RN Pola
Contents
Description
The Zara-class, RN Pola, 1941 is a premium rank IV Italian heavy cruiser with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Hot Tracks".
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 | 69 | 34 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 59 | 29 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 450 / 600 / 50 % 2 × 190 / 190 / 190 % | 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.
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.
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.
Usage in battles
Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".
Pros:
-Most armored cruiser ingame overall, good angling of said armor will make you survive most battles easily
-Main Turret armor is excellent, it will be a rare sight to get your main turrets disabled
-Big aft section thanks to the plane hangar and catapult makes for an odd use of it as spaced armor against torpedoes and head on engagements due to lack of vital ship components that can be damaged in said section
-Belt armor protects very effectively the engines against enemy shells
-Few AAA while being bad, also means that you dont loose too much crew members from HE-spam disabling them
-Secondaries have good firing angles due to their placement
Cons:
-Lackluster AAA, you will need a fully trained crew to make it work
-Secondary guns get disabled quickly due to their placement
-Dispersion RNG can make you do a pin point accuracy shot first salvo, and the next salvo can have shot gun dispersion
-At very close range(less than 4km), 203mm and bigger SAP shells have enough penetration and explosive filler to detonate your ammunition, outside that very close range, you still have amazing great survivability
-Unlike her sister Zara, Pola doesnt have frontal aiming AAA, so thats a deadzone for her AAA armament
History
Devblog
Pola was laid down at the OTO Shipyard in Livorno in March 1931 as the last of the four Zara-class heavy cruisers. Following the class' nomenclature, Pola was named after a former Austro-Hungarian coastal city (today Pula, Croatia) which was annexed by Italy following the end of WWI. Pola's design remained virtually identical to the other ships of the class. However, as Pola was intended to act as a flagship, it received a larger bridge superstructure in order to accommodate the additional staff. This, as well as the missing 'carved out' sections of the hull sides below her bridge, distinguish her from other ships of the class.
Pola was launched in December 1932, and after only a brief fitting out period, was officially commissioned into service with the Regia Marina in the same month. In the interwar service period, Pola took part in two fleet reviews and participated in Italian non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War along with other members of her class. Prior to the outbreak of WWII, Pola supported Italian ground forces during the occupation of Albania in April 1939.
During 1940, Pola frequently operated with her sister ships in concert with other elements of the Italian navy and engaged in a number of clashes with the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. Pola was docked at Taranto during the devastating British air raid in November 1940, but unlike many other Italian warships present there, survived the attack unscathed.
After engaging British forces in the Battle of Cape Spartivento in late November, Pola found itself once again under air attack while in port at Naples. This time however, the ship did suffer minor damage and had to be drydocked for repairs until February of the next year.
After leaving drydock, the first major operation in which Pola took part was the Battle of Cape Matapan in late March 1941. It would also become the last battle, not just for Pola, but also for two of her sisterships - Zara and Fiume. Originally, the operation saw the assembled Italian fleet under the command of Admiral Angelo Iachino intercept a British convoy south of Crete. Pola was successfully torpedoed by British aircraft launched from HMS Formidable, quickly losing all power.
With Pola dead in the water, the Italian admiral ordered Zara, Fiume and a handful of destroyers to assist Pola later that night, however, unknown to the rescue party assembled around Pola, the superior British fleet closed in on them under the cover of darkness and guidance of radar to within point blank range before opening fire. The resulting naval engagement saw the destruction of mostall Italian warships present with heavy losses of 2303 dead and 1411 captured. After the brief battle, Pola, still afloat, was boarded by British sailors who searched the ship for valuables, taking her remaining crew as prisoners. In the early morning hours of 29 March 1941, the stricken Pola was torpedoed by the destroyer HMS Nubian, ultimately sealing her fate.
Media
- Pola Devblog Images
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
| Italy heavy cruisers | |
|---|---|
| Trento-class | RN Trento · RN Bolzano |
| Zara-class | RN Zara · RN Pola |
| Italy premium ships | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | Freccia P-493 · MAS 569 · MS 444 · MC 485 |
| Motor gun boats | Sparviero |
| Sub-chasers | Folaga |
| Destroyers | RN Aquilone · RN Aviere · RN Geniere · RN Tigre · Geniere |
| Heavy cruisers | RN Pola |
| Battleships | RN Leonardo da Vinci |
