Stormbird

The Thunderhawk’s big older brother and predecessor, the Stormbird was to the Legiones Astartes of the Great Crusade what the Thunderhawk is to the Astartes Chapters of the 41st Millenium: a primary means of transport and air support for Space Marines. The Stormbird, however, was much bigger, able to carry 60 and 100 Space Marines, with dreadnoughts and rhinos on the side, and a ton of firepower to support them. So it was basically an Imperial Manta for all intents and purposes.

By the time of the Horus Heresy, though, while some of the bigger Legions insisted on keeping their Stormbirds in service, most had begun relying more and more on the smaller and easier to produce Thunderhawk. After the Codex Astartes reforms, the ability to carry a full company’s worth of marines all in one aircraft wasn’t even arguably economical anymore, and the remaining Imperial Stormbirds were mothballed. It’s unknown if there are any Stormbirds still left in the vaults of today’s Chapters, though Traitor Legions like the Word Bearers are said to still have a few around, and if Forge World’s recent development of an Stormbird model is anything to go by, odds are there probably will be a couple of modern chapters that will be revealed to, surprise, surprise, still have their Stormbirds as well.