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Warhammer 40K: Famous Fleet-Based Space Marine Chapters

4 Minute Read
Feb 9 2024

When your job is to patrol and protect humanity your fleet becomes your home. These are a few of the Famous Fleet-Based Space Marine Chapters.

With the Arks of Omen floating around we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at a handful of chapters that are perfectly at home with fights in space-places.

These Space Marine Chapters have taken on the eternal duty of becoming Fleet-Based Chapters. They only have a fleet of Spaceships to call home which makes them perfect for patrolling the stars. One of their main ships becomes their floating Fortress Monastery because most of them either don’t have a homeworld or don’t visit “home” very often.

Obviously, there are some drawbacks (like recruiting new members becomes a problem) but the trade off is all that freedom to go where you’re called. These are a few of the most famous Fleet-Based Chapters of Space Marines.

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Black Templars

These Marines swore an oath to go on an eternal crusade and haven’t looked back. Breaking off from the Imperial Fists as a Second Founding Chapter, that also makes them one of the oldest Fleet-Based Chapters in existence.

Lamenters

You probably know of the woes of the Lamenters. If not, let’s just say they have the WORST luck in the history of all Space Marines. Anyhow, they are a Fleet-Based chapter and based on the current timeline, they have always been one. They didn’t lose their homeworld due the Badab War incident. Nope, they were Fleet-based since their founding. That’s one of the reasons they opted to just go patrol in the western fringes when there were some uh…issues with the other

Cursed Founding Chapters in M37. The Badab War happened in M41.

Imperial Fists

Well, we talked about the Black Templars and another batch of Yellow Marines – but what about the Imperial Fists? While they do technically have a homeworld (which is currently Terra), they are a Fleet-based chapters. Their Fortress Monastery is the mighty Phalanx!

Being an chapter of the First Founding, this also makes the oldest Fleet-Based Chapter in existence. They are also kinda famous, so of course they are going on our list!

Carcharodons – aka The Space Sharks!

Besides being totally JAWESOME, the Carcharodons are another Fleet-Based chapter. They actually were actually granted a homeworld — but it’s the former homeworld of the Mantis Warriors, Ootheca.

Believed to have been founded sometime around M32, these Space Marines have been patrolling the void beyond the Imperium’s Borders. They have made their home in the empty spaces that exist in the dark void above the galactic plane. This has given them a mysterious air about them and famously so. It’s also noted that their gene-seed has mutated to give them a pale pallor and liquid-black eyes, much like the sharks they take their name after.

Blood Ravens

Created for the Dawn of War series, but with an in-canon birth of around M37, the Blood Ravens are another famous Fleet-Based Chapter. Their home world of Aurelia was lost to the warp and ever since they have been on crusade. However, their crusade is more out of a necessity to discover their true origins. It’s unclear which founding chapter they derive from. Speculation has pointed towards Blood Angels, Raven Guard, Dark Angels, and perhaps most troublingly, the Thousand Sons. Perhaps one day they will discover the truth.

Dark Angels

The Dark Angels are probably the most popular Fleet-based Chapter. How did they become a Fleet-based chapter? That’s a long story but it ended up with their Homeworld getting “converted” into the floating space fortress known as The Rock. They can now patrol the star AND stay on their homeworld. It’s basically a giant mobile home!

There are more Fleet-based chapters – so who’s your favorite? Let us know why in the comments!

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Author: Adam Harrison
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