War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Admiral Hipper

2024-11-02T03:08:31Z

U49565066: /* Primary armament */ Added from Prinz Eugen's page, with minor revisions

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_cruiser_admiral_hipper
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

The Admiral Hipper, lead ship of her class, is one of the most powerful cruisers in the German bluewater fleet, featuring a comprehensive armour scheme that can be quite resilient against cruiser gunfire. Due to her intended purpose as a raider capable of capturing merchant ships, the Hipper has an unusually high crew count, which would have been used to crew captured ships in real life, but serves as an extra buffer of crew in game. However, she possesses a few fatal and well-known weak spots: both frontal and rear magazines are massive and very prone to detonation should an opposing player be able to penetrate their armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}
''Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.''

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}
{{main|20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 (203 mm)}}

''{{PAGENAME}}'s primary armaments consists of eight 203mm/60 SK C/34 cannons arranged in four twin turrets mounted A-Bs-Xs-Y. The guns are notable for being effective at dealing damage to all kinds of targets, save for battleships at range. The guns have a good reload time of 12 seconds (ace crew) and have a decent firing arc, giving {{PAGENAME}} a consistent damage output against enemy ships.''

''The 203mm guns have three shell choices; a HE shell with 8.8 kg of TNT, a SAP shell with decent penetration (160 mm at 10 km) and sizeable filler of 5.35 kg of TNT, and a powerful APCBC shell which has very high penetration (265 mm at 10 km) that allows {{PAGENAME}} to deal damage against heavily-armoured dreadnoughts up close, and makes the ship especially deadly at closer range against any target.''

''As each shell has a high velocity of 925 m/s, this results in good accuracy, and thus makes aiming easier.''{{:20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 (203 mm)/Ammunition|20.3 cm L/4.7 Kz HE, 20.3 cm L/4.4 (m.Hb) APBC, 20.3 cm L/4.7 Bdz (m.Hb) SAP}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}
{{main|SK C/33 AA (105 mm)}}

''Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control <code>Select secondary weapon</code>. 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.''

{{:SK C/33 AA (105 mm)/Ammunition|10.5 cm Sprgr. L/4.4 Kpf.Z, 10.5 cm Sprgr. L/4.4 Zt.Z, 10.5 cm L/4.2 AP}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}
{{main|SK C/30 (37 mm)|2 cm/65 C/38 (20 mm)|2 cm/65 Flakvierling 38 (20 mm)}}

''An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control <code>Select anti-aircraft weapons</code>. 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 ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}
{{main|G7a (533 mm)}}

''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.''

=== Scout plane ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Plane}}

Located amidships is a single catapult for an Arado Ar 196 scout plane which provides unique offensive and defensive abilities, expanding tactical options. Ship-launched scout planes fly just like regular tree units, but lack munition choices and cockpit views. Alongside the typical abilities of strafing, dropping 2 x 50 kg bombs, and capping zones, the Ar 196 and other scout planes have the added ability to lay down smoke cover (up to 3 times). It is essentially the [[Ar 196 A-3|event aircraft]] except with smoke generators, so it will be a familiar unit for those who have the event version. Captains will be wise to remember to utilise the aircraft and consider when best to use it, for example to cap a point early or late in the match, to drop a smoke screen to stymie enemy bombardment and repair, to attack enemy units directly, or perhaps something completely new!

== Usage in battles ==

The Admiral Hipper is a powerful heavy cruiser. It's well protected, with some anti-torpedo protection and turtle back armour. Combined with a large crew count, this means the Hipper usually needs to take a huge amount of punishment to be sunk, however experienced players in ships with good AP shells may be able to take out the ship in fairly short order by targeting its vulnerable magazines. The Hipper's main armament - eight 203 mm guns in dual turrets - is also very effective, with a 12-second reload and stunning armour penetration and muzzle velocity (enough in some cases to penetrate even battleship armour). It also boasts a decent secondary armament, a capable anti-aircraft suite and good all-round torpedoes. The Hipper should be played as a long range brawler, able to dish it out and take damage from other cruisers, potentially threatening capital ships at closer ranges. That being said, capital ships are still by far superior in terms of protection and firepower, you should only draw their attention if you're absolutely sure you can take them out first.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Great quality main battery shells with a decent reload
* Plenty of AA armament
* Comprehensive armour layout, effective against cruiser and destroyer
* High crew count
* Fairly mobile despite its size
* Equipped with a seaplane

'''Cons:'''

* Excessive listing at high speed or on a turn, resulting in poor aiming quality. The situation worsens in arcade battle
* Large target, easily recognisable
* The armour is relatively weak in terms of absolute thickness, meaning large calibre guns can overmatch your armour
* Very vulnerable main magazines
* No radar

== History ==

Following the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in June 1935, Germany was permitted to build, among other things, heavy cruisers up to a total displacement of 50,000 tons. The previously developed Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser design was chosen for construction, with five ships being initially planned to be built.

The five ordered ships of the Admiral Hipper-class were laid down between July 1935 - August 1937. However, only the first three were actually fully constructed and commissioned into service between 1939 - 1940. The fourth ship - Seydlitz - was scuttled in 1945 still being incomplete (as a conversion into an aircraft carrier), while the fifth ship - Lützow - was also sold incomplete to the USSR in February 1940.

Admiral Hipper, named after an imperial German admiral, was the first ship of the class to see completion, being commissioned into service in April 1939. After passing sea trials, Admiral Hipper was assigned to her first combat mission - Operation Weserübung - the invasion of Denmark and Norway, where it took part in a battle with the British destroyer Glowworm and also participated in the sinking of the trawler Juniper (930 tons) and the military transport Orama (19,000 registered tons). Subsequently, Admiral Hipper steamed out into the Atlantic to intercept allied shipping in December 1940, but without significant success. The first campaign wasn't particularly successful, but during the second campaign in January and February of 1941, the Admiral Hipper attacked SLS-64, an unprotected convoy - this attack on ship count alone, was the most effective from both world wars.

Admiral Hipper was then transferred to Norway, where it took part in raids against the arctic convoys headed for the Soviet Union. As part of an operational group, it took part in Operation Rösselsprung (Knight's move) which, although not a success, resulted in the almost total destruction of the allied PQ-17 convoy by German submarines and aircraft. In December of 1942, during Operation Regenbogen (Rainbow) a battle took place in the Barents Sea which was unofficially labelled as "New Year's Battle" or "New Year's Shame" the ship was damaged and sent back to Germany for repair. The failure of the operation led to a historical decision by Hitler to order the scrapping of all large warships. Admiral Hipper was transferred to the reserves and at the beginning of 1945, arrived in Kiel where it was damaged during allied air strikes in May of the same year. The defenders on the partially disarmed ship showed no enthusiasm for its survival and as a result, the ship burned out and sank to the dock seabed. After the war, the ship was once again raised and taken apart for scrap up to 1952.

''- From [[wt:en/news/6346-development-admiral-hipper-commanding-the-high-seas-en|Devblog]]''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_cruiser_admiral_hipper Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|Oq0Ws_mafAs|'''The Shooting Range #169''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:32 discusses the Admiral Hipper.}}

== See also ==


;[[Admiral Hipper (Family)|Related development]]

* [[Prinz Eugen]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6346-development-admiral-hipper-commanding-the-high-seas-en|[Devblog] Admiral Hipper: Commanding the High Seas]]

{{ShipManufacturer Blohm and Voss}}
{{Germany heavy cruisers}}

Prinz Eugen

2024-11-02T02:57:45Z

U49565066: /* Survivability and armour */ Cleaned up the English, as well as added a little info

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_cruiser_prinz_eugen
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' was the third of the ''[[Admiral Hipper (Family)|Admiral Hipper]]''-class heavy cruisers and the last to be completed by the Kriegsmarine. She was ordered from the Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel and was laid down on 23 April 1936 as part of the German rearmament programme following the Anglo-German Naval Agreement a year prior, and was later launched on 22 August 1938.

After being commissioned in 1940 and patrolling around the Atlantic alongside the battleship ''Bismarck'' in early May 1941, ''Prinz Eugen'' would take part in her most famous engagements in the Battle of the Denmark Strait later that month, in which the pair managed to sink the British flagship [[HMS Hood|HMS ''Hood'']] and damage the battleship ''Prince of Wales''. However, ''Eugen'' suffered a fuel tank leak and was forced to part ways with ''Bismarck'', leaving the latter to her demise a few days later. After emergency repairs and problems with her engines and turbine, ''Prinz Eugen'' was ordered to be docked in Brest, occupied France, for extensive repair. After spending half a year in Brest and being the target of frequent air raids by the RAF, ''Prinz Eugen'', along with battleships ''[[Scharnhorst]]'' and ''Gneisenau'', was ordered to break through the English Channel in January 1942. The next month, ''Eugen''<nowiki/>'s stern was struck by a torpedo from the submarine HMS ''Trident'', resulting in extensive damage to the rudder. After completing her repair in 1943, ''Prinz Eugen'' was sent to the Baltic Sea to provide fire support for the retreating German army on the Eastern Front, which she did until the German capitulation in 1945. She and ''[[Nürnberg]]'' were the only German bluewater warships to survive the war intact.

After the war, ''Prinz Eugen'' was later awarded to the United States as reparation. The US Navy subsequently conducted extensive examinations on various German machinery. After which, ''Prinz Eugen''<nowiki/>'s career literally ended with a bang when she was used as one of the targets for the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in 1946.

Introduced in [[Update 1.95 "Northern Wind"]], the '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is perhaps one of the most famous cruisers of World War II. Compared to her sister ship, ''[[Admiral Hipper]]'', ''Eugen'' is in her final 1945 configuration with a substantial increase in AA firepower and crew count. This is effectively a double-edged sword; on one hand, she is more survivable than her sister ship and better protected against aircraft, while on the other hand, her large amounts of AA mounts mean that she will frequently catch fire whenever hit. Aside from this, ''Eugen'' is largely the same as ''Hipper'' in playstyle, being an all-around heavy cruiser with a particular focus on her high-velocity 8-inch guns, capable of engaging any targets she could face.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

As with her sister ship, [[Admiral Hipper]], {{PAGENAME}} features some of the best protection of all cruisers in the game. Her hull is covered with several layers of armour in a "turtleback" layout specifically designed to soak up and contain a lot of damage, save for some large calibre AP shells which can still penetrate multiple layers of armour. She also has a very high crew count, with 1,776 sailors.

Unfortunately, {{PAGENAME}}'s real-life fame (as well as her in-game notoriety) will make her a priority target: expect to be showered with shells of all calibres from enemies and putting out the fires caused by them often. Additionally, {{PAGENAME}} also has a well-known weak spot in her front turret magazine which enemies will target to take her out as soon as possible.

Due to how frequently and easily your secondary and AA armaments will be disabled (with the crew members assigned to them being killed in the process), it is recommended to not repair them in order to reduce crew loss until you've escaped from enemy fire.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

For a ship of this size and displacement, the {{PAGENAME}}'s top speed is fairly good at 70 km/h (AB) or 60 km/h (RB). However, due to her mass and high centre of gravity, the {{PAGENAME}} suffers from excessive listing problem that reduce her traverse speed and throw off the aiming reticules into the air. This can be fatal if the ship is flooding, as too much listing angle can result in the ship capsizing and sinking.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 (203 mm)}}

The {{PAGENAME}}'s primary armaments consists of eight 203 mm/60 SK C/34 cannons arranged in four twin turrets mounted A-Bs-Xs-Y. The gun is notable for being effective at dealing damage to all kinds of targets save for battleship at ranges. The gun has a good reload time of 12 seconds (ace crew) and has a decent firing arc, giving the {{PAGENAME}} a consistent damage output against enemy ships.

The 203 mm guns has three shell choice; an average HE shell with 8.8 kg of TNT, a SAP shell with decent penetration (160 mm at 10 km) and sizeable filler of 5.35 kg of TNT, and a powerful APCBC shell which have very high penetration (265 mm at 10 km), this allows the {{PAGENAME}} to deal damage against heavily-armoured dreadnoughts up close, and especially deadly at closer range against any targets. As each shell have a high velocity of 925 m/s, this results into good accuracy and thus make aiming easier.

{{:20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 (203 mm)/Ammunition|20.3 cm L/4.7 Kz HE, 20.3 cm L/4.4 (m.Hb) APBC, 20.3 cm L/4.7 Bdz (m.Hb) SAP}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|SK C/33 AA (105 mm)}}

These cannons are great for taking out destroyers, as they have a good rate of fire and damage output. They also makes decent anti-air guns for high altitude bombers, though not particularly reliable they will definitely make bomb drops harder to pull off. Depending on which target you want to focus on you may load different shells: HE shells for destroyers and other smaller vessels, time-fused HE for anti-air duties if there are a lot of bombers in the sky, and APHE for well-armoured destroyers. You can take manual control of the secondary guns (alt+2 by default), making them more effective and giving you the ability to change the shells depending on the situation you are in. However, this will leave you vulnerable to other cruisers because you will be focusing most of your attention on other vehicles, so it may be better to level up your AI gunners and leave the job to them, while you focus on other cruisers or destroyers with your powerful main guns.

{{:SK C/33 AA (105 mm)/Ammunition|10.5 cm Sprgr. L/4.4 Kpf.Z, 10.5 cm Sprgr. L/4.4 Zt.Z, 10.5 cm L/4.2 AP}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}

{{main|Bofors Flak 28 (40 mm)|2 cm/65 C/30 (20 mm)|2 cm/65 Flakvierling 38 (20 mm)}}

The Prinz Eugen is covered with 40 mm and 20 mm AA guns, boasting an overall much more effective defence than her sister ship the [[Admiral Hipper]]. These guns easily protect the ship from close-range air assaults, while the 105 mm secondary guns will make sure high altitude bombers think twice before presenting themselves as an easy target, though they lack the proximity-fused shells sported by American and British heavy AA guns. It is best to aim the guns yourself if they are coming in from high altitude because most strategic bombers can't manoeuvre very well, making them easy to lead and aim at. The 40 mm and 20 mm autocannons are also great at wiping out torpedo boats and other small vessels. Since they often carry torpedoes that can knock out or critically damage you, the wall of autocannon fire will make those torpedo boats think twice before rushing you, allowing you to focus more on the main target like other cruisers or destroyers.

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|G7a (533 mm)}}

The {{PAGENAME}} is equipped with 26 G7a torpedoes launched from four triple launchers placed in pairs, twelve of them are loaded inside the tubes (six on each side) while other ten is stocked in ready racks. Up to 12 torpedoes can be launched from each side of the ship. Due to the quantity of torpedoes, the {{PAGENAME}} can launch barrages of torpedoes to damage one or more ships at medium-to-long ranges.

=== Scout plane ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Plane}}

Located amidships is a single catapult for an Arado Ar 196 scout plane which provides unique offensive and defensive abilities, expanding tactical options. Ship-launched scout planes fly just like regular tree units but lack munition choices and cockpit views. Alongside the typical abilities of strafing, dropping 2 x 50 kg bombs, and capping zones, the Ar 196 and other scout planes have the added ability to lay down smoke cover (up to 3 times). It is essentially the [[Ar 196 A-3|event aircraft]] except with smoke generators, so it will be a familiar unit for those who have the event version. Captains will be wise to remember to utilise the aircraft and consider when best to use it, for example to cap a point early or late in the match, to create a smoke screen to stymie enemy bombardment and repair, to attack enemy units directly, or perhaps something completely new!

== Usage in battles ==

The {{PAGENAME}} is a solid ship with all-around strength that allows her to tip the balance of the team with great firepower and protection. Due to this, {{PAGENAME}}'s presence is enough to draw the attention of most of the enemy team. Whether this is a blessing or a curse depends on how well you're able to exploit the {{PAGENAME}}'s assets.

In a situation with only a few or no dreadnoughts, the {{PAGENAME}} is able to act as a vanguard for the team. Due to your status as a priority target, you can distract the enemy team into trying to take you down, and allowing your teammates to take a clean shot at an enemy. You can also use your large quantities of torpedoes to kill a preoccupied enemy, as they will be focused more on gunnery and will often does not have enough time to react to an incoming torpedoes.

To maximize the {{PAGENAME}}'s protection, angling is a must. You can contain a lot of damage by exposing only one side of the hull while preserving the crew by proper damage control. Prioritise fire extinguishing to reduce crew loss as the ship will catch fire very often, and do not repair the secondaries and AA until the coast is clear as your replacement crew will ended up becoming a cannon fodder. Flood damage is generally manageable as long as you do not attempt to traverse your ship and cause a severe listing in process. Although she remains relatively safe from flooding damage with ~80% of buoyancy left, you might need to repair the leaks as soon as the ship starts flooding (~97%) to reduce water draining time, though this is not as important as fire damage control and you can repair them later on when the flood is close to dangerous level.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* High velocity 8-inch guns with great penetration, can take on any kind of targets
* Layered armour provides tough protection against most shells
* Powerful AA armaments, effective at all ranges
* Decent top speed despite its size
* Very high crew count increases her survivability
* One scout seaplane

'''Cons:'''

* Priority target: she will almost always be targeted by the enemy team
* Catches fire very often in a firefight exchange
* Excessive listing on a turn often results in poor accuracy
* Armour is not thick enough to withstand some high-calibre shells
* Main battery magazines are located above shell rooms, meaning that a detonation is likely to be fatal

== History ==

[[File:Prinz Eugen Underway.jpg|thumb|380x380px|The Prinz Eugen underway, circa 1943.]]
The Prinz Eugen was the third and final member of the completed Admiral Hipper-class of heavy cruisers. Launched in August 1938, she saw extensive service during WWII, including in the sinking of HMS Hood. Following the cessation of hostilities, she was transferred to the Americans who used her as a test target in the Baker nuclear test. Due to the damage received during the tests, she capsized and sank before repairs could be made.<ref name=":0">World War Co (n.d.)</ref>

'''Design and development'''

The German Kriegsmarine began to design heavy cruisers in the early 1930s, despite the fact that the Treaty of Versailles banned them from building any ships of the type. Two designs were considered - a heavy cruiser with eight 203 mm (8-inch) guns in four double turrets, and a light cruiser with twelve 152 mm (6-inch) guns in four triple turrets, similar to those found on the [[Nürnberg]]. In the end, the heavier option was chosen; however, numerous design improvements resulted in the ship being significantly larger than originally intended.<ref name=":0" />

The final design displaced 14,247 tons and was 205 metres long, larger than the pocket battleship [[Admiral Graf Spee]].<ref name=":0" /> Armament was to consist of four dual 203 mm turrets, twelve 105 mm dual-purpose secondary guns and numerous anti-aircraft guns. The ship also carried 22 torpedoes in four triple launchers with 10 reloads, as well as three Arado Ar 196 scout planes.<ref name=":0" /> The main armour belt was between 70-80 mm in thickness, and armour of up to 160 mm thickness could be found on the conning tower. The ship could reach 32.5 kts (60 km/h) and had a range of 5050 nautical miles at 15 kts.<ref name=":0" />

The German Kriegsmarine placed orders for a total of five [[Admiral Hipper (Family)|Admiral Hipper-class]] heavy cruisers, to be known as [[Admiral Hipper]], Blücher, Prinz Eugen, Seydlitz, and Lützow. Of these, the Seydlitz and Lützow would never be completed; Lützow would be sold to the Soviet Union and eventually scrapped, while Seydlitz was scuttled in 1945 after plans to convert her into an aircraft carrier failed. The contract for Prinz Eugen was placed in November of 1935. Following three years of construction, the ship was launched in August of 1938.<ref name=":0" />

'''Service life'''

The Prinz Eugen was then fitted out and underwent numerous sea trials, before being formally commissioned on August 1st 1940. The ship then conducted exercises with U-boats and the battleship Bismarck, between September 1940 and April 1941.<ref name=":1">Rico, J (1998)</ref>

On May 18th, the Prinz Eugen accompanied the newly-commissioned Bismarck in Operation Rheinübung, or Exercise Rhine. After arriving in the Denmark Strait, the pair of ships engaged the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Hood. During the engagement, Prinz Eugen was able to hit Hood once before a shot from Bismarck detonated the battlecruiser's magazine, resulting in her destruction with the loss of all but 3 of her crew. After the Hood sank, the Prinz Eugen hit the Prince of Wales three times, without suffering any damage herself.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Prinz Eugen in Norway.jpg|thumb|350x350px|The Prinz Eugen moored in Norway; Admiral Scheer can be seen beside her.]]
Due to the Bismarck<nowiki/>'s damaged state, the two warships broke off soon after the engagement. Prinz Eugen sailed for Brest, where she was repaired. Bismarck was not so lucky, sinking after a long engagement with the battleships HMS Rodney and King George V. While the Prinz Eugen was docked at the Brest shipyard, she was bombed and heavily damaged, losing 60 crew members. Soon after, she participated in the "Channel Dash", escorting battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau through the English Channel towards Kiel. She survived the dash without damage, having fired numerous 203 mm shells at pursuing British destroyers.<ref name=":1" />

In February of 1942, the Prinz Eugen departed for Norway with the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. En-route, the submarine HMS Trident scored a torpedo hit on Prinz Eugen<nowiki/>'s stern. The hit caused severe damage to her stern and rudder, but she was still able to arrive at Trondheim, Norway under her own power. There, she joined Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer to perform attacks on Allied shipping convoys.<ref name=":1" />

In January of 1945, as the situation looked dire for Germany, the Prinz Eugen was dispatched to Norway once again, this time to evacuate refugees and provide support. Between 10 March and 4 April 1945, the Prinz Eugen expended almost 5,000 rounds of 203 mm ammo. She also lost 9 men as a result of a Russian rocket. On May 7th 1945, along with the surrender of mainland German forces, the Prinz Eugen and Nürnberg surrendered in Copenhagen, Denmark.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Prinz Eugen Wreck.jpg|thumb|350x350px|Prinz Eugen's wreck upside-down in Kwajelein Atoll. Note that the port-side propeller is removed.]]
After the surrender, Prinz Eugen was handed to the British. Along with several other German and Japanese prize ships, she was handed over to the United States where she was commissioned as USS Prinz Eugen (IX-300). In early 1946, the Prinz Eugen traversed the Panama canal and sailed to Bikini Atoll, where she would carry out her final duty as a test vessel in the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests.<ref name=":1" />

On July 1st 1946, the 'Able' nuclear bomb was dropped on an array of vessels, including the Prinz Eugen. The ship, 1.1 km from the epicentre, suffered only minor damage. The second 'Baker' Nuclear test also failed to do significant damage. However, the shocks of two nuclear explosions caused leaks to form in the Prinz Eugen's hull. As well, the ship could not be repaired due to the high levels of radiation.<ref name=":1" /> On December 22nd 1946, the Prinz Eugen developed a severe list, and capsized in Kwajalein Atoll. The ship was never salvaged due to the levels of radiation, but one of the ship's propellers was removed and installed near Kiel as a memorial for those who served in the Second World War.<ref name=":1" />

=== [[wt:en/news/6498-development-prinz-eugen-steaming-into-the-atomic-age-en|Devblog]] ===
Prinz Eugen, named after an 18th-century Austrian general, was the third and last ship of the German Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers to see completion. Although being ready for commissioning in July 1940, an RAF air raid on Kiel lightly damaged the warship, causing its commissioning to be delayed until August.

After passing sea trials in late 1940, Prinz Eugen was assigned to its first, and arguably its most well-known combat mission - Operation Rheinübung - alongside battleship Bismarck in May 1941. Following some repairs in France, Prinz Eugen was assigned to operations in Norwegian waters in 1942, though this undertaking was cut short by a successful torpedo attack performed by the British submarine HMS Trident, which heavily damaged Prinz Eugen. As a result, Prinz Eugen was ordered back to Germany for repairs.

Once repaired, Prinz Eugen returned to service in the late stages of WWII, acting initially as a training vessel for naval officers and providing artillery support for German ground units on the Eastern Front later on.

After the ceasefire in Europe, Prinz Eugen was handed over to the U.S. Navy as a war prize. After a detailed study of the ship's design, the U.S. Navy assigned the warship to a nuclear weapons test at the Bikini Atoll in 1946. Having survived two nuclear blasts one aerial and one underwater Prinz Eugen with minor damage was towed to Enubuj Island which was a part of Kwajalein Atoll. There the cruiser was the target of another underwater nuclear explosion. The ship stayed afloat again but the damage caused, coupled with the lack of a concerted effort for survivability, resulted in it eventually capsizing and sinking.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_cruiser_prinz_eugen Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Images
<gallery mode="packed" caption="Store Pack Images" heights="150">
File:Prinz Eugen Store Pack Image 01.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen Store Pack Image 02.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen Store Pack Image 03.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen Store Pack Image 04.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen Store Pack Image 05.jpg|
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" caption="Devblog Images" heights="150">
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 01.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 02.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 03.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 04.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 05.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 06.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 07.jpg|
File:Prinz Eugen WTWallpaper 08.jpg|
</gallery>

== See also ==


;[[Admiral Hipper (Family)|Related development]]

* [[Admiral Hipper]]

;Vessels of a similar role, configuration or era

* [[IJN Mogami]]
* [[USS Northampton (CA-26)|USS Northampton]]
* [[Kirov]]
* [[HMS London (69)]]
* [[Zara]]

;Other

* [[RN Eugenio di Savoia]] - Italian cruiser that shared the namesake with Prinz Eugen (Prince Eugene of Savoy)

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6498-development-prinz-eugen-steaming-into-the-atomic-age-en|[Devblog] Prinz Eugen: Steaming Into the Atomic Age]]

=== References ===

;Citations
<references />

;Bibliography

* WW2 Cruisers. (n.d.). Hipper Class. Retrieved November 13, 2020. [https://www.world-war.co.uk/germany/hipper.php Website]
* Rico, J. M. (1998). The Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen. Retrieved November 13, 2020. [https://www.kbismarck.com/prinzeugen.html Website]

{{ShipManufacturer Germaniawerft}}
{{Germany heavy cruisers}}
{{Germany premium ships}}

HMS Norfolk

2024-10-31T00:22:05Z

U49565066: /* Additional armament */

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_cruiser_norfolk
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British heavy cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Direct Hit"]].

The Norfolk is a Norfolk-class heavy cruiser, subclass of the County-class cruisers built by the British post-Washington Treaty in the late 1920s for ocean power projection and trade protection. As a "treaty cruiser", the Norfolk sacrificed armour protection in favour of heavy 8-inch gun armament and high speed and endurance.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

Due to the displacement limitations imposed on the County-class, the Norfolk does not have much in the way of armour. Most of what little armour she has is concentrated around the main 8-inch gun magazines, which are protected inside an armoured box of 102 mm in the sides, 76 mm on the ends and on the deck. These boxes are located below the waterline, and make her quite resistant to ammunition detonations from destroyer or light cruiser main guns at range.

The machinery is protected by only a thin strip 25 mm of armour on the sides, ends, and deck, and is thus vulnerable to even destroyer main guns. The main gun turrets and barbettes are similarly poorly protected.

The rest of the ship has no armour plating on the hull above the waterline. This means that the ship tends to take a lot of damage from even HE shells. In particular, like most British cruisers, the Norfolk has an open bridge which is highly vulnerable to getting disabled.

The Norfolk has a respectable crew complement of 819 men. However, many of these crew members are located on the exposed anti-aircraft gun positions, which means that she tends to suffer considerable crew attrition from even relatively light HE hits, such as from destroyers.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

The Norfolk is fairly fast for a heavy cruiser. However, she is still a heavy cruiser, and thus her handling and acceleration/deceleration characteristics are still relatively cumbersome compared to those of lighter ships.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)}}

The Norfolk's main armament consists of eight 8-inch Mark VIII guns distributed in four twin turrets. These guns have acceptable accuracy, though they will struggle to gain consistent hits at longer ranges. The shortest possible reload time with a fully trained crew is 12 seconds, which is fast for a heavy cruiser. There is no first-stage ammunition stowage, thus the reload is consistent no matter how much ammunition is left in the magazines.

The 8-inch guns have only two types of shell: HE and SAPCBC. The HE shell contains a powerful bursting charge of 10 kg of TNT. The SAPCBC shell is the only other shell present, with no access to a full AP shell. However, the SAPCBC makes up for this by providing a solid blend of penetrating power and explosive filler. Compared to the shells seen on the 8inch/55 on American heavy cruisers, the SAPCBC possesses over twice the penetration of the American Common shells, and twice the explosive filler of the American APCBC shell, with 5.2 kg of TNT, allowing the SAPCBC to be used to great effect against both cruisers and destroyers.

HE is used as the stock shell on the Norfolk, and while its large bursting charge deals heavy damage to light targets, the SAPCBC is more versatile and should immediately be researched following the basic survivability modifications, and SAPCBC should be used in nearly all circumstances.

The main guns have an unusual amount of elevation of 70 degrees: in real life, this was because the guns were expected to engage aircraft. However, as there is no time-fused or VT-fused shell available for the British 8-inch gun currently in the game, the Norfolk is unable to take full advantage of this feature.

{{:8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)/Ammunition|8 inch HE, 8 inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)}}

The Norfolk is fitted with with four twin 4 inch/45 Mark XVI mounts, which were used on several destroyers in the British tech tree, two to a side amidships. These guns are mostly useful against aircraft, as unlike later American cruisers with access to the 5 inch/38 dual-purpose gun, these 4 inch guns have much poorer damage output. There are four shells available, HE, SAP, HE-TF, and HE-VT. The stock HE performs much as can be expected for a gun of this calibre, doing modest damage to most anything it faces. The SAP shell has a reasonable 103mm of penetration at 1,000 m, and although the penetration rapidly falls off, it can still help defend the ship against surface threats. The HE-TF and HE-VT are both specialized for anti-aircraft, and can deal a reasonable amount of damage against enemy planes. It is recommended to take majority HE-VT, with some SAP as well.

{{:4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)/Ammunition|4 inch HE, 4 inch SAP, 4 inch HE-TF, 4 inch HE-VT}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}

{{main|2pdr QF Mk.VIII (40 mm)|20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm)}}

The stars of the ship's dedicated AA outfit are the two octuple 40 mm Pom-Pom mounts located just aft of the torpedoes. It is quite notable to find a British ship lighter than a battleship or battlecruiser with even one of these eight-barreled behemoths, and HMS Norfolk mounts TWO of them. These can easily dispatch aircraft, as well as patrol boats if necessary. Aside from those, and the dual-purpose 4 inch/45 mounts, the only other AA armament are eight single 20 mm Oerlikon Mk.IIs. Four are located around the superstructure, one is on the B turret, two are on the X turret, and one more can be found on the stern. These will aid in downing planes, and provide a nice light show for whatever they are shooting at. While the Norfolk's AA is still somewhat inferior to other cruisers around its battle rating, such as its counterpart the London and other foreign ships, it is usually sufficient to defend the ship against air attack.

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX (533 mm)}}

The Norfolk is equipped with two quadruple torpedo tubes, located on each side of the ship. They fire Mk.IX wet-heater torpedoes, which are superior to the antiquated Mk.V steam turbined torpedoes found on older cruisers in range and explosive mass, but are outclassed by foreign torpedoes like the powerful, oxygen-propelled Type 93 Long Lance torpedo.

== Usage in battles ==

The Norfolk is a bit of a glass cannon, having excellent firepower but very poor armour protection for a heavy cruiser. Her armour will protect against magazine detonations from most cruiser shells, but the lack of armour elsewhere, especially on critical parts like her turrets and the bridge, mean that she can take crippling damage from even destroyers if they get within effective range. This means that she excels at providing medium range support and should generally avoid drawing too much attention to herself. She has a good turn of speed for a heavy cruiser, allowing her to get to tactically advantageous positions a little bit faster while the large fillers in her HE and SAPCBC shells can inflict heavy damage on destroyers and cruisers. It is recommended to become familiar with the armour schemes of enemy cruisers, and target those which have poor protection, as against them the massive bursting charge will shine, while you won't notice the inferior penetration of the shells.

The Norfolk is also one of the few 5.7 cruisers equipped with air-search radar, giving crucial early warning of any incoming enemy aircraft. She also has a very reasonable anti-aircraft armament suite, allowing her to provide effective air cover to teammates when necessary.

'''Specific enemies worth noting'''

'''Late destroyers + USS Atlanta'''

* Several late destroyers, such as the Porter, Somers, and Spokoinyy can prove to be a dangerous foe, as the Norfolk's general lack of armour protection makes it extremely vulnerable against a hail of small-calibre fire. When encountering them, you should remain calm, as they while they will sting, they will not sink you fast enough. Fire your opening salvo against them under the front turrets, as it will likely destroy the turrets, damage the bridge, and ideally cause an ammunition detonation as well. A larger threat, in both size and danger, is the USS Atlanta, which can rain a 14-gun broadside of 5" shells down on you. It is best to try to engage the Atlanta at range, where the long travel time of the Atlanta's shells proves to be a disadvantage, while your 8" guns are very well suited for engaging cruisers at long range

'''German 5.7 Cruisers'''

* The German trio of Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen, and Admiral Graf Spee are all extremely dangerous enemies, as they possess a blend of both firepower and armour that put the Norfolk to shame. You should never engage them directly, as they will soundly beat you in a duel. Instead, fight them when they are distracted by other people. Specifically, when fighting the Graf Spee, put extra effort into dodging the enemy's fire, as their poor fire rate and high single-shot damage means they rely on making every shell count.

'''Other County-class cruisers'''

* The Norfolk also happens to fall into the type of thin-skinned cruisers that it most efficiently engages, and thus enemy County-class cruisers should be dealt with immediately. Distribute your fire of SAP around different sections of the enemy ship, and let the excellent bursting charge of the shells do the rest of the work for you. Put effort into dodging enemy shots, as their return fire will hurt quite a bit.

'''Late light cruisers'''

* Light cruisers such as the Mikuma, Helena, Brooklyn, etc. possess a very high damage output, and their large broadsides and high fire rate will tear through the nonexistent armour of the Norfolk. However, their armour is also generally lacking, and you can defeat them if you are able to hit them more consistently than their return fire. Try to destroy their turrets, or damage their ammunition hoists to decrease their firepower. Ideally, you could immediately kill them with an ammunition detonation, and with a bit of luck one of your hits under the turrets may give you a quick victory.

'''Battleships and battlecruisers'''

* The Norfolk's position as a moderately high BR cruiser means it may regularly face battleships. Against them, there is very little that can be done. When fighting battleships, your best bet is to run to cover with your superior speed, dodge their shells, and attempt to deal some damage to their superstructure, while praying that your friendly battleships dispatch them quickly. If you spot an overextended battleship, using island cover to get close and make a suicidal torpedo attack may be viable.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* High rate of fire for a heavy cruiser
* Large shell explosive fillers
* Heavy anti-aircraft armament
* Relatively high top speed for a heavy cruiser
* Equipped with air-search radar
* Well-protected main gun ammunition magazines

'''Cons:'''

* Little to no armour protecting the ship outside of the magazines
* Mediocre main gun accuracy
* Can be matched against battleships
* Tends to lose crew quickly due to exposed secondary guns and anti-aircraft mounts and turret/bridge disables
* Lacks a floatplane

== History ==

The County-class cruisers were the first British cruisers designed under the restrictions of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. The treaty, which limited cruiser tonnage to 10,000 tons, clashed with the Royal Navy's need for a cruiser to defend its global trade routes to its colonies. To ensure a blend of firepower and range, the Royal Navy called for a long ship with four twin-turrets as their new heavy cruiser design. This became the County-class cruiser, a conservatively built ship with a very high freeboard, allowing for high directional stability. The superstructure was taken from a design first used on the HMS Enterprise, which transformed the scattered sections of conning towers, wheelhouses, navigating and signaling platforms, and fire control seen on World War I-era cruisers into a neat block at the front of the ship. The two boiler rooms, were ventilated into four uptakes, of which the central one was combined into a larger funnel, giving the Counties their distinctive funnel arrangement. However, the size of the ship left little displacement available to be allowed for armour protection, and thus the side armour was less of an armour belt and more of basic shrapnel protection.

HMS Norfolk was the lead ship of her subclass, which involved minor modifications such as the movement of the 4-inch guns further forward, the slight shortening of the superstructure, and the changing of the primary armament from the Mark I variant to the Mark II variant, with simplified loading. She was initially part of a four ship class, with an additional ship in the talks, but in the end she only received one sister, Dorsetshire, due to budget cuts. Construction started on Norfolk on July 8, 1927. She was launched on December 12, 1928, and entered service on April 30, 1930.

Norfolk became involved in the September 1931 Invergordon Mutiny, where sailors protested an imminent major pay cut. In the end, the sailors only received the minor pay cut the entire armed forces received, and the incident was settled peacefully. Between 1932 and 1934, she served with the America and West Indies Station at Bermuda, cruising around the Americas, engaging in exercises, providing hurricane relief, and protecting British interests in the area. In 1935, she moved to the East Indies Station, where she remained in 1939. Then, she returned back to Britain for a refit, and was in dockyard when the World War II began.

For the first years of the war, Norfolk was engaged with the Home Fleet in hunting German surface raiders, although she saw no success. In November 1939, she was damaged by the submarine U-47, necessitating repairs. Not long after, she was bombed in an air raid, requiring more repairs, where she also had a radar set installed. She was then engaged in several raids off the Norwegian coast, until December 1940, where she operated out of Freetown in the South Atlantic, and attempted to hunt down the raider Kormoran, but again with no success.

By April 1941, Norfolk had returned to Scapa Flow, where intelligence reports suggested the battleship Bismarck was readying for action. On May 20, 1941, Norfolk was patrolling with fellow heavy cruiser Suffolk in the Denmark Strait under the command of Rear Admiral W.F. Wake-Walker, when they received reports from that the Swedish cruiser Gotland had encountered two large warships with heavy escort. Realizing the situation brewing, the Admiralty sent out reconnaissance aircraft, but the Bismarck had already slipped away and was cruising through the North Sea. With the Home Fleet scrambling ships to sea, on May 23, Norfolk and Suffolk encountered Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait at a range of only 6 nautical miles, and the cruisers quickly disengaged. After sending out contact reports, the cruisers began shadowing the German ships. The Admiralty had the foresight to predict the Denmark Strait as a likely route for Bismarck to take, and had dispatched a force under Vice Admiral Holland, with HMS Hood, Prince of Wales, and destroyers to aid Wake-Walker. At 0516 the following morning, Holland arrived, with Norfolk and Suffolk still trailing behind the German ships. Shortly after, Holland engaged the Bismarck, but after just 10 minutes of firing, the Hood exploded, killing Holland and nearly the entire crew. After another 10 minutes, Prince of Wales was crippled, and withdrew. Norfolk witnessed the battle from 15 nautical miles away.

Following the spectacular defeat, the Royal Navy's resolve to sink the Bismarck grew. Norfolk joined Prince of Wales shortly after the battle concluded, as the British destroyers tried to find survivors from Hood. Despite the damage sustained to Prince of Wales, she kept pace with Norfolk and Suffolk as the cruisers continued to shadow Bismarck. However, early in the morning on the 25th, the cruisers lost contact with Bismarck. Prince of Wales broke off to refuel, and Norfolk and Suffolk split up. Norfolk was operating independently when Bismarck was spotted on the 26th by a PBY flying boat. She rapidly closed the distance to the contact report until the morning of the 27th, where she made visual contact with the now crippled Bismarck at 0753. Shortly after, she sighted the battleships HMS King George V and Rodney under Admiral John Tovey, who had come to finish the job Norfolk had started four days prior. At 0847, with Norfolk 10 nautical miles away, the final action of the Bismarck began, with Norfolk's sister Dorsetshire joining from the south. Norfolk joined in the shelling, and claimed two torpedo hits on Bismarck. After just over an hour of intense action, the four British ships had fired 2,800 shells at Bismarck, scoring 400 hits, reducing the Bismarck to a wreck. At 10:20, Tovey turned for home, and Dorsetshire finished off the Bismarck with torpedoes.

After the action, Norfolk returned to menial duties, now assigned the arduous task of escorting the Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union. She would participate in escorting the convoys through the unending daylight of the summers and the darkness of the arctic winters for the next few years.

On December 20, 1943, eastbound convoy JW 55B departed for the Soviet Union. Norfolk was at sea at the time escorting westbound convoy RA 55A back from Murmansk after an uneventful journey. The eastbound journey had been uneventful. It had been nearly a year since German capital ships had sortied against an Arctic convoy, at the Battle of the Barents Sea, and German battleships had been holed up in port since the loss of Bismarck. However, the two surviving battleships, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, had proved a formidable fleet-in-being, and were always poised to strike from their Norwegian bases. Bruce Fraser, chief Admiral of the Home Fleet, and in charge of protecting the Arctic convoys, suspected that German surface ships may try to strike at JW 55B. He envisioned a decisive battle around Christmas against British and German battleships, where the threat of German battleships striking a the convoys could be permanently neutralized. On December 22, JW 55B was spotted by the Luftwaffe, and the next day, Fraser put to sea personally commanding his flagship HMS Duke of York, with a light cruiser and four destroyers as escort. Fraser proved to be correct, as on Christmas, Scharnhorst and five destroyers sortied from Norway.

As RA 55A was diverted north. Norfolk, along with light cruisers Belfast and Southampton, joined JW 55B instead. At 0900 on December 26, the cruisers encountered Scharnhorst, and immediately opened fire from 12,000 m, destroying the Scharnhorst's radar. Norfolk, whose guns produced the brightest flashes, was in turn targeted by Scharnhorst, but Scharnhorst soon broke off the battle, misidentifying Norfolk as a battleship. Norfolk and the cruisers pursued Scharnhorst, while struggling to keep pace in the heavy seas. Shortly after noon, the two sides exchanged fire again, disabling X turret on Norfolk and damaging her radar, but again broke off, while the German destroyers fruitlessly searched for JW 55B alone. Norfolk was eventually forced to retreat due to her damage, in addition to Southampton, leaving Belfast alone. However, they escaped undetected due to Scharnhorst's destroyed radar, and Belfast successfully maintained contact until Fraser arrived in Duke of York and sank Scharnhorst.

Following this, Norfolk eventually had her entire X turret removed and replaced with additional AA. These repairs and refits resulted in her being unable to participate in the D-Day landings. The rest of her wartime service was uneventful. On May 4, 1945, she served as the flagship of Operation Judgement, where Norfolk and several other ships escorted escort carriers for a raid on Kilbotn, Norway, where they sank a submarine and two other ships. After the war's conclusion, Norfolk ferried the Norwegian Royal Family back to Oslo, after their five year exile in London.

Norfolk remained in service until 1949, where she was transferred to reserve. In 1950, she sold off for scrapping. She was the third of five ships to bear the name Norfolk, and accounted for 6 of the 11 battle honors the lineage earned.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=uk_cruiser_norfolk Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== 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 ==

''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{ShipManufacturer Fairfields}}
{{Britain heavy cruisers}}

HMS Norfolk

2024-10-31T00:15:10Z

U49565066: /* Anti-aircraft armament */

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_cruiser_norfolk
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British heavy cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Direct Hit"]].

The Norfolk is a Norfolk-class heavy cruiser, subclass of the County-class cruisers built by the British post-Washington Treaty in the late 1920s for ocean power projection and trade protection. As a "treaty cruiser", the Norfolk sacrificed armour protection in favour of heavy 8-inch gun armament and high speed and endurance.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

Due to the displacement limitations imposed on the County-class, the Norfolk does not have much in the way of armour. Most of what little armour she has is concentrated around the main 8-inch gun magazines, which are protected inside an armoured box of 102 mm in the sides, 76 mm on the ends and on the deck. These boxes are located below the waterline, and make her quite resistant to ammunition detonations from destroyer or light cruiser main guns at range.

The machinery is protected by only a thin strip 25 mm of armour on the sides, ends, and deck, and is thus vulnerable to even destroyer main guns. The main gun turrets and barbettes are similarly poorly protected.

The rest of the ship has no armour plating on the hull above the waterline. This means that the ship tends to take a lot of damage from even HE shells. In particular, like most British cruisers, the Norfolk has an open bridge which is highly vulnerable to getting disabled.

The Norfolk has a respectable crew complement of 819 men. However, many of these crew members are located on the exposed anti-aircraft gun positions, which means that she tends to suffer considerable crew attrition from even relatively light HE hits, such as from destroyers.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

The Norfolk is fairly fast for a heavy cruiser. However, she is still a heavy cruiser, and thus her handling and acceleration/deceleration characteristics are still relatively cumbersome compared to those of lighter ships.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)}}

The Norfolk's main armament consists of eight 8-inch Mark VIII guns distributed in four twin turrets. These guns have acceptable accuracy, though they will struggle to gain consistent hits at longer ranges. The shortest possible reload time with a fully trained crew is 12 seconds, which is fast for a heavy cruiser. There is no first-stage ammunition stowage, thus the reload is consistent no matter how much ammunition is left in the magazines.

The 8-inch guns have only two types of shell: HE and SAPCBC. The HE shell contains a powerful bursting charge of 10 kg of TNT. The SAPCBC shell is the only other shell present, with no access to a full AP shell. However, the SAPCBC makes up for this by providing a solid blend of penetrating power and explosive filler. Compared to the shells seen on the 8inch/55 on American heavy cruisers, the SAPCBC possesses over twice the penetration of the American Common shells, and twice the explosive filler of the American APCBC shell, with 5.2 kg of TNT, allowing the SAPCBC to be used to great effect against both cruisers and destroyers.

HE is used as the stock shell on the Norfolk, and while its large bursting charge deals heavy damage to light targets, the SAPCBC is more versatile and should immediately be researched following the basic survivability modifications, and SAPCBC should be used in nearly all circumstances.

The main guns have an unusual amount of elevation of 70 degrees: in real life, this was because the guns were expected to engage aircraft. However, as there is no time-fused or VT-fused shell available for the British 8-inch gun currently in the game, the Norfolk is unable to take full advantage of this feature.

{{:8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)/Ammunition|8 inch HE, 8 inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)}}

The Norfolk is fitted with with four twin 4 inch/45 Mark XVI mounts, which were used on several destroyers in the British tech tree, two to a side amidships. These guns are mostly useful against aircraft, as unlike later American cruisers with access to the 5 inch/38 dual-purpose gun, these 4 inch guns have much poorer damage output. There are four shells available, HE, SAP, HE-TF, and HE-VT. The stock HE performs much as can be expected for a gun of this calibre, doing modest damage to most anything it faces. The SAP shell has a reasonable 103mm of penetration at 1,000 m, and although the penetration rapidly falls off, it can still help defend the ship against surface threats. The HE-TF and HE-VT are both specialized for anti-aircraft, and can deal a reasonable amount of damage against enemy planes. It is recommended to take majority HE-VT, with some SAP as well.

{{:4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)/Ammunition|4 inch HE, 4 inch SAP, 4 inch HE-TF, 4 inch HE-VT}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}

{{main|2pdr QF Mk.VIII (40 mm)|20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm)}}

The stars of the ship's dedicated AA outfit are the two octuple 40 mm Pom-Pom mounts located just aft of the torpedoes. It is quite notable to find a British ship lighter than a battleship or battlecruiser with even one of these eight-barreled behemoths, and HMS Norfolk mounts TWO of them. These can easily dispatch aircraft, as well as patrol boats if necessary. Aside from those, and the dual-purpose 4 inch/45 mounts, the only other AA armament are eight single 20 mm Oerlikon Mk.IIs. Four are located around the superstructure, one is on the B turret, two are on the X turret, and one more can be found on the stern. These will aid in downing planes, and provide a nice light show for whatever they are shooting at. While the Norfolk's AA is still somewhat inferior to other cruisers around its battle rating, such as its counterpart the London and other foreign ships, it is usually sufficient to defend the ship against air attack.

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX (533 mm)}}

The Norfolk is equipped with two quadruple torpedo tubes, located on each side of the ship. They fire Mk.IX wet-heater torpedoes, which are superior to the antiquated Mk.V steam turbined torpedoes found on older cruisers in range and explosive mass, but are still unexceptional compared to foreign torpedoes like the Type 93. They will certainly save you if you get into a close-quarters brawl with an enemy ship, but they shouldn't be relied on aside from a last resort weapon

== Usage in battles ==

The Norfolk is a bit of a glass cannon, having excellent firepower but very poor armour protection for a heavy cruiser. Her armour will protect against magazine detonations from most cruiser shells, but the lack of armour elsewhere, especially on critical parts like her turrets and the bridge, mean that she can take crippling damage from even destroyers if they get within effective range. This means that she excels at providing medium range support and should generally avoid drawing too much attention to herself. She has a good turn of speed for a heavy cruiser, allowing her to get to tactically advantageous positions a little bit faster while the large fillers in her HE and SAPCBC shells can inflict heavy damage on destroyers and cruisers. It is recommended to become familiar with the armour schemes of enemy cruisers, and target those which have poor protection, as against them the massive bursting charge will shine, while you won't notice the inferior penetration of the shells.

The Norfolk is also one of the few 5.7 cruisers equipped with air-search radar, giving crucial early warning of any incoming enemy aircraft. She also has a very reasonable anti-aircraft armament suite, allowing her to provide effective air cover to teammates when necessary.

'''Specific enemies worth noting'''

'''Late destroyers + USS Atlanta'''

* Several late destroyers, such as the Porter, Somers, and Spokoinyy can prove to be a dangerous foe, as the Norfolk's general lack of armour protection makes it extremely vulnerable against a hail of small-calibre fire. When encountering them, you should remain calm, as they while they will sting, they will not sink you fast enough. Fire your opening salvo against them under the front turrets, as it will likely destroy the turrets, damage the bridge, and ideally cause an ammunition detonation as well. A larger threat, in both size and danger, is the USS Atlanta, which can rain a 14-gun broadside of 5" shells down on you. It is best to try to engage the Atlanta at range, where the long travel time of the Atlanta's shells proves to be a disadvantage, while your 8" guns are very well suited for engaging cruisers at long range

'''German 5.7 Cruisers'''

* The German trio of Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen, and Admiral Graf Spee are all extremely dangerous enemies, as they possess a blend of both firepower and armour that put the Norfolk to shame. You should never engage them directly, as they will soundly beat you in a duel. Instead, fight them when they are distracted by other people. Specifically, when fighting the Graf Spee, put extra effort into dodging the enemy's fire, as their poor fire rate and high single-shot damage means they rely on making every shell count.

'''Other County-class cruisers'''

* The Norfolk also happens to fall into the type of thin-skinned cruisers that it most efficiently engages, and thus enemy County-class cruisers should be dealt with immediately. Distribute your fire of SAP around different sections of the enemy ship, and let the excellent bursting charge of the shells do the rest of the work for you. Put effort into dodging enemy shots, as their return fire will hurt quite a bit.

'''Late light cruisers'''

* Light cruisers such as the Mikuma, Helena, Brooklyn, etc. possess a very high damage output, and their large broadsides and high fire rate will tear through the nonexistent armour of the Norfolk. However, their armour is also generally lacking, and you can defeat them if you are able to hit them more consistently than their return fire. Try to destroy their turrets, or damage their ammunition hoists to decrease their firepower. Ideally, you could immediately kill them with an ammunition detonation, and with a bit of luck one of your hits under the turrets may give you a quick victory.

'''Battleships and battlecruisers'''

* The Norfolk's position as a moderately high BR cruiser means it may regularly face battleships. Against them, there is very little that can be done. When fighting battleships, your best bet is to run to cover with your superior speed, dodge their shells, and attempt to deal some damage to their superstructure, while praying that your friendly battleships dispatch them quickly. If you spot an overextended battleship, using island cover to get close and make a suicidal torpedo attack may be viable.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* High rate of fire for a heavy cruiser
* Large shell explosive fillers
* Heavy anti-aircraft armament
* Relatively high top speed for a heavy cruiser
* Equipped with air-search radar
* Well-protected main gun ammunition magazines

'''Cons:'''

* Little to no armour protecting the ship outside of the magazines
* Mediocre main gun accuracy
* Can be matched against battleships
* Tends to lose crew quickly due to exposed secondary guns and anti-aircraft mounts and turret/bridge disables
* Lacks a floatplane

== History ==

The County-class cruisers were the first British cruisers designed under the restrictions of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. The treaty, which limited cruiser tonnage to 10,000 tons, clashed with the Royal Navy's need for a cruiser to defend its global trade routes to its colonies. To ensure a blend of firepower and range, the Royal Navy called for a long ship with four twin-turrets as their new heavy cruiser design. This became the County-class cruiser, a conservatively built ship with a very high freeboard, allowing for high directional stability. The superstructure was taken from a design first used on the HMS Enterprise, which transformed the scattered sections of conning towers, wheelhouses, navigating and signaling platforms, and fire control seen on World War I-era cruisers into a neat block at the front of the ship. The two boiler rooms, were ventilated into four uptakes, of which the central one was combined into a larger funnel, giving the Counties their distinctive funnel arrangement. However, the size of the ship left little displacement available to be allowed for armour protection, and thus the side armour was less of an armour belt and more of basic shrapnel protection.

HMS Norfolk was the lead ship of her subclass, which involved minor modifications such as the movement of the 4-inch guns further forward, the slight shortening of the superstructure, and the changing of the primary armament from the Mark I variant to the Mark II variant, with simplified loading. She was initially part of a four ship class, with an additional ship in the talks, but in the end she only received one sister, Dorsetshire, due to budget cuts. Construction started on Norfolk on July 8, 1927. She was launched on December 12, 1928, and entered service on April 30, 1930.

Norfolk became involved in the September 1931 Invergordon Mutiny, where sailors protested an imminent major pay cut. In the end, the sailors only received the minor pay cut the entire armed forces received, and the incident was settled peacefully. Between 1932 and 1934, she served with the America and West Indies Station at Bermuda, cruising around the Americas, engaging in exercises, providing hurricane relief, and protecting British interests in the area. In 1935, she moved to the East Indies Station, where she remained in 1939. Then, she returned back to Britain for a refit, and was in dockyard when the World War II began.

For the first years of the war, Norfolk was engaged with the Home Fleet in hunting German surface raiders, although she saw no success. In November 1939, she was damaged by the submarine U-47, necessitating repairs. Not long after, she was bombed in an air raid, requiring more repairs, where she also had a radar set installed. She was then engaged in several raids off the Norwegian coast, until December 1940, where she operated out of Freetown in the South Atlantic, and attempted to hunt down the raider Kormoran, but again with no success.

By April 1941, Norfolk had returned to Scapa Flow, where intelligence reports suggested the battleship Bismarck was readying for action. On May 20, 1941, Norfolk was patrolling with fellow heavy cruiser Suffolk in the Denmark Strait under the command of Rear Admiral W.F. Wake-Walker, when they received reports from that the Swedish cruiser Gotland had encountered two large warships with heavy escort. Realizing the situation brewing, the Admiralty sent out reconnaissance aircraft, but the Bismarck had already slipped away and was cruising through the North Sea. With the Home Fleet scrambling ships to sea, on May 23, Norfolk and Suffolk encountered Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait at a range of only 6 nautical miles, and the cruisers quickly disengaged. After sending out contact reports, the cruisers began shadowing the German ships. The Admiralty had the foresight to predict the Denmark Strait as a likely route for Bismarck to take, and had dispatched a force under Vice Admiral Holland, with HMS Hood, Prince of Wales, and destroyers to aid Wake-Walker. At 0516 the following morning, Holland arrived, with Norfolk and Suffolk still trailing behind the German ships. Shortly after, Holland engaged the Bismarck, but after just 10 minutes of firing, the Hood exploded, killing Holland and nearly the entire crew. After another 10 minutes, Prince of Wales was crippled, and withdrew. Norfolk witnessed the battle from 15 nautical miles away.

Following the spectacular defeat, the Royal Navy's resolve to sink the Bismarck grew. Norfolk joined Prince of Wales shortly after the battle concluded, as the British destroyers tried to find survivors from Hood. Despite the damage sustained to Prince of Wales, she kept pace with Norfolk and Suffolk as the cruisers continued to shadow Bismarck. However, early in the morning on the 25th, the cruisers lost contact with Bismarck. Prince of Wales broke off to refuel, and Norfolk and Suffolk split up. Norfolk was operating independently when Bismarck was spotted on the 26th by a PBY flying boat. She rapidly closed the distance to the contact report until the morning of the 27th, where she made visual contact with the now crippled Bismarck at 0753. Shortly after, she sighted the battleships HMS King George V and Rodney under Admiral John Tovey, who had come to finish the job Norfolk had started four days prior. At 0847, with Norfolk 10 nautical miles away, the final action of the Bismarck began, with Norfolk's sister Dorsetshire joining from the south. Norfolk joined in the shelling, and claimed two torpedo hits on Bismarck. After just over an hour of intense action, the four British ships had fired 2,800 shells at Bismarck, scoring 400 hits, reducing the Bismarck to a wreck. At 10:20, Tovey turned for home, and Dorsetshire finished off the Bismarck with torpedoes.

After the action, Norfolk returned to menial duties, now assigned the arduous task of escorting the Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union. She would participate in escorting the convoys through the unending daylight of the summers and the darkness of the arctic winters for the next few years.

On December 20, 1943, eastbound convoy JW 55B departed for the Soviet Union. Norfolk was at sea at the time escorting westbound convoy RA 55A back from Murmansk after an uneventful journey. The eastbound journey had been uneventful. It had been nearly a year since German capital ships had sortied against an Arctic convoy, at the Battle of the Barents Sea, and German battleships had been holed up in port since the loss of Bismarck. However, the two surviving battleships, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, had proved a formidable fleet-in-being, and were always poised to strike from their Norwegian bases. Bruce Fraser, chief Admiral of the Home Fleet, and in charge of protecting the Arctic convoys, suspected that German surface ships may try to strike at JW 55B. He envisioned a decisive battle around Christmas against British and German battleships, where the threat of German battleships striking a the convoys could be permanently neutralized. On December 22, JW 55B was spotted by the Luftwaffe, and the next day, Fraser put to sea personally commanding his flagship HMS Duke of York, with a light cruiser and four destroyers as escort. Fraser proved to be correct, as on Christmas, Scharnhorst and five destroyers sortied from Norway.

As RA 55A was diverted north. Norfolk, along with light cruisers Belfast and Southampton, joined JW 55B instead. At 0900 on December 26, the cruisers encountered Scharnhorst, and immediately opened fire from 12,000 m, destroying the Scharnhorst's radar. Norfolk, whose guns produced the brightest flashes, was in turn targeted by Scharnhorst, but Scharnhorst soon broke off the battle, misidentifying Norfolk as a battleship. Norfolk and the cruisers pursued Scharnhorst, while struggling to keep pace in the heavy seas. Shortly after noon, the two sides exchanged fire again, disabling X turret on Norfolk and damaging her radar, but again broke off, while the German destroyers fruitlessly searched for JW 55B alone. Norfolk was eventually forced to retreat due to her damage, in addition to Southampton, leaving Belfast alone. However, they escaped undetected due to Scharnhorst's destroyed radar, and Belfast successfully maintained contact until Fraser arrived in Duke of York and sank Scharnhorst.

Following this, Norfolk eventually had her entire X turret removed and replaced with additional AA. These repairs and refits resulted in her being unable to participate in the D-Day landings. The rest of her wartime service was uneventful. On May 4, 1945, she served as the flagship of Operation Judgement, where Norfolk and several other ships escorted escort carriers for a raid on Kilbotn, Norway, where they sank a submarine and two other ships. After the war's conclusion, Norfolk ferried the Norwegian Royal Family back to Oslo, after their five year exile in London.

Norfolk remained in service until 1949, where she was transferred to reserve. In 1950, she sold off for scrapping. She was the third of five ships to bear the name Norfolk, and accounted for 6 of the 11 battle honors the lineage earned.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=uk_cruiser_norfolk Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== 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 ==

''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

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{{ShipManufacturer Fairfields}}
{{Britain heavy cruisers}}

HMS Norfolk

2024-10-31T00:03:05Z

U49565066: /* Secondary armament */ later American cruisers have access to the 5 inch/38 dual-purpose gun

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_cruiser_norfolk
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British heavy cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Direct Hit"]].

The Norfolk is a Norfolk-class heavy cruiser, subclass of the County-class cruisers built by the British post-Washington Treaty in the late 1920s for ocean power projection and trade protection. As a "treaty cruiser", the Norfolk sacrificed armour protection in favour of heavy 8-inch gun armament and high speed and endurance.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

Due to the displacement limitations imposed on the County-class, the Norfolk does not have much in the way of armour. Most of what little armour she has is concentrated around the main 8-inch gun magazines, which are protected inside an armoured box of 102 mm in the sides, 76 mm on the ends and on the deck. These boxes are located below the waterline, and make her quite resistant to ammunition detonations from destroyer or light cruiser main guns at range.

The machinery is protected by only a thin strip 25 mm of armour on the sides, ends, and deck, and is thus vulnerable to even destroyer main guns. The main gun turrets and barbettes are similarly poorly protected.

The rest of the ship has no armour plating on the hull above the waterline. This means that the ship tends to take a lot of damage from even HE shells. In particular, like most British cruisers, the Norfolk has an open bridge which is highly vulnerable to getting disabled.

The Norfolk has a respectable crew complement of 819 men. However, many of these crew members are located on the exposed anti-aircraft gun positions, which means that she tends to suffer considerable crew attrition from even relatively light HE hits, such as from destroyers.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

The Norfolk is fairly fast for a heavy cruiser. However, she is still a heavy cruiser, and thus her handling and acceleration/deceleration characteristics are still relatively cumbersome compared to those of lighter ships.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)}}

The Norfolk's main armament consists of eight 8-inch Mark VIII guns distributed in four twin turrets. These guns have acceptable accuracy, though they will struggle to gain consistent hits at longer ranges. The shortest possible reload time with a fully trained crew is 12 seconds, which is fast for a heavy cruiser. There is no first-stage ammunition stowage, thus the reload is consistent no matter how much ammunition is left in the magazines.

The 8-inch guns have only two types of shell: HE and SAPCBC. The HE shell contains a powerful bursting charge of 10 kg of TNT. The SAPCBC shell is the only other shell present, with no access to a full AP shell. However, the SAPCBC makes up for this by providing a solid blend of penetrating power and explosive filler. Compared to the shells seen on the 8inch/55 on American heavy cruisers, the SAPCBC possesses over twice the penetration of the American Common shells, and twice the explosive filler of the American APCBC shell, with 5.2 kg of TNT, allowing the SAPCBC to be used to great effect against both cruisers and destroyers.

HE is used as the stock shell on the Norfolk, and while its large bursting charge deals heavy damage to light targets, the SAPCBC is more versatile and should immediately be researched following the basic survivability modifications, and SAPCBC should be used in nearly all circumstances.

The main guns have an unusual amount of elevation of 70 degrees: in real life, this was because the guns were expected to engage aircraft. However, as there is no time-fused or VT-fused shell available for the British 8-inch gun currently in the game, the Norfolk is unable to take full advantage of this feature.

{{:8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)/Ammunition|8 inch HE, 8 inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)}}

The Norfolk is fitted with with four twin 4 inch/45 Mark XVI mounts, which were used on several destroyers in the British tech tree, two to a side amidships. These guns are mostly useful against aircraft, as unlike later American cruisers with access to the 5 inch/38 dual-purpose gun, these 4 inch guns have much poorer damage output. There are four shells available, HE, SAP, HE-TF, and HE-VT. The stock HE performs much as can be expected for a gun of this calibre, doing modest damage to most anything it faces. The SAP shell has a reasonable 103mm of penetration at 1,000 m, and although the penetration rapidly falls off, it can still help defend the ship against surface threats. The HE-TF and HE-VT are both specialized for anti-aircraft, and can deal a reasonable amount of damage against enemy planes. It is recommended to take majority HE-VT, with some SAP as well.

{{:4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)/Ammunition|4 inch HE, 4 inch SAP, 4 inch HE-TF, 4 inch HE-VT}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}

{{main|2pdr QF Mk.VIII (40 mm)|20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm)}}

The star of the ship's AA are the two octuple 40 mm Pom-Pom mounts located just aft of the torpedoes. These will immediately dispatch aircraft, as well as patrol boats if necessary. Aside from those, and the dual-purpose 4 inch/45 mounts, the only other AA armament are eight single 20 mm Oerlikon Mk.IIs. Four are located around the superstructure, one is on the B turret, two are on the X turret, and one more can be found on the stern. These will aid in downing planes, and provide a nice light show at whatever they are shooting at. While the Norfolk's AA is inferior to other cruisers, such as its counterpart the London and other foreign ships, it will sufficient to defend the ship against air attack.

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX (533 mm)}}

The Norfolk is equipped with two quadruple torpedo tubes, located on each side of the ship. They fire Mk.IX wet-heater torpedoes, which are superior to the antiquated Mk.V steam turbined torpedoes found on older cruisers in range and explosive mass, but are still unexceptional compared to foreign torpedoes like the Type 93. They will certainly save you if you get into a close-quarters brawl with an enemy ship, but they shouldn't be relied on aside from a last resort weapon

== Usage in battles ==

The Norfolk is a bit of a glass cannon, having excellent firepower but very poor armour protection for a heavy cruiser. Her armour will protect against magazine detonations from most cruiser shells, but the lack of armour elsewhere, especially on critical parts like her turrets and the bridge, mean that she can take crippling damage from even destroyers if they get within effective range. This means that she excels at providing medium range support and should generally avoid drawing too much attention to herself. She has a good turn of speed for a heavy cruiser, allowing her to get to tactically advantageous positions a little bit faster while the large fillers in her HE and SAPCBC shells can inflict heavy damage on destroyers and cruisers. It is recommended to become familiar with the armour schemes of enemy cruisers, and target those which have poor protection, as against them the massive bursting charge will shine, while you won't notice the inferior penetration of the shells.

The Norfolk is also one of the few 5.7 cruisers equipped with air-search radar, giving crucial early warning of any incoming enemy aircraft. She also has a very reasonable anti-aircraft armament suite, allowing her to provide effective air cover to teammates when necessary.

'''Specific enemies worth noting'''

'''Late destroyers + USS Atlanta'''

* Several late destroyers, such as the Porter, Somers, and Spokoinyy can prove to be a dangerous foe, as the Norfolk's general lack of armour protection makes it extremely vulnerable against a hail of small-calibre fire. When encountering them, you should remain calm, as they while they will sting, they will not sink you fast enough. Fire your opening salvo against them under the front turrets, as it will likely destroy the turrets, damage the bridge, and ideally cause an ammunition detonation as well. A larger threat, in both size and danger, is the USS Atlanta, which can rain a 14-gun broadside of 5" shells down on you. It is best to try to engage the Atlanta at range, where the long travel time of the Atlanta's shells proves to be a disadvantage, while your 8" guns are very well suited for engaging cruisers at long range

'''German 5.7 Cruisers'''

* The German trio of Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen, and Admiral Graf Spee are all extremely dangerous enemies, as they possess a blend of both firepower and armour that put the Norfolk to shame. You should never engage them directly, as they will soundly beat you in a duel. Instead, fight them when they are distracted by other people. Specifically, when fighting the Graf Spee, put extra effort into dodging the enemy's fire, as their poor fire rate and high single-shot damage means they rely on making every shell count.

'''Other County-class cruisers'''

* The Norfolk also happens to fall into the type of thin-skinned cruisers that it most efficiently engages, and thus enemy County-class cruisers should be dealt with immediately. Distribute your fire of SAP around different sections of the enemy ship, and let the excellent bursting charge of the shells do the rest of the work for you. Put effort into dodging enemy shots, as their return fire will hurt quite a bit.

'''Late light cruisers'''

* Light cruisers such as the Mikuma, Helena, Brooklyn, etc. possess a very high damage output, and their large broadsides and high fire rate will tear through the nonexistent armour of the Norfolk. However, their armour is also generally lacking, and you can defeat them if you are able to hit them more consistently than their return fire. Try to destroy their turrets, or damage their ammunition hoists to decrease their firepower. Ideally, you could immediately kill them with an ammunition detonation, and with a bit of luck one of your hits under the turrets may give you a quick victory.

'''Battleships and battlecruisers'''

* The Norfolk's position as a moderately high BR cruiser means it may regularly face battleships. Against them, there is very little that can be done. When fighting battleships, your best bet is to run to cover with your superior speed, dodge their shells, and attempt to deal some damage to their superstructure, while praying that your friendly battleships dispatch them quickly. If you spot an overextended battleship, using island cover to get close and make a suicidal torpedo attack may be viable.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* High rate of fire for a heavy cruiser
* Large shell explosive fillers
* Heavy anti-aircraft armament
* Relatively high top speed for a heavy cruiser
* Equipped with air-search radar
* Well-protected main gun ammunition magazines

'''Cons:'''

* Little to no armour protecting the ship outside of the magazines
* Mediocre main gun accuracy
* Can be matched against battleships
* Tends to lose crew quickly due to exposed secondary guns and anti-aircraft mounts and turret/bridge disables
* Lacks a floatplane

== History ==

The County-class cruisers were the first British cruisers designed under the restrictions of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. The treaty, which limited cruiser tonnage to 10,000 tons, clashed with the Royal Navy's need for a cruiser to defend its global trade routes to its colonies. To ensure a blend of firepower and range, the Royal Navy called for a long ship with four twin-turrets as their new heavy cruiser design. This became the County-class cruiser, a conservatively built ship with a very high freeboard, allowing for high directional stability. The superstructure was taken from a design first used on the HMS Enterprise, which transformed the scattered sections of conning towers, wheelhouses, navigating and signaling platforms, and fire control seen on World War I-era cruisers into a neat block at the front of the ship. The two boiler rooms, were ventilated into four uptakes, of which the central one was combined into a larger funnel, giving the Counties their distinctive funnel arrangement. However, the size of the ship left little displacement available to be allowed for armour protection, and thus the side armour was less of an armour belt and more of basic shrapnel protection.

HMS Norfolk was the lead ship of her subclass, which involved minor modifications such as the movement of the 4-inch guns further forward, the slight shortening of the superstructure, and the changing of the primary armament from the Mark I variant to the Mark II variant, with simplified loading. She was initially part of a four ship class, with an additional ship in the talks, but in the end she only received one sister, Dorsetshire, due to budget cuts. Construction started on Norfolk on July 8, 1927. She was launched on December 12, 1928, and entered service on April 30, 1930.

Norfolk became involved in the September 1931 Invergordon Mutiny, where sailors protested an imminent major pay cut. In the end, the sailors only received the minor pay cut the entire armed forces received, and the incident was settled peacefully. Between 1932 and 1934, she served with the America and West Indies Station at Bermuda, cruising around the Americas, engaging in exercises, providing hurricane relief, and protecting British interests in the area. In 1935, she moved to the East Indies Station, where she remained in 1939. Then, she returned back to Britain for a refit, and was in dockyard when the World War II began.

For the first years of the war, Norfolk was engaged with the Home Fleet in hunting German surface raiders, although she saw no success. In November 1939, she was damaged by the submarine U-47, necessitating repairs. Not long after, she was bombed in an air raid, requiring more repairs, where she also had a radar set installed. She was then engaged in several raids off the Norwegian coast, until December 1940, where she operated out of Freetown in the South Atlantic, and attempted to hunt down the raider Kormoran, but again with no success.

By April 1941, Norfolk had returned to Scapa Flow, where intelligence reports suggested the battleship Bismarck was readying for action. On May 20, 1941, Norfolk was patrolling with fellow heavy cruiser Suffolk in the Denmark Strait under the command of Rear Admiral W.F. Wake-Walker, when they received reports from that the Swedish cruiser Gotland had encountered two large warships with heavy escort. Realizing the situation brewing, the Admiralty sent out reconnaissance aircraft, but the Bismarck had already slipped away and was cruising through the North Sea. With the Home Fleet scrambling ships to sea, on May 23, Norfolk and Suffolk encountered Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait at a range of only 6 nautical miles, and the cruisers quickly disengaged. After sending out contact reports, the cruisers began shadowing the German ships. The Admiralty had the foresight to predict the Denmark Strait as a likely route for Bismarck to take, and had dispatched a force under Vice Admiral Holland, with HMS Hood, Prince of Wales, and destroyers to aid Wake-Walker. At 0516 the following morning, Holland arrived, with Norfolk and Suffolk still trailing behind the German ships. Shortly after, Holland engaged the Bismarck, but after just 10 minutes of firing, the Hood exploded, killing Holland and nearly the entire crew. After another 10 minutes, Prince of Wales was crippled, and withdrew. Norfolk witnessed the battle from 15 nautical miles away.

Following the spectacular defeat, the Royal Navy's resolve to sink the Bismarck grew. Norfolk joined Prince of Wales shortly after the battle concluded, as the British destroyers tried to find survivors from Hood. Despite the damage sustained to Prince of Wales, she kept pace with Norfolk and Suffolk as the cruisers continued to shadow Bismarck. However, early in the morning on the 25th, the cruisers lost contact with Bismarck. Prince of Wales broke off to refuel, and Norfolk and Suffolk split up. Norfolk was operating independently when Bismarck was spotted on the 26th by a PBY flying boat. She rapidly closed the distance to the contact report until the morning of the 27th, where she made visual contact with the now crippled Bismarck at 0753. Shortly after, she sighted the battleships HMS King George V and Rodney under Admiral John Tovey, who had come to finish the job Norfolk had started four days prior. At 0847, with Norfolk 10 nautical miles away, the final action of the Bismarck began, with Norfolk's sister Dorsetshire joining from the south. Norfolk joined in the shelling, and claimed two torpedo hits on Bismarck. After just over an hour of intense action, the four British ships had fired 2,800 shells at Bismarck, scoring 400 hits, reducing the Bismarck to a wreck. At 10:20, Tovey turned for home, and Dorsetshire finished off the Bismarck with torpedoes.

After the action, Norfolk returned to menial duties, now assigned the arduous task of escorting the Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union. She would participate in escorting the convoys through the unending daylight of the summers and the darkness of the arctic winters for the next few years.

On December 20, 1943, eastbound convoy JW 55B departed for the Soviet Union. Norfolk was at sea at the time escorting westbound convoy RA 55A back from Murmansk after an uneventful journey. The eastbound journey had been uneventful. It had been nearly a year since German capital ships had sortied against an Arctic convoy, at the Battle of the Barents Sea, and German battleships had been holed up in port since the loss of Bismarck. However, the two surviving battleships, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, had proved a formidable fleet-in-being, and were always poised to strike from their Norwegian bases. Bruce Fraser, chief Admiral of the Home Fleet, and in charge of protecting the Arctic convoys, suspected that German surface ships may try to strike at JW 55B. He envisioned a decisive battle around Christmas against British and German battleships, where the threat of German battleships striking a the convoys could be permanently neutralized. On December 22, JW 55B was spotted by the Luftwaffe, and the next day, Fraser put to sea personally commanding his flagship HMS Duke of York, with a light cruiser and four destroyers as escort. Fraser proved to be correct, as on Christmas, Scharnhorst and five destroyers sortied from Norway.

As RA 55A was diverted north. Norfolk, along with light cruisers Belfast and Southampton, joined JW 55B instead. At 0900 on December 26, the cruisers encountered Scharnhorst, and immediately opened fire from 12,000 m, destroying the Scharnhorst's radar. Norfolk, whose guns produced the brightest flashes, was in turn targeted by Scharnhorst, but Scharnhorst soon broke off the battle, misidentifying Norfolk as a battleship. Norfolk and the cruisers pursued Scharnhorst, while struggling to keep pace in the heavy seas. Shortly after noon, the two sides exchanged fire again, disabling X turret on Norfolk and damaging her radar, but again broke off, while the German destroyers fruitlessly searched for JW 55B alone. Norfolk was eventually forced to retreat due to her damage, in addition to Southampton, leaving Belfast alone. However, they escaped undetected due to Scharnhorst's destroyed radar, and Belfast successfully maintained contact until Fraser arrived in Duke of York and sank Scharnhorst.

Following this, Norfolk eventually had her entire X turret removed and replaced with additional AA. These repairs and refits resulted in her being unable to participate in the D-Day landings. The rest of her wartime service was uneventful. On May 4, 1945, she served as the flagship of Operation Judgement, where Norfolk and several other ships escorted escort carriers for a raid on Kilbotn, Norway, where they sank a submarine and two other ships. After the war's conclusion, Norfolk ferried the Norwegian Royal Family back to Oslo, after their five year exile in London.

Norfolk remained in service until 1949, where she was transferred to reserve. In 1950, she sold off for scrapping. She was the third of five ships to bear the name Norfolk, and accounted for 6 of the 11 battle honors the lineage earned.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=uk_cruiser_norfolk Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== 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 ==

''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{ShipManufacturer Fairfields}}
{{Britain heavy cruisers}}

HMS Southampton

2024-10-30T23:49:42Z

U49565066: /* Usage in battles */ 'Hydroplane' is listed in-game as a Tier IV modification

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_cruiser_southampton
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} British light cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy"]].

The Southampton is the lead ship of the Southampton-class of light cruisers, a part of what became known as the Town-class that were the most capable light cruisers available to the Royal Navy at the outbreak of World War II. Compared to previous British light cruisers such as the [[HMNZS Leander|Leander]] and [[HMS Arethusa|Arethusa]], the Southampton is a substantial advance in terms of firepower and protection.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

The Southampton has much better overall protection than previous British light cruisers. The machinery is protected by a thick 114 mm citadel belt, with 63.5 mm ends. This provides good protection against even heavy cruiser guns at longer ranges when angled. However, the deck armour over the machinery is only 31 mm thick, which is mostly enough to protect against long range light cruiser fire, but not much more.

The main gun magazines are protected within armoured boxes, with 114 mm upper and 76 mm lower side protection. The roofs of the boxes are protected by 51 mm of armour. Altogether, the magazines are very well protected against light cruiser fire, and are difficult to penetrate even with heavy cruiser guns at range and when angled. The shell rooms adjacent to the magazines are much more lightly protected, at only 25.4 mm anti-fragmentation armour, but a hit there, while causing serious damage, will not be immediately fatal to the ship, unlike a magazine penetration.

The rest of the ship is much more lightly protected. The light turret and barbette protection remains a serious Achilles heel of the ship, like on preceding British light cruisers. It is only 25 mm thick, making even destroyer AP/SAP/Common shells a potential threat. Like almost all British cruisers, the Southampton also has an open bridge with only minimal splinter protection (6-9 mm). This makes her very vulnerable to getting disabled and losing crew to hits to the bridge, especially with HE shells.

The Southampton has a crew complement of 748 men, which is small compared to other light cruisers like the [[USS Cleveland]] or her half-sister-ship [[HMS Belfast|Belfast]].

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

The Southampton is a little slower compared to the other British cruisers at the same BR, though her speed remains fairly respectable for a ship of her size. Her handling and acceleration are about average.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|6 inch/50 BL Mark XXIII (152 mm)}}
The main armament of the Southampton consists of four turrets with triple BL 6-inch Mark XXIII guns. These guns have a high sustained rate of fire at 8 rounds/minute with the best possible crew. Due to the large number of barrels and high rate of fire, the Southampton is capable of throwing nearly 100 6-inch shells per minute at a target. The gun accuracy at medium ranges is reasonable, although the horizontal dispersion is quite noticeable. These guns can also elevate to 45 degrees, which allows them to be used to reasonable effect against aircraft, especially once HE-VT is available. The turrets all have a below-average traverse arc of only 145 degrees to each side, which means that the Southampton has to show more broadside than most other light cruisers in order to unmask all her guns.

The main guns have a selection of four shells: HE, HE-TF, HE-VT, and CPBC. The explosive fillers for the HE, HE-TF, and HE-VT shells are identical (a respectable ~4 kg TNT), with the HE shell being slightly better at setting fires to ships, while the HE-TF and HE-VT have higher shrapnel counts and can burst on air targets. There is little point in using the HE-TF shell once HE-VT is unlocked, since the latter is not dependent on accurate rangefinding and is therefore a much superior anti-aircraft shell. The CPBC semi-armour piercing shell combines a decent filler for a 6-inch shell (~1.87 kg TNT equivalent) with respectable penetration, and is the shell of choice against enemy cruisers.

==== Ammunition ====
{{:6 inch/50 BL Mark XXIII (152 mm)/Ammunition|6 inch HE, 6 inch CPBC, 6 inch HE-TF, 6 inch HE-VT}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)}}

The Southampton's secondary armament consists of eight QF 4-inch Mark XVI guns in four twin gun mounts, with two mounts on each side of the ship. These guns are most effective against aircraft, especially with HE-VT, although their high rate of fire (20 rounds per minute maximum each) can also make them a threat to coastal craft and even lighter destroyers.

{{:4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)/Ammunition|4 inch HE, 4 inch SAP, 4 inch HE-TF, 4 inch HE-VT}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}

{{main|2pdr QF Mk.VIII (40 mm)|Vickers Mk.V (12.7 mm)}}

Complementing the 4-inch and 6-inch guns in the anti-aircraft role are two quadruple QF 2-pounder Mark VIII "pom-pom" mounts located on each side of the first funnel and two quadruple Vickers .50 cal heavy machine gun mounts on each side of the rear mast. The "pom-poms" can put out a lethal amount of 40 mm shells against aircraft or coastal craft that dare approach within effective range, but they have a substantial reload time once empty. The heavy machine guns are less effective, but can still be a deterrent at close ranges.

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX (533 mm)}}

The Southampton has two triple torpedo tubes, one on each side of the ship. These fire the 21-inch Mark IX torpedo which has a speed and range of 67 km/h and 9.6 km, respectively (56 km/h and 12.34 km with the torpedo mode installed). The warhead is a hefty 340 kg TNT, and can be a threat to even battleships.

=== Scout plane ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Plane}}

== Usage in battles ==

The Southampton is a quantum leap over the previous British light cruisers in terms of firepower. She has 50% more main gun firepower than her predecessor, the [[HMNZS Leander|Leander]]. The combination of a large number of barrels, high rate of fire, and decent shell explosive fillers makes her a very deadly opponent at short/medium ranges, especially to destroyers. She also maintains a respectable torpedo armament, allowing her to threaten even battleships if they get within effective torpedo range.

The protection is a bit more of a mixed bag. It is very hard to quickly destroy the Southampton due to her excellent magazine and belt protection, but the thin turret armour and unarmoured bridge mean that she is quite easy to disable and will tend to lose a lot of crew through turret and bridge disables. This is further exacerbated by the small crew complement. The ship itself has quite a large profile, and thus it is harder to take advantage of cover. She also has somewhat poor turret traverse arcs, which means she has to show a lot of broadside in order to use all of her turrets.

As she is depicted in her early-war configuration, the anti-aircraft suite of the Southampton is quite underwhelming, especially compared to the previous British cruisers and her sister-ship [[HMS Liverpool|Liverpool]]. This can be compensated to some extent with the main and secondary guns and good aim, since they have access to effective HE-VT shells, but the close-range anti-aircraft guns should not be relied upon, especially under AI control.

It is important to note that the Southampton can be matched against battleships at its battle rating. The 6-inch guns are mostly ineffective against battleships beyond setting fire to them with HE, so it is best to avoid fighting them head-to-head at all costs. The torpedoes are also an option if a battleship carelessly allows the Southampton to get within effective range.

The Southampton has a hangar, catapult, and handling facilities for aircraft, but is presently not capable of launching seaplanes (information possibly outdated, as 'Hydroplane' is listed in-game as a Tier IV modification.)

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Large broadside of 12 gun
* High rate of fire for main guns
* Large explosive filler in SAPCPBC rounds with effective penetration
* Thick magazine protection and machinery belt armour
* Access to HE-VT shells for both main and secondary guns
* Large torpedo warheads

'''Cons:'''

* Below average close-range anti-aircraft armament
* Below average turret traverse arcs
* Small crew complement
* Thin turret and non-existent bridge protection
* Large ship profile, and hence a large target
* Can face battleships

== History ==

[[File:HMS Southampton 1937.jpg|thumb|470x470px|HMS Southampton before her refit in 1937.]]
The HMS Southampton, pennant number 83, is a light cruiser of the Town class. Launched in 1936, she went on to see service during the Second World War. She initially served as the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser squadron of the Home Fleet, and later participated in several engagements with German vessels. She was reassigned to the Mediterranean in October of 1940. However, in January 1941, she was bombed by Italian aircraft and suffered crippling damage. As a result, she was scuttled with torpedoes from her escorts.<ref name=":1">Helgason, G. (1995)</ref>

=== Design and development ===
The Southampton was a member of the Town class, a group of light cruisers built in the 1930s. Initially intended to be built as Arethusa-class cruisers, the design was changed after the construction of the American Brooklyn-class and Japanese Mogami-class ships. The vessels were 180 metres long and displaced 11 000 tons, as they weren't regulated by the Washington naval treaty.<ref name=":0">RBJ. (2008)</ref> The ships carried an armament of twelve 152 mm guns in four triple turrets, a big upgrade from the six-gun Arethusas. The ships also carried numerous anti-aircraft defenses, and two triple torpedo launchers. She was capable of 32 knots (59 km/h).<ref name=":0" />

The HMS Southampton was laid down on November 11th 1934, and launched on March 10th 1936.<ref name=":0" /> She was formally commissioned into the Royal Navy in March of 1937.<ref name=":0" />

=== Operational history ===
Following her commissioning, the Southampton entered service with the 2nd Cruiser squadron of the British Home Fleet. After the outbreak of the Second World War, she participated in the hunts for the German merchant Johannes Molkenbuhr and the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. During this time, she was damaged twice; first by a 500kg bomb while she was laid up at Rosyth, and later by a German air attack off the coast of Norway.<ref name=":1" />

In November of 1940, Southampton sailed for the Mediterranean. She later participated in the Battle of Cape Spartivento and escorted resupply missions to Malta. However, on January 11th of 1941, she was attacked by twelve Stukas of the Luftwaffe. Hit by two bombs, the ship caught fire and suffered severe damage. With 80 sailors dead and no electrical power, the decision was made to scuttle the ship. Thus, she was sunk by four torpedoes from the cruiser Orion and a single torpedo from her sister ship Gloucester.<ref name=":1" />

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=uk_cruiser_southampton Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|hZkupQZmfyc|'''The Shooting Range #163''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:35 discusses the HMS Southampton.}}

== 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 ==


=== References ===

;Citations
<references />

;Bibliography

* Helgason, G. (1995). HMS Southampton. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from <nowiki>https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1235.html</nowiki>
* RBJ. (2008, January 01). Light cruiser HMS Southampton (C83). Retrieved November 18, 2020, from <nowiki>https://shipshub.com/ships/180-1.html</nowiki>

{{ShipManufacturer John Brown and Company}}
{{Britain light cruisers}}

HMS York

2024-10-30T23:03:12Z

U49565066: /* Scout plane */

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_cruiser_york
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

'''HMS York''' and her sister HMS Exeter were a class of two heavy cruisers designed as smaller, cheaper versions of the preceding [[County (Family)|County-class cruisers]]. As such, the two ships were designed to a standard displacement 8,250 tons, largely achieved by shortening the hull by 50 ft, removing a twin 203 mm turret, and adjusting the thickness of armour in some areas. The reduction in displacement was intended to allow six 8 inch-armed ships to be built under the Washington Naval Treaty compared to five of the heavier County class design; however, only York and Exeter were built, with budget cuts and the subsequent London Naval Treaty causing the rest of the planned York class to be cancelled in favour of a greater number of even smaller [[Town (Family)|Town-class light cruisers]].

HMS York was laid down on 18 May 1927, and commissioned on 1 May 1930. On the outbreak of WWII, she was transferred from her base in Bermuda to Nova Scotia, escorting convoys and hunting down commerce raiders. In early 1940, she was involved in the Norwegian campaign, initially as part of the planned British invasion of Norway, followed by defense and evacuation of forces against the subsequent German invasion. From August 1940, York was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, escorting convoys and troops, as well as providing escort for the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious' attack on Taranto in November. In March 1941, while operating in Suda Bay in Crete, York was struck by two Italian explosive motorboats, flooding both boiler rooms. She was run aground to prevent sinking, but German bombers further damaged her beyond repair. Her wreck remained there until being salvaged and scrapped by an Italian shipbreaker in 1952.

Introduced in [[Update "Starfighters"]], the '''HMS York''' is very much a heavy cruiser primarily used for long-range engagements and should be played as such. The HMS York is a formidable opponent due to its good fire rate and strong shells with decent velocity, which allows players to inflict massive damage on other light and heavy cruisers. The HMS York is also a mobile vessel that can accelerate and turn quickly despite not being especially fast in a straight line due to being lightweight for a heavy cruiser. However, the HMS York is not fit for any close-quarters fighting due to her extremely inadequate armour protection.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

The most prominent strength of the armour layout can be seen with the ammunition placement. Both the main and auxiliary ammunition storages are placed far below the waterline and encased by the thickest armour on the ship (102 mm / 4 in) resulting in an overall low probability of a catastrophic ammo detonation. The main belt armour of the York consists of 76 mm (3 in) of RHA which will stop most destroyer calibre rounds (127 mm / 5 in or lower) while degrading most light cruiser rounds at ranges above 5,000 m assuming they are not using full AP rounds.

There are three basic weaknesses. For one, the ship lacks an extensive reserve of crew meaning that hits to highly populated portions of the ship will result in the ship being crew knocked relatively quickly. Secondly, the ship's citadel roof armour is only 38 mm (1.5 in) thick, meaning that arcing shots from longer ranges can completely bypass the belt armour and wreak havoc on the internals of the ship. Lastly, the lack of antifragmentation armour near the bridge means that most HE shells that land next to it will result in the loss of the bridge, and thus in the loss of control of the ship until it is repaired.

The turrets and ammo elevators are protected by 25.4 mm (1 in) of armour. The steering gear is protected by 38.1 mm (1.5 in) of armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

The HMS York is surprisingly agile and mobile when compared to many ships of similar size and scope. Agility is not often talked about much when referring to heavy cruisers but the HMS York is a special case. The ship can make especially sharp turns (so much so that captains should be wary if they're taking on water at the time of initiating the turn for fear of capsizing) that can often be used to dodge incoming shells if given enough time to react. This will also bolster a captain's ability to respond to incoming torpedoes with evasive manoeuvres to evade the incoming threat.

Mobility is a crucial asset that the York has access to to help maintain an advantageous position on the map. The top speed of 56 km/h allows for the York to keep up with even some destroyers resulting in captains of this ship being able to get early in positions or secure capture points.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}
It is recommended that after researching the Tool Set and Fire Prevention Equipment (FPE) to immediately research the 8 in SAPCBC shell as the stock HE shell is often incapable of dealing significant damage to other cruisers, let alone battleships or battlecruisers. Once the shell is obtained then Rudder Replacement is a great choice as it improves the already impressive mobility of the ship.

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)}}

The main armament of the HMS York consists of 3 twin turrets of the 8 inch/50 Mark VIII cannon. This cannon will become very familiar with captains of British heavy cruisers as it is used by all of them with the exception of the [[HMS Hawkins]]. This cannon is a potent weapon in the right hands as it can fire up to 5 salvos a minute with pinpoint accuracy, each of those salvos containing either an HE shell with enough explosive mass to make most destroyers think twice before engaging this ship, or an SAP shell that will make heavy cruisers such as the [[Prinz Eugen]] and [[USS New Orleans]] wary of this opponent.

{{:8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)/Ammunition|8 inch HE, 8 inch Mark I.B. SAPCBC}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|4 in QF Mark V (102 mm)}}

The HMS York is equipped with a total of four 4-inch guns in single mounts just aft of the bridge in single mounts. These cannons by themselves will not amount to much firepower, however with addition of the time-fused shell, they can be turned into potent AA weapons. The SAP shell is also of some note as it can deal with most destroyer level armour and can keep most PT boats from becoming overly ambitious.

{{:4 in QF Mark V (102 mm)/Ammunition|4 inch HE, 4 inch SAP, 4 inch HE-TF}}

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}

{{main|20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm)|Vickers Mk.V (12.7 mm)}}

The anti-aircraft armament of the HMS York consists of two main weapon types, first are the 20 mm Oerlikons scattered around the ship, and secondly are the 2 quadruple 12.7 mm Vickers Mk.V machine gun mounts placed on either side of the superstructure. While not amazing when compared to the AA armament of other cruisers such as the [[USS Helena]] or [[Prinz Eugen]], the HMS York is still able to adequately defend itself from most aerial attacks using terrain to the aircraft's advantage.

The 20 mm cannons are also capable of keeping most small craft such as PT boats at bay while the main cannons are occupied with other targets.

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX (533 mm)}}

The Mk.IX torpedoes that the HMS York carries are medium range/medium yield torpedoes capable of knocking out most destroyers with a single torpedo and severely damaging cruisers with a single well-placed hit. The firing arcs on the launchers are decent enough where you do not need to make a full broadside to launch them, however you will need to turn your ship approximately 45 degrees to get a spread off.

=== Scout plane ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Plane}}

Located amidships is a catapult with one Walrus Mk.I scout plane which provides unique offensive and defensive abilities, expanding tactical options. Ship-launched scout planes fly just like regular tree units but lack munition choices and cockpit views. The Walrus is equipped with only defensive machine gun turrets but it does carry 4 x 250 lb bombs. It also has the scout plane ability to cap zones and lay down smoke cover (up to 3 times). Captains will be wise to remember to utilise the aircraft and consider when best to use it, for example to cap a point early or late in the match, to create a smoke screen to stymie enemy bombardment and repair, to attack enemy units directly, or perhaps something completely new! Carrying a far heavier bomb load than other scout planes, this unit has a very good chance to sink enemy boats or even a destroyer... if it can get close enough.

== Usage in battles ==

The York is very much a sniping cruiser and should be played as such. While it lacks a huge broadside, it makes up for this with a fantastic 5 rpm rate of fire, which is one of the best reloads in the game for heavy cruiser firepower. For comparison, the American heavy cruisers fire 3 rounds/per minute, nearly half as quickly. Combined with good shell velocity, this can make the York a frightening opponent for other cruisers, with its guns doing immense damage. Better yet, 2/3rds of the York's firepower is positioned on the bow, meaning it can angle severely and still do a good amount of damage. The York is also a fairly nimble ship, and while it isn't very fast in a straight line, its low weight for a heavy cruiser means it can get up to speed well, and can turn very quickly.

The York suffers once the gap in distance is closed. Its armour is mediocre, even for a British cruiser. While the ammo racks are well-protected (and will prove a challenge for anything except other heavy cruisers), its belt armour is very flat and very weak. While its deck armour is strong, it's only rolled armour, meaning arcing shells, bombs, and rockets can do immense damage if they hit the superstructure. The guns are also very weak, with just 25 mm of armour around the turrets, meaning they can be knocked out very easily, even by light cruisers. In addition, the York lacks the beefy AA armament of many other British ships. It has only four 4-inch DP guns, and just a handful of 20 mm and 12.7 mm small arms guns to combat aircraft at close range. Combined with its weak armour, this can make the York an enticing target for aircraft.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Fantastic rate of fire with its main battery guns can make it a menace in gunnery duels
* Small and nimble, can move around the battlefield very well
* A small target that can be difficult to hit, especially at long range
* Access to torpedoes with good speed and damage, which can ward off flanking cruisers effectively
* Well-armoured ammo racks mean knock-outs from a single salvo can only be inflicted by heavy cruisers
* One scout seaplane carrying a potent bomb-load.

'''Cons:'''

* Poor secondary armament that can leave it vulnerable at close range and against aircraft (until short range AA engages)
* Tiny crew size - fires and flooding can kill it very quickly
* Poor belt and deck armour makes it vulnerable to arcing fire and bombs

== History ==

[[File:York, 1938.jpg|thumb|HMS York entering Havana harbour, 1938.]]
HMS York (90) was the lead ship of two York-class heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy. She served in the North American theatre before the war, and escorted Atlantic convoys in the first part of the Second World War. She also participated in the British Norway campaign, and was later reassigned to the Mediterranean Squadron. However, while in service with the Mediterranean fleet, she was disabled by Italian explosive motorboats. Critically damaged, her wreck was abandoned by the Allies. She was salvaged and scrapped in 1952.

=== Design and development ===
The York was based on the earlier County-class cruisers, the first 8-inch heavy cruisers used by the United Kingdom. Lighter than the previous 10-thousand ton County-class cruisers, the York displaced 8,250 tons standard.<ref name=":0">Lettens, J. (2008)</ref> The York carried eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns in four dual turrets; this was the standard armament for later British heavy cruisers.<ref name=":0" />She also carried two triple torpedo tube launchers. Her anti-aircraft armament was rather sparse, and was never improved sufficiently to grant her good AA performance. She could make a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h), and had an endurance of 24,600 km at 22 km/h.<ref name=":0" />

The York was laid down on May 16th 1927, and was launched on July 17th 1928. She was completed on May 1st 1930, and subsequently began serving with the British home fleet.<ref name=":1">Helgason, G. (1995)</ref>

=== Operational Service ===
The York entered service in 1930, serving as the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser squadron of the Home Fleet. Between 1934 and 1940, she served primarily with the North America/West Indies Station, though she was detached to the Mediterranean fleet for two years for the Italo-Abyssinian War.

At the start of the Second World War, York was based in Halifax as a part of Force F, a squadron tasked with hunting for commerce raiders and escorting convoys. She returned to the UK in late 1939, and underwent a refit before being assigned to the 1st Cruiser squadron of the Home Fleet. She also participated in the planned British invasion of Norway, and evacuated Anglo-French troops from Namsos following the German invasion.

In August of 1940, York was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser squadron of the British Mediterranean fleet. She participated in the Battle of Passero, where she sank the crippled destroyer Artigliere, and escorted the carrier HMS Illustrious during her raid on the Italian fleet at Taranto.<ref name=":1" /> However, in early 1941, she was disabled by explosive MTBs of the Italian navy. German bombers further damaged the ship, which was considered to be damaged beyond repair.<ref name=":1" /> As a result, the British abandoned the ship and destroyed its armament prior to their evacuation from Crete; the wreck was salvaged and scrapped in 1952.<ref name=":0" />

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=uk_cruiser_york Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== 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 ==


=== References ===

;Citations
<references />

;Bibliography

* Lettens, J. (2008, August 28). HMS York (1941). Retrieved November 16, 2020, from <nowiki>https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?123797</nowiki>
* Helgason, G. (1995). HMS York. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from <nowiki>https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1187.html</nowiki>

{{ShipManufacturer Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company}}
{{Britain heavy cruisers}}

HMS Diamond

2024-10-15T18:09:03Z

U49565066: /* Pros and cons */ Corrected errors, and added more detail where needed.

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_destroyer_daring_class_diamond
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

'''HMS Diamond''' was a Royal Navy [[Daring (Family)|Daring-class destroyer]] commissioned in February 1952. She participated in the significant 1953 Fleet Review and the Suez Crisis of 1956. She was also involved in two notable collisions: first with HMS Swiftsure during a 1953 naval exercise, and later with HMS Salisbury in 1964. She went through one major refit, in 1959. The last episode of her service was as an engineering training ship from 1970 at Gosport until 1981, when she was scrapped in Rainham, Kent.

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium destroyer introduced in [[Update "Alpha Strike"]] as the third vessel of her class added to the game. Thanks to her large hull size, she can survive a significant number of hits, especially from HE ammunition, but she's very prone to ammo-rack explosions, as her aft and auxiliary ammunition racks are above the waterline. She features excellent main guns with a wide choice of ammunition, very good torpedoes, and competent anti-air guns to discourage enemy bombers or torpedo boats. Finally, she has a radar with a lead indicator, making it easier to hit distant aerial targets with {{Annotation|HE-VT|High-explosive variable time fuse}} rounds.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

In terms of survivability, HMS Diamond demonstrates commendable resilience, despite lacking anti-fragmentation armour around its hull. Its sleek design, coupled with its primary ammunition storage being largely shielded below the waterline (particularly the forward 4.5 inch magazines), significantly enhance its survivability in combat scenarios. However, with a relatively modest crew complement of 330 personnel, the ship remains vulnerable to sustained fire from rapid-firing cannons, particularly those equipped with the potent Mk.22 cannon mount commonly found on American destroyers. Moreover, the threat posed by Soviet 130 mm rounds cannot be underestimated, given their powerful explosive filler and potential to inflict significant damage. Fortunately, mitigating factors exist to improve the ship's survivability: Removing the torpedoes, for instance, can drastically reduce the ship's vulnerability to fire. While the torpedoes offer a distinct advantage, their overall performance may not warrant the associated risk, despite their respectable capabilities compared to other torpedo systems.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

HMS Diamond may have modest mobility, but it stands out as one of the fastest ships within its battle rating, particularly when encountering lower-tier adversaries. Its top speed of 64 km/h allows for swift navigation across maps, offering an advantage in naval engagements. Despite its classification as a destroyer, its relatively compact size grants it agility akin to that of a corvette, affording it a surprisingly tight turn radius.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V (114 mm)}}

The 4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V cannons aboard HMS Diamond prove to be formidable armaments, particularly effective against light to medium armoured ships and aerial targets. Despite their relatively modest explosive yield compared to other munitions of similar calibre, they deliver a considerable punch, ensuring devastating impacts upon target engagement. With an upgraded crew, HMS Diamond achieves an impressive firing rate of up to 20 rounds per minute, mirroring the capabilities of the [[USS Moffett]]. A notable feature of these cannons is their consistent firing rate, as there is no need to pause for reloading due to the absence of a ready rack. However, disruptions such as fires or flooding onboard may temporarily hinder this rapid rate of fire. To optimize ammunition usage and effectiveness, it is recommended to utilize HE-VT projectiles whenever possible. These projectiles offer the same explosive filler as standard HE rounds but with the added advantage of a proximity fuze, maximizing the ship's combat efficiency while conserving valuable ammunition space. In situations requiring engagement of armoured targets or encounters at challenging angles, such as front aspect shots, SAP projectiles are advised.

{{:4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V (114 mm)/Ammunition|4.5 inch HE, 4.5 inch SAP, 4.5 inch HE-TF, 4.5 inch HE-VT}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|QF Mark V (40 mm)|QF STAAG Mark II (40 mm)}}

The 40 mm autocannons serve as versatile weapons with potent capabilities for both air defense and point-blank defense. In air defense roles, these autocannons excel at engaging low-flying aircraft and as a deterrence for high-flying aircraft. Their high rate of fire and effective range make them formidable tools for intercepting fast-moving targets with precision accuracy. Additionally, their ammunition options include a set of munitions ready for all scenarios, universal clip is advised. In point-blank defense scenarios, 40 mm autocannons provide reliable firepower for engaging close-range threats such as small boats. Their rapid rate of fire and substantial calibre make them effective deterrents against targets at short distances.

* '''Universal:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
* '''40 mm HE clips:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}
* '''40 mm AP clips:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}

{{:QF Mark V (40 mm)/Ammunition|HEFI-T, AP-T}}

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX** (533 mm)}}
As with the HMS Daring in the standard tech tree, the name ship of her class, HMS Diamond is equipped with ten 533 mm Mk.IX** torpedoes, launched from two quintuple launchers located amidships. Notably, this is twice as many as the HMS Diana, the other Daring-class destroyer in the standard tech tree. With 587.2 kg of TNT explosive equivalent and a decent speed of 76 km/h, the powerful Mk.IX** torpedo is useful against any target, especially at close range. However, the torpedo launchers' poor firing arcs restrict their usefulness, as Diamond's captains will be forced to show her vulnerable broadsides to launch them.

== 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:'''

* Six fast-firing and powerful 4.5 inch guns with no first-stage ammo racks
* Turrets have good traverse speed and coverage
* Survivable against destroyers due to high crew count
* Good anti-air coverage and armament

'''Cons:'''

* Critical modules are largely unarmoured, vulnerable to armour-piercing shells
* Rear magazine is slightly above the waterline, and the auxiliary shell room in the bow is far above it, making them fatal weak spots
* Relatively sluggish for a destroyer due to high displacement
* Torpedo launchers have somewhat-restrictive firing arcs

== History ==

HMS Diamond was a Royal Navy [[Daring (Family)|Daring-class destroyer]], laid down on 15 March 1949 at the J. Brown & Co. shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, launched on 14 June 1950, and commissioned on 21 February 1952. Her motto was Honor clarissima gemma, meaning "Honour is the brightest jewel."

HMS Diamond participated in several significant operations during her active service. In 1953, she took part in the Fleet Review marking the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Later that same year, on 29 September, she was involved in a collision with the cruiser HMS Swiftsure during Exercise Mariner near the coast of Iceland. The incident was attributed to challenging weather conditions and the lack of communication or navigation lights enforced by the exercise. As a result, Diamond sustained damage to her bow but returned safely to the shipyard for repairs. Following this, she was deployed during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

After a refit at Chatham Dockyard in 1959, HMS Diamond resumed operations but was involved in a second collision, this time with HMS Salisbury on 25 June 1964 in the English Channel during a naval demonstration. High-speed manoeuvres of multiple vessels in close proximity were found to be at fault. Following repairs, she returned to active service for several more years.

In 1970, HMS Diamond was repurposed as a Harbour Training Ship, moored at Priddy's Hard in Gosport, where she was used for training by the Marine Engineering School. Her steam plant remained functional for watchkeeping training until she was replaced by HMS Londonderry. After serving in this capacity for several years, HMS Diamond was eventually scrapped in November 1981 in Rainham, Kent.

== 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 ==


* [[wikipedia:HMS Diamond (D35)|[Wikipedia] HMS Diamond (D35)]]
* [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?filters%5BagentString%5D%5BRoyal%20Navy%2C%20DIAMOND%20%28HMS%29%2C%20destroyer%20%281931%29%5D=on <nowiki>[IWM]</nowiki> Royal Navy, DIAMOND (HMS), destroyer (1931)]
* [https://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/ship.php?ShipID=817 <nowiki>[Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk]</nowiki> HMS Diamond]

{{ShipManufacturer John Brown and Company}}
{{Britain destroyers}}
{{Britain premium ships}}

HMS Diamond

2024-10-15T17:56:29Z

U49565066: /* Additional armament */ Corrected amount of torpedo launchers, and added additional useful information.

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_destroyer_daring_class_diamond
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

'''HMS Diamond''' was a Royal Navy [[Daring (Family)|Daring-class destroyer]] commissioned in February 1952. She participated in the significant 1953 Fleet Review and the Suez Crisis of 1956. She was also involved in two notable collisions: first with HMS Swiftsure during a 1953 naval exercise, and later with HMS Salisbury in 1964. She went through one major refit, in 1959. The last episode of her service was as an engineering training ship from 1970 at Gosport until 1981, when she was scrapped in Rainham, Kent.

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium destroyer introduced in [[Update "Alpha Strike"]] as the third vessel of her class added to the game. Thanks to her large hull size, she can survive a significant number of hits, especially from HE ammunition, but she's very prone to ammo-rack explosions, as her aft and auxiliary ammunition racks are above the waterline. She features excellent main guns with a wide choice of ammunition, very good torpedoes, and competent anti-air guns to discourage enemy bombers or torpedo boats. Finally, she has a radar with a lead indicator, making it easier to hit distant aerial targets with {{Annotation|HE-VT|High-explosive variable time fuse}} rounds.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

In terms of survivability, HMS Diamond demonstrates commendable resilience, despite lacking anti-fragmentation armour around its hull. Its sleek design, coupled with its primary ammunition storage being largely shielded below the waterline (particularly the forward 4.5 inch magazines), significantly enhance its survivability in combat scenarios. However, with a relatively modest crew complement of 330 personnel, the ship remains vulnerable to sustained fire from rapid-firing cannons, particularly those equipped with the potent Mk.22 cannon mount commonly found on American destroyers. Moreover, the threat posed by Soviet 130 mm rounds cannot be underestimated, given their powerful explosive filler and potential to inflict significant damage. Fortunately, mitigating factors exist to improve the ship's survivability: Removing the torpedoes, for instance, can drastically reduce the ship's vulnerability to fire. While the torpedoes offer a distinct advantage, their overall performance may not warrant the associated risk, despite their respectable capabilities compared to other torpedo systems.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

HMS Diamond may have modest mobility, but it stands out as one of the fastest ships within its battle rating, particularly when encountering lower-tier adversaries. Its top speed of 64 km/h allows for swift navigation across maps, offering an advantage in naval engagements. Despite its classification as a destroyer, its relatively compact size grants it agility akin to that of a corvette, affording it a surprisingly tight turn radius.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V (114 mm)}}

The 4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V cannons aboard HMS Diamond prove to be formidable armaments, particularly effective against light to medium armoured ships and aerial targets. Despite their relatively modest explosive yield compared to other munitions of similar calibre, they deliver a considerable punch, ensuring devastating impacts upon target engagement. With an upgraded crew, HMS Diamond achieves an impressive firing rate of up to 20 rounds per minute, mirroring the capabilities of the [[USS Moffett]]. A notable feature of these cannons is their consistent firing rate, as there is no need to pause for reloading due to the absence of a ready rack. However, disruptions such as fires or flooding onboard may temporarily hinder this rapid rate of fire. To optimize ammunition usage and effectiveness, it is recommended to utilize HE-VT projectiles whenever possible. These projectiles offer the same explosive filler as standard HE rounds but with the added advantage of a proximity fuze, maximizing the ship's combat efficiency while conserving valuable ammunition space. In situations requiring engagement of armoured targets or encounters at challenging angles, such as front aspect shots, SAP projectiles are advised.

{{:4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V (114 mm)/Ammunition|4.5 inch HE, 4.5 inch SAP, 4.5 inch HE-TF, 4.5 inch HE-VT}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|QF Mark V (40 mm)|QF STAAG Mark II (40 mm)}}

The 40 mm autocannons serve as versatile weapons with potent capabilities for both air defense and point-blank defense. In air defense roles, these autocannons excel at engaging low-flying aircraft and as a deterrence for high-flying aircraft. Their high rate of fire and effective range make them formidable tools for intercepting fast-moving targets with precision accuracy. Additionally, their ammunition options include a set of munitions ready for all scenarios, universal clip is advised. In point-blank defense scenarios, 40 mm autocannons provide reliable firepower for engaging close-range threats such as small boats. Their rapid rate of fire and substantial calibre make them effective deterrents against targets at short distances.

* '''Universal:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
* '''40 mm HE clips:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}
* '''40 mm AP clips:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}

{{:QF Mark V (40 mm)/Ammunition|HEFI-T, AP-T}}

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX** (533 mm)}}
As with the HMS Daring in the standard tech tree, the name ship of her class, HMS Diamond is equipped with ten 533 mm Mk.IX** torpedoes, launched from two quintuple launchers located amidships. Notably, this is twice as many as the HMS Diana, the other Daring-class destroyer in the standard tech tree. With 587.2 kg of TNT explosive equivalent and a decent speed of 76 km/h, the powerful Mk.IX** torpedo is useful against any target, especially at close range. However, the torpedo launchers' poor firing arcs restrict their usefulness, as Diamond's captains will be forced to show her vulnerable broadsides to launch them.

== 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:'''

* Six fast-firing and powerful 4.5 inch guns with no first-stage ammo racks
* Turret has good traverse speed and coverage
* Survivable against destroyers due to high crew count
* Good anti-air coverage

'''Cons:'''

* Critical modules were largely unarmoured, vulnerable to armour-piercing shells
* Auxiliary shell room at the bow and rear magazine is above the waterline, making it a fatal weak spot
* Relatively sluggish for a destroyer due to high displacement
* Carries only five torpedoes with restrictive firing arc

== History ==

HMS Diamond was a Royal Navy [[Daring (Family)|Daring-class destroyer]], laid down on 15 March 1949 at the J. Brown & Co. shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, launched on 14 June 1950, and commissioned on 21 February 1952. Her motto was Honor clarissima gemma, meaning "Honour is the brightest jewel."

HMS Diamond participated in several significant operations during her active service. In 1953, she took part in the Fleet Review marking the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Later that same year, on 29 September, she was involved in a collision with the cruiser HMS Swiftsure during Exercise Mariner near the coast of Iceland. The incident was attributed to challenging weather conditions and the lack of communication or navigation lights enforced by the exercise. As a result, Diamond sustained damage to her bow but returned safely to the shipyard for repairs. Following this, she was deployed during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

After a refit at Chatham Dockyard in 1959, HMS Diamond resumed operations but was involved in a second collision, this time with HMS Salisbury on 25 June 1964 in the English Channel during a naval demonstration. High-speed manoeuvres of multiple vessels in close proximity were found to be at fault. Following repairs, she returned to active service for several more years.

In 1970, HMS Diamond was repurposed as a Harbour Training Ship, moored at Priddy's Hard in Gosport, where she was used for training by the Marine Engineering School. Her steam plant remained functional for watchkeeping training until she was replaced by HMS Londonderry. After serving in this capacity for several years, HMS Diamond was eventually scrapped in November 1981 in Rainham, Kent.

== 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 ==


* [[wikipedia:HMS Diamond (D35)|[Wikipedia] HMS Diamond (D35)]]
* [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?filters%5BagentString%5D%5BRoyal%20Navy%2C%20DIAMOND%20%28HMS%29%2C%20destroyer%20%281931%29%5D=on <nowiki>[IWM]</nowiki> Royal Navy, DIAMOND (HMS), destroyer (1931)]
* [https://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/ship.php?ShipID=817 <nowiki>[Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk]</nowiki> HMS Diamond]

{{ShipManufacturer John Brown and Company}}
{{Britain destroyers}}
{{Britain premium ships}}

HMS Diamond

2024-10-15T17:29:07Z

U49565066: /* Survivability and armour */ The torpedoes are actually quite good, and only the primary magazines are largely shielded below the waterline.

{{Specs-Card
|code=uk_destroyer_daring_class_diamond
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

'''HMS Diamond''' was a Royal Navy [[Daring (Family)|Daring-class destroyer]] commissioned in February 1952. She participated in the significant 1953 Fleet Review and the Suez Crisis of 1956. She was also involved in two notable collisions: first with HMS Swiftsure during a 1953 naval exercise, and later with HMS Salisbury in 1964. She went through one major refit, in 1959. The last episode of her service was as an engineering training ship from 1970 at Gosport until 1981, when she was scrapped in Rainham, Kent.

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium destroyer introduced in [[Update "Alpha Strike"]] as the third vessel of her class added to the game. Thanks to her large hull size, she can survive a significant number of hits, especially from HE ammunition, but she's very prone to ammo-rack explosions, as her aft and auxiliary ammunition racks are above the waterline. She features excellent main guns with a wide choice of ammunition, very good torpedoes, and competent anti-air guns to discourage enemy bombers or torpedo boats. Finally, she has a radar with a lead indicator, making it easier to hit distant aerial targets with {{Annotation|HE-VT|High-explosive variable time fuse}} rounds.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}

In terms of survivability, HMS Diamond demonstrates commendable resilience, despite lacking anti-fragmentation armour around its hull. Its sleek design, coupled with its primary ammunition storage being largely shielded below the waterline (particularly the forward 4.5 inch magazines), significantly enhance its survivability in combat scenarios. However, with a relatively modest crew complement of 330 personnel, the ship remains vulnerable to sustained fire from rapid-firing cannons, particularly those equipped with the potent Mk.22 cannon mount commonly found on American destroyers. Moreover, the threat posed by Soviet 130 mm rounds cannot be underestimated, given their powerful explosive filler and potential to inflict significant damage. Fortunately, mitigating factors exist to improve the ship's survivability: Removing the torpedoes, for instance, can drastically reduce the ship's vulnerability to fire. While the torpedoes offer a distinct advantage, their overall performance may not warrant the associated risk, despite their respectable capabilities compared to other torpedo systems.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}

HMS Diamond may have modest mobility, but it stands out as one of the fastest ships within its battle rating, particularly when encountering lower-tier adversaries. Its top speed of 64 km/h allows for swift navigation across maps, offering an advantage in naval engagements. Despite its classification as a destroyer, its relatively compact size grants it agility akin to that of a corvette, affording it a surprisingly tight turn radius.

{{NavalMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}

{{main|4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V (114 mm)}}

The 4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V cannons aboard HMS Diamond prove to be formidable armaments, particularly effective against light to medium armoured ships and aerial targets. Despite their relatively modest explosive yield compared to other munitions of similar calibre, they deliver a considerable punch, ensuring devastating impacts upon target engagement. With an upgraded crew, HMS Diamond achieves an impressive firing rate of up to 20 rounds per minute, mirroring the capabilities of the [[USS Moffett]]. A notable feature of these cannons is their consistent firing rate, as there is no need to pause for reloading due to the absence of a ready rack. However, disruptions such as fires or flooding onboard may temporarily hinder this rapid rate of fire. To optimize ammunition usage and effectiveness, it is recommended to utilize HE-VT projectiles whenever possible. These projectiles offer the same explosive filler as standard HE rounds but with the added advantage of a proximity fuze, maximizing the ship's combat efficiency while conserving valuable ammunition space. In situations requiring engagement of armoured targets or encounters at challenging angles, such as front aspect shots, SAP projectiles are advised.

{{:4.5 inch/45 QF Mark V (114 mm)/Ammunition|4.5 inch HE, 4.5 inch SAP, 4.5 inch HE-TF, 4.5 inch HE-VT}}

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}

{{main|QF Mark V (40 mm)|QF STAAG Mark II (40 mm)}}

The 40 mm autocannons serve as versatile weapons with potent capabilities for both air defense and point-blank defense. In air defense roles, these autocannons excel at engaging low-flying aircraft and as a deterrence for high-flying aircraft. Their high rate of fire and effective range make them formidable tools for intercepting fast-moving targets with precision accuracy. Additionally, their ammunition options include a set of munitions ready for all scenarios, universal clip is advised. In point-blank defense scenarios, 40 mm autocannons provide reliable firepower for engaging close-range threats such as small boats. Their rapid rate of fire and substantial calibre make them effective deterrents against targets at short distances.

* '''Universal:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
* '''40 mm HE clips:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}
* '''40 mm AP clips:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}

{{:QF Mark V (40 mm)/Ammunition|HEFI-T, AP-T}}

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Additional}}

{{main|Mk.IX** (533 mm)}}
As with other late British destroyers, the Diamond is equipped with 533 mm Mk.IX** torpedoes, launched from a single quintuple launcher located on the midship section. With 587.2 kg of TNT explosive equivalent and decent speed of 76 km/h, these powerful torpedoes are useful against any targets, especially at close range. However, the low quantity of torpedoes on board along with the launcher's poor firing arc significantly restrict its usefulness, as her captains will be forced to show the vulnerable broadsides to launch them.

== 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:'''

* Six fast-firing and powerful 4.5 inch guns with no first-stage ammo racks
* Turret has good traverse speed and coverage
* Survivable against destroyers due to high crew count
* Good anti-air coverage

'''Cons:'''

* Critical modules were largely unarmoured, vulnerable to armour-piercing shells
* Auxiliary shell room at the bow and rear magazine is above the waterline, making it a fatal weak spot
* Relatively sluggish for a destroyer due to high displacement
* Carries only five torpedoes with restrictive firing arc

== History ==

HMS Diamond was a Royal Navy [[Daring (Family)|Daring-class destroyer]], laid down on 15 March 1949 at the J. Brown & Co. shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, launched on 14 June 1950, and commissioned on 21 February 1952. Her motto was Honor clarissima gemma, meaning "Honour is the brightest jewel."

HMS Diamond participated in several significant operations during her active service. In 1953, she took part in the Fleet Review marking the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Later that same year, on 29 September, she was involved in a collision with the cruiser HMS Swiftsure during Exercise Mariner near the coast of Iceland. The incident was attributed to challenging weather conditions and the lack of communication or navigation lights enforced by the exercise. As a result, Diamond sustained damage to her bow but returned safely to the shipyard for repairs. Following this, she was deployed during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

After a refit at Chatham Dockyard in 1959, HMS Diamond resumed operations but was involved in a second collision, this time with HMS Salisbury on 25 June 1964 in the English Channel during a naval demonstration. High-speed manoeuvres of multiple vessels in close proximity were found to be at fault. Following repairs, she returned to active service for several more years.

In 1970, HMS Diamond was repurposed as a Harbour Training Ship, moored at Priddy's Hard in Gosport, where she was used for training by the Marine Engineering School. Her steam plant remained functional for watchkeeping training until she was replaced by HMS Londonderry. After serving in this capacity for several years, HMS Diamond was eventually scrapped in November 1981 in Rainham, Kent.

== 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 ==


* [[wikipedia:HMS Diamond (D35)|[Wikipedia] HMS Diamond (D35)]]
* [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?filters%5BagentString%5D%5BRoyal%20Navy%2C%20DIAMOND%20%28HMS%29%2C%20destroyer%20%281931%29%5D=on <nowiki>[IWM]</nowiki> Royal Navy, DIAMOND (HMS), destroyer (1931)]
* [https://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/ship.php?ShipID=817 <nowiki>[Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk]</nowiki> HMS Diamond]

{{ShipManufacturer John Brown and Company}}
{{Britain destroyers}}
{{Britain premium ships}}

Pr.7 (Family)

2024-07-27T05:10:50Z

U49565066: Changed the English translations for ship names 'Soobrazitelny' and 'Stroyny' to better match the spirit of the Russian word each is translated from: 'Clever' denotes a more 'dynamic' wit than 'Astute', 'Svelte' has more positive connotations than 'Slim'.

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Gnevny-class (Pr.7) / Storozhevoy-class (Pr.7U) destroyer}}

==Description==
The '''Project 7''' otherwise known as '''Gnevny'''-class and the '''Project 7{{Annotation|U|Improvement}}''' otherwise known as '''Storozhevoy'''-class were a group of destroyers built for the Soviet Navy in the late 1930s.

The Pr.7U mainly improved the disappointing performance of its predecessor by strengthening the hull, adding an additional boiler, and reducing fuel capacity. A total of 29 Pr.7 and 18 Pr.7U destroyers were built.

==Vehicles==
===Rank I===

* Pr.7 "[[Besposhchadny]]" (1945) - Беспощадный, ''Merciless''
* Pr.7 "[[Ryany]]" (1945) - Рьяный, ''Spirited''

===Rank II===

* Pr.7U "[[Soobrazitelny]]" (1943) - Сообразительный, ''Clever''

===Rank III===

* Pr.7U "[[Stroyny]]" (1945) - Стройный, ''Svelte''

{{Template:USSR destroyers}}
[[Category:Family pages]]

Pr.7 (Family)

2024-07-27T04:45:49Z

U49565066: /* Rank III */ Changed the English translation of the ship name to try and more closely match the spirit of the Russian word it's translated from.

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Gnevny-class (Pr.7) / Storozhevoy-class (Pr.7U) destroyer}}

==Description==
The '''Project 7''' otherwise known as '''Gnevny'''-class and the '''Project 7{{Annotation|U|Improvement}}''' otherwise known as '''Storozhevoy'''-class were a group of destroyers built for the Soviet Navy in the late 1930s.

The Pr.7U mainly improved the disappointing performance of its predecessor by strengthening the hull, adding an additional boiler, and reducing fuel capacity. A total of 29 Pr.7 and 18 Pr.7U destroyers were built.

==Vehicles==
===Rank I===

* Pr.7 "[[Besposhchadny]]" (1945) - Беспощадный, ''Merciless''
* Pr.7 "[[Ryany]]" (1945) - Рьяный, ''Spirited''

===Rank II===

* Pr.7U "[[Soobrazitelny]]" (1943) - Сообразительный, ''Astute''

===Rank III===

* Pr.7U "[[Stroyny]]" (1945) - Стройный, ''Shapely''

{{Template:USSR destroyers}}
[[Category:Family pages]]