MC 485
Contents
Description
With the Presidential Decree of 11 February 1952, several torpedo motorboats of the Elco and Vosper types were acquired, but one of them in particular was a German torpedo boat of the S-26 type, which survived the war and was captured by Great Britain in 1945. In 1948, it was sold to private individuals for commercial use under the name of Torus. It was acquired by the Italian Navy at the beginning of 1952 and sent to the La Spezia Military Arsenal to be refitted, reclassified as motor torpedo boat on 1 November 1952, taking the name MS 621 and NATO pennant number (P) 460. Construction work was completed in 1953. On 1 January 1954, she was given the new name MS 485 and the pennant number changed to (P) 485. On 10 September 1954, the boat was renamed MC 485 and classified as a motor cannon boat. In 1963, she was sent to the Taranto Arsenal for a cycle of extraordinary works, but as the hull had given way in several places, it was not considered advisable to proceed with her refit, and the unit was laid up on 1 July 1964 and then decommissioned on 1 March 1966.
Introduced in Update "La Royale" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season XII, "Armour Breaking Ambusher", MC 485 is a German Schnellboot class ship modified by the Italians with radar, two Italian 40 mm cannons, and the replacement of the German torpedoes with Italian ones. The ship has good manoeuvrability and firepower thanks to the two 40 mm Bofors cannons mounted at the rear that guarantee continuous damage and penetration of enemy boats, but as they are positioned behind the guns cannot aim frontally, which causes a major weakness to attacks from the front. The survivability of the Schnellboot is very low, but it is compensated for by the speed and manoeuvrability that helps you to aim and make surprise attacks on larger ships with torpedoes.
General info
Survivability and armour
Unlike most low-BR vessels, Schnellboots have an armoured bridge, with 10 mm rolled homogeneous steel sloped between 2 and 76°, which makes it relatively rare to lose control over the vessel. While this, combined with a relatively large size, might make the vessel appear to be very survivable, in reality it's a fragile vessel. A mediocre crew count, few internal compartments, wooden hull, and the necessity to expose its sides to deliver the bulk of the firepower, make it an easy target to destroy.
The best survivability can be achieved by moving directly towards or away from the enemy, where a single compartment is exposed to the enemy fire. The second-best option is to approach the enemy at an angle, where the exposed silhouette remains relatively small.
Mobility
With a top speed of 101 km/h, the MC 485 can beat even the hydrofoils in a straight line. It's one of the faster naval vessels in the game, making it perfect for capturing the points and relocating to more comfortable locations when dealing with a bluewater vessels. For its large size, the vessel remains relatively manoeuvrable, being able to even dodge incoming high-calibre projectiles. That being said, its large size also impacts the turning circle, making it easier to crash into islands or other surface obstacles while manoeuvring in narrow areas of the map designed for smaller coastal vessels.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | Stock | 74 | 24 |
| Upgraded | 101 | 33 | |
| RB/SB | Stock | 62 | 20 |
| Upgraded | 72 | 24 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 90 / 150 / 50 % 2 × 142 / 142 / 142 % | Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Much like all premium vessels, MC 485 comes with all modifications unlocked and installed. If used in Coastal matches, it might be best to uninstall the Torpedo mode modification, in order to trade shorter range for a much higher speed of the Tipo L torpedoes. When taking the MC 485 into higher BR bluewater matches, it's best to leave it installed, as the 8 km range give them great utility.
Armament
Primary armament
The main weapons of the MC 485 are two Bofors L/60 Mark 3. Their firing angles make it impossible to engage enemy warships directly front and aft of the vessel, making it tricky to use, but the overall firepower is relatively impressive for its BR. It is, however, lacking when pulled into a high BR matches.
In terms of the ammunition choice, the Universal or APT magazines are recommended against surface targets, while HET magazines are best used against aerial targets.
APT magazines have an advantage in being able to pierce through the ship, oftentimes entering through the bow and exiting through the rear of a small torpedo boats. These are best used against ships approaching directly frontally (e.g. in an attempt to bow tank).
HET magazines are highly advantageous against aerial targets, there they'll do the highest amount of damage per the round hit, while also offering the best chance of igniting the fuel tanks. Alternatively, they can be used against a particularly small boats, such as LS 3 or G-5.
- Universal: AP-T · HEFI-T
- 40 mm AP clips: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEFI-T
- 40 mm HE clips: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · AP-T
| 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 | |
| AP-T | 81 | 78 | 68 | 58 | 49 | 41 | |
| 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 | 874 | 0.9 | 0 | 0.1 | 67.13 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| AP-T | 874 | 0.89 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | ||||
Additional armament
The 533 mm Tipo L torpedoes are some of the best that Italy has to offer, featuring a great combination of range and speed, while still maintaining a decently sized, 270 kg, warhead. While it will struggle against larger warships, especially these equipped in a torpedo bulges, it's sufficient to deal with lesser targets.
For matches with destroyers, it's best to keep the torpedo mode installed, as increasing that range from 4 to 8 km makes a difference between life and death. However, against coastal vessels, it's best to uninstall it and benefit from a small (13%) increase in speed.
Usage in battles
The MC 485 can be used in much the same way as the other Schnellboots. Making a use of all your firepower requires you to expose an entire broadside - if an enemy sprays your entire broadside, you'll most likely die right away. This creates an interesting play style, where one has to either approach or depart from the enemy at a sufficient angle to make use of at least two of your guns, while preferably avoiding being fired upon, and thus - playing on the outskirts of the main engagements. Its excellent top-speed is a huge enabler in playing such a harassing role.
Much like other fast boats, it finds a great use in contesting the capture points and flanking the enemies. On larger maps it might be beneficial to go for a more distant capture points, often these dedicated to the bluewater vessels, as the MC 485 will likely be the first vessel to arrive at the location, long before lumbering destroyers get close enough to kill you and prevent capture.
Gameplay in the MC 485 hugely benefits from regularly checking the minimap and relocating, rather than rushing towards the nearest targets, as a number of gunboats can easily outgun you in a duel.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fast and very agile vessel
- Good firepower for the BR
- Very good torpedoes, which can be used even in a higher BR matches
Cons:
- Very little armour, allowing almost any calibre to penetrate it
- No forward or aft-firing guns
- No access to mines, commonly found on other Schnellboots
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
- Videos
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
| Lürssen Werft | |
|---|---|
| Schnellboot | |
| Type S-38 | S-38 · S-38b · MC 485* |
| Type S-100 | S-100 · S-147 · S-204 Lang |
| Fast Attack Craft | |
| Jaguar-class | Jaguar |
| Albatros-class | Albatros · Bussard |
| *S-67 in post-war Italian Service | |
| Italy boats | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | MC-490 · Freccia P-493 · MAS 555 · MAS 561 · MAS 569 |
| MS-15 · MS-53 · MS-472 · Stefano Turr · VAS 201 · GIS 811 · MS 444 · MC 485 | |
| Motor gun boats | MAS 441 · MS-473 · MV-611 · Alano · Sparviero |
| Motor torpedo gun boats | Saetta P-494 |
| Gunboats | Albatros · Alcione |
| Italy premium ships | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | Freccia P-493 · MAS 569 · MS 444 · MC 485 |
| Motor gun boats | Sparviero |
| Sub-chasers | Folaga |
| Destroyers | RN Aquilone · RN Aviere · RN Geniere · RN Tigre · Geniere |
| Heavy cruisers | RN Pola |
| Battleships | RN Leonardo da Vinci |
