Battleships and Cruisers (War Thunder wiki - April Fools, article 2017)

Battleships and cruisers!

The biggest, most powerful, monstrous technologically advanced vessels, on this planet.

What happens when they clash, what happens when the heaven trumpets opens up and start playing from the sky, through the nimbus thunderclouds. That’s right, Battleships and cruisers, blasting away at each other, flash of lights from the missile systems, chaos and mayhem, heroic pilots who feel they could single-handedly bring down, not one but a few mythical legends. Read more below, this is just a spoiler.

US

Iowa-class USS Missouri - Mighty Mo'!

Main article: Iowa-class USS Missouri

USS Missouri has the distinction of being the last battleship ever created by America, a phenomenon due to the changing focus of naval warfare from the battleships to the aircraft carriers. However, as the last of its kind, the USS Missouri has sure made its mark on history, bombarding Hokkaido in Japan in 1945, bombarding Samchok in Korea in 1950, and bombarding Khafji in Kuwait in 1991. It also served as the site of official surrender of the Empire of Japan, which officially ended World War II. Today, the USS Missouri is retired, decommissioned in 1992 before being converted into a museum ship in 1998 at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The USS Missouri, with a crew of an astounding 2,700 personnel during its hey day in World War II thanks to the new significant new changes to our modeling engine from programmer Mr. Becker (who also made the rest of this project possible!), will travel the sea alongside the PT boats that you’ve all gotten familiar with in our Beta Testing. Traveling 37 knots with a displacement of 45,000 tons, the battleship also has a large assortment of armament available for use, all modeled to function with multi-turreting! The players will have on their disposal: nine 406 mm guns, twenty 127 mm guns, eighty 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, and fourty-nine 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. Finally, with armour ranging from 190 to 500 mm on the various components, the USS Missouri will be a tough nut to crack as per its nickname “Mighty Mo”.

Playstyle

Mighty Mo owns a large assortment of weaponry for a ship its size. With the large 406 mm cannons independently aimed on its three turrets, the USS Missouri can exercise a great deal of fire control to get the perfect shot off one time every time. Use it like a heavy sniper and engage the enemy with extreme precision before they get close enough to put the USS Missouri under its guns!

The rather large amounts of anti-aircraft guns on its deck will also deter even the most courageous fighters from completing their attack run.

Specs

Displacement: 45,000 tons
Speed: 37 knots
Range: 15,000 nautical miles

Armaments

9 x 406 mm cannons
20 x 127 mm guns
8 x 40 mm anti-aircraft guns
49 x 20 mm anti-aircraft guns

Japan

Yamato

Main article: Yamato

After the Russo-Japanese war, Japan established their naval strategy as Kantai Kessen, or “Decisive Battle”. The strategy called for a large battleship force that can defeat an enemy’s naval force in one fell swoop, the validation being the decimation of the Russian fleet at the Battle of Tsushima. Of course, in order for this strategy to work, Japan needed battleships to crush their opposition. Perhaps realizing that their domestic resources would not allow them to outproduce their possible oppositions, like say the United States, Japan decided to invest all their resources on the idea of a “super battleship”.

And when they did, boy did they not disappoint! When the construction of the battleship can financially disrupt the nation’s fishing industry, it must be a formidable foe. The super battleship in the Yamato-class, named their first-of-its-kind battleship as the Yamato. Launched in 1940 and commissioned in 1941, the Yamato would become the key battleship in Japan’s Combined Fleet that would play in Japan’s Decisive Battle strategy. However, a reorganization in America’s naval forces from the battleships to the aircraft carriers happened due to the rather surprising sinking of battleship inventory at Pearl Harbor on 07 December 1941. This, along with Japan’s focus on the aircraft carrier as well to lead their campaign in 1941 and 1942, had undermined the impact of the battleship in naval warfare. As such, the Yamato rarely saw combat as it was continually pulled back, waiting for the right moment for a “decisive strike”. The moment seemed to have come at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but the Yamato retreated in the face of heavy resistance, leaving the super battleship away from the rest of the 1944 naval engagement before it was quite obsolete in terms of naval combat. Its last hurrah was in Operation Ten-Go, when Yamato and nine escorts headed to Okinawa to support the Imperial Japanese Army stationed there. En route, Yamato was intercepted by aircraft from the American aircraft carriers, continually strafing and bombing Yamato and her escorts for almost two hours before Yamato and five of her escorts were sunk into the depths of the Pacific, never engaging in the “decisive battle” Japan had established it for.

It may have never have served its desired purpose in life, but we’re eager to give the Yamato a second shot on the high seas in its proper Japanese naval tech tree! The Yamato, the largest battleship in the world, would set itself as a prominent opposition to any enemy engaging it. Displacing 72,000 tons, yet with a speed of 27 knots, the large and bulky Yamato can still set a stage of assault with its moderate speed. Armour on this beast range from 220 mm to 650 mm from the hull to the gun turrets. Aside from the duty of commanding the ship and keeping the battleship running, the 3,330 personnel on the Yamato arm the nine 460 mm guns, twelve 155 mm guns, twelve 127 mm gun, twenty-four 25 mm anti-aircraft guns, and four 13.2 mm heavy machine guns that is scattered all around the Yamato as it was in 1941 before it was updated in 1945 to equip even more anti-aircraft guns while sacrificing some big guns. It will provide a heavy addition of firepower to any team it allies itself with.

Playstyle

Yamato is a stonewall, as the largest battleship not only in this game, but ever. The three 460 mm guns per turret allows it to exercise flexibility in fire control like the USS Missouri. Unlike the Missouri, however, the Yamato has access to "diving shells", shells that causes more damage to a ship by exploding underwater rather than striking directly on the bulkheads. As such, even near misses with the shells can still cause devastating damages to enemy vessels at the price of reduced impact damage.

However, beware of aircraft! The real Yamato was sunk by sorties of American dive-bombers with no air opposition. Coordinate together with friendly aircraft and nearby vessels to annihilate the aircraft before they could make irreparable damages to the super battleship!

Specs

Displacement: 72,000 tons
Speed: 27 knots
Range: > 8,000 nautical miles

Armaments

9 x 460 mm cannons
12 x 155 mm guns
12 x 127 mm guns
24 x 25 mm Anti-aircraft guns
4 x 13.2 mm heavy machine guns

German

Bismarck

Main article: Bismarck

Germany is well known for their U-Boat designs that terrorized the transatlantic transports that carried Lend-Lease equipment from America to Great Britain, but Germany’s Kriegsmarine has been quite ambitious in their role in the interwar period.

Everyone in the world had their battleships. Great Britain has a number, United States has a number, and even if Japan didn’t have as many, they certainly used as much steel to as the other nations on one particular vessel. Germany had two pre-World War I battleship at hand, but began their modern battleship program in 1935 in defiance against the Treaty of Versailles and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. Four battleships were planned, two Scharnhorst-class and two Bismarck-class with the latter being the largest of the kinds for Germany in World War II. The first of the latter class was finished in September 1940 as the Bismarck, itself and its class named after Otto von Bismarck. Despite its status as battleships for the Kriegsmarine, the Bismarck had only one significant role in the war, that being Operation Rheinübung. During the operation, Bismarck combated against a British battleship and battlecruiser and was heavily damaged and retreated. A chase of cat and mouse ensued as the Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen attempted to outrun the incoming British fleet. After a few exchanges of fire between the chasing British ships and Bismarck, planes from the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal found the battleship and sent Swordfish biplanes armed with torpedoes to attack her. Two torpedoes struck Bismarck, one severely damaging the rudders and caused the Bismarck to become unmanoeuvrable. Stranded in the sea, the Bismarck lasted only one more day as the British closed in and blasted her to the depths of the Atlantic.

Bismarck’s early demise damaged the Kriegmarine’s surface fleet for the rest of the war. The Bismarck will be able to put many enemy naval vessels under its guns. Despite its displacement of 50,000 tons, the Bismarck’s 30 knot speed allows it to keep up against its oppositions. The Bismarck contains an astounding 2,065 crew count to help keep the battleship afloat under its 100-360 mm of steel armour. Still, the Bismarck is not slacking at all in armament with eight 380 mm guns, twelve 150 mm guns, sixteen 105 mm guns, sixteen 37 mm anti-aircraft guns, and twelve 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. With its assortment of guns and armour, along with a determined crew, the Bismarck would prove to be as persistent a vehicle as it was in real life.

Playstyle

Bismarck represents the pinnacle of German maritime power. It could face most of its adversaries in a broadside attack and come out no less the wear. Still, do not be isolated as the Bismarck still can not take continual punishment as it would send it to the bottom of the sea. Exercise caution and try to catch the enemy off guard when the Bismarck fires its ferocious guns!

Due to quite a number of anti-aircraft guns installed onto the battleship, the Bismarck is quite capable of defending itself against aerial attacks. Always be on the lookout for falling bombs and torpedoes! These can kill the Bismarck quite dead, and things die when they are killed.

Specs

Displacement: 50,000 tons
Speed: 30 knots
Range: > 16,000 nautical miles

Armaments

8 x 380 mm cannons
12 x 150 mm guns
16 x 105 mm guns
16 x 37 mm anti-aircraft guns
12 x 20 mm anti-aircraft guns

UK

HMS Nelson

Main article: HMS Nelson

Her Majesty's Ship, Nelson (28) The pride of the royal navy, Is the second flagship to be named after: Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté. Whose unconventional, inspirational and strategy demonstrated some of the most unorthodox, bizarre, unconquerable, victories. Which would lead the small island nation called the United Kingdom to be one of the most powerful and inspirational continents on this planet.

H.M.S. Nelson (28) is a Nelson-class battleship, which was laid-down on the 28 December 1922, commissioned on the 15 August 1927. The motto of this mammoth of a vessel is "Let him bear the palm who has deserved it". H.M.S. Nelson (28) is equipped with a wide range of offensive and defensive weaponry. It has been torpedoed, mined, ran aground and mutinied by her own crew. However, she continued to sail, with the distinguished Royal Navy until being scrapped on the 15th of march 1949. She had seen, 22 years of service. Service from, escort duty, convoy operations, rescue operations, salvage operations, hunt of the Bismarck, support roles for operations in Operations "Torch", "Husky", "Avalanche" and "Overlord".

Playstyle

With its large amount of weaponry, the HMS Nelson can run any ship into the sea under its firepower. However, it does not have the same speed as its counterparts during World War II. As such, we intend the HMS Nelson to be a formidable wall to harass enemy attempting to travel through the naval chokepoints.

Still, a major advantage of the HMS Nelson over its contemporaries is its ability to fire torpedoes! One good torpedo shot can knock out even the strongest battleship and aircraft carrier on the seas. A price this pays in overall performance is the rather pitiful amount of anti-aircraft guns on board. Only 12 autocannons with six large cannons with flak shells able to explode in mid-air. We hope you try your best to knock the enemies out of the sky though!

Specs

Displacement: 42,000 Tons
Speed: 23.5 Knots
Range: >7,000 nautical miles

Armaments

9 x 16-inch 45 mark I - 406 mm
12 x BL-6-inch 50 mark XXII - 152 mm
6 × QF 4.7 inch 40 Mk VIII anti-aircraft guns - 120 mm
4 × QF 3-pdr 40 Mk I saluting guns - 47 mm
8 × QF 2-pdr 40 Mk II anti-aircraft guns - 40 mm
2 × 24.5-inch Mk I torpedo tubes
12 x torpedoes carried - 622 mm

Russia

Admiral Nakhimov

Main article: Kirov-class Admiral Nakhimov

The Admiral Nakhimov, is a Kirov-class battlecruiser, which is a class of nuclear powered battlecruisers. This herculean vessel is one of the most powerful naval units, ever created by mankind.

Admiral Nakhimov, was laid-down on 17 May 1983, identification number 180. Which can be clearly seen, created with pride by men and women of the U.S.S.R. unapologetically on both sides of the bow, of this magnificent leviathan. The Admiral Nakhimov, was commissioned on the 30 December 1988. It has been refitted, ready to fight the largest, meanest and strongest vessels of the enemy fleet - which will tremor with fear and before they know it. The opposing air forces, will fall out of the sky. The opposing fleet will be fleeing, as fast as they can steam away. As they watch, in trepidation.

During a Warsaw Pact exercise in the Baltic sea, at an unknown date and time - it vanished. Publicly written off as an accident, it was really teleported back to an alternate reality of the 20th century.

Playstyle

A Kirov-class nuclear powered battlecruiser is able to crush the most monstrous of foes, including the Yamato with a single well placed shot. Once, spawned into the game - wait 20 seconds for the spawn protection to wear off. to make the waiting time less boring, start humming the "national anthem of the USSR". Now Load up your P-800 anti-ship missiles, order your bridge crew to search the map using the "Fregat MR-710" 3D search radar to scan the map for the enemy fleet location.

Lock on, once you have found the opposing fleet. Target each Ship, with a firing solution. Issue the order, to fire all missiles, concurrently. Within five to ten seconds after firing, all missiles would have hit and terminated the targeted ships. Dealing with enemy aircraft, which may try to retaliate, their actions will be futile - but heroic.

Issue orders to your crew, to scan the horizon for enemy aircraft, using your advanced radar systems. Once a plane has been located, issue the order to fire the appropriate surface to air missile to take it down.(Tip: In Case of the H8K2,they will only require one S-400PMU Missile for a takedown.)

However, Do not allow the enemy PT boats to get to close to you. They will be able to sink you. It is very important, to focus on your technological advantages - this will provide you with the edge in combat. Planes do not propose a major a threat, your AK-130's will be able to handle them, this includes the Swordfish biplanes, which helped to sink the Bismarck - However, if the enemy plane is equipped with torpedoes, it is recommended to take immediate defensive action. Fifteen penetrating hits to the nuclear propulsion systems, will make your Kirov-class battlecruiser go Kaboom. If to close, to evade, turn bow into them, full speed ahead - to limit the damage. (Tip Hopefully this will cause the torpedo safety fuse to activate, resulting in no damage.)

Specs

Displacement: 28,000 Tons
Speed: 32 Knots
Range: >1,000 nautical miles

Armaments

10 x 533 mm Anti-submarine warfare missiles
10 x P-800 Onliks Anti-ship missiles
12 x S-400PMU "Triumph" Surface to air missiles
16 x 3K95 "Kinzhal" Surface to air missiles
44 x SA-N-4 "Gecko" Surface to Air missiles
2 x RBU-12000 "Udav-1" Anti-surface missiles
2 x RBU-1000 "Smerch-3" Anti-surface missiles
1 x Twin 130 mm AK-130 Dual-purpose gun

Navigation menu

Search

Battleships and Cruisers (War Thunder wiki - April Fools, article 2017)

Contents