Dark Angels wings: what do Ravenwing and Deathwing do?

Warhammer lore is complex, and my goal is to make it more accessible, particularly for beginners, so it's not overwhelming. This is a beginner's guide to the First Legion and the elite formations they fight in, known as the wings of the Dark Angels. If you're an avid Dark Angels fan, please don't come for my jugular.

The Dark Angels have six unique, mysterious fighting styles, and some are so ancient they haven't been seen in thousands of years. Each one represents a different way this legendary force takes to the battlefield. Some are still famous today. Others are lost to history.

Where to start reading Dark Angels lore

From what I've personally read, the Horus Heresy books and Luther are great starting points. I'd also point to Knights of Caliban and Legacy of Caliban, both by Gav Thorpe. He's the go to author for Dark Angels lore, and he has a suggested reading order on his website that's very useful.

Another one I enjoyed is A War of Secrets. It revolves around the Primaris Marines and how the Dark Angels see them, and I think it's a cool take on things.

Who are the Dark Angels in Warhammer 40K?

The Dark Angels are the First Space Marine Legion, created by the Emperor of Mankind. If you're totally new, the Emperor is the godlike leader of humanity in Warhammer 40K.

During the galaxy spanning war called the Great Crusade, and later during the civil war known as the Horus Heresy, the Dark Angels fought using several elite, highly specialized formations. Each has a distinct role, from rapid assault to covert operations. Those formations are the wings, and they're what this guide covers.

Ravenwing is the Dark Angels' fast strike force that hunts the Fallen

Probably the most iconic of the wings is the Ravenwing. It's a fast, relentless strike force that values speed and maneuverability over heavy armor and sheer firepower. Think of them as the rapid response cavalry of the chapter. They race into action on sleek bikes and hovering land speeders, fast vehicles that glide just above the ground like a futuristic hovercraft.

What sets the Ravenwing apart is their role. They aren't only fast attackers. They're skilled hunters, like "John Wick in space." Their true mission is often kept secret even within the chapter: to track down the Fallen. The Fallen are mysterious traitors from the Legion's past, former Dark Angels who turned against the Imperium during the Horus Heresy. The Ravenwing's relentless pursuit of them is a core part of the Dark Angels' hidden purpose.

Unlike the rest of the chapter, who wear the iconic green armor, the Ravenwing is clad in jet black. That's a nod to the original colors of the Legion back in the earliest days of the Imperium. The Ravenwing has its own elite units too. Ravenwing Command Squads lead and coordinate the fast strikes. Ravenwing Black Knights are veteran warriors who belong to the chapter's Inner Circle, a select group that knows the full truth about the Fallen.

Then there are standard Ravenwing squads, split into two main types: attack squads for offensive actions, and support squads that back them up with advanced tech and firepower. In the skies above, the Ravenwing also deploys aircraft such as the Dark Talon, sleek, deadly machines that bring the same speed and precision to aerial combat.

Ravenwing's roots lie in the Order of Caliban and the Emperor's Hexagrammaton

The origins of the Ravenwing go back to before the Dark Angels were part of the Imperium of Man. Their roots lie in an ancient knightly order known simply as the Order, a brotherhood of warriors from the Dark Angels' home world, Caliban. These knights were expert cavalrymen who rode black horses through the planet's dense, monster infested forests, and they were known for surviving alone in that wild, dangerous terrain. They wore matte black armor, and their helms were shaped like wings.

The modern Ravenwing takes a lot of inspiration from those early days on Caliban. But while its look and symbolism are steeped in tradition, its battlefield role was designed much later by the Emperor himself. During the Unification Wars, the brutal campaign to unite Terra under one rule before the Great Crusade, the Emperor planned for his legions to be divided into six specialized branches.

He called this the Hexagrammaton, a tactical playbook made up of six distinct wings, each with its own battlefield specialty. The Ravenwing became one of them, masters of fast, mobile warfare. They've evolved over the millennia, but their roots in both ancient Calibanite tradition and the Emperor's grand design remain at the core of who they are.

Deathwing fights entirely in Terminator armor and guards the chapter's darkest secrets

Deathwing is, I'd say, probably one of the most iconic, mysterious forces in all of Warhammer 40K. They're unique among the Space Marines. Most chapters have a First Company made up of veteran warriors, but the Dark Angels take it a step further: every member of the Deathwing fights in Terminator armor. These suits are like walking tanks, bulky, ancient and incredibly powerful, designed for brutal close quarters combat and for holding the line no matter the cost.

Visually, they stand out immediately. Instead of the chapter's dark green or the Ravenwing's jet black, Deathwing warriors wear bone white armor. It's a jump from John Wick in space to Gandalf the White in space, or Elvis. That stark contrast symbolizes their purity, their resolve and their connection to the grim truths only they are entrusted to bear. The color scheme is exclusive to the Dark Angels; their successor chapters don't use it. Their symbol, like the rest of the chapter's, is a winged sword, but in the Deathwing the blade is depicted as broken, a haunting emblem hinting at the burden they carry.

They're not only an elite battlefield unit. They're spiritual and secretive, because anyone promoted into the Deathwing has been proven in battle and is entrusted with the darkest secrets. One is the Fallen. Another is the tragic betrayal of Luther, the former second in command who rebelled against the Legion's primarch, Lion El'Jonson, the superhuman gene father of the Legion. Only the Deathwing and the higher echelons know the full story of this ancient shame.

Within the Deathwing are even more specialized groups. Deathwing Command Squads handle leadership and coordination, particularly during major operations. Deathwing Knights are the elite of the elite, armed with massive weapons and heavy armor and legendary for their determination. Even when it makes more tactical sense to fall back, they won't budge. Their stubbornness is famous, or maybe infamous. They're "the rock on which the enemy breaks," guardians, I suppose, of both the chapter's future and its past.

Ironwing was the Emperor's answer to humanity's most dangerous threats

The Ironwing is one of the oldest and probably most powerful formations of the Dark Angels, with roots stretching back to the Unification Wars. As the Emperor designed the six battlefield specialties, the Ironwing was his answer to the most dangerous threats humanity faced, enemies so destructive they had to be wiped out entirely before the Great Crusade could even begin.

Its role was simple but devastating: total annihilation. To accomplish this, it relied on the most heavily armored and heavily armed vehicles the Imperium had. That means Land Raiders, massive tank like transports that can roll over almost anything, and Dreadnoughts, towering war machines that house the remains of fallen Space Marines, kept alive in a sarcophagus to keep fighting beyond death. Depressing, really.

While other formations focus on speed or precision, the Ironwing is about firepower. It advances like a steel wall and crushes resistance with sheer weight and force, and its tactics are often used when no other approach will work. The Ironwing isn't as commonly mentioned in modern times as the Ravenwing or Deathwing, but its influence is still seen in how the Dark Angels use armored forces in battle today. Whenever the chapter rolls out its heaviest vehicles in relentless assaults, the spirit of the Ironwing lives on.

Dreadwing used weapons so horrifying most forces won't touch them

If the Ironwing was the Emperor's hammer, the Dreadwing was his scorched earth. This grim, powerful formation specialized in total warfare. Its mission was not only to defeat the enemy but to utterly erase them, along with anything they could use to resist the Imperium ever again.

The Dreadwing was commanded by a Voted Lieutenant, a title given to trusted leaders chosen by their peers, who bore the name Dreadbringer. Under that commander, the Dreadwing deployed squads of Destroyer Marines, Space Marines equipped with weapons so devastating that even other Space Marines keep their distance. They were backed by heavy infantry and massive armored support, including Land Raiders, Spartan assault carriers, Mastodons and Fellglaives, heavily armored vehicles bristling with guns and advanced technology. When the Dreadwing was unleashed, the battlefield didn't survive intact.

What set the Dreadwing apart was its weapons. Phosphex is a chemical weapon that sticks to everything and burns with nightmarish fire. Rad weapons saturate areas with deadly radiation. Vortex weapons tear reality apart and leave nothing behind. These tools were feared and often shunned even within the Imperium, but the Dreadwing saw them as necessary. By the current era of Warhammer 40K, the Dreadwing no longer exists as a formal organization, but its legacy is whispered about in the darkest corners of Dark Angels history. When the chapter rolls out its heaviest firepower and dares to use those forbidden tools, it's said the Dreadwing rides again in spirit.

Stormwing specialized in boarding actions and close quarters void combat

During the Great Crusade, when the Emperor led his armies across the galaxy to reunite the scattered human worlds, the Stormwing was the formation you called on when battle moved into the tight corridors of ships and space stations. It was made up of assault squads, fast moving Space Marines equipped for close combat, with a twist: they carried massive boarding shields. Those shields turned them into a walking wall of ceramite and steel, perfect for brutal room to room fighting.

Their job was to storm enemy vessels, seize key areas and eliminate resistance in some of the most dangerous conditions imaginable: under fire, in zero gravity or against entrenched defenders. Whether crashing into an enemy battleship from a boarding torpedo or blasting through airlocks during a void assault, the Stormwing excelled at shock tactics and overwhelming force at close quarters. They turned the claustrophobic nightmare of ship to ship combat into their own battlefield.

Like the Dreadwing, and annoyingly, the Stormwing no longer exists as a formal organization in the grim dark present of Warhammer 40K. Echoes of its tactics live on in how the Dark Angels conduct void assaults and boarding actions today. Its legacy is probably one of courage under extreme pressure and mastery of a battlefield where there's nowhere else to run.

Firewing is perhaps the most mysterious wing, and the Consecrators may hold a clue

There's a reason I saved the Firewing for last. It's perhaps the most mysterious of the six ancient formations. It was created as part of the Hexagrammaton, the Emperor's grand tactical vision, but its exact role has been lost to history. We know it existed and fought during both the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, yet the details of its purpose have faded into legend, buried under 10,000 years of secrecy and silence.

Unlike the Ravenwing and Deathwing, which still operate, the Firewing didn't survive into the current era. Either its mission became obsolete, it was absorbed into other formations, or it was deliberately erased, perhaps because of the same ancient shame that haunts so much of Dark Angels history.

Still, the Firewing hasn't been entirely forgotten. Some of the symbols and heraldry, such as the chapter's old flame motifs, have been spotted in a modern successor chapter of the Dark Angels known as the Consecrators. These warriors are known for preserving ancient armor and relics, and their iconography suggests a link to the lost Firewing. "It's not proof, but it is a clue." In the secretive world of the Dark Angels, that's often the best anyone can hope for. If the Firewing ever returns, it's likely to bring with it knowledge, and perhaps even weapons, lost to time entirely.