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Dark Angels Organisation and Markings

Chapter field guide

Company structure, ranks and heraldry

A reference to the modern Dark Angels parent chapter: its companies, command roles, armour, badges and permitted heraldic variation. Here, compliant means consistent with the Dark Angels' documented traditions, including their departures from the generic Codex Astartes. It does not mean copying Ultramarines helmet colours or company-coloured shoulder rims.

Reviewed 21 October 2026. References distinguish established conventions, dated examples, author interpretation, and this army's approved variations. Game keywords and current datasheet eligibility are separate from lore membership and painted insignia.

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    01

    Ranks and specialist roles —

    officers, squad leaders, veterans, religious and technical offices.

    02

    Armour and squad markings —

    wearer-left/right placement, company devices, battlefield roles and squad numbers.

    03

    Deathwing membership and heraldry —

    Terminators, power-armoured veterans, Crux placement and attachments.

    04

    Ravenwing squadrons and heraldry —

    mixed cavalry formations, Black Knights, pilots and numbering conflicts.

    05

    Transfers and honours —

    what a decal identifies, what remains decorative, and campaign badges.

    06

    History and army variations —

    older schemes, successors, Ely's personal collection, and our approved sergeant shields.

    Companies at a glance

    Headquarters, support institutions, vehicles and attached specialists should not be counted as though every entry were one of a company's hundred line troops. The chapter disposition combines sources from several editions; use it for structure with its source dates attached.

    Specialist

    companies

    Company Company Name or function Working establishment

    1

    Deathwing

    Specialist veteran company; includes Terminator and modern power-armoured veteran formations.

    Company

    2

    Ravenwing

    Mounted cavalry, speeders and dedicated aircraft, with its own veteran and command elements.

    Battle

    companies · 6 / 2 / 2 squads

    Company 3

    The Unmerciful

    Battle company: six battleline, two close-support, two fire-support squads.

    Company

    4

    The Feared

    Same battle-company role framework.

    Company

    5

    The Unrelenting

    Same battle-company role framework.

    Reserve

    companies

    Company

    6

    The Resolute

    Reserve: ten battleline squads.

    Company

    7

    The Unbowed

    Reserve: ten battleline squads.

    Company

    8

    The Wrathful

    Reserve: ten close-support squads.

    Company

    9

    The Remorseless

    Reserve: ten fire-support squads.

    Scouts

    & Vanguard

    Company

    10

    The Redeemed

    Scout and Vanguard establishment, with neophytes; avoid treating it as a fixed number of identical Scout kits.

    A role establishment specifies duties, not one mandatory list of kits. Reserve troops, specialists and detachments can accompany another company's force without every model acquiring a new permanent company identity. See Space Marine company organization.

    Edition note

    Current-edition additions need their scope

    The 11th-edition Space Marine codex has changed some details. A firsthand advance-copy review reports a Librarian in the typical battle-company command and moves Infernus to close support. Do not extend the Librarian provision to every reserve or specialist company without its own evidence. The markings page records the edition-sensitive unit list.

    How to mark a new unit

    Step

      1

      Identify its parent chapter and company, then the armour type and any specialist office.

      Step

      2

      Use the formation's chapter or wing badge and the correct shoulder arrangement. Terminator shoulders reverse the usual chapter-badge side.

      Step

      3

      Add company and squad identity where that formation uses them.

      Step

      4

      Distinguish the officer or squad leader from veteran status and from honours earned.

      Step

      5

      Add campaign or personal heraldry without treating an unexplained decorative symbol as a universal rank code.

      Step

      6

      Apply only the army variations that are explicitly approved on the history page.

      Chart

      reconciliation

      Reconciling our chapter chart

      The original supplied chart and full transcription remain preserved as a reference. Its precise vehicle totals, named officers and X quantities do not establish a universal current muster. Its “Strikemaster Chaplains” line combines distinct offices; the sourced reading is two Strikemasters plus a separate Chaplain. The wing pages explain the differences in Deathwing totals and Ravenwing squadron counts.

      Research

      and sources

      David Ely series read for this collection

      All ten linked articles were examined, including live updates rather than relying on publication dates alone.

      Article Published Main use

      Published

      3 Mar 2021; updated 3 Oct 2026

      Main

      use

      Marking conventions; distinguish recent edits and inconsistencies.

      Published

      12 Mar 2021

      Main

      use

      Official colour variants versus the author's preference.

      Published

      30 Apr 2021

      Main

      use

      Historical change and unconfirmed production anecdote.

      Published

      4 May 2021

      Main

      use

      Publication timeline and older heraldry.

      Published

      27 Jan 2023

      Main

      use

      Successors need their own colour and organization key.

      Published

      6 Apr 2023

      Main

      use

      Worked personal collection, rather than universal establishment.

      Published

      14 Jun 2023; subsequently updated

      Main

      use

      Changing membership and company/keyword distinction.

      Published

      24 Jan 2024; updated Feb 2024

      Main

      use

      Decal identification, honours and decorative freedom.

      Published

      4 Jul 2025

      Main

      use

      Cavalry and aircraft questions.

      Published

      15 Sep 2026

      Main

      use

      A checklist to assess alongside examples and source dates.

      Ely is a credited research guide to the publications, not the issuing authority for every convention. Specific conflicts are resolved or left clearly open on the relevant page. Existing painting recipes remain the authority for this army's selected paints and methods.