The Imperial Navy – uniforms

[apologist]

@Uprising asked a question over on the [KillTeam] Into The Dark thread.

Quote

Slightly off topic but do Naval troopers have a standard uniform or do they change depending on the fleet / sector (like guard regiment)?  My navy knowledge is not the best (more boots on the guard type).  

The thread's now closed, but as I'm also interested whether there's any info out there – the Navy's a particular lacuna in my mem-coils!

I'm guessing that there isn't much specific, but if anyone can find little hints and notes across GW's publication history, it's the fraters.

[WARMASTER_]

Funnily enough Jes Goodwins sketch book is full of Imperial Navy uniforms with ranks Etc a quick Google search should uncover what you’re looking for

[Lord_Ikka]

From what I remember of various snippets of BFG and novels, each sector and segmentum battlefleets have their own uniforms. Nothing seems really standard, but in general the uniforms are pretty ornate for officers/deck crew, even compared to general staff of the Guard.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

4 hours ago, apologist said:

@Uprising asked a question over on the [KillTeam] Into The Dark thread.

The thread's now closed, but as I'm also interested whether there's any info out there – the Navy's a particular lacuna in my mem-coils!

I'm guessing that there isn't much specific, but if anyone can find little hints and notes across GW's publication history, it's the fraters.

I’m pretty sure the uniforms vary depending on which fleet, just like the ships’ paint schemes vary by fleet.

[Lord Marshal]

I think it's just one of those things where the Navy have never had non-ship models, so GW have never elaborated on them having more diverse colour schemes than the standard blues, but that "they're varied enough that you can paint them however you want" probably still stands.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

22 minutes ago, Lord Marshal said:

I think it's just one of those things where the Navy have never had non-ship models, so GW have never elaborated on them having more diverse colour schemes than the standard blues, but that "they're varied enough that you can paint them however you want" probably still stands.

They’ve had multiple non-ship models so far…the only official scheme we’ve seen so far has been blue and white though.

[USNCenturion]

From a practical standpoint, darker colors would make the most sense for naval troopers, as it would hide oil and grease better during daily shipboard duties. From a historical perspective, a lot of uniform colors were based on what dyes were available, so your uniforms can be literally anything you want them to be. Lore-wise, I can’t recall any descriptions that stand out to me from the novels I’ve read so I can’t help you there. Can’t go wrong with navy blue or mechanicus red!

[Felix Antipodes]

There have only been vague (and often contradictory) references to the uniforms of the Navis Imperialis over the years.  I recall reading somewhere that each Segmentum fleet has their own colour, but it wasn’t made plain if this was the actual uniform or just the piping, etc.  From the few models and pictures within official lore it would appear too be the uniform jacket itself.  There may even be some variation between Segmentums in the uniforms themselves but nothing major.

What references I have found are:

Solar - Navy Blue (The Beast Arises, Book 3)

Pacificus - Emerald Green (various Gaunt’s Ghosts novels)

Obscurus - Royal Blue (cannot remember ref - Execution Hour?)

I cannot recall seeing a reference to either Ultima or Tempestus but I think one of them wears red.  Of note, Naval Intelligence officers are described as wearing black uniforms with red trim and piping (as Beast Arises series).  I also recall that naval dress uniforms are all white trimmed with the Segmentum colour but, again, can’t find a reference.

Can any of our frater Lore Lords confirm or correct the above?

[Uprising]

It is nice to see the topic get picked up after the box release (had no idea where to post the topic).  I was wondering about the colour scheme (standard navy blue or some variety) and if thier was any variety or a standard uniform.  Overall the models are nice, and I have always been a fan of boarding action and zone mortalis.   

[Felix Antipodes]

One of a series of Jes Goodwin sketches

A model example

Edited September 8, 2022 by Felix Antipodes
Captions added

[Xin Ceithan]

Going with the Goodwin sketches, the Rogue Trader Artworks ( both the RPG and things like Blackstone Fotress) as well  overall design aesthetics for 40K, I always imagined the Navy outfits with a certain Napoleonic War aesthetics for officers at least with a heavy dose on steam- / diesel punk vibes for hazard gear.

The “colour coding” by segmentum / sector makes sense to me, too.
I’d expect the Imperial Navy to me much more consistent in equipment/ uniforms than the Guard in my head canon at  least.
They are functioning in/ facing the same environment and challenges after all and are probably much more reliant on proven STCs  when operating in deep space whereas the Guard can and would use equipment, tactics and such coming from and covering a much broader spectrum of operational theatres.

A few local variances might show up - e.g. the BFG variants supported by Voss and it’s forges had a focus on plasma based weaponry and profited from more efficient sub light drives IIRC, but the weren’t deviating from the general navy aesthetics.

That goes for the Imperial Navy being the sort of “blue water” -high seas navy in my head at least  - once you go down to the “brown water” - coastal / river equivalent of System defense ships / patrol boats I’d expect a lot more local diversity I both equipment and uniform styles.

 

[sitnam]

So the recent Kill Team supplement gives a bit of detail on naval uniforms, at least in regards to Armsmen/Breachers. Uniforms vary by Battlefleet, though there is a good deal of uniformity across the entire navy. Most Armsmen are dressed in various shades of greys, blues and blacks, though exceptions do exist. One Battlefleet is said to have Blood red uniforms in honor of a particularly bloody battle; another has gaudy uniforms, as the sector nobility attending a parade weren’t not impressed with their old black uniforms

The organization of the Armsmen might also be of interest to this thread. Armsmen are chosen from volunteers amongst both the civilian and fleet populations. Armsmen do not have their own officers, as they are required to owe their loyalties to their ship and it’s commanding officers. They do have their fair share of senior NCO’s, who often act as liaisons and advisors to ship officers.

Armsmen group names varies from fleet to fleet. For example, your kill team can be the second deck squad of the third platoon of the second company of the fifth deck battalion of the Imperial Navy ship Terra is Awesome. Shorthand for this squad could simply be the 2/3/2/5, or shorter still: 2nd Squad.

Other naming conventions could be in regards to their squad number and ship barracks location. The 3rd Hanger Squad, or 4th Reactor squad.

And you also have the more “unofficial” names, such as various nicknames. Hanger Scrappers? Gunnery Bruisers? Sams Shivs)

It’s also possible your squads can use all these naming conventions simultaneously.