Divisio Aeronautica
The Divisio Aeronautica was the aerial arm of the Imperial Army during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.[1]
Overview
One of the many organisations beneath the Excertus Imperialis, the Divisio encompassed innumerable support elements and was exclusively dedicated to aerial warfare. It supplied squadrons of aircraft to the Expeditionary Fleets of the Great Crusade: their primary missions were air superiority and air support, and at times they operated alongside the Space Marine Legions' own aerial assets. They also operated ground-based air-defence units which operated Hydra Flak Batteries and Basilisk anti-aircraft guns.[1]
The sheer scale of the organisation meant squadrons were often highly divergent from one another and loyal to the commanders of their fleet. The organisation thus ceased to exist at the time of the Horus Heresy, its pilots split between loyalties.[1] Following the reorganisation of the Imperial Army after the Heresy, the Divisio Aeronautica became the Aeronautica Imperialis, a subdivision of the Imperial Navy.[2]
Aircraft
Sources
- 1: Horus Heresy: Aeronautica Imperialis, pgs. 91-105
- 2: Death From the Skies (7th Edition) (E-Book) — Aeronautica Imperialis