HMS Eskimo
| This page is about the British Destroyer HMS Eskimo (F75). For other ships of her class, see Tribal (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Tribal-class, HMS Eskimo (F75), 1941 is a rank II British destroyer with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea" as part of the British fleet closed beta test.
HMS Eskimo, pennant number F75, part of the Tribal class, was a fleet destroyer finished during December 1938. She was intended to provide counter-destroyer firepower and support the combat flotillas, she served in this role throughout the Second World War.
Following an intermission from the escort destroyer role, the HMS Eskimo offers an offensive hit-and-run approach to the British destroyers; very comparable to the G-class (H89). Mainly by the superior firepowe4r of six 120 mm main guns, each one firing devastating 3 kg High Explosive shells in quickfire rate: initially of 12 rounds per minute!
Of course, when regarding destroyers, is not all about firepower but also about the increased top speed; unachieved on the earlier escort destroyer. The now fairly average survivability and auxiliary armaments surely will assist captains in control of this well-balanced combat destroyer.
General info
Painted under a dark grey hull, and a black coloured stripe all around her waterline, Eskimo's raised freeboard distance and raked bow can be easily highlighted from other latter destroyers. Despite using a fairly conventional main weaponry layout which will be seen in several other British destroyer classes, Eskimo can be also differentiated by her turret located in the aftmost part of the ship.
The main downside to the Tribal is its vulnerability. Not only is it far from the smallest destroyer, making it a big target, but it's also built out of ammo racks.
Survivability and armour
The Eskimo is lightly armoured overall. anti-fragmentation armour plates no thicker than 12.7 mm protect most of the gun emplacements. While the main turrets are protected by 3.2 mm of anti-fragmentation armour. As seen on the HMS Grafton and previous destroyers, this anti-fragmentation armour is mainly effective in protecting the gun breech versus HE shells. Any other type of shell is likely to go through this type of armour and disable the turret.
Regarding survivability, Eskimo is packed with a lot of ammunition storages for the quick-firing high calibre main and secondary cannons. The most dangerous zones are the bow and the stern. There is no armour whether above or below the waterline; and the area is not even effectively protected by fuel tanks. This means an accurate enemy salvo is likely to cause ammunition damage or a catastrophic detonation of the ammo magazines. The ammunition storages are not limited within the hull, but as another drawback of the high rate of fire, there are large quantities of ready-use ammo racks near most of the high-calibre cannons. SAP and APCBC shells are likely to cause a lot of damage to all the ammo storages since they are only protected by steel boxes.
Another aspect to consider is the constant loss of the ship's control. The transmission and engine rooms are located in an easily targetable area. There is no fuel tank or armour plates to protect none of them from enemy fire, unlike adversaries as the German destroyer Type 1936A or the Italian Corazziere which are decently protected with fuel tanks in those areas.
A complement of 260 members remains average amongst the majority of destroyers at the rank: average of 267. While it is significantly less than most of the German adversaries, with an average of 325 crew members in their destroyers at the same battle rating. This places the Tribal class at a tactical disadvantage when duelling with all German destroyers.
Mobility
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 82 | 31 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 67 | 25 | |
Eskimo's mobility should be deemed adequate but not perfect. The Tribal class was repurposed as fleet destroyers, and as such, the mobility performs fine enough to attend to the needs of flexible anti-air support for cruisers fleets, or while performing a flanking attack throughout naval engagements. The Tribal class was fitted with three Admiralty three-drum boilers that powered two Parsons geared turbines generating 34,000 hp which translates into 67 km/h, reached in about 28 seconds.
The top speed is averagely on par or in few cases inferior against most German destroyers at ranks II and III. Thus it is likely no real mobility advantage can be played over German counterparts. Versus similarly ranked Japanese or Italian destroyers, the opposite occurs. Though minimal in some instances, Eskimo might have the upper hand in catching up with enemy destroyers such as IJN Yuudachi, IJN Kiyoshimo and IJN Ayanami.
Do not forget about some other destroyers as the Japanese IJN Shimakaze and the Soviets, Tashkent and Moskva: these feature outstanding top speed over 80 km/h. Therefore, it is crucial to quickly assess these mobility disparities when gunnery is leading a successful salvo on such swift enemies.
Modifications and economy
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Armament
Primary armament
The Tribal class was the most modern, largest and heavily armed British destroyer class during the early stages of World war II. This is noticeable in Eskimo's emphasis on absolute firepower. She is armed with 6 x 4.7 inch/45 Mk.XII cannons inside 3 turrets, each one capable of firing 3 kg of explosive in a total broadside at effective distances of around 10 km. Because of the double cannon mountings, the salvo accuracy should be properly preserved under these large distances, despite the gun ballistics not having a nearly flat trajectory.
The initial fire rate of 12 rounds per minute is reasonable effective during the first moments of a battle, but once spent the ready-use ammo rack, the fire rate dwells mildly to 10 shots per minute. Which yet remains an advantageous fire rate versus most Japanese, Italians, Soviets and few German destroyers, with their guns firing at a fixed 8 rounds per minute. Eskimo's firepower generally outmatches in quantity, flexibility and explosive damage to the majority of German destroyers around her battle rating. But it severely falls back in the rate of fire, to ships such as the Type 1936 Family having an initial fire rate of 18 rounds per minute.
Preferring a heavy calibre armament and anti-air defences over torpedoes, Eskimo is capable to engage most of the destroyers around her rank with HE shells. With some skills and tactics, even counter some early light cruisers as the IJN Isuzu and IJN Kuma; with the correct use of SAP rounds - although extended duels against cruisers are not advised. Also, the 4-inch dual-mounted gun located towards the aft of the ship can be a nasty surprise for coastal vessels trying to get the jump on the Tribal.
With the multipurpose CPXIX turret mountings, all 6 main guns can provide heavy anti-aircraft fire, when using either the HE-VT or the HE-TF. Yet the flaw of these turret mountings is the insufficient elevation angles of only 40°; an inherited drawback from the previous CPXVII mounting found on the G-class.
Secondary armament
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Anti-aircraft armament
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Additional armament
Anti-submarine roles were not largely envisaged for the Tribal class, thus Eskimo is barely equipped with few depth charges and absent of any mine-laying types of equipment. An important contrast from other destroyers such as the Hunt class destroyers or the River class frigates, which are heavily equipped with explosive ASW equipment.
The torpedo weaponry is quite reduced since the Tribal class was meant to favour heavy artillery power rather than a lightly armed torpedo-carrying destroyer. Also the torpedoes lack the speed of more contemporary torpedoes, though they do pack a big punch if they score a hit.
Usage in battles
tribal
While the Tribal can fill numerous roles (and works well as a general all-rounder destroyer), it excels best as a gunnery ship. Thanks to the hefty calibre of its shells, as well as the accuracy of the guns, the Tribal can give other destroyers a good beating even from a distance. In addition, the concentration of 2/3rds of the Tribal's guns at the front of the ship means the Tribal can still pump out a good amount of damage while keeping a small profile. Still, if the Tribal's position is relatively safe from being shot at, don't be afraid to swing the rear turret around and let rip.
Combined with the Tribal's fast speed and adequate auxiliary armament, this can make the Tribal an excellent support/escort ship during uptiers or higher ranked battles. Keep in mind the ship's 4.7-inch guns will begin to struggle against cruisers so they should maybe be repurposed towards air defence or fast attack crafts; all trying to keep the Tribal away from close quarters fighting.
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Eskimo might suffer at close quarters, due to poor main gun traverse speed, no armour and average crew size. |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Numerous auxiliary and anti-air weaponry, as well as some torpedoes (4) and depth charges
- Primary guns have great precision even at long ranges (~10 km)
- Dual purpose guns; HE-VT shells for primary and secondary guns makes it easy to destroy aircraft
- 3 kg of explosive in the HE shells is great versus other destroyers and small vessels
- Top speed is average, but amongst the fastest Bluewater ships on the British Naval Tree
- The destroyer with the largest crew complement of the British rank II
Cons:
- Ammo racks are easily detonated by SAP or APCBC shells near the waterline; no armour present in the area
- Crew size remains below average versus German, American and Soviet destroyers
- Limited torpedo count may be ineffective versus heavier fleets due to small quantity
- Outmatched in most combat aspects versus early light cruisers as Köln, Leipzig or IJN Agano
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
See also
Shared operational history
Related development (same class)
Analogues on other nations
- Fletcher (Family)
- USS Phelps (DD-360)
- Type 1934A (1940)
- Type 1936B
- Pr.7U (Family)
- IJN Shimakaze
- IJN Yugumo
External links
| Britain destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Town-class | HMS Churchill · HMS Montgomery |
| V-class | HMS Valhalla · HMS Vega · HMS Verdun |
| G-class | HMS Grafton · ORP Garland |
| Hunt-class | HMS Calpe · HMS Brissenden |
| Tribal-class | HMCS Haida · HMS Eskimo · HMS Mohawk |
| J-class | HMS Jervis |
| K-class | HMS Kelvin |
| N-class | HMAS Nepal |
| Battle-class | HMS Armada · HMS Cadiz · HMAS Tobruk |
| Daring-class | HMS Daring · HMS Diamond · HMS Diana |
