Fleet

Dunkerque's history was not filled with epic victories in combat or spectacular achievements; nonetheless, she participated in two major historic events that changed the balance of power in the Mediterranean, making her an important vessel from an historical perspective, even if she did not sink any hostile vessels in anger.

Crew is the lifeblood of any war machine. Boats and ships can require as few as a handful of men or as many as thousands to operate efficiently. In War Thunder's naval battles, the Crew Loss mechanic is used to simulate victory by attrition, whether it's through sailor casualties or structural damage that would otherwise render the ship unsalvageable. Damage to critical components and special compartments reduces the percentage of crew able to perform their duties. Once the number of usable crew falls below the minimum required to operate the ship, the ship will be scuttled immediately.

From the spring of 1942, the General Board of the US Navy brought up a new fleet destroyer design for consideration. The design was expected to improve on the existing 2,200-ton Sumner class by raising the top speed from 36.5 to 38 knots with a moderate increase of 300 tons in displacement. This began a series of design studies that evaluated the potential characteristics of an improved Sumner/Gearing class. By the end of 1948, the design was drastically different from the destroyer envisioned 6 years before and formed the basis for the Mitscher class destroyer leaders.

The Project 253 was a very successful minesweeper. It and its derivatives saw operational success, relatively low loss rates, and served for nearly 60 years in a military capacity across 8 different navies. While obscure, it nonetheless played its role, even if a small one, in the course of naval military history. Even today, these vessels continue to live on in civilian service.

What comes to mind when one thinks of the word "battleship?" For many, it means the strongest vessels in the fleet, with the greatest firepower yes, but also with the greatest armor. Designed to combat enemy capital ships, that of course comes with the certainty that the battleship itself will also come under heavy fire from ships near, or perhaps even beyond its own strength. The continuous search of battleship architects to increase protection within the tonnage that they were given during the Dreadnought arms race led to the USS Nevada. 

Shimakaze, the only built of her kind, was the fastest large ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. As part of a three-type modernization of Japanese destroyer roles, Shimakaze served as a Type C, heavy-duty destroyer, utilizing superior speed and more torpedo launch tubes for a quick and decisive torpedo attack before speeding back to safety.

The MS-24, after having been built in 1942, was assigned to the units of the 2nd Squadron, destined to participate in operations in the area of the Sicilian Channel. She was deployed to Sicily on 28 April 1943, leaving Marsala with her twin MS-34, and went to rescue the crew of the torpedo boat RN Climene, torpedoed by an enemy submarine off Marettimo, managing to save 40 sailors.

Launched on June 18, 1942, CRDA at Monfacone, built and commissioned on June 24, 1942, was assigned to the 2°Squadriglia, transferred to bases in the Sicilian Channel in late July 1942, in the same month specifically on the 12th and 13th participated in operations against the British convoy bound for Malta during the Battle of Mid-August, on the night of August 13, 1943,

The RN Folaga (C 16) was delivered to the Regia Marina Italiana and commissioned on 16 February 1943, assigned to the Squadriglia Corvette, she underwent intense training at La Spezia in the spring, and after the training was over, she was repositioned at La Maddalena under the 7° Gruppo Anti-Sommergibile (7°Gruppo A.S.). Before the Italian armistice, she carried out 11 convoy escorts, fire actions against enemy aircraft, and 44 searches of enemy aircraft and enemy underwater units in the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea.

The Albatross-class consisted of 10 ships built by Italy to give to some NATO nations using American funds to increase the defence capabilities of these nations under the Mutual Defence Assistance Program, eventually, the albatross class corvettes were built, all equipped at the beginning with two 76mm SMP3 placed both front and rear, a twin 40mm Breda-Bofors tower at the rear in the centre of the ship and a hedgehog launcher to attack submarines, later the various nations would change the existing armament to something else.