La Combattante
| This page is about the French bluewater destroyer La Combattante. For coastal Motor Gun Boat, see La Combattante P730. |
Contents
Description
La Combattante was originally a British Hunt-class destroyer, HMS Haldon, laid down in January 1941. While still in the shipyard, her hull was damaged during a German air raid in March 1941. In 1942, after the ship's construction was completed, she was transferred to the Free French Navy and renamed La Combattante. On her first combat duty, a convoy escort through the English Channel, she rescued the crew of a Liberty ship that had struck a mine. In 1944, she and the frigate HMS Rowley engaged German torpedo boats, leading to the sinking of S-147. About three weeks later, she had a similar encounter, sinking S-141. In the summer of 1944, the destroyer participated in Operation Neptune, during which she destroyed several coastal batteries with artillery fire. Her fate was sealed on 23 February 1945, when she struck a mine while patrolling the English Channel, sinking shortly thereafter with the loss of 117 crew members.
Introduced in Update "Kings of Battle", Hunt-class, La Combattante, 1944 is a slow destroyer with a low crew count and no hull armour. Consequently, she is unable to exchange fire with other destroyers or move quickly enough to avoid danger. The key to using this vessel effectively is to be on the offensive, landing the first shots in order to win exchanges with her superior armament before the enemy can respond. La Combattante is most effective when staying near the coast and engaging enemy boats attempting to capture objectives. If an enemy destroyer is approaching, it is advisable to form a group with friendly vessels before deciding to engage.
General info
Survivability and armour
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
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) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 61 | 31 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 50 | 25 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: {{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.
| 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 | ||
| 4 inch HE | HE | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 4 inch SAP | SAP | 102 | 85 | 64 | 48 | 38 | 30 |
| 4 inch HE-TF | HE-TF | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 4 inch HE-VT | HE-VT | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| 4 inch HE | HE | 811 | 15.88 | 0 | 0.1 | 1,550 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| 4 inch SAP | SAP | 811 | 17.35 | 0.015 | 5 | 600 | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| 4 inch HE-TF | HE-TF | 811 | 15.88 | 0 | 0.1 | 1,550 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Proximity-fused shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| 4 inch HE-VT | HE-VT | 811 | 15.88 | 0 | 0.1 | 274 | 18 | 1,550 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |
Secondary armament
Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.
- Universal: HEF · AP-T · HEF · AP-T
- 40 mm HE: HEF · HEF · HEF · AP-T
- 40 mm AP: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEF
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| HEF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| AP-T | 60 | 57 | 48 | 39 | 32 | 26 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| HEF | 701 | 0.82 | 0 | 0.1 | 71 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| AP-T | 701 | 0.91 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | ||||
Anti-aircraft armament
An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.
Additional armament
Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes. If there is no additional armament, remove this section.
Usage in battles
La Combattante, despite its classification, is closer to a corvette or escort-destroyer than a proper destroyer. This ship is meant to be played as a support vessel, engaging and easily destroying enemy Coastal Vessels. With its four 4 inch guns firing every 3.6 seconds, you can one-shot many Coastal Vessels using its potent SAP shell. To make this easier, make sure to turn off "Turret Ranging Shot" in your Options menu and single fire your main guns to make adjustments after each shot. This will increase your chances of dispatching an enemy torpedo boat. Here are the Key Points to remember that will guarantee better performance in battle using La Combattante:
Key Point 1: Prioritise Coastal Vessel
This vessel's bread-and-butter is blowing enemy speed boats out of the water. Your rapid-firing 4-inch guns will do quick work of most opponents, while your powerful secondary armaments will give you cover against air targets and other Coastal Vessels while you focus on your main target. Your 40mm Bofors, Pom-Pom, and 20mm Oerlikons will save you from unexpected threats. However, your slow speed, lack of armour, and all around low-survivability makes you a very easy target for regular Destroyers and Light Cruisers which sport heavy guns and ticker armour.
Key Point 2: Attack Capture Zones Closer to the Coastal Spawns
Once you handled the initial wave of Coastal Vessels, move into the Capture Zone and secure it. This is an easy way to gain SL and RP. Your firepower will also allow you to fend off successive waves of enemy torpedo boats after you captured the point. Your secondaries will also blast away any aeroplanes looking to attack your teammates.
Key Point 3: Lay in Ambush Using Cover to Strike Unsuspecting Destroyers
Needless to say, your slow speed and lack of armour puts you at a great disadvantage against regular Destroyers. Avoid engaging those, especially if they are of a higher BR, and stick to small islands to hide yourself. Once you spot an enemy vessel already engaging a friendly, this is your time to pounce and strike. Use your quick rate of fire to hit your enemy's ammunition magazine or, if you can't penetrate its armour, to disable modules such as the Battle Bridge, Main Guns, or Engine/Funnel. While in theory you should avoid brawls, however, if this is part of an ambush, don't hesitate to go flank ahead and use your four torpedoes to swiftly destroy your prey. Remember, if you want to win in this ship against better opponents, surprise is the key.
Key Point 4: Avoid Open Waters
Following from Key Point 3, your ship is NOT survivable, and as such, you need to have islands and cover in case an engagement goes poorly so you may retreat and repair in a safe spot. Avoid Capture Points in open waters and areas with no cover. When you spawn, sail at best speed to the area of the map that is populated by islands. This is your ideal hunting ground, where you can lay in wait for an unsuspecting enemy.
Conclusion: Use La Combattante as a predatory animal; prey on small Coastal Vessels and ambush larger Destroyers. Beware of the dead zone for your main guns when aiming straight on.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fast-firing main guns
- Excellent firepower from secondary guns against aeroplanes and Coastal Vessels
- Small size (harder to hit)
- Good SAP round
- Has access to HE-VT for main guns
- Good manoeuvrability
Cons:
- Slow speed for a destroyer
- No significant armour
- Low crew count
- Small size (low survivability in case of hit)
- Blind spot for main guns when aiming dead ahead
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
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
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company | |
|---|---|
| Destroyers | |
| G-class | ORP Garland |
| K-class | HMS Kelvin |
| Battle-class | HMS Cadiz |
| Hunt-class | La Combattante* |
| Light Cruisers | |
| Town-class | HMS Liverpool |
| Heavy Cruisers | |
| County-class | HMS Norfolk |
| Battlecruisers | |
| Renown-class | HMS Renown |
| *HMS Haldon in French service | |
| France destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Bourrasque-class | Bourrasque · Tornade |
| Chacal-class | Chacal · Leopard · Panthere |
| Aigle-class | Aigle · Vautour · Milan |
| Vauquelin-class | Vauquelin |
| Le Fantasque-class | Le Malin · Le Triomphant |
| Mogador-class | Mogador |
| Hunt-class | La Combattante |
| Trophies | Germany |
| Desaix-class¹ | Kleber |
| Type 1936 | Marceau |
| Italy | |
| Chateaurenault-class² | Guichen |
| Modified: ¹Type 1934A-class destroyers · ²Capitani Romani-class cruisers | |
