Apocalypse Class Battleship
The Apocalypse Class Battleship is primarily a lance-armed capital vessel and one of the few battleships in the Imperial Navy armed with a Nova Cannon.[1]
Overview
The Apocalypse is widely believed to be the precursor of the Retribution-class battleship. The technologies to construct multiple lance turrets on the Apocalypse have been forgotten, resulting in the gradually dwindling number of these ancient vessels. Some naval strategists believe that these ships were created to deal with the threat posed by the growing number of Grand Cruisers and battleships from the Eye of Terror, a role at which the Apocalypse excels.[1] Most Segmentum Fleets have at least a few Apocalypse battleships still in service, their numbers gradually going down.[6]
The Apocalypse has no other primary armament than its lance batteries and its mighty Nova Cannon. However, despite its seemingly limited armament it is able to reduce enemy ships, from escorts to large capital ships, to blazing hulks within a frighteningly short period of time.These lance arrays normally operate at medium ranges but can undergo a special engineering process to reach much further. However, such procedure can cause the power array conduits to be very unreliable and drain power from the ship's main drives at an alarming rate, making the Apocalypse sluggish in the midst of battle.[1]
The Apocalypse has a small weapons battery on its dorsal section, and banks of lances down the port and starboard hull. Normally the weapons batteries would be used to collapse the shields of an enemy ship, before the lances rip into the ship directly. Instead, the Apocalypse uses its Nova Cannon - capable of obliterating whole squadrons of escorts in a single shot - when closing in on the enemy.[1]
Notable Apocalypse Class Vessels
Miniatures
Sources
- 1: Battlefleet Gothic Armada, pg. 12
- 2: [http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?community=&catId=cat1290319&categoryId=1100007&aId=4300022 Battlefleet Gothic Resources: Ships of the Gothic Sector, pg. 124 (source is no longer active, last accessed 2010.12.20)
- 3: The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book),
[Help] - 4: The Chapter's Due (Novel) by Graham McNeill: Chapter Five, pg. 62
- 5: Shadow of Ullanor (Novel), Chapter 7
- 6: The Battle for Armageddon (Background Book), pg. 71
