Imperial navy

[DrLove42]

Tau ships are as comfortable in water as they are in air or space.

Theres even a fiction piece in a GW book somewhere about the Wolves and the Tau fighting battles on the sea floor, with Terminators and Battlesuits fighting on the floor, while Mantas "fly" overhead

[Grailkeeper]

There's something similar in one of those awful Ben Counter soul drinkers books, and theres an Imperial attack on a large Chaos ship in the Sabbat worlds omnibus. The Orks used subs at armageddon- I think I've seen Ork boats on the GW website and in white dwarf.

[MarneusCalgar]

Because they are of limited military value...

For the same reason - why would anyone bother invading an ocean world (other than Tyranids who can make use of all natural materials)?

Well, man, and you, a british man, tell me this??? You live in an island!!

Tell me, on II WW there were both planes (remember Iron Maiden´s Aces High?) and submarines (the first ones) and I think I mustn´t remember you all the nuclear submarines that come here to Gibraltar every month...

Water, at least here, on the Earth, has a lot of resources to use... You can find oil, minerals, etc...

So imagine an entire world full of some strange mineral that provides of a cheaper fuel, or an unlimited power source the entire Empire... Would you stay out of that world because it´s only a ball full of water??

Remember also Star Wars´s Mon Calamari inhabitants

[WereWolf_nr]

Defensively, ships would be awesome.

The ability to mount weapons that are larger than practical for land and still be able to move would allow the defenders of a planet to potentially engage targets in orbit and then move out of the way of the return fire. Additionally, they could harass enemy forces along the coast and dozens of miles inland. This is all assuming a continent based location; in one that is primarily water, they would be a requirement.

[MarneusCalgar]

I find VERY INTERESTING if GW would explore that way, not of naval ships like Battleship or Man O War, but just create a ship for every army to make us create that epic battles

[Drew da Destroya]

Tell me, on II WW there were both planes (remember Iron Maiden´s Aces High?) and submarines (the first ones) and I think I mustn´t remember you all the nuclear submarines that come here to Gibraltar every month...

But you're looking at this from a modern/recent history point of view. During WW2, Naval Power was extremely important, because you couldn't rapidly transport large numbers of infantry, tanks, supplies, etc... across the ocean by air. Hell, most planes needed to be transported across the ocean before they could be effective... or at least land in an allied nation to refuel. They didn't have Starships or extreme-range aircraft... hell, they barely had jets engines.

Water, at least here, on the Earth, has a lot of resources to use... You can find oil, minerals, etc...

Yes, when you're limited to one planet, you're going to use all available resources on that planet. It's a matter of scale. If you have more planets to choose from, you're going to choose the one that makes your job easier. And I believe Wildey even acknowledged that ocean-based worlds have lots of useful resources. However, his point is that it will be easier, and thus more profitable, to get those resources from another planet where you don't have to harvest those resources underwater. Ask BP if they'd prefer to set up an Ocean Drilling Platform, or to move to a land-based drill, if all they had to do was travel to a different area. They're not going to choose ocean drilling.

So imagine an entire world full of some strange mineral that provides of a cheaper fuel, or an unlimited power source the entire Empire... Would you stay out of that world because it´s only a ball full of water??

This is a poor argument, because extreme examples are extreme. Of course if an ocean planet contained some form of unlimited power source, it would be hotly contested and coveted. Hell, the planet could be made up entirely of acid, and every two hours all of the acid catches fire, and that planet would still be colonized and the power source harvested.

It's like saying to someone "Oh, you don't like to eat cat poop? What if that cat poop was actually chocolate and it made your poop turn into gold?".

Remember also Star Wars´s Mon Calamari inhabitants

IT'S A TRAP!

[Kawauso]

The ability to mount weapons that are larger than practical for land and still be able to move would allow the defenders of a planet to potentially engage targets in orbit and then move out of the way of the return fire. Additionally, they could harass enemy forces along the coast and dozens of miles inland. This is all assuming a continent based location; in one that is primarily water, they would be a requirement.

I don't think the Imperium...or any other faction...has difficulty using weapons that are 'larger than practical' on land.

Super-heavies and Titans come to mind. They do exactly that, except they function on land or even in the air.

And artillery formations like Basilisks can easily harass enemy forces that are very, very far off. Much like modern artillery.

[Wildeybeast]

But you're looking at this from a modern/recent history point of view. During WW2, Naval Power was extremely important, because you couldn't rapidly transport large numbers of infantry, tanks, supplies, etc... across the ocean by air. Hell, most planes needed to be transported across the ocean before they could be effective... or at least land in an allied nation to refuel. They didn't have Starships or extreme-range aircraft... hell, they barely had jets engines.



Yes, when you're limited to one planet, you're going to use all available resources on that planet. It's a matter of scale. If you have more planets to choose from, you're going to choose the one that makes your job easier. And I believe Wildey even acknowledged that ocean-based worlds have lots of useful resources. However, his point is that it will be easier, and thus more profitable, to get those resources from another planet where you don't have to harvest those resources underwater. Ask BP if they'd prefer to set up an Ocean Drilling Platform, or to move to a land-based drill, if all they had to do was travel to a different area. They're not going to choose ocean drilling.



This is a poor argument, because extreme examples are extreme. Of course if an ocean planet contained some form of unlimited power source, it would be hotly contested and coveted. Hell, the planet could be made up entirely of acid, and every two hours all of the acid catches fire, and that planet would still be colonized and the power source harvested.

It's like saying to someone "Oh, you don't like to eat cat poop? What if that cat poop was actually chocolate and it made your poop turn into gold?".



IT'S A TRAP!

Thanks, that saved me a lengthy reply. I wasn't saying there are no ocean vessels at all, I mentioned the ork submersibles in a earlier post, just that they are rare because they have limited use. When you have aircraft that can transport tanks and heavy artillery from orbit to land in a few minutes, why bother builidng a boat that will take weeks to transport stuff across the ocean? Sure there will be mega resource ocean worlds that are worth exploiting, like the one in Knights of the Old Republic that makes magical healing seaweed. But most ocean worlds will have mixed resources which are easier to obtain elsewhere. And a world for the imperium only has military value if it has some sort of valuable resource or great strategic significance. In most cases ocean worlds will not have.

[Tynskel]

on the topics of resources: asteroids, by nature of differentiation, will have more mineral/metal resources than a world. Worlds provide many other aspects. Biomass, being one. An Ocean world could possibly feed a sector.

[chromedog]

As for the request for pics of Navy officers:

From Jes Goodwin's "Gothic and the Eldritch" art book.



Fleet Captain, Junior officer and crew ratings.