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Ravenwing

The Dark Angels 2nd Company of bikers, speeders and gunships, the Chapter's hunting arm, whose elite Black Knights run down the Fallen.

Dark Angels

Category
Fast Attack
Faction
Dark Angels
Related characters
3

Illustrated by George Earl Abalayan (“Outrider of Chogoris”, used with permission)

Lore & origins

The Ravenwing is the Dark Angels' 2nd Company, which the Chapter organises entirely for speed. It rides bikes, Land Speeders and attack bikes, and it flies Dark Talons and Nephilim Jetfighters in support. Other Codex Chapters spread such vehicles across their companies. The Dark Angels keep theirs together as a single fast reaction and reconnaissance force.

Its true purpose is hidden even from most of the Chapter. The Ravenwing was formed to hunt the Fallen, the Dark Angels who betrayed the Lion at the end of the Heresy and were scattered through time and space. When a Fallen is found, the Ravenwing runs him down and pins him in place until the Deathwing or the Interrogator-Chaplains arrive. Its senior warriors, the Black Knights, are all members of the Inner Circle and know what they are really hunting.

The company is led by the Master of the Ravenwing, a member of the Chapter's ruling council. The best-known holder of the title in the 41st Millennium was Sammael, who rode the jetbike Corvex or the Land Speeder Sableclaw.

The Ravenwing is the Dark Angels' 2nd Company and the Chapter's fast-attack force. It is mounted on bikes, Land Speeders and aircraft. Its other duty is hunting the Fallen. Ravenwing outriders track them down so the Deathwing can capture them for the Interrogator-Chaplains. Only the Ravenwing's officers and Black Knights are told the full truth. Its Grand Master is currently Sammael, the 348th to hold the title. He succeeded Gideon, the 347th, who was killed more than a century ago when his body was shattered.

Appearance & wargear

Ravenwing armour is black rather than Dark Angels green, marked with the Chapter's sword and a raven or feather symbols. Their bikes and speeders are also black. Black Knights wear robes, carry the corvus hammer and plasma talons, and ride bikes adorned with the Chapter's heraldry. The Ravenwing's banner is the Ravenwing Standard.

Ravenwing wear black power armour with red and white markings and ride Ravenwing bikes, Land Speeders and Darkshrouds. Black Knights carry plasma talons and corvus hammers. Sammael rides one of the last known Imperial jetbikes, a relic from the Great Crusade.

Weapons & Vehicles

Standard Armament & Combat LoadoutRavenwing armour is black rather than Dark Angels green, marked with the Chapter's sword and a raven or feather symbols. Their bikes and speeders are also black.

Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.

Battlefield role & tactics

The Ravenwing scouts ahead of the main army, harasses enemy flanks and closes the distance quickly to strike targets of opportunity. It works closely with the Deathwing, acting as a beacon for teleport strikes. Its Dark Talon fighters carry a stasis bomb and a rift cannon, specialised weapons for trapping the Fallen.

They are fast scouts and hunters who outflank, raid and pin down enemies, then call in the Deathwing. They are quick and hard-hitting but less durable than heavy infantry.

Munitorum & Ordo Xenos Technical Dossier

Classified under Ordo and Departmento Munitorum threat-index protocols as a primary The Ravenwing scouts ahead of the main army, harasses enemy flanks and closes the distance quickly to strike targets of opportunity. It works closely with the Deathwing, acting as a beacon for teleport strikes. Its Dark Talon fighters carry a stasis bomb and a rift cannon, specialised weapons for trapping the Fallen. asset of Dark Angels, Ravenwing relies on a tightly coupled symbiosis between operator conditioning and primary armament. Field maintenance and biological recovery logs indicate that extended deployment without liturgical recalibration or bio-stasis rest degrades targeting and metabolic stability by less than 4% per solar week—far outperforming standard sector baselines—while post-engagement recovery teams prioritize the immediate extraction of their core wargear, neural/gene-seed components, or machine-spirit memory cores before enemy scavengers can exploit them.

Notable battles & users

  • Sammael: Master of the Ravenwing and one of the Chapter's most famous heroes.
  • Fallen hunts: Black Knights pursue Fallen Angels across the galaxy, sometimes chasing Cypher himself.
  • Garradin 'the Ravenbringer': a Terran-born veteran of the Unification Wars who was an elderly member of the Ist Legion at the start of the Great Crusade.
  • Aloceri: a voted lieutenant of the Ravenwing after the Ruinstorm, about whom rumours persisted.

Further reading

Lexicanum · Warhammer 40k Wiki