HMS Kent

HMS Kent

HMS Hawkins

HMS Norfolk

HMS Kent

HMS Hawkins

HMS Norfolk

Britain

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.7	5.7	5.7

Class:

Heavy cruiser

Research:75 000

Purchase:250 000

Show in game

Description

The County-class, HMS Kent (54), 1934 is a rank IV British heavy cruiser with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

Armour	Bow (Slope angle)	Sides	Stern	Deck
Hull	N/A	mm (-°)	N/A	mm (-°)
Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Turrets	3.2 mm Front 15 mm Gun mantlet	mm	mm	mm

Mobility

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	66	30
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	56	26

Armament

Primary armament

NAME (xAMMOUNT)
Turrets (Bow to stern)
	Front port turret (x2)	Front starboard turret (x2)	Middle port turret (x2)	Middle starboard turret (x2)	Rear turret (x2)
Vertical guidance	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	±°
Horizontal guidance	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	±°
Ammo capacity
Rounds per turret

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
8 Inch HE	TNT	62	62	62	62	62	62
8 Inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC	TNT	263	237	205	182	165	143

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
8 Inch HE	TNT	855	116.1	N/A	0.1	10,000	79°	80°	81°
8 Inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC	TNT	855	116.1	9	10.0	5,200	48°	63°	71°

Secondary armament

NAME (xAMMOUNT)
Turrets (Bow to stern)
	Front port turret (x2)	Front starboard turret (x2)	Middle port turret (x2)	Middle starboard turret (x2)	Rear turret (x2)
Vertical guidance	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	±°
Horizontal guidance	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	-°/+°	±°
Ammo capacity
Rounds per turret

Anti-aircraft armament

NAME (xAMOUNT)
Turrets (Bow to stern)
	Front port turret	Middle port turret	Front starboard turret	Middle starboard turret	Rear port turret	Rear starboard turret	Rear stern turret
Vertical guidance	-°/+°	±°	-°/+°	±°	±180°
Horizontal guidance	-°/+°
Ammo capacity
Rounds per turret

Torpedo armament

Torpedo Characteristics
Torpedo Mode	Mass (kg)	Maximum speed in water (km/h)	Travel distance (km)	Depth stroke (m)	Arming distance (m)	Explosive type	Explosive mass (kg)	TNT equivalent (kg)
No	1736	74	2.84	1	50	TNT	305	305
Yes	1736	46	7.67	1	50	TNT	305	305

Usage in battles

H.M.S. Kent provides incredible protection it features, torpedo protection of 250 KG. Which translates into taking multiple torpedo strikes, without sinking however this heavy cruiser can still be sunk by a single well placed torpedo. If it was to hit the front of starboard (Left) or port (Right) sides which is the closes to the ammunition storage for turret A (first turret on the ship). H.M.S. Kent has the 8" cannons installed, which are the same cannons on the previous ship H.M.S. York. The Kent, has four turrets with two 8" cannons per turret providing it a total of eight, 8" cannons with 1200 Rounds of ammunition. The ammunition choices for main 8" armament is limited to fire only HE or SAPCBC rounds or a combination of both.

H.M.S. Kent secondary armament consists of six 4" deck cannons, which can carry 1200 rounds of the following ammunition HE, SAP or HE-TF. The anti-aircraft is placed on the mid-ships of the ship, the armament consists only of four 40 mm 2pdr automatic cannons, with 8960 rounds of ammunition. Two quad firing 12.7mm, Vickers machine guns with 16,000 rounds of ammunition.

To get the best performance out of H.M.S. Kent, it's important to keep enemy ships at range - the eight 8" cannons will be able to knock out any enemy ship fast with well placed shots. To do this, aim for the enemy ship turrets and knock them out so it cannot fire back. Additionally, the SAPCBC rounds will penetrate the deck of the ship and detonate the ammo racks knocking that turret out completely. To do this use the SAPCBC which provide up to 263 mm of penetration and at long range up to 15000 meters up to 143 mm of penetration. This is able to penetrate any ship deck and cause catastrophic damage to the enemy ship.

Biggest Naval threats

The biggest naval threats to this ship are the following ships:

Maxim Gorky & Kirov Class, Light cruisers: offers fast speed, agile handling along with a devastating salvo which is able to penetrate the armour of H.M.S. Kent. Importantly, the kirov class ships lack armour protection and can be easy destroyed at range by the SAPCBC rounds. However at close ranges the kirov class, light cruisers require precision aiming for the weak parts on their hull and amour to be sunk.

Chapayev & Sverdlov, Light cruisers: Offer great handling, good speed, incredible powerful main armament and powerful secondary armament. Both of these two Russian naval ships feature incredible strong hull and belt armour able to with stand non-armour piercing rounds. However, these two ships have one major weakness the turrets and deck armour can be easily knocked out by the British 8" cannons when firing SAPCBC rounds.

Admiral Graf Spee, Heavy cruiser: The legendry and iconic heavy cruiser called by Great Britton "The Pocket Battleship" the Admiral Graf Spree is one of the most formable ships in the game with two turrets containing 3 x 283 mm/52 SK C/28 cannons, which are the same cannons used on some German battleships! The rounds from this pocket battleship are able to destroy any ship with a few salvos fired from it. H.M.S. Kent with it's 8" cannons firing SAPCBC rounds is able to destroy the Admiral Graf Spree at range's of over 15,000 meters! However to do this, H.M.S. Kent must stay hidden from the Admiral Graf Spree, aim for it's frontal turret as a marker use the SAPCBC rounds to penetrate it's weak deck armour and detonate it's magazine.

Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen, Heavy cruisers: These German heavy cruisers offer great armour protection and powerful cannons along with torpedo's. These heavy cruisers are able to be a royal pain for H.M.S. Kent, they are able to withstand salvos fired from her 8" cannons. The ammunition fired from the Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen heavy cruisers, can cause major damage and penetrate H.M.S. Kent turret armour causing the turrets to become knocked out. H.M.S. Kent can knock out the Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen heavy cruisers however it is not easy even at close range - the ideal distance to knock them out is between 5,000 and 8,000 meters with SAPCBC rounds performing a full broadside - Aim for the front of the Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen Heavy cruisers.

Another way of knocking Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen Heavy cruisers out is by aiming for the bridge and castle deck and setting it on fire with every salvo. Over time this will knock the crew out slowly and cause the ship to run out, causing critical damage to the ship making repairs longer and longer. Allowing for more hits to happen and possibly a torpedo strike from H.M.S. Kent to finally sink the Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen heavy cruisers.

Mogami class of light and heavy cruisers: are incredible strong at long range engagements, the main armament from the Mogami class are able to penetrate and destroy H.M.S. Kent with ease. The armour on Mogami class can reduce the 8" SAPCBC impact. At close ranges from under 8000 meters Mogami class of light and heavy cruisers can be easily knocked out from the 8" SAPCBC round. To do this target the front turrets and the SAPCBC round will penetrate the ammo racks and cause the magazines of the three main guns to explode.

Handling aircraft threats

H.M.S. Kent is able to handle aircraft threats very well, it's defensive armament when loaded with HE-TF is able to destroy the enemy torpedo and bomber aircraft with ease. However, it's important that you stay aware of them in battle. If they drop any torpedoes they must be dodged, only one torpedo needs to miss the torpedo protection and it's game over.

Modules

Tier	Seakeeping	Unsinkability		Firepower
I	Dry-Docking	Tool Set		4 inch SAP	Anti-Air Armament Targeting	8 inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC
II	Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	4 inch HE-TF	Auxiliary Armament Targeting
III	Propeller Replacement	Shrapnel Protection	Ventilation	Improved Rangefinder	Primary Armament Targeting
IV	Engine Maintenance	New Pumps	Ammo Wetting	Torpedo Mode

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great Main and secondary armament.
• 8" SAPCBC round is one of the best in game, able to cause major damage to any ship it hits.
• Good survivability and features torpedo protection.
• Torpedo protection offers protection of up to 250 Kg warheads.

Cons:

• Not as fast as some other heavy cruisers.
• Long turning radius.
• Limited anti-aircraft protection compared to H.M.S. London.
• Limited armour protection, does not protect all the critical parts.
• Fuel tanks are not protected by armour plates and if penetrated can cause fires.

History

The HMS Kent underway near Scapa Flow.

The HMS Kent (54) was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. Built in the 1920s, the ship enjoyed a long service life stretching into the final stages of World War II. After her commissioning, she served in the China Station until the start of the Second World War. Following the outbreak of war, she participated in the hunt for Graf Spee, escorted convoys in the Indian ocean and saw service in Norway. Following the end of war, she was decommissioned, and was eventually scrapped after being used as a target ship.

Design and construction

The HMS Kent was the lead ship of the Kent subclass of the County-class cruisers. As the first ‘treaty’ cruisers designed following the Washington Naval Treaty, they were built within the 10-thousand ton standard-displacement limit. She carried substantial armament of eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns in four double mounts, as well as two quadruple torpedo launchers and numerous AA defences. However, she was very lightly protected due to the imposed weight limitations. She could make a top speed of 31.5 knots (58 km/h).

The Kent was laid down on November 15th 1924, and was launched in March of 1926. Following her completion, she was formally commissioned in June of 1928.

Service History

Following her completion, Kent was assigned to the 5th Cruiser squadron of the China Station. She spent the majority of her pre-war years serving with the China Station, though she returned to the UK in 1937 to receive additional armour plating. Following the outbreak of war, she joined the French cruiser Suffren and two Australian destroyers on the hunt for Graf Spee. She was then reassigned to troop convoy escort duties in the Indian ocean for the first part of 1940.

After Italy declared war, she was reassigned once again to the British Mediterranean squadron. In September of that year, she was torpedoed by Italian SM.79 bombers, and subsequently underwent a lengthy refit receiving numerous additional anti-aircraft guns. She went on to serve as a convoy escort between 1942 and 1943, and provided cover for British aircraft carriers attacking the Tirpitz in Operation Mascot.

In early 1945, it was apparent that the ship’s deteriorating condition and lack of crew was impeding its ability to operate. As a result, the ship was paid off in early 1945. She remained in reserve until early 1948, when she was used as a target ship. Thereafter, she was given to BISCO for scrapping.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

Works Cited

• Russian Convoy Club of New Zealand. (2004). Royal Navy Ships G. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from http://www.russianconvoyclub.org.nz/RoyalNavyShipsGL.html
• Smith, G. (2005). HMS Kent, heavy cruiser, WWII. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CA-Kent.htm

Britain heavy cruisers
Hawkins-class	HMS Hawkins
York-class	HMS York
County-class	HMS Kent · HMS London · HMS Norfolk