Destroyed:Burnished Hawk

Thought for the day: There is no victory but the will of the Emperor. There is no glory but to serve the Emperor.

The Burnished Hawk is a heavily modified UD12 ChickenHawk-class Utility Dropship.

History and Description

The ChickenHawk series, designed for trans-orbit light freight capabilities, was popular in M38, but has since been superceeded by the smaller but cheaper Arvus-class Lighters. ChickenHawks are easily recognisable by its two prominent engine mounts on the ends of its stubby wings, which swivel to provide landing thrust. The protuding engine mounts meant storing them in hangars was problematic, and the wiring in the swivel engine mounts also caused endless maintenance nightmares. Despite these issues, the class was admired for their ability to easily sacrifice cargo capacity for weapons, their speed, their ability to manoeuvre in tight spaces, and their many, many internal access panels. These assets meant the class was a favourite amongst smugglers and blockade runners, who would use them to transfer goods inter-system as well as to their starships hidden in asteroid belts or in signal-shadow areas.

The Burnished Hawk was confiscated from a small-time smuggler by the Inquisition, and has since been extensively upgraded for its role as a Inquisitorial gun/dropship, with upgraded engines and manoeuvring thrusters, armour plating, and weapons systems. The result is a ridiculously heavily armed and armoured craft, with weaponry consisting of a battery of six autocannons mounted in the nose, upgunning the common-place dorsal turret with two heavy bolters, and the addition of two assault cannons for stern armament. In addition, missile racks were mounted on the wings, and the ventral airlock was converted so it could also deploy a limited payload of bombs.

Inside, extensive retrofits have been made in order to make the craft suitable for short-term habitation by a small group of people. A tiny ablution chamber and six fold-out bunks have been fitted, alongside the required control panels for the aft turret and a specialised servitor cradle, resulting in much of the original cargo capacity being lost. Some of the storage originally available inside the internal access panels has been used for upgraded vox, sensorium, and other cogitator gear, with the remainder devoted to fuel, spare parts, foodstuffs, and ammunition, to supply extended deployments without resupply.

Statistics

Type: Spacecraft

Tactical Speed: 25m/25AU

Cruising Speed: 2,500kph

Manoeuvrability: +10

Detection: +10

Structural Integrity: 35

Size: Enormous

Armour: Front 35, Side 35, Rear 30

Crew: Pilot, Co-Pilot (Optional), Systems Engineer (Optional), 2 Gunners (Optional)

Weapons: Auto-loaders: All weapons only lose shots fired in that action on a jam, rather than all remaining ammo in the clip. Jams must still be cleared as normal.

• Fore hex-autocannon (Pilot)
  • Fixed Front, 300m (3AU), S/2/5, 4d10+5 I, Pen 4, Clip 240, Reload 2 Full, Twin-linked, Storm [x1,x2,x3]
• 8 Hunter-killer missiles (Co-pilot)
  • Front, 250m (3AU), S/2/8, 3d10+10 X, Pen 10, One-shot
• 6 Bombs (Engineer)
  • Down, 30m, S/3/6 (0AU), 3d10+10 X, Pen 6, Blast [15], One-shot
• Dorsal turret heavy bolters
  • All, 150m, -/-/10 (2AU), 2d10 X, Pen 5, Clip 240, Reload 2 Full, Twin-linked
• Rear assault cannons
  • Rear, 120m, -/-/10 (2AU), 3d10+5 I, Pen 5, Clip 400, Reload 2 Full, Twin-linked, Tearing, Unreliable

Carrying Capacity: 6 crew incl. 4 weeks supplies, +6 people or equivalent cargo

Access Points: Port ramp, starboard ramp, dorsal hatch, ventral airlock/bomb bay, aft ramp