Is the Contrador battle barge from Extermination the missing link between the transition from Imperial battleship to Space Marine battle barge?
I think there is an imperial battleship hiding under that Contrador battle barge...
Rear fins: Similar in configuration to a Retribution Battleship. No evidence of Space Marine BB style engines hanging down below the hull, so the engines have to be hidden behind the fins, presumably in a battleship configuration.
Battleship style "wings" and side hull: There are battleship style wings attached to the bottom of the hull just forward of the fins. They are a little further back than a battleship's wings. The side of the hull above the wings is very similar to the side hull of a battleship. I assume that the three black holes are launch bays.
Battleship prow: Behind the battle barge side fins at the prow, you can see the faint profile of a battleship prow with torpedo tubes. Given the battleship prow and HUGE gun mounted on it, there appears to be be no room for launch bays in the prow, hence the launch bays further back in the hull.
Weapons configuration: The monster bombardment cannon weapons bays are sized and set up more like battleship bays than battle barge weapons.
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b44/timdps/Battlefleet%20Gothic/capital_shipsPhall_zpsrzp4kwcc.jpg)
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b44/timdps/Battlefleet%20Gothic/contrador-emperor_zpsq5jlk1ia.jpg)
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b44/timdps/Battlefleet%20Gothic/Retribution3_zpssftqsc6b.jpg)