Warhammer 40,000 - Aeldari: Ships of the fleet & other craft
Back in the day, I was a massive 40k Eldar player; I loved the lore, the models, and the colour scheme (back in the 90s, 2nd edition). Over the years I have collected a lot of lore and fluff and have decided it was time to share it all. So grab a cup of tea, and enjoy the read.
Eldar Ship Classes of Warhammer 40,000
Well on my adventures of chasing down Eldar words, I discovered the motherload via Battlefleet Gothic. So here is my collection of known Eldar ships of the 40K universe. If you have discovered more please let me know in the comments below.
Aconite: They are armoured with an advanced laser Weapons Battery. Their speed allows them to circle enemy capital ships and attack them from behind, away from their central defensive weapons systems. They usually operate in groups of three or four ships and can lay down fire equal to a battleship's broadside.
Notable Ships:
Bloodied Knife -Voidlarks
Stings of Eternity -Unknown
Siren Cry -Unknown
Aurora: The Aurora Class is a class of Eldar light cruisers. Little is known about the cruiser other than that it has the normal characteristics of an Eldar vessel: light armour, Holofields, high speed, and heavy weaponry. It is said to have the speed of an escort but the weapons of a cruiser.
Notable Ships:
Dragon's Claw - Voidlarks
Stormchaser- Active during the Gothic War
Windrunner- Active during the Gothic War
Mansbane - Amharoc Corsair Craft
Cloudcutter: A short-range webway capable ship for atmospheric landings. These light, short-range craft are armed with star cannons.
Beautiful Fury - Unknown
Corvette Ship: A planet-based ship, luxury style ship for the ruling elite.
Starwander - Saim-Hann
Darkstar Fighter: They are highly advanced, using technology to provide them with great agility and speed, using some form of inertia-dampener which allows them to turn on the spot. They run on crystal power generators, which allows them to operate for longer periods than many other more conventional engine forms used by other races
Dragonship: Cruiser class. It is not a specific design like most other named vessel classes, but rather is a generic name for larger Eldar vessels. The vessels under the name Dragonship have a similar armament and adhere to the same tactics but can be varied within these classes
Notable Ships:
Flame of Asuryan - Prince Yriel's Flagship
Lanathrialle - Corsair Flagship - Sword of Winters Vengeance. Amharoc Corsairs - Yvraines ex-ship now destroyed.
Light in the Infinite Darkness - Unknown
Pride of Haladesh - Iyanna's ship.
Tarava - House Dathelith
Eclipse: The Eclipse-class Cruiser is a class of Eldar Cruiser that is one of the most effective Attack Craft carriers in the entire Gothic Sector, thanks largely to the quickness and agility ordinary to all Eldar craft.
Notable Ships:
Asuryan's Chosen- Active during the Gothic War
Eliarenath's Gift- Active during the Gothic War
The Harrier - Voidlarks Prince Farasis Cruiser.
Silent Warrior- Was one of the most well-known Eldar pirate ships in the Gothic Sector.
Stardeath- Active in the Gothic Sector before and during the Gothic War. It was one of the deadliest and most notorious ships of its class.
Eagle Bomber: It carries a modified holo field generator to protect it from enemy sensors, which distort the bomber's image at close range, and sonic charges, which can blast through the thickest armour. Its targeting systems allow pinpoint accuracy and coupled with the difficulty of hitting them; the Eagle is one of the best bombers in the galaxy.
Ghostships: Ghostships do not refer to a particular class of vessel per se but instead to those Eldar ships whose crews have dwindled over the years to the point where Spirit stones must bolster them. Sometimes, a Ghostship will lack a living crew instead of being controlled entirely by Spirit stones, often those of its original crew. These Spirit stones bring a strange sort of sentience to the living wraithbone core from which Eldar ships are built. Combined with a Ghostship's typically tiny crew, this can make Ghostships relatively challenging to damage. Ghostships are not without their problems, however. The same issues that plague Wraithguards and Wraithlords are present in Ghostships to such a degree that a Spiritseer is all but required to guide the ancient spirits that control the ship. The very use of the Spirit stones of long-dead Eldar is also considered abhorrent to the Eldar, and as such, they are only used in times of dire need, as is the case with Craftworld Iyanden.
Haven Spire: Haven Spires are home to many Eldar Outcasts, several of which become corsairs. A Haven Spire is a base from which these Eldar launch their raids and is just one of the identified structures the Eldar uses. They are distinctively Eldar with large solar sails for capturing solar energy, usually buried deep within asteroid fields or nebulae, and have formidable weaponry and a Corsair fleet. The Imperium is keen to destroy any Haven Spires they come across to stop the pirate activity.
Hellebore embodies Eldar's ideas and technology in that it is a suitable, all-around vessel that can match the payload of an Imperial light cruiser while maintaining the speed and agility of an escort. They excel at ambushes as their torpedoes can scatter vessels, and then their Pulsar Lances and Weapons Batteries can take over to destroy stragglers.
Notable Ships:
Black Razor - Voidlarks
Solami - Voidlarks
Nuolta - Voidlarks
Children of Moech-
Star Serpents-
Voidwings-
Hemlock: It has a straightforward design, consisting of a powerful Pulsar Lance, an engine, and little else. It is more of a flying gun than a ship proper. The crew numbers are likely small, and the interior power requirements for maintaining an atmosphere would take so much energy to prevent using the warp drive or main weaponry. This makes them easy prey for boarding actions.
Notable Ships:
Aaveen - VoidlarksDevils of the Stars-
Furious Angels-
Seadragon - Voidlark
Irdiris- Fast Ship.
Naiad: Titan Carrier Class Ship.
Notable Ships:
Vail's Caress- Battle of Valedor
Nightshade Class Destroyer: It is swift and designed to deploy artillery close to the enemy before retreating. When coupled with the highly destructive torpedoes used by the Eldar (including neutron or vortex warheads), the Nightshade is a weapon which can strike anywhere quickly and at will.
Notable Ships:
Blades of V'enna-
Storm of Khaine-
Flashing Death-
Scout Ships: Unknown Class
Notable Ships:
Vermillion Errant
Shadow: A medium-class ship with notably large lower wings, which denotes an Eldar ship of this class.
Notable Ships:
Black Star- Commanded by Conanmaol of the Executioners Corsair band during the Gothic War.
Bright Claw- Active during the Gothic War
Celestial King- Active during the Gothic War
Child of Khaine- Active during the Gothic War
Chariot of Mathurir- Active during the Gothic War
Fhianna Rethol- Active during the Gothic War and captured intact after a devastating torpedo attack.
Legacy of Eldanesh- Fought against the Necrons, part of the Alaitoc Fleet.
Shadowblade- Lannanaris' fleet.
Shadowhunter Class Escort: They are the smallest vessels used by Iyanden Craftworld and are likely the smallest in the fleet. They often operate in vast numbers and sit close to the Craftworld itself. They act as patrol vessels and also guide other vessels into the Craftworld but can also operate at a distance that larger vessels would find dangerous when a close defence is necessary.
Notable Ships:
Anino - House Dathelith
Solaris: A class of Eldar light cruisers. Unfortunately for many captains, it is easily mistaken for the Aurora class, leading to many tactical mistakes. It has the typical sizeable solar sail at the rear.
Notable Ships:
Swift River: Corsair Ship - Captain Answea, Pilot Arathuin, Navigators - Kadoreth, Telekandor, Artuis.
White Lion- Part of Lannanaris' fleet.
Void Serpent- Active during the Gothic War
Transport Ship: The title says it all!
Notable Ships:
Dawnsail: Ulthwe Ship
Void Dragon: Trader-style Vessel similar in design to the Dragonships.
Notable Ships:
Joyous Venture- Carried Asuryan.
Lacontiran- A trading Schooner.
Void Runner: Similar to a venom used to traverse a Craftworld.
Notable Ships:
Imbriel's Embrace - Iyanden.
Voidstalker: The Void Stalker is one of the largest Eldar space vessels after the Craftworld. It represents the pinnacle of Eldar technology.
Notable Ships:
Auspicious Illumination of Eternity- Flagship of Iyanden destroyed in action against Hive Fleet Naga.
Baricos - Silar Dathelith's Flagship Iyanden.
Blood of Khaine - Captured by Imperial Fist and later destroyed by Iyanden.
Brightstar - Flagship of the Executioners’ corsair band, was seen throughout the Gothic Sector and concentrated heavily on the Lysades sub-sector.
Forge of Vaul - Gothic War vessel
Manticore - Lannanaris' Flagship.
The misery of Platea -Attacked the Orks of the Cyclops Cluster and was often seen bombarding Ork positions on planets alongside Imperial forces. Rumours abound that the ship was destroyed after single-handedly attempting to eliminate a Space Hulk.
Ynnead's Dream - Battleship of Ynnead's followers.
Webrunner: Unknown design.
Notable Ships:
Eltereth - Nuadhu's personal webrunner
Wraithships: Formed out of pure wraithbone drawn from the warp. The core is forged out of this material, connected to all the ships' systems, and psychically tuned to the frequencies used by the Eldar. This psychic connection allows instant communication and turns the ship almost into a living being in its own right.
Notable Ships:
Wraithborne - A squadron of Wraithships crewed House Valdor.
Helwyr - A squadron of Wraithships from House Dathelith
Unknown Ship Classes
Stardance: Harlequin Ship
Phoenix Lord Ship
Storm Lance: Asurmens ship. Pleasure yacht
Corsair Ship Names - Class of Ship Unknown.
The Fae Taruth - Capital Ship of the Azure Flame corsairs
Insinuous -
Last paradise of Vel -
Lucid Wavewalker -
Princess of Gold -
Starcutter -
Wayward Niece -
Wind-borne Wanderer -
Dark Eldar Ship Names
Glowing Pain:
Daggerwraith: Kabal of the Barbed Eye
