HMS Marlborough

HMS Marlborough

HMS Orion

HMS Marlborough

HMS Orion

Britain

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

Battleship

Research:380 000

Purchase:990 000

Show in game

Description

The Iron Duke-class, HMS Marlborough (66), 1927 was the second of four Iron Duke-class battleships, built for the Royal Navy beginning in January 1912. She would be launched later that same year in October of 1912, and would be commissioned in June of 1914, being completed in time for the outbreak of the Great War. The only major action that Marlborough would see would be in the famous Battle of Jutland, where she would engage multiple battleships and cruisers, notably hitting SMS Wiesbaden with (most likely) 3 shells, knocking the cruiser out of action until it sank a few hours later. During this time she had taken a torpedo hit, which while not immediately threatening, would restrict the ship to 12 kn until she was later repaired. She would see more sorties after her repairs were complete, but none would result in combat. After the end of the war, she would serve various roles for an additional 14 years before being stricken and sold for scrap in 1932.

Introduced in Update "Ground Breaking", HMS Marlborough is the most powerful battleship in the British naval line, though not the most powerful ship overall. Though eclipsed by HMS Hood, Marlborough still has a couple advantages, with more guns and a staggering 88.11 kg TNTe explosive mass in the high explosive shells, the most of any ship in-game. This does come at the cost of a lack of anti-aircraft defences as she is in a pre-war refit, along with no torpedo bulges.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Citadel152 / 305 / 25 mm

Main fire tower279 / 279 / 279 mm

Hull25 mm (steel)

Superstructure16 mm (steel)

Number of section9

Displacement31 400 t

Crew1 180 people

Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary armaments separately. Don't forget to mention the size of the crew, which plays an important role in fleet mechanics. Save tips on preserving survivability for the "Usage in battles" section. If necessary, use a graphical template to show the most well-protected or most vulnerable points in the armour.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB47 / 28 km/h

RB41 / 24 km/h

Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	47	28
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	41	24

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB27 493 → 34 531

RB33 334 → 41 867

Total cost of modifications292 000

445 000

Talisman cost2 300

Crew training280 000

Experts990 000

Aces2 000

Research Aces830 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

450 / 600 / 100 %

208 / 208 / 208 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 Rudder Replacement Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 360 Propeller Replacement Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 Engine Maintenance Research: 32 000 Cost: 49 000 720	Damage Control Division Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 Fire Division Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 360 Shrapnel Protection Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 Ventilation Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 New Pumps Research: 32 000 Cost: 49 000 720 Ammo Wetting Research: 32 000 Cost: 49 000 720	Anti-Air Armament Targeting Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 13.5 inch APC Mk.Ia Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 152mm_uk_navy_cpc_ammo_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 Auxiliary Armament Targeting Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 360 13.5 inch CPC Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 360 Primary Armament Targeting Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 13.5 inch APC Mk.IIIa Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270 Improved Rangefinder Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 270

Armament

Primary armament

5 х Turret2 x 13.5 inch/45 Mark 5(H) cannon

Ammunition200 rounds

Vertical guidance-3° / 20°

The Marlborough is armed with ten BL 13.5-inch Mark V (H) guns distributed in five twin turrets. Four of these located in the bow and stern, two each, while the fifth turret is located amidships. All are located in the centreline, allowing all main guns to be used in a broadside. They have a maximum rate of fire of 2 rounds/minute with an ace crew. All turrets have +/-150 degrees of traverse, although the amidships turret has somewhat more restricted firing arcs because of the superstructure. Unlike the preceding Dreadnought, the Marlborough has a modern director fire control system that is considerably more accurate and computes firing solutions faster.

The main guns have a choice of four shells: HE, APC Mark Ia, CPC, and APC Mark IIIa. The HE shell has a massive explosive filler of ~88 kg of TNT equivalent. It is capable of inflicting devastating damage against lightly armoured targets such as destroyers and some light cruisers. The APC Mark Ia has a larger explosive filler (~22 kg TNT equivalent) but less penetration, while the later APC Mark IIIa trades a smaller explosive filler (~16.5 kg TNT equivalent) for more penetration. They are most effective against heavier armour, such as on battleships or armoured cruisers. The CPC is a semi-armour piercing round, combining a respectable amount of penetration with a significantly larger explosive filler (~58 kg TNT equivalent) than the APC ammunition. It is most effective against cruisers, but lacks the penetration to get through battleship belt armour.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		1,000 m	2,500 m	5,000 m	7,500 m	10,000 m	15,000 m
HE	HE	77	77	77	77	77	77
APC Mk.Ia	APCBC	554	510	447	395	352	294
CPBC	SAPCBC	300	276	242	214	190	159
APC Mk.IIIa	APCBC	591	545	478	422	376	314

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
HE	HE	759	635	0	0.1	88.11	79°	80°	81°
APC Mk.Ia	APCBC	759	635	0.025	20	22.22	48°	63°	71°
CPBC	SAPCBC	759	635	0.035	26	53.3	48°	63°	71°
APC Mk.IIIa	APCBC	759	639.6	0.025	20	14.1	48°	63°	71°

Secondary armament

12 х Turret6 inch/45 BL Mark VII cannon

Ammunition130 rounds

The secondary armament of the Marlborough consists of twelve BL 6-inch Mark VII guns located in six casemates on each side of the hull. These have a maximum rate of fire of 7 rounds/minute with an ace crew.

The secondary guns can fire HE or CPC shells. Both shells have fairly large fillers of ~6.6 kg and ~3.7 kg of TNT equivalent, respectively. They are effective against destroyers and can even inflict considerable damage on lightly-armoured cruisers.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		1,000 m	2,500 m	5,000 m	7,500 m	10,000 m	15,000 m
6 inch HE	HE	53	53	53	53	53	53
6 inch CPC	SAP	119	102	79	62	50	40

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
6 inch HE	HE	784	45.3	0	0.1	6.6	79°	80°	81°
6 inch CPC	SAP	784	45.3	0.035	7	3.4	47°	60°	65°

Anti-aircraft armament

4 х Turret4 in/45 QF Mark V cannon

Ammunition200 rounds

The anti-aircraft armament of the Marlborough consists of only four QF 4-inch Mark V guns. Two of these are mounted on each side of the bridge conning tower, with another two mounted beneath the aft mast. These do not have a choice of ammunition, firing only HE shells, which severely restricts their effectiveness against aircraft.

Additional armament

Setup 120 x 533 mm Mk.IV torpedo

The Marlborough has four 21-inch fixed underwater torpedo tubes. These are located in front of the bow turrets and behind the stern turrets, one facing each side of the ship. These fire the 21-inch Mark IV torpedo, which has a speed and range of 65 km/h and 7.3 km. It is armed with a 234 kg TNT warhead.

Usage in battles

The Marlborough relies on her powerful 13.5-inch main gun battery to inflict heavy damage on enemy vessels from long range. Her HE shells have the largest explosive filler of any shell currently in the game, while the CPC semi-armour piercing round is a lethal threat to cruisers with its blend of decent penetration and potent explosive filler. The AP shells are nothing to sneeze at, either, thanks to their good penetration and respectable fillers. The powerful secondary 6-inch guns are also quite capable of defending the Marlborough against most destroyers and smaller craft that get into range. Manually controlling the secondary guns while waiting for the main guns to reload is also helpful for supplementing the damage output of the Marlborough.

The armour protection on the Marlborough is adequate, but can be improved dramatically by taking advantage of her good main gun traverse arcs to angle the armour. This is particularly important when engaging other battleships, as the upper belt armour is fairly thin, and she does not have a torpedo belt to help break up enemy shells like on the Wyoming or Parizhskaya Kommuna.

The greatest weakness of the Marlborough is her non-existent anti-aircraft defences. Like almost all World War I era ships, she has nearly no anti-aircraft guns and relatively thin deck armour, making her vulnerable to large bombs. She also completely lacks any torpedo bulges or protection, and is thus also very vulnerable to both ship and air launched torpedoes. She is completely reliant on allied cruisers or more modern battleships such as the Scharnhorst or Parizhskaya Kommuna to provide anti-aircraft protection.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Thick belt armour
• Large explosive fillers in HE and CPC shells
• Heavy 6-inch gun secondary battery
• Above average crew count
• Heavily armoured main gun turrets and bridge conning tower

Cons:

• Below average manoeuvrability
• Fixed torpedo tubes
• Thickest part of belt armour is submerged below the waterline
• Non-existent anti-aircraft armament
• No torpedo protection

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the HMS Marlborough from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Best Battleships discusses the HMS Marlborough at 02:09 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] HMS Marlborough: The Iron Duke

Devonport Royal Dockyard
Light Cruisers
Leander-class	HMNZS Leander
Battleships
Iron Duke-class	HMS Marlborough

Britain battleships
	HMS Dreadnought*
Colossus-class	HMS Colossus
Orion-class	HMS Orion
Iron Duke-class	HMS Iron Duke · HMS Marlborough
Queen Elizabeth-class	HMS Barham
	* Unique ship