Since I'm going to play an Iron Hands marine (we actually just played the "beta" session last Tuesday) I was wondering about their background:

Bolter and Chainsword has a good start , and it mentions that the IH don't have traditional companies as such, but more or less independent clans operating out of landships. These clans/companies might go to war on each other from time to time because of rivalries over resources and whatnot. These are also responsible for their own recruitment and provisions. Now it seems to me that this would be quite difficult if they follow normal company structures (1st clan/company is veterans, then some tac/assault/devastator clans, 1 scout clan). Imagine the scout clan having a argument with the veteran clan with dreadnoughts… (although the veterans might be taken by complete surprise without any scouts) So I imagine each clan (= IH company) would be a mini-chapter, with one veteran squad, some tac/assault/dev squads, reserve squads and a scout squad.

Now I'm asking you: does this seam plausible, or is there already canon out there contradicting my vision? If plausible, what do you think of it? I want to know because I want to write up a history for my Marine, and for this I want to be able to envision how he "grew up" as it were. Thanks for the feedback.

Iron hands like Salamanders have a really special organisation.

Each clan from Medusa is in fact a small chapter indeed with all specialist needed.

Like the Salamanders where each tribe is a small chapter also.

you can also imagine them as big fighting compagny capable of putting in the fields of war each needed type of soldier and or support.

They're more akin to Space Wolves than Salamanders, I think, but yeah, small Chapters.

Lexicanum would be your best port of call for this, but as Lexicanum is blocked by my work intertubes filter, I can't really double check.

From memory, the Iron Hands are divided up into theee war clans. Each clan consists of three companies - one battle, one assault, one devastator - with the scout company remaining apart from the main clans. Veterans are selected from within each clan and serve in an advisory role to each Iron Father, the masters of the clan. The greatest veterans are initiated into teh Morlocks, the terminator elite, which are a bodyguard/personal fighting force of the chapter master.

I'm 99% I've got about half of that wrong, so people - correct me please!