HMS Kent
Contents
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
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 | 66 | 30 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 56 | 26 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
| 203 mm 8 inch/50 Mark VIII (x 8) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turrets (Bow to stern) | |||||
| Front turret (x2) | Front elevated turret (x2) | Rear elevated 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 | HE | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 |
| 8 inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC | SAPCBC | 274 | 248 | 209 | 178 | 153 | 119 |
| 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% | |||||||
| 8 inch HE | HE | 855 | 116.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 10 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| 8 inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC | SAPCBC | 855 | 116.1 | 0.025 | 9 | 5.2 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
Secondary armament
| 102 mm 4 in QF Mark V (x 6) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| 4 inch HE | HE | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 4 inch SAP | SAP | 90 | 72 | 51 | 37 | 28 | 24 |
| 4 inch HE-TF | HE-TF | 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 | 805 | 14.06 | 0 | 0.1 | 721 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| 4 inch SAP | SAP | 805 | 15.2 | 0.015 | 5 | 520 | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| 4 inch HE-TF | HE-TF | 811 | 15.88 | 0 | 0.1 | 1,550 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Anti-aircraft armament
| 40 mm 2pdr QF Mk.VIII (x 4) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||||
Additional 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 | 1,736 | 74 | 4.57 | 1 | 50 | TNT | 305 | 305 |
| Yes | 1,736 | 46 | 12.34 | 1 | 50 | TNT | 305 | 305 |
Scout plane
Located amidships is a catapult with one Osprey Mk IV scout plane which provides unique offensive and defensive abilities, expanding tactical options. Ship-launched scout planes fly just like regular tree units but lack munition choices and cockpit views. The Osprey may look familiar as it is a derivative of the Nimrod fighter, but as a 2 seater equipped with a defensive machine gun along with the fixed machine gun and no bombs. It does have the scout plane ability to cap zones and lay down smoke cover (up to 3 times). Captains will be wise to remember to utilise the aircraft and consider when best to use it, for example to cap a point early or late in the match, to create a smoke screen to stymie enemy bombardment and repair, to attack enemy units directly, or perhaps something completely new!
Usage in battles
HMS 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). HMS Kent has the 8" cannons installed, which are the same cannons on the previous ship HMS York. The Kent, has four turrets with two 8" cannons per turret providing it a total of eight, 8" cannons with 1,200 rounds of ammunition. The ammunition choices for main 8" armament is limited to fire only HE or SAPCBC rounds or a combination of both.
HMS Kent secondary armament consists of six 4" deck cannons, which can carry 1,200 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 2-pdr automatic cannons, with 8,960 rounds of ammunition. Two quad firing 12.7 mm, Vickers machine guns with 16,000 rounds of ammunition.
To get the best performance out of HMS 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 15,000 m up to 143 mm of penetration. This is able to penetrate any ship deck and cause catastrophic damage to the enemy ship.
The biggest naval threats to this ship are the following ships:
- Kirov-class light cruisers: offer fast speed, agile handling along with a devastating salvo which is able to penetrate the armour of HMS 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 armour to be sunk.
- Chapayev, Zheleznyakov & 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 legendary and iconic heavy cruiser called by Great Britons "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. HMS Kent with its 8" cannons firing SAPCBC rounds is able to destroy the Admiral Graf Spree at ranges of over 15,000 m. However to do this, HMS Kent must stay hidden from the Admiral Graf Spree, aim for its frontal turret as a marker use the SAPCBC rounds to penetrate its weak deck armour and detonate its magazine.
- Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen heavy cruisers - These German heavy cruisers offer great armour protection and powerful cannons along with torpedoes. These heavy cruisers are able to be a royal pain for HMS 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 HMS Kent turret armour causing the turrets to become knocked out. HMS 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 m 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 HMS Kent to finally sink the Admiral Hipper & Prinz Eugen heavy cruisers.
- Mogami class light and heavy cruisers: they are incredible strong at long range engagements, the main armament from the Mogami-class cruisers are able to penetrate and destroy HMS Kent with ease. The armour on Mogami-class cruisers can reduce the 8" SAPCBC impact. At close ranges from under 8,000 m Mogami-class 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
HMS Kent is able to handle aircraft threats very well, its 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.
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
- One scout seaplane
Cons:
- Not as fast as some other heavy cruisers
- Long turning radius
- Limited anti-aircraft protection compared to HMS 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
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HMS Kent 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 Admiral 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
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).
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.[1] 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.[2]
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.[1] 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.[2]
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.[1] Thereafter, she was given to BISCO for scrapping.[2]
Media
- Skins
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
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- 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
| Chatham Dockyard | |
|---|---|
| Light Cruisers | |
| Arethusa-class | HMS Arethusa |
| Heavy Cruisers | |
| Hawkins-class | HMS Hawkins |
| County-class | HMS Kent |
| Britain heavy cruisers | |
|---|---|
| Hawkins-class | HMS Hawkins |
| York-class | HMS York |
| County-class | HMS Kent · HMS London · HMS Norfolk |
