General Overview: The Angelus Gunship is the aircraft issued to Adepta Sororitas field armies for special operations and assaults. Battle Sister Celestians form specialized squads of the Order’s fiercest fighters. Oftentimes, these squads require specialized transports to deliver them into the heart of the enemy, a role the Angelus is perfectly adapted for. In addition to providing transport for Celestian strike teams, Battle Sister commanders often use the Angelus as command vehicles, taking advantage of their ability to survey the battlefield from above. When the battle is joined, the Angelus can deliver the commander and her bodyguard to wherever they are most needed to bolster their forces on the battlefield.
The Angelus utilizes vector engines for vertical take off and landings, giving it very high maneuverability and the ability to hover in the air by directing the engine thrust through its wing exhausts. It is an atmospheric aircraft and cannot operate in the vacuum of space, although it can be sealed against hostile environments. The Angelus lacks the high top-speed of a true fighter aircraft, like a Lightning or Thunderbolt, but its ability to hover means Battle Sisters can land with great accuracy at their drop zone or on their objective.
The Angelus is an advanced piece of hardware, containing many systems comparable with those found in Space Marine vehicles. Only a few Forge Worlds can manufacture and maintain them, and by Ecclesiarchal Decree all new Angelus Gunships that are built or damaged ships that are repaired are supplied exclusively to the arsenals of the Chamber Militant.
The most talented Adepta Soriritas Seraphim are recruited fly the Angelus. Because of their specialized training, these pilots are an elite force in their own right. They are trained for dangerous insertion mission behind enemy lines, night flying and maneuvering the aircraft in close confines and at very low altitudes. Each Angelus has three crew members. A pilot, a co-pilot (who is also the weapons operator) and a crew chief to supervise the cargo bay and fire the dorsal heavy bolters.
• Nose mounted navigation and sensor array, including proximity sensor and
Hellstrike missile targeting
• Forward chin mount: primary weapon (multi-meltas) and primary weapon
targeting
• Left hull front: main communications equipment and searchlight
• Forward cockpit: pilot’s station
• Left cockpit side: pilot’s retractable access steps
• Rear cockpit: co-pilot (weapons operator) station
• Right cockpit side: co-pilot’s retractable access steps
• Twin turbine vector-thrust engines
• Armoured side doors on horizontal slide
• Seating for ten battle sisters, collapsible for fast stowage in roof space,
creating space inside for transporting extra equipment
• Oxygen tanks for hostile atmospheres
Options:
The Angelus has two sets of hard points mounted on its wings. These two sets may be equipped with a variable configuration of weapons depending on the ship’s mission.
Hardpoint 1 (inner) : The inner set of hardpoints may be equipped with:
(a) Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter (+30 points).
(b) Twin-Linked Multi-Melta (+60 points).
Hardpoint 2 (outer): The outer set of hardpoints may be equipped with:
(a) 2 Hellstrike Missile Racks w/two missiles per rack (+40 points).
(b) 2 Smartbomb Racks w/two heavy smartbombs per rack (+60 points).
(c) 2 Heavy Bomb Racks w/two heavy bombs per rack (+40 points).
An Angelus may take the following Imperial Navy Aircraft Upgrades for the points cost indicated in Imperial Armor Vol I; ejector seats, flare launcher, armored cockpit, infra-red targeting, illum flares. An Angelus may take the following Witchhunters Vehicle upgrades for the points cost indicated in Codex: Witchhunters; searchlight, blessed ammunition, holy icon.
Transport Option: The Angelus is a transport option for Sister of Battle Celestian and Celestian Bodyguard squads. Either of these squad types may be transported in a Angelus instead of its usual transport options for 200 points.
Access Points: 2. The Angelus has two access points, both are side doors, either of which can be used for access by the passengers.
Fire Points: 2. The Angelus has two firepoints. Both the side doors can be used as firepoints by passengers, but only while the Angelus is hovering in VTOL mode, they cannot be fired from whilst in flight.
VTOL Hover Mode: After its passengers disembark (or embarked), rather than leave the table as per the normal flyer the Angelus can choose to engage its VTOL hover mode and remain on the table. The Angelus uses its vectored engines to hover above the ground. It remains stationary but can turn in any direction to bring its weapons to bear. Whilst hovering, it may fire all its weapons. For the purposes of being fired at treat the Angelus as a moving Skimmer whilst in Hover mode. It can be targeted using the firers normal BS. All hits are treated as glancing hits. If the Angelus is immobilized then it is destroyed. Whilst hovering it cannot be attacked in close combat (it is too high off the ground), unless the attacker can fly or has jump packs, in which case it can be assaulted as if it was a moving vehicle. At the end of its own turn the Angelus may disengage VTOL Hover Mode, using its main thrusters and fly off. It now reverts to being a flyer. It will return in the enemy turn on a 2+ as per the normal flyer rules. It cannot return in the enemy turn immediately after it leaves the table, but must miss that turn as it flies away to gain height and speed for its attack run.
Cupola Mount: The Angelus has a twin-linked heavy bolter cupola in a dorsal mount. This weapon is typically manned by the ship’s crew chief to provide supporting fire while passengers disembark. It is impossible to open the hatch and control the weapon it while the Angelus is in flight. Therefore, the cupola-mounted twin-linked heavy bolter may only be fired while the Angelus is hovering in VTOL mode.
Modeling: The Angelus was constructed using parts from a 1/48 scale Hind E gunship model, a model of Anakin’s Podracer from Episode 1, a twin heavy-bolter from the Dark Angel landspeeder, and a set of sprues from the new GW immolator kit. The Hind was assembled without its landing gear or its rotors. Its crew’s torsos were replaced with plastic sister crew from the immolator sprues. The two large engines from the podracer were attached to the wings to provide lift. The chaingun in the nose was replaced with a pair of multi-meltas (immolator sprue), two of the gunship’s rocket pods were replaced with heavy bolters (immolator sprue), while the Hind’s sagger launch racks were retained to serve as hellstrike racks. The dorsal mount was built using a plastic rhino hatch and the Dark Angel landspeeder twin heavy bolter. Sisters iconography from the immolator sprues was liberally applied to the exterior of the ship.
