HMS Calpe
Contents
Description
The Hunt-class, HMS Calpe (L71), 1942 is a rank I British destroyer with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB) and 4.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.95 "Northern Wind".
HMS Calpe, pennant number L71, part of the Hunt class, is an Escort destroyer build for the Royal Navy during 1940. She was commissioned at the beginning of the Second World War, on 11 December 1941; to protect the vital supply and trade lines of the British isles.
HMS Calpe is another positive gameplay leap in the British destroyers. Using superior fire rate and a vast amount of firepower to annihilate any aerial or seaborne threat, keeping secure all the friendly ships nearby.
Despite not being the swiftest nor having a large intimidating destroyer shape, her cargo ship appearance allows to confuse anyone who devalues her combat capabilities!
General info
The Hunt class is reasonably slow and won't likely reach most of the distant capture zones alive. Her crew size is another unfavourable factor, since she is not fast enough to avoid the enemy artillery but also not strong enough to resists them.
Players using the Calpe should practice their gunnery skills if they want to master this escort destroyer. As her powerful 4 inch/45 Mark XVI cannons will cause a lot of unstoppable damage if fired accurately.
Survivability and armour
Unlike her extremely fast destroyer adversaries, Calpe relies on quick firepower and covered positioning as the best means of defence.
The compact and unaggressive silhouette scarcely resembles a regular British destroyer of early World war II epoch, such as the G-class or the K-class; this is because the ship was built to accompany and oftentimes disappear amongst the cargo ships.
This concealment plays a relevant role in the survivability of the Calpe. As with the slow top speed and small size, one of the best ways to survive in the Calpe is to hide with the coastal borders area or near land formations; awaiting for any vulnerable patrol boat or aircraft to reach within firing range.
The Calpe's moderate crew size won't allow any direct combat with dedicated destroyers, which crew size numbers are often double. Destroyers as the German Type 1934A, the Japanese IJN Yugumo and the Italian Comandanti Medaglie d'Oro, fit very well in this class. As their equally powerful firepower and yet adequate crew size are a challenge for the slow Calpe.
Armour
HMS Calpe hull is made of 16 mm of steel while the superstructure is protected by 4 mm of steel.
This is just not enough to stop most rounds, as even aircraft's heavy machine guns (12.7+ mm) can strafe the Calpe and cause considerable damages and crew casualties.
The turret's antifragmentation armour protects against any HE shell, but they remain highly vulnerable to SAP rounds. The armour is still useful to conserve the indispensable fire rate of the main turrets until the threats have been eliminated. If the turrets get disabled by SAP shells, the Calpe could rely on the 40 mm 2pdr gun to survive until the main turrets are repaired.
Ammo racks
The ammunition is well placed just under the waterline, however, there's a large amount of ready-use ammo racks inside steel containers near all the main turrets, each of them with 40 rounds. It only takes a direct hit with a powerful shell to cause major damage to the destroyer.
If the players want to decrease the chances of this ammo to detonate, they can simply engage at will using the high rate of fire until all the ready-use ammo rack is spent.
Mobility
The mobility is similar to the HMS Churchill, another Escort destroyer, in which staying near the coastal areas provides better rewards and protection from the marauding combat-worthy Fleet destroyers. This slow pace is actually beneficial for her gameplay, as she is now capable of positioning safely behind the combat. Using her small size to lurk in the boats' area is also a valid tactic.
The worst scenario for the Hunt class is on open seas, as the short and narrow hull decreases seakeeping. This coupled with the reduced speed, just makes Calpe a sitting duck for anyone faster or with bigger guns- Some torpedoes are also twice faster than her, like the lethal Japanese "Long Lance" Torpedo Type 93 Model.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 61 | 18 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 50 | 14 | |
In calm waters, HMS Calpe reaches top speed really fast within just 25 seconds. At full speed, a total halt is achieved in around 30 seconds, with a total reverse speed in only 13 seconds. This good aspect of the mobility should help the captains when evading incoming torpedo attacks or when steering during manoeuvres in shallow waters.
Her turn range is moderately large for a destroyer meant to fight against submarines, with a full steering circle in approximately 1 minute 25 seconds but sustaining a speed of 35 km/h in full steering.
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
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.
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
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:
- 3 turrets with 2 cannons each provide adequate damage and gun ballistics; more effective than single mounted turrets
- 102 mm turrets are capable of hullbreaking any troublesome small boat
- Excellent initial rate of fire of 20 rounds/s; even more effective with the use of ranging fire key
- Dual purpose main cannons give an adequate anti-air defence
- Effective amount of secondary and auxiliary armaments; with numerous depth charges also available
- Modest crew size improvement from the early British destroyers (+19 from HMS Grafton)
Cons:
- Not enough top speed to match analogous destroyers; playstyle is similar to the equally-paced HMS Churchill
- No torpedo armament; limits the anti-ship capabilities to just the main guns
- Below average crew size when compared with other nations' destroyers
- Main ammunition can be depleted quickly because of the high rate of fire
- No significant armour protection in the hull or near the ammo storage
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
Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the ship;
- other literature.
| 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 |
