Are there escape pods in W40K like there are in star wars?

Not that I'm aware of right off the bat, I always theorized that people would gravitate to their personal smaller ships or landers. But I'm pretty sure if a ship goes down, there aren't convenient places to run to for most of the crew.

This is absolutely atrocious as far as firm evidence, but I read a short story in which a guardsman escaped a ship via an escape pod. Of course, his Commissar tried to kill him while he did it, but, anyway, escape pods. In one instance. Of one short story.

It's something, anyway. But yeah, taking shuttles or whatever to other ships makes sense, but in the case of a warp core breach, you're hosed if you aren't being shot away pretty darn fast.

There are, they are referred to as Saviour Pods.

I don't believe they have any reentry or steering capabilities at all, just life support for a few days or weeks depending on how nice the pod is.

Yes, that's right. Alaric also uses one in one of the Grey Knights novels.

are they like drop pods?

Yes. They are called Savior Pods and they are more or less shaped like drop pods, though they contain survival supplies and very likely a painless means of euthanizing the inhabitants if rescue turns out to not be imminent. References to them pop up periodically in Battlefleet Gothic.

A few years ago, an issue of White Dwarf had an article on making crashed escape pod scenery for objective markers in the TT game; not extra-super-canon, I admit, but it certainly implies that there are some types of escape pods with re-entry capability in the 40Kverse...

Hasn't anyone read Ciaphas Cain? A savior pod is a large plot element in one novel. It has a cockpit with a sealed door seperate from the main compartment, auto landing and auto piloting software, a data screen which Jurgen uses to watch pornography, crappy reentry thrusters, a primary space large enough to hold dozens and dozens or at least large enough to practice chainsword forms, several lockers with enough water and rations for two to survive for several months, and an ammo locker with lasguns and extra ammo. Not a bad setup if you ask me.

Seems like either the imperium values the survival of its crew or this was reserved for officers or techpriests.

Exoviper said:

does the term 'a captain goes down with his ship' apply to the imperial navy?

oh yeah and did it really mention pornography in that book?

In regards to the Ciaphas Cain example, that was a savior pod on a troop transport, and if memory serves, Cain explicitly mentions that most are a good deal smaller. However, they do definitively exist in universe. As a side note, yes, it did mention the pornography. Jurgen's only hobbies are pulling Cain's bacon out of the fire and looking at porn, so it tends to be mentioned.

In fact, the writer of those books is the uncle of a worker in my local gamesworkshop

in the white scars novel one of the character uses a Tau escape pod and it does have capcity for re entry

Most ships in 40K don't have escape pods. however, the more modern made ones will. usually though, ships will just use the smaller cratfs in the hold.