HMCS Brantford
Contents
Description
The Flower-class, HMCS Brantford (K-218) is a rank II British sub-chaser
with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea" as part of the British fleet Closed Beta Test.
General info
Survivability and armour
Flower class (K-218) has the following armour layout:
- 102 mm BL Mark IX gunshield: 4.97 mm, antifragmentation armour
- 40 mm 2pdr QF Mk.VIII gunshield: 12.7 mm, hardened armour
- 20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II gunshields: 12.7 mm, hardened armour
- Hull: 6 mm, steel
- Superstructure: 4 mm, steel
While the gunshields may stop low-calibre machineguns, heavy machineguns and cannons will have no trouble with them at any range. The hull and superstructure are vulnerable to any sort of gunfire at any.
There is currently no gun in the game that can hull-break Flower class (K-218).
Flower class (K-218)'s hull is split into five compartments. The first compartment starts at the bow and ends in front of the 102 mm BL Mark IX cannon. The second starts at the 102 mm BL Mark IX cannon and ends in front of the fuel tanks. The third starts at the fuel tanks and ends where the fuel tanks end. The fourth starts at the end of the fuel tanks and ends at the aft 40 mm 2pdr QF Mk.VIII cannon. The fifth starts at the aft 40 mm 2pdr QF Mk.VIII cannon and ends at the stern. Flower class (K-218) is notable for being one of the only rank I boats to have the "Shrapnel Protection" modification, though this doesn't affect survivability much.
With a crew complement of 85, Flower class (K-218)'s overall survivability is very high.
Mobility
Overall, the ship's forward speed and turning speed should not be relied upon.. Its maximum speed is around 14 knots, which while not terrible is not particularly good either. In battle, plan the course of the Flower class ahead of time as covering the distance from the start of the match to the objective can take a considerable amount of time, especially when there is a course correction involved. Know the map as well, as there are often locations that have terrain that will not permit the Flower class to travel through or have waterways too small and restrictive to allow the Flower class to maneuver through in a timely manner.
Armament
Primary armament
The main gun is a 102 mm cannon with a reload rate of approximately six seconds. It has access to three kinds of ammunition. High-explosive is the basic round that the primary armament should stick with. The SAP round isn't really useful unless fighting specific armoured targets, although even then the SAP round lacks the power to do any real damage. The shrapnel round is not much more than a gimmick to try and shoot at planes with. The best way to use it is to set it to use by the automatic gunners and select the target preference for the automatic gunners to calculate the targeting onto the target.
Overall, the 102 mm is mainly just underwhelming as it lacks the power to hull-break vehicles, meaning you have to aim for compartments which takes time and, with the reload time, means it is not very effective when compared to its other armaments.
Secondary armament
The secondary armament of the Flower class is a single 40 mm pompom mount with a field of fire which covers most of the bow and sides of the ship. Its anti-aircraft nature mean it also has a very high angle of elevation, allowing it to assist the Oerlikon cannons in aiming at hostile aircraft.
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.
Special armament
Depth charges, mines, rocket launchers and missiles are also effective in skilled hands and can take an off-guard opponent by surprise. Evaluate the ammunition of this type of armament and rate its performance in combat. If there are no special 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:
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History
Just prior to WW2, it became apparent that German U-boats would present a serious threat to British transatlantic shipping in the event of an outbreak of hostilities. Realizing this, it became clear to the Royal Navy that they needed a large number of new small vessels that could cope with this threat, whilst being cheap, simple and quick to produce, without hindering the construction of larger warships.
In response to the demand, the Smiths Dock Company proposed a modified version of one of their 700-ton whale catchers. The proposed ship virtually met all Royal Navy requirements and could even be built by smaller shipyards across the country, meaning that a large-scale production wouldn’t affect the construction of larger warships. The proposed design was accepted and the first orders for Flower-class corvettes came in as early as July 1939.
Although initially only intended to operate along the British coast line, the large range and robust seaworthiness of the Flower-class corvettes soon saw ships of this class escorting Atlantic convoys to and from Great Britain. Their primary role was to fend off submarines, which is why ships of this class were relatively lightly armed and often specialized in anti-submarine warfare.
Apart from Great Britain, Flower-class corvettes were used extensively in various different roles by numerous other nations during WW2, including the United States, France, Canada, Greece, the Netherlands and many more. Ships of this class served right up until the end of WW2, even when more advanced designs began to replace them.
Whilst Spitfires and Hurricanes kept the Luftwaffe out of British skies, the venerable Flower-class corvettes ensured that vital supplies reached Great Britain, by fighting off the German submarine wolf-packs throughout the war. With over 260 ships built, the Flower-class corvette remains one of Britain’s most mass-produced wartime ship type, whose contribution to the war effort is highly obvious.
- From Devblog
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
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
| Britain sub-chasers | |
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