The Despoiler-class Battleship was originally developed during mid-36th Millennium during a time when Battlefleet Tempestus was pervaded by the belief that Attack Craft were the ultimate naval weapon. As such, the Despoiler-class is primarily an Attack Carrier based around a very large number of launch bays, which are supported in their mission by an array of long-range Lances and even longer-ranged weapons batteries. However, the program ended after the construction of just three Despoiler-class vessels when it was decisively shown that Attack Craft did not render the "traditional" Battleship obsolete. Ultimately, the three Despoilers originally saw little combat as they were used for long-range patrols in mostly unthreatened star systems. Roughly two and a half centuries after being buil