LÉ Orla
Contents
Description
LÉ Orla, pennant number P41, is one of the five completed Peacock-class corvettes, originally built for Royal Navy use as HMS Swift (P243). Commissioned in 1985, she served in the waters around Hong Kong as part of the 6th Patrol Craft Squadron with the others of her class, undertaking training, search-and-rescue, and policing operations. In 1988, she was sold to the Irish Naval Service and renamed. She acted as a high-speed patrol vessel until her eventual decommission on 8 July 2022, to be replaced by new inshore patrol vessels purchased from New Zealand.
Introduced in Update "Direct Hit", LÉ Orla has some nifty features; namely, the reliable 76 mm OTO-Melara Compact automatic gun, a unique punch of naval power for the veteran British captains in the coastal fleet and fans of the HMS Peacock's dexterity, but also the addition of lighter yet useful auxiliary armament, in two sets of 20 mm/65 Rheinmetall autocannons on each side of the ship with a menacing fire rate and distinct sound. Much like her sister ship, Orla's playstyle is very dependent on her sole bow gun. Despite seeming like not enough firepower, she can be used to great effect in providing air defence and medium-range support against lighter crafts, defence of captured points, and can even combat destroyers by targeting their weakspots.
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
LÉ Orla's mobility is not great amongst the highly manoeuvrable fast attack crafts and torpedo boats of her rank. This should not be seen as a condemning drawback, but instead as an opportunity for a different paced gameplay: letting the enemies reach the LÉ Orla and not oppositely.
In this ship, the reverse speed plays an important role. As firing and then retreating behind a smokescreen are key in LÉ Orla's survival. Unfortunately, the reverse speed is not excellent but only just proper enough to retreat before the corvette gets destroyed. Thankfully, research of mobility modules is not an issue due to the premium status of the ship, hence the mobility concern will be alleviated.
Keep in mind LÉ Orla is a huge corvette which spawns amongst patrol boats, this could be a problem on some maps as the shallow waters with rocky formations will often hit the ship and accidentally reduce the crew size. Notice the shallow water alert in the centre of the screen to change course immediately.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 70 | 33 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 46 | 22 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 120 / 210 / 50 % 2 × 178 / 178 / 178 % | Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armament
Primary armament
LÉ Orla is armed with a single main 76 mm/62 OTO-Melara Compact Gun, located at the bow of the ship. Despite being armed with a single 76 mm gun, the quick reload of only 0.8 seconds allows for a lot of damage in just an instant. The HE shell is composed of a powerful explosive mass of 1.08 kg of TNT. This single gun is not capable of hullbreaking any boat, but the explosive damage and the high rate of fire are more than enough to fend other threats at the rank.
The gun offers satisfactory firing range, up to 6,000 m. However, firing at such distances is not advised due to the very limited ammo count. The ammo count of 115 shells is sufficient to destroy numerous small boats, as 1-3 shots will be enough. But long-distance engagements and destroyers will require a lot more of ammunition, leaving the ship unable to defend or with reduced efficiency. As once the ready-use ammo of 85 shells is fired, the remaining ammo will be fired at a much slower rate.
The turret mounting is highly mobile and provides adequate targeting speed, something beneficial for the reduced ship's mobility.
Ammunition
Due to the scarcity of ammo for all types of threats, the HE-VT ammo should replace the regular HE. Consider arming the ship with SAP and HE-VT for more effective defence to fend off some planes; HE-VT being the main ammo and SAP the auxiliary for armoured encounters.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 100 m | 1,000 m | 2,000 m | 3,000 m | 4,000 m | 5,000 m | ||
| 76/62 HE-MOM | HE | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 76/62 SAPOM | SAP | 60 | 49 | 40 | 32 | 26 | 21 |
| 76/62 HE-VT MOM | HE-VT* | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| 76/62 HE-MOM | HE | 925 | 6.35 | 0 | 0.1 | 1,080 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| 76/62 SAPOM | SAP | 925 | 6.35 | 0.01 | 4 | 655.2 | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| 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% | ||||||||||
| 76/62 HE-VT MOM | HE-VT* | 925 | 6.35 | 0 | 0.1 | 500 | 6 | 1,080 | 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: HEFI-T* · HVAP-T · HEFI-T* · HVAP-T
- 20 mm HEIT belts: HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HVAP-T
- API-T: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-T*
- 20 mm APDS belts: APDS
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| HEFI-T* | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| HVAP-T | 35 | 32 | 23 | 15 | 9 | 6 | |
| APDS | 66 | 61 | 45 | 31 | 21 | 14 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| HEFI-T* | 1,100 | 0.13 | 0 | 0.1 | 27.2 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| HVAP-T | 1,100 | 0.11 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | ||||
| APDS | 1,150 | 0.13 | - | - | - | 75° | 78° | 80° | ||||
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
Pros:
- The 76 mm cannon offers high rate of fire, powerful HE damage and long firing range (6,000 m)
- Multipurpose main armament ammunition (HE-VT, HE and SAP)
- Radar capacities with a lead indicator for anti-air duties; great detection range
- Guns ballistics are adequate and precise; easy to fire and accustom
- Crew size is decent versus small boats, slightly superior than HMS Peacock
- Additional armament able to counter aircraft and small boats
Cons:
- Low ammo count for main gun; easily depleted without trigger discipline
- Large and slow target for the faster and smaller patrol boats
- Flat trajectory of the gun's shell hinders fire behind cover; LÉ Orla bow must be exposed
History
The LÉ Orla was a former British Royal Navy patrol vessel stationed in the waters of Hong Kong, called the HMS Swift.
She was purchased by the Irish State in 1988 and given the name of LÉ Orla. The name of Orla is taken from Irish history, being a popular Irish name in the 12th Century. Orla also has a strong connection with a historical Irish king, Brian Boru, whom has a sister and niece that shared the name Orla.[1]
The LÉ Orla's is famous for its participation in two drug seizure operations in Irish water. The first was in 1993, when the LÉ Orla intercepted and boarded a 65 ft ketch named Brime, which was the largest cannabis seizure in Ireland.[1] The second was in 2008 which LÉ Orla assisted in the seizure of cocaine.[2]
The LÉ Orla was decommissioned on 8 July 2022.
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
- Associated Press, The. "Irish navy, coast guard seize flotilla of cocaine." Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 03 Jul. 2007, Website. Accessed 17 Sep. 2021 (Archive).
- Irish Defence Forces. "LÉ ÓRLA P41." Irish Defence Forces, Website. Accessed 17 Sep. 2021 (Archive).
- O'Riordan, Sean. "Manpower crisis may leave two ships docked." Irish Examiner, 15 Jan. 2020, Website. Accessed 17 Sep. 2021 (Archive).
| Hall, Russell & Company | |
|---|---|
| Corvettes | |
| Peacock-class | HMS Peacock · LÉ Orla* |
| *HMS Swift in Irish service | |
| Britain sub-chasers | |
|---|---|
| Britain premium ships | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | MTB-1(2) · MTB-422 · Fairmile D (5001) · HMS Gay Archer |
| Motor gun boats | MGB-75 · SGB Grey Goose |
| Gunboats | HMS Spey |
| Sub-chasers | LÉ Orla |
| Frigates | HMS Whitby |
| Destroyers | HMS Montgomery · HMS Valhalla · HMS Verdun · ORP Garland · HMS Jervis · HMCS Haida · HMS Mohawk · HMS Cadiz · HMS Diamond |
| Light cruisers | HMS Belfast |
| Battleships | HMS Iron Duke |
