18,817
edits
Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
m
clean up, replaced: organiz → organis (2)
|Content1 =[[Imperial Fleet]]
|Title2 =Headquarters
|Content2 =[[Terra_Terra#Notable Locations|Naval Headquarters]], [[Terra]]
|Title3 =Leader
|Content3 =[[Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy]]
[[Image:SegGalacticPic.jpg|right|230px]]
===Fleet Structure===
The Imperial Navy is organized organised into five fleets, each assigned to one of the [[Segmentum|Segmentae Majoris]]. Each fleet is named for the Segmentum in which it is based, such as the [[Battlefleet Solar]].
These fleets are then subdivided into smaller fleets patrolling individual [[sector]]s and [[subsector]]s, and are also generally named after the area they safeguard. For example, [[Battlefleet Gothic]] protects the [[Gothic Sector]].
Imperial Navy vessels require personnel from other Imperial elements to function. These include [[Navigator]]s from the [[Navis Nobilite]] for navigation{{Fn|13}}, [[Astropath]]s for interstellar communication{{Fn|14}}, and [[Tech-Priest]]s from the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] for higher maintenance{{Fn|14}}. One of the foremost duties of the Navy is to transport the [[Imperial Guard]] to warzones, and as such, every Navy vessel, no matter how small, will sport some means of training deck to accommodate them.{{Fn|11b}}
The lowest level of personnel in the Navy hierarchy are bondsmen, who are little more than [[slave]]s. Alongside [[Servitor]]s, these poor souls, organized organised into '''Press Gangs'''{{Fn|25}} undertake the most thankless and dangerous tasks on a vessel. Bondsmen are acquired by various means, such as rounding up criminals or unsavory elements of Imperial society or simply being born into their status aboard a vessel. Other times, if a ship is low on such menials they may round up the nearest bystanders at random on the nearest world.{{Fn|25}} Bondsmen's duties include cleaning, hauling ammunition into weapons chambers, shoveling fuel, and manual labor. Working long hours and only fed meager rations, Bondsmen are met with brutal discipline should they protest their status.{{Fn|11a}}
==Vessels==
The Imperial Navy consists of millions of heavily armoured and armed spaceships, both warp-capable and system-bound. While the interstellar vessels are the most famous, the Navy also operates sublight [[System Defence Boat|system defence boats]], [[Orbital Defence Platform|orbital defence stations]], [[Star Fort|star forts]] and even planetary-based [[Defence Laser|defence lasers]] and missile silos.{{Fn|26}} The Imperial Navy deploys a vast diversity of vessel types, from one-man attack fighters to kilometers-long Battleships.
[[Image:Imperial-Navy.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Imperial Navy vessels{{Fn|27}}]]
Construction of Imperial Navy warships is complicated, obscenely expensive, and often takes place over decades or even centuries. The vast majority of construction is done in orbital shipyards by the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]], but the Navy itself sends specialist technicians to oversee certain critical elements. Other such specialist are sent by the [[Departmento Munitorum]] and [[Administratum]] to give ritual attention to specialized areas. However the [[Tech-Priest]]s do not take part in the construction of two highly classified of the warship: the [[Astropathic Choir]] (which is built by the [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica]]) and the chamber for the ship's [[Navigator]]s (which is built by the [[Navis Nobilite]]).{{Fn|20b}} While most new Imperial Navy vessels are constructed in the Navy's own shipyards, a number are build by planetary shipyards of [[Hive World|hive]], [[Factory World|factory]] or other worlds as part of the [[Tithe|tithe]].{{Fn|26}}
Another source of new [[voidship]]s are the [[Forge World|forge worlds]] of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]]. While most of the newly constructed vessels are destined for their [[Basilikon Astra|own fleet]], a number of them are supplied to the Imperial Navy. These Mechanicus-build hulls are marvels of engineering, oftentimes incorporating rare technologies.{{Fn|26}} Though the construction of a single new cruiser may take more than a decade even for a well-supplied shipyard, a forge world can commission multiple new cruisers per years, thanks to economies of scale,{{Fn|24a}} having at any given time a dozen or more hulls in varying stages of construction.{{Fn|24b}}
In the [[Era Indomitus]], the return of [[Roboute Guilliman]] has heralded a renaissance in Imperial shipbuilding, forwarded by the multitalented [[Belisarius Cawl]]. This has led to new, novel patterns of voidship to be created which are blessed with the finest technologies.{{Fn|28}}
===Battleships===
[[Image:EmperorBattleshipIllustration.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Emperor Class Battleship]]
*[[Adjudicator Class Battleship]]
===Cruisers===
Smaller than Battleships, [[Cruiser]]s are the '''ships of the line''' in Imperial Fleets. There are several different sub-categories of Cruiser.
