unknown |
| Transport Capacity: | None | Firing Ports: | N/A |
| Access Points: | N/A | Turret: | N/A |
Known Named Vehicles
Images
World Eaters Typhon Heavy Siege Tank[3]
Sons of Horus plastic Typhon kit[5]
Epic-scale Typhons for Legions Imperialis[9]
Trivia
 |
- The Typhon is named for Typhon, a monster from Greek mythology.
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal, pg. 225
- 2: Imperial Armour Volume 2 - Second Edition:
- 3: Forge World (last accessed 28 May 2015)
- 4: Imperial Armour Volume Thirteen - War Machines of the Lost and the Damned pg.62
- 5: Warhammer Community: Heresy Thursday – Turn Astartes, Tanks, and Buildings, Into Craters With the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank (posted 15/12/2022) (last accessed 16/12/2022)
- 6: The Horus Heresy: Legions - Shadow of the Warmaster: Death Guard, card description
- 7: Angels of Caliban (Novel), Chapter 23
- 8: Liber Astartes (2nd Edition), pg. 87
- 9: Warhammer Community: The Big Summer Preview – Armoured reinforcements for Legions Imperialis (posted 18/7/2025) saved page, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/0atwaj1l/the-big-summer-preview-armoured-reinforcements-for-legions-imperialis/ (last accessed 18/7/2025)