War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

USS Baltimore

2021-01-05T16:13:27Z

U9268341: written... everything. Yes, history section is from wikipedia. deal with it. Or remove it, whatever. Good'day.

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

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a gift rank {{Specs|rank}} American heavy cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update "Hot Tracks"]] as a reward for the [[wt:en/news/6981-special-operation-w-i-n-t-e-r-en|2020 Operation W.I.N.T.E.R.]] event.

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

The {{Specs|pseudonym=pseudonym}} does not have as much armor as a hipper-class heavy cruiser, it is somewhat on par with IJN counterparts such as the mogami.

Having lots of AA also means lots of crew. However, lots of crew can also be lost due to the AA being destroyed. It is not recommended to repair the ship unless major damages has been sustained.

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

Baltimore's speed is a bit slower than other heavy cruisers. Her agility is better however, displacing 30% less than a Mogami.

She is unlikely to evade a torpedo, but being a heavy cruiser, she should survive a hit or two.

{{NavalMobility}}

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

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

{{main|8 inch/55 Mark 12 (203 mm)}}

Baltimore, being a WW2 US cruiser, shoots super-heavy AP shells out of her 203mm guns. These shells are heavier than others, weighing over 150kg. Most other nations' shells weigh usually 110kg. This gives them a longer flight time, but a steeper angle. The idea was that at long ranges, the shells would penetrate battleship's decks from above instead of hitting the much thicker side armor.

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

{{main|5 inch/38 Mk.12 (127 mm)}}

Her secondaries are found on most WW2 US ships. Dual purpose, dual 127mm turrets. She has six of them. Those turrets are her first line of defense against PT boats and aircraft.

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

{{main|Bofors L/60 Mark 2 (40 mm)|20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm)}}

As with most WW2 US ships, AA armament is where she shines. Compared to a Cleveland-class light cruiser, Baltimore has many more 40mm bofors emplacements. She has twelve quadruple 40mm Bofors turrets, and twenty-four 20mm Oerlikon single guns. This is much stronger than what could be mounted on light cruisers, giving her an awesome close range firepower.

Unlike the Cleveland-class, she cannot fire Variable Time Fuze shells out of her main guns. Giving her slightly less long range AA power compared to a Cleveland.

== Usage in battles ==

Baltimore feels right at home when protecting allies from aircraft. Her 203mm guns have a difficult time killing dreadnoughts, she should shoot first at other cruisers and destroyers.

Her super-heavy 203mm shells are useful to shoot above islands while avoiding incoming fire.

She can count on close range AA to protect her from most air attacks while staying near islands.

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Amazing AA defenses
* Super-heavy AP shells

*

'''Cons:'''

* Rather small for a heavy cruiser
* Small crew amount compared to other heavy cruisers

*

== History ==

Laid down on 26 May 1941 at Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, she was launched on 28 July 1942, sponsored by the wife of Mayor of Baltimore Howard W. Jackson. The cruiser was commissioned on 15 April 1943 under the command of Captain Walter C. Calhoun.

Following the completion of her fitting-out, Baltimore departed for Hampton Roads on 17 June 1943, briefly visited the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis on 20 June, then conducted exercises off the Virginia Capes two days later. She went to Norfolk for upkeep between 24 June and 1 July, when she departed for shakedown off Trinidad. Operating from Port of Spain, the cruiser conducted gunnery training before returning to Hampton Roads on 24 July. Four days later, she steamed to Boston for post-shakedown availability (repairs to correct deficiencies found during shakedown) and to correct a leak in the main battery hydraulic piping. Returning to Norfolk in early September after the completion of the repairs, Baltimore and the destroyer Sigourney departed for the west coast. They transited the Panama Canal on 25 September and arrived in San Diego on 4 October, after which she trained off the west coast from 9 to 13 October. Departing San Diego three days later, the cruiser arrived at Pearl Harbor independently on 29 October after a brief stopover at San Francisco.

Between November 1943 and June 1944 Baltimore was a unit of the fire support and covering forces at the Makin Islands landings (20 November – 4 December 1943); Kwajalein invasion (29 January – 8 February 1944), and the Truk raid (16–17 February) and Eniwetok seizure (17 February – 2 March). On the 17th, Lt. (j.g.) Denver M. Baxter, USNR, flying one of the heavy cruiser's Vought OS2U Kingfishers, covered by two Grumman F6F Hellcats, rescued Lt. (jg.) George M. Blair, USNR, of VF-9 less than 6,000 yards from Dublon Island inside Truk lagoon where he had ditched his flak crippled Hellcat.

Baltimore continued to provide fire support in the Marianas attacks (21–22 February), the Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raid (30 March – 1 April); the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) landing (21–24 April); the Truk-Satawan-Ponape raid (29 April – 1 May), air strikes against Marcus Island (19–20 May) and Wake Island (23 May), the Saipan invasion (11–24 June); and the Battle of the Philippine Sea (19–20 June).

Returning to the United States in July 1944, she embarked President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his party and steamed to Pearl Harbor. After meeting with Admiral Chester Nimitz and General Douglas MacArthur, the President was carried to Alaska where he departed Baltimore 9 August 1944.

Returning to the war zone in November 1944, she was assigned to the 3rd Fleet and participated in the attacks on Luzon (14–16 December 1944; and 6–7 January 1945); Formosa (3–4, 9, 15, and 21 January); the China coast (12 and 16 January); and Okinawa (22 January).

On 26 January she joined the 5th Fleet for her final operations of the war: Honshū Island attacks (16–17 February); Iwo Jima operation (19 February – 5 March); and the 5th Fleet raids in support of the Okinawa operation (18 March – 10 June).

After the cessation of hostilities ''Baltimore'' served as a unit of the "Magic Carpet" fleet and then as a part of the naval occupation force in Japan (29 November 1945 – 17 February 1946). Departing the Far East 17 February 1946 she returned to the United States and went out of commission in reserve 8 July 1946 at Bremerton, Washington.

''Baltimore'' was recommissioned 28 November 1951 and assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. She was deployed with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean during the summers of 1952, 1953, and 1954. In June 1953 she represented the United States Navy in the British Fleet Review at Spithead, England. On 5 January 1955 she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and was deployed with the 7th Fleet in the Far East between February and August 1955.

''Baltimore'' being dismantled at Zidell shipbreaking yard in September 1972.

''Baltimore'' commenced pre-inactivation overhaul upon her return from the Far East and went out of commission in reserve at Bremerton, 31 May 1956 after only a total of 6.75 years in active service. She was struck from the Navy List 15 February 1971, sold 10 April 1972 to Zidell Ship Dismantling Company Portland, Oregon, and subsequently scrapped September 1972.

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/7003-development-uss-baltimore-ca-68-1943-en|[Devblog] USS Baltimore (CA-68) (1943)]]

{{USA heavy cruisers}}

G6c (500 mm)

2021-01-04T11:50:48Z

U9268341: /* Description */ wrote a few words here and there. better than leaving things empty. Info is hard to find on that one.

* Description

The {{Specs|pseudonym=pseudonym}}is a German 500mm torpedo that entered service in 1911. Its propulsion mechanism is a wet heater, burning Decahydronaphthalene (decalin).

=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===


* {{Specs-Link|germ_battleship_helgoland}}

== General info ==
''Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the torpedo.''

=== Effective damage ===
''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of torpedo (high explosive, splash damage, etc)''

=== Comparison with analogues ===
''Give a comparative description of torpedoes that have firepower equal to this weapon.''

== Usage in battles ==
It is best to use this torpedo with 4m depth setting, as its low TNT filler amount, combined with low top speed, makes it useless against anything faster than a dreadnought. Keeping the 1m depth will prevent it from damaging dreadnoughts as their torpedo protection is fairly effective against these torpedoes.

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.''

'''Pros:'''

* You have a torpedo in a dreadnought

*

'''Cons:'''

* It is not fast enough to hit destroyers and cruisers, and does not carry enough TNT to destroy dreadnought

*

== History ==
''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>.''

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;''
* ''references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.''

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

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

{{Torpedoes}}

[[Category:Naval special armaments]]

SMS Westfalen

2021-01-04T11:27:54Z

U9268341: /* Additional armament */ <- removed as she has none. added AA armament description.

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

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battleship {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "New Power"]].

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

The SMS Westfalen is a dreadnought with an all-or-nothing armour scheme. This means she has thick armour all around the ship.

Her armour is rolled cemented "krupp" armour, which contains higher carbon steel on the surface and a softer core. The intent was to try shattering the shells with the tougher layer, while the softer core would absorb the shell's impact. This was one of the latest evolutions in armour designs used by dreadnoughts.

When it comes to survivability, her citadel is protected by a turtle back armour scheme in addition to coal bunkers. This should stop most shells from penetrating the important parts such as the ammo racks and the engines, while her 90-170 mm thick external armour will stop most destroyer's shells and high explosive rounds from all sources.

Her lack of AA armament is a bad, and also a good thing. Sure, aircrafts will make short work of her. But only Japanese torpedo bombers carry a large enough torpedo to bypass her torpedo bulges, which are thick enough to stop all but the Japanese [[Type 91 Model 2 (835 kg)|Type 91 Model 2]] and [[Type 91 Model 3 (850 kg)|Model 3]] airbourne torpedoes.

No AA means no crew to be lost easily. The only places she'll lose crew easily are the 88 mm guns in the bow and stern, so it is not recommended repairing the ship just for fixing those, as it will put new crew inside them to be easily lost again.

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

Don't expect mobility from a dreadnought. She was made to take damage while sending it back to her opponent. Speed was much less of a concern than armour.

This gives her roughly 38 km/h top speed, which is quite slow. Not enough to evade easily any bomb attacks.

{{NavalMobility}}

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

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

{{main|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}

Her armament consists of 6 turrets, each with twin 283 mm cannons. This is rather weak compared to most other battleships who have 305 mm or even larger guns. However, these will still make short work of cruisers and destroyers.

The front, front-left and front-right turrets can fire frontally, pretty useful in dreadnought vs dreadnought scenario.

To use her firepower to its best, she will have to show a lot of broadside just to align a fourth turret. It is rarely worth it, unless the player wants to rely on her secondary too.

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

{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 mm)}}

This is where she shines. Twelve 150 mm and 88 mm guns. Patrol Torpedo boats will have a hard time sneaking through that firepower. Even destroyers will fear your 150 mm cannons from afar. You can rely on these should your main turrets get destroyed, or to take out most PT boats.

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

{{main|88 mm/45 AA SK L/45 (88 mm)|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 mm)}}

She comes with four 88mm AA cannons located center of her rear main turrets.

These guns will always fire HE-TF shells, and are surprisingly effective against lateral and rear attacks from aircraft.

Her four GM08 7.62mm machineguns will not help much however.

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

== Usage in battles ==

As a dreadnought, she excels at taking hits while giving them. Her playground is small maps, where her secondaries can make short work of destroyers while her primaries take care of cruisers.

Due to her "small" 283 mm cannons, she will have more trouble facing other dreadnoughts who have larger guns. It's not impossible, just better to shoot at softer targets instead.

Her torpedo protection will stop most torpedoes set at 1m depth. You will however get severly damaged from 4m depth torpedoes.

As with most german dreadnoughts, she puts the emphasis on armor and reliability instead of speed and firepower.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| Anti-Air Armament Targeting
| 283 mm Psgr. L/3.2
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
|
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
| 150 mm Sprgr. L/3.2 Bdz
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
| Shrapnel Protection
| Ventilation
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
| Ammo Wetting
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Lots of firepower available from guns
* Thick armour all around
* Turtle back citadel armour scheme
* Coal bunkers

'''Cons:'''

* Somewhat weaker main guns in comparison to other battleships
* Mediocre anti-air defense
* Huge profile and low mobility

== History ==

SMS ''Westfalen'' was a member of the four-ship ''Nassau''-class, the first class of dreadnoughts built by the Imperial German Navy. Commissioned in 1909, she saw extensive service during the First World War, where she participated in many naval engagements. She was also responsible for the destruction of three British destroyers at the Battle of Jutland. ''Westfalen'' was damaged in 1918, and thereafter used as a training ship; she was later handed to the United Kingdom as a war reparation, and scrapped in 1924.<ref name=":0">Militaer Wissen. (n.d.)</ref>

=== Design and construction ===
The ''Nassau'' class was built to counter the British HMS ''Dreadnought'', who had revolutionized modern battleship design. As a result, the ''Nassaus'' were the first ships of the German Navy to carry an all-big-gun armament. The ships were also the first German vessels to be equipped with a torpedo bulkhead.<ref name=":0" /> The ships were intended to carry new steam turbines, but the German steam-turbine manufacturing process had not been refined; as a result, the ''Nassaus'' were equipped with large, space-consuming piston engines.<ref name=":0" /> This also contributed to the installation of ''Westfalen''<nowiki/>'s unique hexagonal main armament arrangement.<ref name=":0" /> ''Westfalen'' was launched on July 1st 1908, and commissioned in November of 1909.

''Westfalen'' displaced just over 20 thousand tons, and was capable of making just over 20 knots. She carried a main armament of twelve 11-inch (281 mm) guns in a hexagonal formation, with four guns mounted on the beam.<ref name=":0" /> She also carried a large amount of 5.9-inch (150 mm) and 88 mm guns to counter smaller vessels and torpedo boats.<ref name=":0" /> Later on, ''Westfalen'' was refitted to carry a small number of anti-aircraft guns; she initially carried six underwater torpedo tubes, but these were later removed.1<ref name=":0" />

=== Service History ===
[[File:SMS Westfalen.jpg|thumb|German Battleship SMS Westfalen seen from the side. Her two beam turrets are prominently visible.]]
After her commissioning, the SMS ''Westfalen'' served as the flagship of the First Battle Squadron, replacing the elderly pre-dreadnought SMS ''Kaiser Barbarossa''.<ref name=":0" /> She served in this role until 1914, when she was slated to be moved to the Second Battle Squadron; however, these plans were put on hold following the outbreak of the First World War.<ref name=":0" /> She then served as part of the screening force protecting Admiral Hipper's battlecruisers, which were shelling the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.<ref name=":0" /> She also served a minor role in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga.<ref name=":0" />

''Westfalen'' participated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was at the rear of the German Battleship Formation. However, in the late evening, she encountered a light force of several British destroyers, and an ensuing firefight erupted at close range.<ref name=":0" /> ''Westfalen'' scored several hits on the British destroyer leader ''Tiperrary'', causing critical damage;<ref name=":0" /> the destroyer was later finished off by her sister ship ''Nassau''. She then fired multiple salvoes at the destroyers ''Fortune'' and ''Turbulent'', critically damaging the former and sinking the latter. During this time, her bridge was hit by a round fired from a destroyer, which killed two and injured several others; the ship received no other battle damage.<ref name=":0" />

Following this action, the ''Westfalen'' returned to port for repairs. Several months later, she was yet again part of the screening force for Hipper's battlecruisers, this time for a raid on the town of Sunderland. However, ''Westfalen'' was struck by a torpedo from the British submarine ''E23'',<ref name=":0" /> which flooded her torpedo bulkhead with 800 tons of water. Despite this, the torpedo bulkhead held, demonstrating its effectiveness.<ref name=":0" />

In February of 1918, the ship participated in the Finland intervention by transporting troops.<ref name=":0" /> She also fired her main guns in support of German Forces. In April, ''Westfalen'' completed this operation and returned to the First Battle Squadron; however, in August, she suffered serious damage to her boilers.<ref name=":0" /> Thus, she was decommissioned and used as a training ship.<ref name=":0" /> Following the conclusion of the First World War, ''Westfalen'' was handed over to the United Kingdom as a war reparation. Thus, she was scrapped in 1924 at Birkenhead.<ref name=":0" />

=== [[wt:en/news/6923-development-sms-westfalen-into-a-new-era-en|Devblog]] ===
After the incredible HMS Dreadnought appeared, German shipbuilders began working on a new battleship design to succeed the British flagship.

Several new designs were created and considered as a result, but eventually the "G7b" design was approved by the Kaiser in March 1906, officially becoming the Nassau class. Shortly after, two of the new Nassau battleships were ordered with two further ships being added to the construction queue of German shipyards later.

SMS Westfalen was the last of the Nassau-class battleships to be laid down in August 1907, but the second to be commissioned into service with the Imperial Navy in November 1909. In the years leading up to WWI, Westfalen actively took part in routine fleet exercises and training courses with other elements of the Imperial Navy.

During the war, Westfalen, along with other ships of its type, actively participated in combat. The 2nd division (all ships of the Nassau type) of the 1st Hochseeflot squadron fought in the Baltic, and then in full force at Jutland, where they were especially active during the night phase of the battle. Initially, Westfalen, Nassau and Rheinland shot the destroyer Tipperary, and after that, a collision between Nassau and the destroyer Spitfire occurred where due to the extremely short distance between ships, the destroyer was below the sector of fire of the main battery guns, but was damaged by muzzle gases and barely escaped. Westfalen rammed and sank the destroyer Turbulent, and also participated in the sinking of the destroyers Ardent and Fortune. After Jutland, she took part in Operation Albion. Following the end of WWI, Westfalen was ceded to Great Britain as a replacement for some of the German ships lost to scuttling at Scapa Flow and shortly afterwards sold for scrap, being broken up between 1920 - 1924.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=germany&vehicleType=ship&vehicleClass=battleship&vehicle=germ_battleship_westfalen Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Images
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Westfalen Devblog Images" heights="180">
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|tiouSo_0Pj8|'''{{PAGENAME}} - Flipped Review''' - ''Flipped StuG''}}

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6923-development-sms-westfalen-into-a-new-era-en|[Devblog] SMS Westfalen: Into a New Era]]

=== Citations ===
<references />

=== Bibliography ===

* Militaer Wissen. (n.d.). Battleship SMS Westfalen. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from <nowiki>https://www.militaer-wissen.de/battleship-sms-westfalen/?lang=en</nowiki>

{{Germany battleships}}

Admiral Graf Spee

2020-12-30T21:29:22Z

U9268341: Filled empty text areas with text in General info. Corrected pro's and con's that were clearly outdated and even wrong.

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

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy cruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.95 "Northern Wind"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Armour}}
Admiral Graf Spee is the most armored of the 3 Deutschland-class ships. She sits between a heavy cruiser and a battlecruiser.

Unlike dreadnoughts, she was made to face only cruisers and destroyers, while keeping a large operational range.

The result was that her armor was made thick enough to barely resist cruiser shells of the era .

In war thunder, Graf Spee will not have too much trouble facing 150mm and smaller shells.

Her crew is quite limited for her size, it is highly recommended to repair only when major damages are sustained, like losing a main turret or all engines.

Doing otherwise will constantly feed her AA guns with fresh crew ready to be knocked unconscious again by the first 203mm HE shell that comes.

It is worth noting that, being considered a heavy cruiser in war thunder, her torpedo bulge can stop torpedoes up to 250kg of TNT equivalent. This will save you from most early PT boat's torpedoes, and most airforce's torpedoes.

Against aircraft attacks, she has sufficient AA to defend herself, but with the lack of variable time fuze and radar aiming, some planes will pass her defenses.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}}
Her mobility for her BR is sub par. Many other heavy cruisers will cruise over 60kph, where she will barely manage over 50kph. She can't avoid torpedoes.

{{NavalMobility}}

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

== Armament ==
{{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}}
=== Primary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Primary}}
{{main|283 mm/52 SK C/28 (283 mm)}}

Her 283mm cannons are effective against most targets. The only issue is that there are only 6 guns total, and she must take a relatively large angle to fire both turrets on a target.

The advantage with them is that she can attack dreadnought and cause significant damages, even reach ammo racks through a dreadnought's armor by using AP shells.

The bad part is the very long reload time of 30 seconds where most cruisers she faces will shoot every 5 to 10 seconds. This results in a rather low DPS, and makes it hard to hit small targets at long ranges.

=== Secondary armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}}
{{main|15 cm/55 SK C/28 (150 mm)}}

Her secondary armament consists of eight 150mm single turrets, for on each side. Those are very handy should your main turret get knocked out. They're also good against PT boats due to their much better reload time. Her 105mm guns are dual purpose, but can only fire HE-TF shells, making it barely effective against any vessel.

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{Specs-Fleet-AA}}
{{main|10.5 cm SK C/33 AA (105 mm)|3.7 cm SK C/30 (37 mm)|2 cm/65 C/30 (20 mm)}}

Her AA suite is somewhat decent for a 1939 ship. She doesn't have her 1945 modernisation which added 4cm AA guns, but her 37mm and 20mm are enough to knock out large aircrafts.

The lack of HE-VT is very noticeable, aircrafts may still penetrate her AA fire to drop their ordinance.

=== Torpedo armament ===
{{main|G7a (533 mm)}}

Her torpedoes will often get knocked out. They are placed over the stern, and usually, first incoming shots fall a bit far, knocking them out directly.

It is recommended not to apply the "torpedo mode" upgrade, as the aditionnal range is hard to take advantage of. And her torpedoes with the modifications will go slower than most cruisers she will face, making them near useless.

== Usage in battles ==
Use her at ranges where cruisers will have a bit of trouble shooting her. While she can take some hits, she remains a heavy cruiser, and doesn't like getting focused. The enemy will want to sink you first as they fear your 283mm.

You should try to sink dreadnought first, because you're the only cruiser out there that can hurt them.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="3" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| 283 mm Psgr L/3.7 APBC
| 15 cm Spgr. L/4.4 Bdz (m.Hb)
| Anti-Air Armament Targeting
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
| Smokescreen
| 283 mm Spgr L/4.2 Bdz SAP
|
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
| Shrapnel Protection
| Ventilation
| Improved Rangefinder
| 15 cm Pzgr. L/3.7 (m.Hb)
| Primary Armament Targeting
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
| Ammo Wetting
| Torpedo Mode
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Wide range of guns calliber to face all threats
* Armor can stop cruiser's HE shells to some degree
* 283mm main guns can face dreadnoughts
* Good AA suite to 1939's standards (outclassed by late WW2 AA cruisers)

'''Cons:'''

* Rather large target for enemy bombs and torpedoes
* 283 mm cannons have a long reload time of 30sec
* Armour can be defeated from cruiser's AP shells at closer ranges

== History ==

[[File:Graf Spee in 1936.jpg|thumb|330x330px|The ''Admiral Graf Spee'' in 1936.]]
The ''Admiral Graf Spee'' was a ship of the ''Deutschland'' class, a series of 10-thousand ton cruisers built to the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles. Despite her small tonnage, the Graf Spee was armed with six 11-inch (283 mm) main guns in two triple turrets, a much more powerful armament than its allied counterparts. As a result, the ships of the ''Deutschland'' class were nicknamed "Pocket Battleships" by the UK, and ''"Panzerschiff"'' (armoured ship) within the Kriegsmarine.<ref name=":0">Military Wiki (2020)</ref> The ship conducted several patrols near Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and participated in the Coronation Review of King George VI. The ship was responsible for the sinking of 9 merchant vessels during the first months of the Second World War, before being intercepted by a task force of the British Navy at the River Plate. Having caused extensive damage to her pursuers but damaged herself, the Graf Spee was scuttled in the mouth of the River Plate on December 17th 1939.<ref name=":1">Tikannen, A (2020)</ref>

=== Design and construction ===
Following Germany's defeat in the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles, the Kriegsmarine was limited to a force of pre-dreadnought battleships and cruisers, with a 10-thousand tonne limit on new vessels. In the early 1920s, the German naval ministry started working on a new design of ships that could replace its ageing pre-dreadnoughts. Initially, designs included a slow, heavily armed "monitor"-type vessel, as well as a faster "heavy-cruiser" type design. Following several years of changes, a final design was adopted featuring six 283 mm guns in two 3-gun turrets.<ref name=":2">Hickman, K (2019)</ref> Despite some initial opposition from the victorious powers (the United Kingdom, United States and France), the ships were allowed to be built as they did not violate the Treaty of Versailles.

The new ''Deutschland''-class ships were named "''Panzerschiffs"'', or "Armoured Ships". However, they would soon become known as the "Pocket Battleship". Though they were of similar size to their counterparts (like the [[HMS Kent (54)|British ''County''-class cruisers]]), the ships carried a much more powerful armament and had greater armour protection.<ref name=":2" /> The vessels displaced between 11,500 and 12,500 tonnes (though it was stated in public that they were 10-thousand tonnes only) standard, and up to 16,000 tonnes full load.<ref name=":0" /> Armament consisted of six 11-inch guns in two triple turrets, as well as a secondary armament of eight 5.9-inch guns in single turrets.<ref name=":0" /> The ship was capable of making 26 knots (48 km/h) and had a main armour belt of 100 mm thickness.<ref name=":0" />

Three ''Deutschland''-class ships were built: ''Deutschland'' (later ''Lutzow''), ''Admiral Scheer'', and ''Admiral Graf Spee''. The ''Graf Spee'' was ordered as ''Panzerschiff C'' and was laid down in 1932.<ref name=":2" /> It replaced the old pre-dreadnought ''Braunschweig'' and was named after Admiral Maximilian von Spee.<ref name=":2" /> The ship was launched in 1934, and was christened by the daughter of Von Spee. The ship was formally commissioned into the German Fleet on January 6th, 1936.<ref name=":2" />

=== Service history ===
[[File:Graf Spee at Spithead.jpg|thumb|The Graf Spee at Spithead for King George VI's Coronation Review. HMS Resolution and HMS Hood can be seen in the background.]]
Following its commissioning, the ship became the flagship of the German fleet. The ship participated in several non-intervention patrols off of the coast of Spain, and later represented Germany at King George VI's Coronation Review. The vessel also participated in several goodwill visits during the period of 1936-1938.<ref name=":2" />

Prior to the start of the Second World War, the Graf Spee sailed into the Southern Atlantic to be in the best position for commerce raiding. On September 26th 1939, the Graf Spee was ordered to commence raiding against allied merchantmen in the southern Atlantic. Four days later, the cruiser located and captured the TSS ''Clement'',<ref name=":3">McGibbon, I (2014)</ref> which was sunk using gunfire and torpedoes. As a result, a formidable task force was put together to locate and destroy the ''Spee''; this consisted of the carriers HMS ''Hermes'', ''Eagle'', ''Ark Royal'', and ''Bearn'' (of the French navy), the battleships ''Dunkerque'', ''Strasbourg'' (both of the French Navy), and HMS ''Renown'', as well as 16 cruisers.<ref name=":2" />

The task force initially failed to locate the ''Spee'', allowing her to destroy eight more merchantmen. This brought her total tonnage destroyed to 50,089 tonnes. However, the last Merchantmen was able to signal the ''Spee''<nowiki/>'s location to the Allies - as a result, the cruisers HMS ''Exeter'', ''Ajax'', and ''Achilles'' were sent to intercept the ship.<ref name=":3" />

=== Battle of the River Plate and Scuttling ===
On the morning of December 5th 1939, a ship was sighted across the ''Graf Spee''<nowiki/>'s starboard bow. This was the cruiser ''Exeter'', actively searching for the ''Spee''.<ref name=":1" /> The ''Graf Spee'' proceeded to close in and open fire, while the British cruisers immediately returned fire with their main batteries. In the span of a few hours, the ''Graf Spee'' was able to inflict heavy damage on all three cruisers, especially the ''Exeter'', who received extensive damage: all four of her main battery turrets were knocked out, as well as the bridge and torpedo tubes.<ref name=":3" /> Having been hit with numerous 11-inch shells, the ship was burning and developed a list due to extensive flooding. However, a strong defence was put up by cruisers ''Ajax'' and ''Achilles'', allowing the crippled cruiser to make it to the Falkland Islands for repairs.

Nonetheless, the British cruisers succeeded in crippling the ''Graf Spee'' - a single 8-inch shell from ''Exeter'' hit the engine compartment and disabled the ship's diesel cleaning system. As a result, the ship had just 16 hours of ready fuel, eliminating her chances of returning home.<ref name=":2" /> Shadowed by ''Achilles'' and ''Ajax'', the damaged ''Graf Spee'' docked at the neutral port of Montevideo to conduct repairs, repatriate prisoners, and obtain medical attention for injured crewmembers. However, because of the neutrality agreements of the Hague Convention, the ship was only able to dock for 72 hours. During this time, Allied intelligence tricked the Germans into thinking that a superior Allied force was located outside the bay, including the battlecruiser ''Renown'' and carrier ''Ark Royal''.<ref name=":2" /> In fact, only the heavy cruiser HMS ''Cumberland'' had arrived, as the reinforcement force would not be able to arrive for another week.<ref name=":2" />

The deceiving news of British reinforcements was a fatal blow to the ''Graf Spee''. After considering their options and discussing with the high command in Germany, the decision was made to scuttle the ship, as the ''Graf Spee''<nowiki/>'s damage and insufficient ammunition would prevent her from breaking out.<ref name=":1" /> On December 17th, the ''Graf Spee'' was scuttled in the River Plate estuary. Three days later, her captain committed suicide in full uniform over the ''Graf Spee''<nowiki/>'s battle ensign.<ref name=":1" /> The remainder of the crew were interned in Uruguay for the duration of the war, while the ship was partially broken up on site between 1942 and 1943.

== Media ==

{{Youtube-gallery|Wq9qHd_TCgk|'''The Shooting Range #184''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:32 discusses the Admiral Graf Spee.}}

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6504-development-admiral-graf-spee-outgunning-the-opposition-en|[Devblog] Admiral Graf Spee: Outgunning the Opposition]]

=== References ===
<references />

=== Bibliography ===

* Wiki Team. (2020). German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee. Retrieved November 13, 2020. [https://military.wikia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Admiral_Graf_Spee Website]
* Tikannen, A. (2020). Graf Spee. Retrieved November 13, 2020. [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Graf-Spee Website]
* Hickman, K. (2019, October 2). Pocket Battleship: Admiral Graf Spee. Retrieved November 13, 2020. [https://www.thoughtco.com/admiral-graf-spee-2361536 Website]
* McGibbon, I. (2014, November 27). Battle of the River Plate. Retrieved November 13, 2020. [https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/battle-of-river-plate Website]

{{Germany heavy cruisers}}

SMS Westfalen

2020-12-30T00:09:38Z

U9268341: /* General info */ surv n' amrour - corrected a spelling mistake (to repairing)

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

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battleship {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "New Power"]].

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

The SMS Westfalen is a dreadnought with an all-or-nothing armour scheme. This means she has thick armour all around the ship.

Her armour is rolled cemented "krupp" armour, which contains higher carbon steel on the surface and a softer core. The intent was to try shattering the shells with the tougher layer, while the softer core would absorb the shell's impact. This was one of the latest evolutions in armour designs used by dreadnoughts.

When it comes to survivability, her citadel is protected by a turtle back armour scheme in addition to coal bunkers. This should stop most shells from penetrating the important parts such as the ammo racks and the engines, while her 90-170 mm thick external armour will stop most destroyer's shells and high explosive rounds from all sources.

Her lack of AA armament is a bad, and also a good thing. Sure, aircrafts will make short work of her. But only Japanese torpedo bombers carry a large enough torpedo to bypass her torpedo bulges, which are thick enough to stop all but the Japanese [[Type 91 Model 2 (835 kg)|Type 91 Model 2]] and [[Type 91 Model 3 (850 kg)|Model 3]] airbourne torpedoes.

No AA means no crew to be lost easily. The only places she'll lose crew easily are the 88 mm guns in the bow and stern, so it is not recommended repairing the ship just for fixing those, as it will put new crew inside them to be easily lost again.

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

Don't expect mobility from a dreadnought. She was made to take damage while sending it back to her opponent. Speed was much less of a concern than armour.

This gives her roughly 38 km/h top speed, which is quite slow. Not enough to evade easily any bomb attacks.

{{NavalMobility}}

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

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

{{main|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}

Her armament consists of 6 turrets, each with twin 283 mm cannons. This is rather weak compared to most other battleships who have 305 mm or even larger guns. However, these will still make short work of cruisers and destroyers.

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

{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 mm)}}

This is where she shines. Twelve 150 mm and sixteen 88 mm guns. Patrol Torpedo boats will have a hard time sneaking through that firepower. Even destroyers will fear your 150 mm cannons.

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

{{main|88 mm/45 AA SK L/45 (88 mm)|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 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}}
''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.''

== Usage in battles ==

As a dreadnought, she excels at taking hits while giving them. Her playground is small maps, where her secondaries can make short work of destroyers while her primaries take care of cruisers.

Due to her "small" 283 mm cannons, she will have more trouble facing other dreadnoughts who have larger guns. It's not impossible, just better to shoot at softer targets instead.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| Anti-Air Armament Targeting
| 283 mm Psgr. L/3.2
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
|
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
| 150 mm Sprgr. L/3.2 Bdz
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
| Shrapnel Protection
| Ventilation
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
| Ammo Wetting
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Lots of firepower available from guns
* Thick armour all around
* Turtle back citadel armour scheme
* Coal bunkers

'''Cons:'''

* Somewhat weaker main guns in comparison to other battleships
* Mediocre anti-air defense
* Huge profile and low mobility

== History ==

SMS ''Westfalen'' was a member of the four-ship ''Nassau''-class, the first class of dreadnoughts built by the Imperial German Navy. Commissioned in 1909, she saw extensive service during the First World War, where she participated in many naval engagements. She was also responsible for the destruction of three British destroyers at the Battle of Jutland. ''Westfalen'' was damaged in 1918, and thereafter used as a training ship; she was later handed to the United Kingdom as a war reparation, and scrapped in 1924.<ref name=":0">Militaer Wissen. (n.d.)</ref>

=== Design and construction ===
The ''Nassau'' class was built to counter the British HMS ''Dreadnought'', who had revolutionized modern battleship design. As a result, the ''Nassaus'' were the first ships of the German Navy to carry an all-big-gun armament. The ships were also the first German vessels to be equipped with a torpedo bulkhead.<ref name=":0" /> The ships were intended to carry new steam turbines, but the German steam-turbine manufacturing process had not been refined; as a result, the ''Nassaus'' were equipped with large, space-consuming piston engines.<ref name=":0" /> This also contributed to the installation of ''Westfalen''<nowiki/>'s unique hexagonal main armament arrangement.<ref name=":0" /> ''Westfalen'' was launched on July 1st 1908, and commissioned in November of 1909.

''Westfalen'' displaced just over 20 thousand tons, and was capable of making just over 20 knots. She carried a main armament of twelve 11-inch (281 mm) guns in a hexagonal formation, with four guns mounted on the beam.<ref name=":0" /> She also carried a large amount of 5.9-inch (150 mm) and 88 mm guns to counter smaller vessels and torpedo boats.<ref name=":0" /> Later on, ''Westfalen'' was refitted to carry a small number of anti-aircraft guns; she initially carried six underwater torpedo tubes, but these were later removed.1<ref name=":0" />

=== Service History ===
[[File:SMS Westfalen.jpg|thumb|German Battleship SMS Westfalen seen from the side. Her two beam turrets are prominently visible.]]
After her commissioning, the SMS ''Westfalen'' served as the flagship of the First Battle Squadron, replacing the elderly pre-dreadnought SMS ''Kaiser Barbarossa''.<ref name=":0" /> She served in this role until 1914, when she was slated to be moved to the Second Battle Squadron; however, these plans were put on hold following the outbreak of the First World War.<ref name=":0" /> She then served as part of the screening force protecting Admiral Hipper's battlecruisers, which were shelling the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.<ref name=":0" /> She also served a minor role in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga.<ref name=":0" />

''Westfalen'' participated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was at the rear of the German Battleship Formation. However, in the late evening, she encountered a light force of several British destroyers, and an ensuing firefight erupted at close range.<ref name=":0" /> ''Westfalen'' scored several hits on the British destroyer leader ''Tiperrary'', causing critical damage;<ref name=":0" /> the destroyer was later finished off by her sister ship ''Nassau''. She then fired multiple salvoes at the destroyers ''Fortune'' and ''Turbulent'', critically damaging the former and sinking the latter. During this time, her bridge was hit by a round fired from a destroyer, which killed two and injured several others; the ship received no other battle damage.<ref name=":0" />

Following this action, the ''Westfalen'' returned to port for repairs. Several months later, she was yet again part of the screening force for Hipper's battlecruisers, this time for a raid on the town of Sunderland. However, ''Westfalen'' was struck by a torpedo from the British submarine ''E23'',<ref name=":0" /> which flooded her torpedo bulkhead with 800 tons of water. Despite this, the torpedo bulkhead held, demonstrating its effectiveness.<ref name=":0" />

In February of 1918, the ship participated in the Finland intervention by transporting troops.<ref name=":0" /> She also fired her main guns in support of German Forces. In April, ''Westfalen'' completed this operation and returned to the First Battle Squadron; however, in August, she suffered serious damage to her boilers.<ref name=":0" /> Thus, she was decommissioned and used as a training ship.<ref name=":0" /> Following the conclusion of the First World War, ''Westfalen'' was handed over to the United Kingdom as a war reparation. Thus, she was scrapped in 1924 at Birkenhead.<ref name=":0" />

=== [[wt:en/news/6923-development-sms-westfalen-into-a-new-era-en|Devblog]] ===
After the incredible HMS Dreadnought appeared, German shipbuilders began working on a new battleship design to succeed the British flagship.

Several new designs were created and considered as a result, but eventually the "G7b" design was approved by the Kaiser in March 1906, officially becoming the Nassau class. Shortly after, two of the new Nassau battleships were ordered with two further ships being added to the construction queue of German shipyards later.

SMS Westfalen was the last of the Nassau-class battleships to be laid down in August 1907, but the second to be commissioned into service with the Imperial Navy in November 1909. In the years leading up to WWI, Westfalen actively took part in routine fleet exercises and training courses with other elements of the Imperial Navy.

During the war, Westfalen, along with other ships of its type, actively participated in combat. The 2nd division (all ships of the Nassau type) of the 1st Hochseeflot squadron fought in the Baltic, and then in full force at Jutland, where they were especially active during the night phase of the battle. Initially, Westfalen, Nassau and Rheinland shot the destroyer Tipperary, and after that, a collision between Nassau and the destroyer Spitfire occurred where due to the extremely short distance between ships, the destroyer was below the sector of fire of the main battery guns, but was damaged by muzzle gases and barely escaped. Westfalen rammed and sank the destroyer Turbulent, and also participated in the sinking of the destroyers Ardent and Fortune. After Jutland, she took part in Operation Albion. Following the end of WWI, Westfalen was ceded to Great Britain as a replacement for some of the German ships lost to scuttling at Scapa Flow and shortly afterwards sold for scrap, being broken up between 1920 - 1924.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=germany&vehicleType=ship&vehicleClass=battleship&vehicle=germ_battleship_westfalen Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Images
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Westfalen Devblog Images" heights="180">
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|tiouSo_0Pj8|'''{{PAGENAME}} - Flipped Review''' - ''Flipped StuG''}}

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6923-development-sms-westfalen-into-a-new-era-en|[Devblog] SMS Westfalen: Into a New Era]]

=== Citations ===
<references />

=== Bibliography ===

* Militaer Wissen. (n.d.). Battleship SMS Westfalen. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from <nowiki>https://www.militaer-wissen.de/battleship-sms-westfalen/?lang=en</nowiki>

{{Germany battleships}}

IJN Ikoma

2020-12-29T23:52:41Z

U9268341: Removed the picture that was in description as it is already shown just a bit higher up on the page (as 2nd picture when scrolling the Specs-Card_Image)

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

== Description ==

{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Japanese battlecruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "New Power"]].

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

The Ikoma has a typical armour scheme for an armoured cruiser of its era - thick armour protecting the vitals - a waterline belt of 178 mm of rolled cemented (face hardened) armour in the middle of the ship, and a 127 mm thick rolled cemented citadel above that protecting the casemated 6" guns, which themselves have 152 mm rolled cemented gunshields. The corners of the citadel are also 152 mm rolled cemented.

The main turrets and barbettes under them are 178 mm of rolled cemented, with 25 mm rolled homogenous roofs. The 4.7" guns have 80 mm rolled cemented gunshields.

The waterline fore and aft of the main belt has a thinner belt of 102 mm cemented, conning towers are 203 mm rolled cemented at the front, and 152 mm at the rear, with 38 mm rolled homogenous roofs.

There are 3 decks of 38 mm rolled homogeneous armour - the top 2 are horizontal, the bottom one has a "step" in it allowing a higher headroom in the engine rooms.

The 2 magazines are each fully enclosed by 38 mm rolled homogenous plate.
Lastly there are 25 mm rolled homogeneous bulkheads covering the gap between the 2 main barbettes and the citadel fore and aft.
Coal bunkers line the unarmoured sides of the engine rooms.

By the standards of later times it is a complicated scheme, however it gives comprehensive protection against 6-8" guns of WW2 era cruisers.
The crew is 884 men, which is quite substantial, and they are well protected.

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


{{NavalMobility}}

The ship is extremely slow, and not very manoeuvrable. Acceleration and deceleration rates are not good, and it takes a considerable time to start turning.

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

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

{{main|12-inch/45 Vickers (305 mm)}}

''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.''

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

{{main|6-inch/45 Type 41 (152 mm)|4,7-inch/40 Armstrong (120 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.''

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

{{main|3-inch/40 Type 41 (76 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.''

=== Torpedo armament ===

{{main|21 inch Type 43 (1910) (533 mm)}}

The [[21 inch Type 43 (1910) (533 mm)|21 inch Type 43 (1910)]] torpedo is a good weapon by the standards of 1910 when it was introduced. It carries a 130 kg Shimose warhead (143kg TNT equivalent) to a range of 8km at 50kph. The warhead is small by later standards, and not likely to knock out a destroyer with one hit, let alone anything larger.

The Ikoma carries 2 fixed tubes - 1 facing to each broadside, and 17 reloads. The fixed tubes are located under the forward main turret, and are difficult to use since they are aimed by maneuvering the ship - which is not easy to do as already noted.

The limitations are such that not carrying any torpedoes is a good choice - the SL you save is greater than any reward you might get.

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

== Usage in battles ==

The Ikoma is classed as a "battlecruiser" in War Thunder, probably because it was designated a battlecruiser by the Japanese from 1912. However it is too slow and unmanoeuvrable to be used as a "fast battleship" as battlecruisers are often considered.

It is better to consider it as the armoured cruiser it was designed as. There is no real modern counterpart to "armoured cruiser", so it is probably simplest to think of it as a slow heavy cruiser. In some respects it is comparable to the Deutschland class "Panzerschiff" (eg the [[Admiral Graf Spee]]), especially in terms of the main armament being a small number of heavy guns. It can be played in a similar manner - mostly trying to "camp" somewhere protected from torpedoes and using the small number of heavy guns to score damaging hits on easy targets.

The slow rate of fire and small number of the main guns make them difficult to use against fast moving manoeuvring targets - they are best used against large targets that lack manoeuvrability such as heavy cruisers or larger. Light cruisers, destroyers, and smaller vessels can be attacked by controlling the secondary 6" and 4.7" guns - there are 6 of each on each broadside and they can make short work of smaller ships or boats.

It is possible to manage the fire of the 2 main turrets so that they each fire separately at approximately equal intervals. This provides more opportunity to correct range, and also accurate tracking of a target that is trying to manoeuvre to avoid the heavy shells.

It is often impossible to dodge torpedoes due to the sluggish manoeuvrability, so using islands as a shield from torpedoes is recommended where they are available.

There is no effective AA armament, and aircraft can easily come down to mast height to accurately deliver bombs, rockets or torpedoes. You can only hope the rest of your team has enough AA to provide some protection. The 3 armoured decks can absorb a lot of punishment from smaller bombs, but any armour piercing bombs, or anything from 1,000 lb/500 kg upwards will cause significant damage. At this BR, heavier bombs such as 1,800 kg, 4,000 lb and 5,000 kg are common loads, and can destroy the ship with 1 or 2 hits.

Backups for this ship cost only 20 GE, so it is worth considering buying them rather than using universal backups - you should always use backups of some variety when grinding through the various modules.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="3" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| Anti-Air Armament Targeting
| 12-inch APC
| 6-inch APC
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
|
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
|
|
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
| Shrapnel Protection
| Ventilation
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
| Ammo Wetting
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Powerful 12" main armament can wreck anything less than a battleship with a few hits;
* Heavy secondary armament of 6" and 4.7" guns is sufficient to take out destroyers and smaller vessels when controlled by the player;
* Heavy armour absorbs most damage from enemy guns and small-medium bombs;
* Backups cost only 20 GE.

'''Cons:'''

* Slow, and very slow to turn or accelerate/decelerate - makes dodging torpedoes difficult;
* Only 4 of the 12" guns with a very slow rate of fire (30 second reload when maxed) makes accurate shooting difficult against moving targets;
* No effective AA means opposing aircraft can press home attacks to minimum range and maximum accuracy.

== History ==

The ''Ikoma'' was the 2nd of the 2-ship ''Tsukuba'' class of armoured cruisers built by Japan. They were ordered as a result of the loss of 2 pre-dreadnought battleships to mines early in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and were fairly standard armoured cruisers of the era, although their 12" gun main armament was heavier than others of that type. The design was rushed, and the class suffered from numerous defects during their service.

The ''Ikoma'' was laid down in March 1905, launched in April 1906, and commissioned in March 1908.

During WW1 it took part in the Japanese assault on Tsingtao in China, then escorted allied convoys in the south-west Pacific, being based in Hong Kong, Singapore and Townsville, Australia.

After the war it was scrapped to meet obligations of the Washington Naval Treaty, and removed from the navy list in September 1923.

== 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 ==

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

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

{{Japan battlecruisers}}

SMS Von der Tann

2020-12-29T23:34:05Z

U9268341: I now understand how templates works :D time to edit more things here and there to use more templates.

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

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battlecruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Hot Tracks"]].

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

The {{Specs|pseudonym}} is a battlecruiser. This class of ships is supposed to have the firepower of dreadnoughts, whilst having superior speed to catch their prey.

This comes at the cost of armor thickness and coverage. She doesn't have coal bunkers protecting all turrets, the front and rear turrets only have armor plates to protect their ammo.

A lucky shot will knock a turret out and its ammo storage underneath, especially from other dreadnoughts.

As with all ships of the era, she doesn't have AA defenses you can count on.

=== 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|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}

''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.''

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

{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 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.''

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

{{main|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 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.''

=== Torpedo armament ===

{{main|C/06D (450 mm)}}

''Torpedo launchers are standard equipment on many ships and boats. Torpedoes are a significant means of defeating an opponent. Evaluate the position of the torpedo launchers, discuss the ammunition available, firing specifics such as dead zones, features of the torpedoes themselves, etc. If there is no torpedo armament, remove this section.''

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

== 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).''

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| III
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| IV
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===

''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==

=== [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|Devblog]] ===
With the appearance of HMS Invincible in 1906, the Imperial Navy found itself lacking an appropriate response as the British battlecruiser outmatched any comparable vessel in the German fleet at the time. As a result, German ship builders began working on designing an equivalent vessel in the same year under the name “Cruiser F”. As the ship would eventually become Germany’s first battlecruiser, its design was carefully considered, with emphasis being put on speed and protection.

By mid 1907, Cruiser F’s design had been finalized and its construction approved by the Kaiser in June, christening the vessel SMS Von der Tann in honor of a Bavarian general. Von der Tann was laid down in March 1908 and launched exactly a year later, before being completed and commissioned into service in September 1910. At the time of commissioning Von der Tann quickly became the new symbol of German naval power, being not only the first German warship fitted with steam turbine engines, but also the world’s fastest warship of its type at the time. After completing trials, Von der Tann was sent on a cruise to South America before returning to Germany in May 1911.

During WWI, Von der Tann participated in numerous naval operations in the war: including the Battle of Jutland in 1916, as well as participating in raids against British ports and engagements against the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. At the end of WWI in 1918, Von der Tann along with the remainder of the German Navy was interned at Scapa Flow. In the following year, the interned German fleet along with Von der Tann scuttled itself to prevent capture by the Allies with this event marking the end of the warship’s illustrious career.

== Media ==
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Von der Tann Devblog Images" heights="150">
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|[Devblog] Heroes of Jutland: SMS Von der Tann]]

{{Germany battlecruisers}}

SMS Von der Tann

2020-12-29T23:32:20Z

U9268341:

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

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battlecruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Hot Tracks"]].

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

The {{Specs|pseudonym}}is a battlecruiser. Battlecruisers are supposed to have the firepower of dreadnoughts, whilst having superior speed to catch their prey.

This comes at the cost of armor thickness and coverage. She doesn't have coal bunkers protecting all turrets, the front and rear turrets only have armor plates to protect their ammo.

A lucky shot will knock a turret out and its ammo storage underneath, especially from other dreadnoughts.

As with all ships of the era, she doesn't have AA defenses you can count on.

=== 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|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}

''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.''

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

{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 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.''

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

{{main|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 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.''

=== Torpedo armament ===

{{main|C/06D (450 mm)}}

''Torpedo launchers are standard equipment on many ships and boats. Torpedoes are a significant means of defeating an opponent. Evaluate the position of the torpedo launchers, discuss the ammunition available, firing specifics such as dead zones, features of the torpedoes themselves, etc. If there is no torpedo armament, remove this section.''

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

== 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).''

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| III
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| IV
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===

''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==

=== [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|Devblog]] ===
With the appearance of HMS Invincible in 1906, the Imperial Navy found itself lacking an appropriate response as the British battlecruiser outmatched any comparable vessel in the German fleet at the time. As a result, German ship builders began working on designing an equivalent vessel in the same year under the name “Cruiser F”. As the ship would eventually become Germany’s first battlecruiser, its design was carefully considered, with emphasis being put on speed and protection.

By mid 1907, Cruiser F’s design had been finalized and its construction approved by the Kaiser in June, christening the vessel SMS Von der Tann in honor of a Bavarian general. Von der Tann was laid down in March 1908 and launched exactly a year later, before being completed and commissioned into service in September 1910. At the time of commissioning Von der Tann quickly became the new symbol of German naval power, being not only the first German warship fitted with steam turbine engines, but also the world’s fastest warship of its type at the time. After completing trials, Von der Tann was sent on a cruise to South America before returning to Germany in May 1911.

During WWI, Von der Tann participated in numerous naval operations in the war: including the Battle of Jutland in 1916, as well as participating in raids against British ports and engagements against the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. At the end of WWI in 1918, Von der Tann along with the remainder of the German Navy was interned at Scapa Flow. In the following year, the interned German fleet along with Von der Tann scuttled itself to prevent capture by the Allies with this event marking the end of the warship’s illustrious career.

== Media ==
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Von der Tann Devblog Images" heights="150">
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|[Devblog] Heroes of Jutland: SMS Von der Tann]]

{{Germany battlecruisers}}

SMS Von der Tann

2020-12-29T23:31:43Z

U9268341:

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

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battlecruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Hot Tracks"]].

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

The {{Specs|name=}}is a battlecruiser. Battlecruisers are supposed to have the firepower of dreadnoughts, whilst having superior speed to catch their prey.

This comes at the cost of armor thickness and coverage. She doesn't have coal bunkers protecting all turrets, the front and rear turrets only have armor plates to protect their ammo.

A lucky shot will knock a turret out and its ammo storage underneath, especially from other dreadnoughts.

As with all ships of the era, she doesn't have AA defenses you can count on.

=== 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|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}

''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.''

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

{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 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.''

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

{{main|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 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.''

=== Torpedo armament ===

{{main|C/06D (450 mm)}}

''Torpedo launchers are standard equipment on many ships and boats. Torpedoes are a significant means of defeating an opponent. Evaluate the position of the torpedo launchers, discuss the ammunition available, firing specifics such as dead zones, features of the torpedoes themselves, etc. If there is no torpedo armament, remove this section.''

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

== 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).''

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| III
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| IV
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===

''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==

=== [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|Devblog]] ===
With the appearance of HMS Invincible in 1906, the Imperial Navy found itself lacking an appropriate response as the British battlecruiser outmatched any comparable vessel in the German fleet at the time. As a result, German ship builders began working on designing an equivalent vessel in the same year under the name “Cruiser F”. As the ship would eventually become Germany’s first battlecruiser, its design was carefully considered, with emphasis being put on speed and protection.

By mid 1907, Cruiser F’s design had been finalized and its construction approved by the Kaiser in June, christening the vessel SMS Von der Tann in honor of a Bavarian general. Von der Tann was laid down in March 1908 and launched exactly a year later, before being completed and commissioned into service in September 1910. At the time of commissioning Von der Tann quickly became the new symbol of German naval power, being not only the first German warship fitted with steam turbine engines, but also the world’s fastest warship of its type at the time. After completing trials, Von der Tann was sent on a cruise to South America before returning to Germany in May 1911.

During WWI, Von der Tann participated in numerous naval operations in the war: including the Battle of Jutland in 1916, as well as participating in raids against British ports and engagements against the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. At the end of WWI in 1918, Von der Tann along with the remainder of the German Navy was interned at Scapa Flow. In the following year, the interned German fleet along with Von der Tann scuttled itself to prevent capture by the Allies with this event marking the end of the warship’s illustrious career.

== Media ==
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Von der Tann Devblog Images" heights="150">
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|[Devblog] Heroes of Jutland: SMS Von der Tann]]

{{Germany battlecruisers}}

SMS Von der Tann

2020-12-29T23:31:11Z

U9268341: /* General info */

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

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battlecruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Hot Tracks"]].

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

The {{Specs|pseudonym=pseudonym}}is a battlecruiser. Battlecruisers are supposed to have the firepower of dreadnoughts, whilst having superior speed to catch their prey.

This comes at the cost of armor thickness and coverage. She doesn't have coal bunkers protecting all turrets, the front and rear turrets only have armor plates to protect their ammo.

A lucky shot will knock a turret out and its ammo storage underneath, especially from other dreadnoughts.

As with all ships of the era, she doesn't have AA defenses you can count on.

=== 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|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}

''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.''

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

{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 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.''

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

{{main|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 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.''

=== Torpedo armament ===

{{main|C/06D (450 mm)}}

''Torpedo launchers are standard equipment on many ships and boats. Torpedoes are a significant means of defeating an opponent. Evaluate the position of the torpedo launchers, discuss the ammunition available, firing specifics such as dead zones, features of the torpedoes themselves, etc. If there is no torpedo armament, remove this section.''

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

== 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).''

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| III
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| IV
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===

''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==

=== [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|Devblog]] ===
With the appearance of HMS Invincible in 1906, the Imperial Navy found itself lacking an appropriate response as the British battlecruiser outmatched any comparable vessel in the German fleet at the time. As a result, German ship builders began working on designing an equivalent vessel in the same year under the name “Cruiser F”. As the ship would eventually become Germany’s first battlecruiser, its design was carefully considered, with emphasis being put on speed and protection.

By mid 1907, Cruiser F’s design had been finalized and its construction approved by the Kaiser in June, christening the vessel SMS Von der Tann in honor of a Bavarian general. Von der Tann was laid down in March 1908 and launched exactly a year later, before being completed and commissioned into service in September 1910. At the time of commissioning Von der Tann quickly became the new symbol of German naval power, being not only the first German warship fitted with steam turbine engines, but also the world’s fastest warship of its type at the time. After completing trials, Von der Tann was sent on a cruise to South America before returning to Germany in May 1911.

During WWI, Von der Tann participated in numerous naval operations in the war: including the Battle of Jutland in 1916, as well as participating in raids against British ports and engagements against the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. At the end of WWI in 1918, Von der Tann along with the remainder of the German Navy was interned at Scapa Flow. In the following year, the interned German fleet along with Von der Tann scuttled itself to prevent capture by the Allies with this event marking the end of the warship’s illustrious career.

== Media ==
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Von der Tann Devblog Images" heights="150">
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|[Devblog] Heroes of Jutland: SMS Von der Tann]]

{{Germany battlecruisers}}

SMS Von der Tann

2020-12-29T23:30:25Z

U9268341: /* General info */ written survivability and armour

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

== Description ==


The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battlecruiser {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Hot Tracks"]].

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

The {{Specs|pseudonym=}}is a battlecruiser. Battlecruisers are supposed to have the firepower of dreadnoughts, whilst having superior speed to catch their prey.

This comes at the cost of armor thickness and coverage. She doesn't have coal bunkers protecting all turrets, the front and rear turrets only have armor plates to protect their ammo.

A lucky shot will knock a turret out and its ammo storage underneath, especially from other dreadnoughts.

As with all ships of the era, she doesn't have AA defenses you can count on.

=== 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|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}

''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.''

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

{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 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.''

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

{{main|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 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.''

=== Torpedo armament ===

{{main|C/06D (450 mm)}}

''Torpedo launchers are standard equipment on many ships and boats. Torpedoes are a significant means of defeating an opponent. Evaluate the position of the torpedo launchers, discuss the ammunition available, firing specifics such as dead zones, features of the torpedoes themselves, etc. If there is no torpedo armament, remove this section.''

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

== 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).''

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| III
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| IV
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===

''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==

=== [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|Devblog]] ===
With the appearance of HMS Invincible in 1906, the Imperial Navy found itself lacking an appropriate response as the British battlecruiser outmatched any comparable vessel in the German fleet at the time. As a result, German ship builders began working on designing an equivalent vessel in the same year under the name “Cruiser F”. As the ship would eventually become Germany’s first battlecruiser, its design was carefully considered, with emphasis being put on speed and protection.

By mid 1907, Cruiser F’s design had been finalized and its construction approved by the Kaiser in June, christening the vessel SMS Von der Tann in honor of a Bavarian general. Von der Tann was laid down in March 1908 and launched exactly a year later, before being completed and commissioned into service in September 1910. At the time of commissioning Von der Tann quickly became the new symbol of German naval power, being not only the first German warship fitted with steam turbine engines, but also the world’s fastest warship of its type at the time. After completing trials, Von der Tann was sent on a cruise to South America before returning to Germany in May 1911.

During WWI, Von der Tann participated in numerous naval operations in the war: including the Battle of Jutland in 1916, as well as participating in raids against British ports and engagements against the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. At the end of WWI in 1918, Von der Tann along with the remainder of the German Navy was interned at Scapa Flow. In the following year, the interned German fleet along with Von der Tann scuttled itself to prevent capture by the Allies with this event marking the end of the warship’s illustrious career.

== Media ==
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Von der Tann Devblog Images" heights="150">
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Von der Tann WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6976-development-heroes-of-jutland-sms-von-der-tann-en|[Devblog] Heroes of Jutland: SMS Von der Tann]]

{{Germany battlecruisers}}

SPAA radars

2020-12-29T15:35:26Z

U9268341: added missing SPAA to the table at the end of page

{{DISPLAYTITLE: SPAA Radar & Sensor Systems}}


War Thunder [[Update 1.87 "Locked On"]] introduced mechanics for radars and other sensors. The new mechanics replaced an "arcade-style" lead indicator previously present, and a greater number of aircraft and SPAA vehicles which were historically equipped with radars gained access to the new features allowing for a more in-depth, realistic and a historic feel when playing them.

Prior to this update, SPAA's equipped with radars were able to use an Arcade battles style lead indicator in realistic and simulator battle modes. While the targeting reticles tended to be extremely inaccurate, they were nonetheless helpful to the operator, giving them a general idea of there to shoot. After the update, the arcade-style lead indicator was removed. SPAA vehicles are now equipped with various radars and other sensor systems which provide the ability to detect and/or track aircraft. Vehicles with this capability have a radar display visible as part of the in-game interface, the location of detected air targets is displayed on this interface. In addition for vehicles equipped with tracking systems the player may lock onto targets, this proves an accurate range and relative velocity information about the target and, when the target is close enough, an accurate lead indicator.

Although such systems provide SPAA players with distinct battlefield advantages, many come with risks to their use. A number of modern helicopters are equipped with Radar Warning Receivers (RWR), which are capable of detecting radar emissions from SPAAs and alerting the helicopter pilot to their position.

With the release of [[Update 1.89]], the functionality of radars and other sensors was changed. Tracking errors were added, meaning that lead indicators are less accurate at longer ranges and aircraft flying at low altitudes (less than 100 m from terrain) became harder to track. Although less effective than previously, radars are still a very useful tool to have.

==Ground radar / sensors controls==
Below is a table showing all the key-bindings associated with the use of radars and other sensors on ground vehicles. It is recommended to change the default key bindings to make radar systems easier to use.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | Radar / Sensor Controls
|-
! Control name
! Default Keybind (PC keyboard & mouse)
! Description
|-
| Switch radar search on / off || Alt + R || Turns the vehicle's search radar (or other types of search sensor) on or off.
|-
| Change radar mode || Unbound || Unknown
|-
| Change radar search mode || Unbound || Toggles between the radars search modes e.g. sector scan or 360° scan (see radar pages for scan modes supported)
|-
| Change radar scope scale || Unbound || Changes the range scale of the radar display
|-
| Select radar target to lock on || Alt + T || Selects which target on the display to lock on to
|-
| Lock radar target on || Alt + F || Locks onto the selected or nearest target on radar display. In sniper/gunner view: Force '''tracking''' sensor sweep and attempt to lock on the target in the crosshairs with it, or onto the first aircraft the tracker detects.
|-
| Switch radar indicator type || Unbound || Switches between a Plan Position Indicator (PPI) radar display and a B-Scope radar display
|-
|}

{{Notice| Despite being on the same button, locking on with search sensor and tracking sensor '''is not''' the same thing - even if your search radar cannot track something, maybe your tracking radar can. Practice your radar controls in test drive before going on the field.}}

==Radars and Sensors User Interface==
This section will cover the general user interface for ground vehicles with radars and sensors; some sensors have slight differences in their interfaces which will be covered in their own subsection. For the images in this section, a [[Gepard]] is used. All SPAA vehicles with radars and other sensors gain a radar display and compass on their HUD.
===Radar Display===
[[File:Ground_Radars_General.png|300px|thumb|right|A general depiction of the radar display. The default PPI display is at the top with the B-Scope display shown below.]]

There are two types of radar display (see image to the right) which the player can choose from. The default display is a Plan Position Indicator (PPI) display; by pressing the "Switch radar indicator type" key the player can change this to a B-Scope display if they wish.

The PPI is a circular display showing a top-down representation of the airspace around the player's vehicle; the display is a "North Up" format meaning that north is always at the top of the display.

The player's vehicle is located in the centre of the display and a line indicates what direction the turret is facing. If the search radar/sensor is turned on (evident by the presence of a lightning bolt above the display) then a line will appear, moving around the display, representing where the sensor is pointing. There are also pale lines extending from the centre of the display to the edge, these are spaced apart at 30°, and along with the bearing markers on the radar display and compass allow you to work out in which direction a target is located. There are also 4 rings (including the outside edge of the display) within the display, these are evenly spaced and allow you to work out how far away a detected target is (divide the range setting by four to get the distance between rings). If the vehicle has a tracking system then a darker region will be present indicating the area within which targets can be tracked (the area will usually move with the movement of the tank's turret).

The B-Scope is a rectangular display proving a 2D top-down representation of space. The player's vehicle is located at the bottom of the display. The horizontal axis shows what azimuth the target is from the player, and the vertical axis shows distance. North is locked in the middle of the display with -180° in azimuth shown on the left-hand side of the display, and +180 in azimuth shown on the right-hand side of the display. A vertical line represents the direction the turret is facing, and a thicker line represents the sweep of the scanner (when it is turned on). Again there are four range lines which can be used to work out how far away radar targets are. The tracking area is displayed as a darkened box on the display.

====Radar Target Types====
[[File:Radar_Target_Types.png|800px|thumb|left|The different types of targets which can be present on the radar display. Fast moving targets will be represented by a line instead of a dot, but designations will remain same.]]
{{break}}
There are different types of targets which can appear on the radar display, these are shown above. When a target is detected by a search radar (or another type of search sensor) it will most often show up on the radar display as a normal radar target (left-most example in image). If the vehicle's search system is equipped with an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system then targets which are on your team will be displayed with a line under them (right-most example), if an IFF system is not present then all targets will be displayed as normal targets on the radar display.

One of the targets within the vehicle's tracking area on the display will be chosen as the selected target and displayed with a vertical bar on each side of it. The selected target is the one which will be locked on to when the "Lock radar target on" button is pressed. The selected target can be changed to another one within the lock-on-area by pressing the "Select radar target to lock on" key. Targets which have been locked on to are displayed with a solid square around them.

===Compass and Tracked Targets===
[[File:Radar compass and tracking.jpg|500x500px|thumb|right|The interface for the compass and a tracked target]]
In addition to a radar display SPAA vehicles also have a compass present on the HUD, located at the top of the screen. This compass shows what direction the turret is pointing in degrees (0° is due north). Targets which are detected will also be displayed on the compass as triangles. If a target is locked then a solid box appears around its triangle.

When a target is locked onto a box will appear around it. Next, to the box, the distance between the target and the player's vehicle, as well as its speed relative to the player's vehicle will be displayed. Once the target closes to a suitable range an accurate firing indicator will appear.

If the lock on a target is lost for any reason then the tracking square around the target will drift and start flashing to show that it has been lost, after a few seconds it will disappear.

When a target is tracked, the turret will receive the targeting information feed and use it to adjust ammunition self-destruction fuse delays as well as follow the target automatically. When this happens the targeting reticle which appears has a high level of accuracy, as long as the target maintains speed and bearing and does not dramatically alter its speed, course or direction.

==SPAA Sensor Types==

The sensor systems in War Thunder can be categorised into Active Radar systems and Passive Systems. Active radar systems work by transmitting radio waves at a target and detecting those which bounce back, while passive systems use a variety of techniques to allow them to carry out their job passively (i.e. without emitting anything).

Sensor systems also differ in roles, either falling into the category of search systems or tracking systems. When activated search systems will scan the area around the SPAA and display any targets they detect on the radar display and compass. Tracking systems do not detect targets; instead, they lock on to a single target and provide information about it, as well as a firing lead indicator. Most SPAAs have both a search and tracking system allowing them to detect targets and then lock onto them. Some SPAAs however only have tracking systems; in this case, the user must manually place the crosshairs over a visible target to lock the radar onto it. It is possible for vehicles to have a mix of sensor systems. For example the [[ADATS]] has a search radar and an infrared tracking system.

===Active Radar===

Active radar systems are by far the most common type of SPAA sensor; they work by transmitting radio waves at a target and detecting those which bounce back. They come with the disadvantage that these radio waves can be detected by Radar Warning Receivers (RWR) fitted to some aircraft, alerting the aircraft to the SPAA's location. Radar systems also have the disadvantage of suffering ground clutter (false returns from the ground making it harder to detect targets), the multipath effect (an effect where the tracking box appears below low flying aircraft instead of over it), and tracking inaccuracies.

{{Notice|Trees are half-transparent for radars. Radar distance shortens for every tree in its scan direction.|!}}

When the radar is in search mode and does not have a lock on a target, it will scan the area around the vehicle, either through a full 360° or within a limited sector. The current direction of the scanner is represented by a moving line on the radar display (usually thicker than the turret heading line). Targets can only be detected by the radar when it is pointing straight at them, and so a target's position will only be updated as the scanner sweep line passes over it. Be aware, that small planes are harder to detect due to their small profile and obstacles such as trees and hills will obscure radar's field of view, preventing detection or tracking of objects on the other side of them. Even if the search radar is offline or fails to spot a target it is usually still possible to manually position the crosshairs over a target and press the "Lock radar target on" key.

{{Notice|Radars cannot detect or track targets which have a relative speed which is too low|!}}
Another important consideration with radars is that they are incapable of detecting or tracking targets with a low relative speed. The relative speed is not the true speed which the target is actually moving; it is the speed which it is moving relative to the radar. If a target is flying in a circle around the player, moving at a speed near that of the rotation of the radar, then it is possible for their relative speed to drop to a point where it is too low to track/detect.

Radars also have a minimum range, below which they cannot detect or track targets. See individual radar pages for the minimum range and speed characteristics of each radar.

{{Notice|Different radars have different characteristics, a target detectable by a vehicle's search radar may not be visible to its tracking radar and vice versa.}}

If the search radar has detected a target within the radar's locking area (darker area of the radar display) on of the targets in that area will be marked as selected (two vertical lines around it), a lock can be acquired on the selected target by pressing the "Lock radar target on" key. The selected target can be changed by pressing the "Select radar target to lock on" key if a target has been detected in the area but cannot be selected it means it is visible to the search radar but not the tracking radar. When a selected target is locked on to the guns will automatically move to point at it, regardless of where they were pointing previously. Multiple targets (even allied aircraft) close together within the field of the tracking radar can confuse the tracking radar and cause tracking problems, including the loss of a target lock, or the lock transitioning to another aircraft. In the event of multiple aircraft in the search area, it is recommended to switch to gunner view and manually attack targets to ensure not accidentally shooting down any friendly aircraft.

{{Notice|The darker area on the display is the area within which targets can initially be locked on to. Once locked on some radars can track a target even outside of this area.}}

Once a solid lock is achieved, the only concern now is preventing your opponent from dodging the incoming volley of ammunition. For this reason, conservation of ammunition is important and the gunner should not waste ammo firing in long continuous bursts in the same direction if your SPAA's accuracy is adequate.

[[File:Radar_shot_marksman.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px|Enemy plane suffered a serious hit. Even if they somehow escape the rest of the volley, they're out of fighting capability and may crash soon.]]

====Combined Search / Track Radars (TWS - Track While Scan)====
[[File:Radar_Without_TWS.png|300px|thumb|right|A radar without TWS, notice how all other targets are removed from the display when a target is locked.]]
Most SPAA vehicles operate two separate radars or sensors, one for searching and one for tracking. Some vehicles, however, operate a single combined search and tracking radar. These systems operate much the same as regular radars, however, nearly all of them lack Track While Scan (TWS) capability. As a result, when you lock onto a target with such radar, you lose search functionality and cannot see any targets other than the one you are tracking. By comparison, vehicles using a separate search and tracking radar are able to still use their search radar while the tracking radar is active.

====Radar Range Finders====

In real life radar range finding systems were used as a simpler way of proving radar tracking like capability. Rangefinders work by calculating the distance between two objects. There are two main components of a radio rangefinder are the transmitter unit and the receiver unit. The transmitter's job is to transmit a signal, usually, several hundred times a second and then wait. If an object such as an aircraft is hit by the transmitted signals from the rangefinder they will bounce off of the aircraft and reflect back to the SPAA to be received by the receiver.

The rangefinder's processing unit will calculate the time between when the signal was transmitted and received and use it to calculate the distance to the target. The more often the transmitters transmit, the more reflections are received giving the rangefinder an up-to-date distance to the moving aircraft. With this data, the SPAA can set fuses for self-destroying ammo causing it to automatically explode near to where the tracked aircraft is showing to be, not requiring a direct hit, but close enough to cause damage through exploding shells. The range of information can also be used to calculate a firing lead indicator.

In-game radar range finders work like tracking radars, however vehicles equipped with them have no search radar, to the target must be manually identified and locked.
[[File:Rangefinder radar display.jpg|none|thumb|How radar display looks with rangefinder only. There will be no searching going on, and no passive scanning.]]

To use the radar rangefinder substitute, you have to go to gunner (sniper) sight and direct the targeting crosshairs onto the target enemy aircraft, then press the "Lock radar target on" key.

As a result, lock-on will occur:
[[File:M163 radio lock-on.JPG|none|thumb|500x500px|M163 locked on. Always make sure trees do not obscure the gunner's view.]]

All that is left is to aim the true targeting reticle and open fire on the enemy aircraft.

The above information is also true for vehicles such as the [[SIDAM 25]] which use an optronic tracking system, without search functionality.

{{Notice|Although the SIDAM 25's tracker can track targets in an elevation range of -20°/+85° once locked on, it can only initially lock on to targets between -20°/+20° in elevation.}}

====Sector Scan Radar Mode====
Some search radars support sector scanning as well as 360°. The scan mode can be changed by pressing the "Change radar search mode" key. In Sector scanning mode the radar moves back and forth, scanning a sector between two angles. The scanning sector is relative to the front of the turret, so if the turret moves the sector covered by the radar moves also.
[[File:Sector view radar.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Sector view radar. In case of these radars, the system only actively looks for an enemy in a small sector in front of your turret (represented by dark green field).]]

====Line of Sight Scan Radar Mode====
Some radars also support Line of Sight searching, again this can be selected by pressing the "Change radar search mode" key. This mode will stop the radar dish from spinning and lock it facing the front of the turret. In this mode the radar is only scanning a very narrow sector dead in front of the turret, so you need to point straight at aircraft in order to detect them. Since the radar is static in this mode, it is advisable to move the turret a bit, just in case if the plane took a bit different route to where you think it is. You also should note, that smaller planes that fly near to ground are harder to detect, and even this trick might not work on them.

===Passive Infrared and Optronic Systems===

{{Notice|As of Update "Raining Fire", no SPAA in the game have full passive tracking radar and missile guidance. All missile launches will trigger a helicopter's Laser Warning System.}}

After a certain point, air forces realised the danger of radars to their ranks and started using specific radar-seeking missiles, which were able to automatically detect and guide straight onto radars and destroy them.

As a way to avoid this new threat entirely, passive systems which were capable of detecting and tracking aircraft without emitting radar were developed.

One method known as optronic tracking uses a powerful camera controlled by the gunner. The gunner manually identifies the target and locks into it, a computer then uses the video feed of a target to track it and provide a firing lead indicator.

Other method uses infrared sensors to detect the infrared energy emitted from aircraft in order to detect and track them.

These systems tend to have a short-range by Radar standard but are capable of doing the job while being unnoticed by anti-radar detectors.

====Using Passive Infrared Systems====
[[File:Passive_IR_Search_System_UI.png|300px|thumb|right|The interface for Passive IR search, notice how all targets are marked at a fixed range, with only azimuth different.]]
The user interface for passive infrared systems feels about the same as radar. The most noticeable difference at first glance is that power symbol is replaced by letters "IRST". However another difference soon becomes more apparent: infrared '''search''' systems are incapable of telling the range to a target, as such all targets are displayed at the same range around the edge of the display, with only the azimuth being different between them. This is compensated by ability of system to tell if target is hostile or not.

{{Notice|Trees are non transparent for optical sights and guiding devices, such as ADATS tracker or Stormer SPAAGs. Try to not choose positions next to a forest, if possible.|!}}

While this is a serious downgrade, it starts making sense when you actually try to lock on and observe the way IRST targeting sensors work.

Generally, due to low range of infrared tracking systems they are used on vehicles equipped with Anti-Air missiles, which can compensate for the system weaknesses. Overall, infrared tracking does seem to be slightly less accurate and reliable than radar tracking, and heavily relies on optical tracking from sniper seat. For this reason, these kinds of systems require a higher level of "targeting" on crew gunner for better turret tracking and high coordination of the player, as you have to guide very sensitive missiles towards the target as precisely as you can.

{{Notice|The [[Stormer HVM]] has no guns, so there is no lead indicator for this vehicle. The [[ADATS]] does have a lead indicator for its infrared Tracker.}}

[[File:Stormer HMV passive system lock on.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px]]

As could be seen on screenshot above, in full IRST mode sniper crosshair tries to imitate the drag of missile as it tracks the aircraft, by keeping sniper crosshairs on plane you can guide your missile towards an aircraft. Keeping an actual missile on target is more important, however, as system accuracy is generally far from stellar.

Do note, that a plane approaching at a sharp angle will mess with turret automatic guidance, due to it passing by too fast. It is also worth remembering, that SPAA, which rely purely on IRST, have huge gaps in optical zooms, and maximum zoom '''does not equal best missile tracking'''.

[[File:Stormer HVM hit with weird lock-on data.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px]]

As example, Stormer HVM has 10-40X optics, which can be manually adgusted during AA duty, but simply hitting "maximum zoom" will probably result in a miss. Since it is extremely inconvenient to toggle zoom level every time, one can remain in sniper seat and use radar display to lock-on to targets around - spin the turret in direction of your next target on display and try to lock on, the targeting device will do the rest.

==Sensor guidance errors==

While in-game lock-on ballistic calculations are absolute and are always correct, since [[update 1.89]] the guidance error can happen. If you will not pay attention to those, your volley may miss entirely.

===Unstable lock-on===

The more things there are in between of SPAA and plane and the closer the tracking sensor is to its limits, the more lock-on scope "shakes". Eventually, it may start going all over the place and even detach from aircraft. This makes radar-guided reticle less than absolutely accurate and may decrease timing accuracy of proximity fuse shells.

[[File:Sensor error - unstable lock sniper.jpg|thumb|left|As clearly seen here, there is no way sniper would know that the scope is detached from plane, and the error is actually quite big for a 35 mm gun]]

{{break}}

This error is the most dangerous when you fire while using sniper scope, as it's often hard to see both the aircraft and ballistic solution reticle at the same time, so you may not even notice it for a while.

Ingame, the ballistic solution is usually still correct, but your sensor thinks, that aircraft is located in another spot, thus giving you an incorrect firing angle. To counter this error, look how far and in which direction the lock-on square is separated from the actual aircraft and adjust your aim at "true aiming reticle" in opposite direction, firing to where the enemy plane would actually be.

[[File:Sensor error - counter unstable lock.jpg|thumb|left|Shift gun around the reticle to compensate for wobbly radar lock indicator. Note, that the worse lock becomes, the more scope moves around.]]

{{break}}

To avoid getting this error at all, it is better to stay in high and open spot and track at range and angle comfortable for your tracking device, but it makes you more vulnerable to enemy fire, and many hostile aircrafts can attack you back while being well outside of your comfort zone, so it is safer to just get used to it.

===Multipath (Ground echo)===

If hostile aircraft is flying very low (~100 m away from the ground), the ground will start jamming radar-based signal with similar signature echo, bringing the "lock-on" tracker down to the ground.

This error is very confusing, so being prepared is the key. To counter the error, keep your distance and aim where your radar says to, but adjust the height to one at which the plane is flying manually. Resist any attempts of the turret to follow the reticle under the ground. In case of 10.0 SAM you may fire missile at aircraft directly and hope it can intercept plane in time.

[[File:Sensor error - ground echo.JPG|thumb|left|ADATS intercepts low flying jet. Since it's missile is extremely fast, it ignores gun reticle and just tries to hit plane with proximity missile, but it technically could fire gun and still hit a target.]]

{{break}}

==Drawbacks of Using the Radar==

Certain helicopters have a radar detection system, and as such, whenever the radar waves from your vehicle’s radar "hit" them, they see radar alerts. These alerts appear in the form of a lighting symbol appearing on their own "counter radar" display, to indicate roughly what direction a radar is in. The more sophisticated "counter-radar" is, the better it is at telling what is searching for the helicopter, where from and so on. Most versions of it it also trigger sound alert, when radar starts actively tracking them, so if your tracking device is also a radar, they '''will''' know you are about to shoot them down.


Here is an example of what happens, when you got noticed by a helicopter:
[[File:Radar detection ATGM helicopter.jpg|none|thumb]]

Certain helicopters and planes may have no problems with carpet-bombing your position with rockets, just to make sure you aren't going to fire at them ever again. To avoid being bombed like this, you can turn the radar off when you don't need it. This will shut down radar search, but you can usually still lock on to targets (As already mentioned, be aware, that your tracking device may use radar technology as well, and by themselves can still trigger radar warnings). Certain SPAA's also fold their radar behind them, making their profile much smaller and harder to notice by tanks around them.

Vehicles operating passive systems are immune to Radar Warning Receivers.

==SPAA's Which Have Radars and Other Sensors==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="4" | SPAA vehicles with radars or other sensor systems
|-
! Vehicle Name
! Search System
! Tracking System
! Comments
|-
| [[M163]] || None || [[AN/VPS-2]] (Radar Rangefinder) || Only has a radar rangefinder mounted on the side of the turret, it cannot be folded.
|-
| [[M247]] || AN/APG-66 (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded. Uses [[Albis]] as generic tracking radar.
|-
| [[ADATS]] || ADATS Search (Search Radar) || ADATS Track (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Search radar can fold. Missiles are beam-riding and locks trigger LWS (Laser Warning System) on helicopters.
|-
| [[Gepard]] || [[MPDR 12]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Search radar can fold.
|-
| [[FlaRakPz 1]] || Roland Search (Search Radar) || Roland Track (Tracking Radar) || Only the tracking radar can fold.
|-
|FlakRakRad
|Roland Search
(Search Radar)
|Roland Track
(Tracking Radar)
|Only the tracking radar can fold.
|-
| [[ZSU-23-4]] || [[1RL33]] (Search Radar) || [[1RL33]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
|ZSU-37-2
|[placeholder]
(Search Radar)
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
| [[ZPRK 2S6]] || [[1RL144]] (Search Radar) || [[1RL144]] (Tracking Radar) || Search radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar with TWS capability.
|-
| [[Chieftain Marksman]] || [[Marconi S 400]] (Search Radar) || [[Marconi S 400]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
| [[Stormer HVM]] || Thales ADAD (Passive IR Search) || Thales ADAD (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Sensor cannot be folded (is very very small though).
Missiles are laser-riding and locks trigger LWS on helicopters.
|-
|ADATS (m113)
|ADATS Search (Search Radar)
|ADATS Track (Passive Infrared Tracker)
|Search radar can fold. Missiles are beam-riding and locks trigger LWS (Laser Warning System) on helicopters.
|-
| [[Type 87]] || [[MPDR 12]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded.
|-
| [[SIDAM 25]] || None || [[3JB10]] (Optronic Tracker) || Tracker is integrated in the optics, there is nothing to fold.
|-
| [[OTOMATIC]] || [[SMA VPS-A05]] (Search Radar) || [[SMA VPG-A06]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded.
|-
| [[AMX-30 DCA]] || [[DR-VC-1A]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar cannot be folded. Uses [[Albis]] as generic tracking radar.
|-
| [[Roland 1]] || Roland Search (Search Radar) || ADATS Track (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Search radar cannot be folded (Tracker is integrated in the optics, there is nothing to fold).
|-
| [[SIDAM 25 (Mistral)]] || None || [[3JB10]] (Optronic Tracker) || Missiles use onboard infrared sensors (will track flares). Tracker is integrated in the optics.
|-
|VEAK 40
|[placeholder]
(Search Radar)
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
|Lvrbv 701
|None
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded.
|-
|Lvkv 9040c
|[placeholder]
(Search Radar)
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
|ASRAD-R
|None
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded.
|-
|}

== Media ==

{{Youtube-gallery|3BbIiDovPPk|'''The Shooting Range #139''' - ''Tactics and strategy'' section at 09:26 discusses the basics of SPAA radars.|luvhoX8Ht1I|'''War Thunder''' - New anti-air defence.|Wq9qHd_TCgk|'''The Shooting Range #184''' - ''Tactics and strategy'' section at 09:26 discusses the tactical use of radar-equipped SPAAs and the typical mistakes to avoid.|tcIeR_s6fp8|'''The Shooting Range #204''' - ''Tactics & Strategy'' section at 09:23 discusses the radars.}}

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6064-development-radar-station-new-opportunities-in-the-game-en|[Devblog] Radar Station: New opportunities in the game]]

[[Category:Game_mechanics]]
[[Category:Radars]]

SPAA radars

2020-12-29T15:27:46Z

U9268341: Added Swedish SPAA to the "SPAA's Which Have Radars and Other Sensors" table (lacks radar names)

{{DISPLAYTITLE: SPAA Radar & Sensor Systems}}


War Thunder [[Update 1.87 "Locked On"]] introduced mechanics for radars and other sensors. The new mechanics replaced an "arcade-style" lead indicator previously present, and a greater number of aircraft and SPAA vehicles which were historically equipped with radars gained access to the new features allowing for a more in-depth, realistic and a historic feel when playing them.

Prior to this update, SPAA's equipped with radars were able to use an Arcade battles style lead indicator in realistic and simulator battle modes. While the targeting reticles tended to be extremely inaccurate, they were nonetheless helpful to the operator, giving them a general idea of there to shoot. After the update, the arcade-style lead indicator was removed. SPAA vehicles are now equipped with various radars and other sensor systems which provide the ability to detect and/or track aircraft. Vehicles with this capability have a radar display visible as part of the in-game interface, the location of detected air targets is displayed on this interface. In addition for vehicles equipped with tracking systems the player may lock onto targets, this proves an accurate range and relative velocity information about the target and, when the target is close enough, an accurate lead indicator.

Although such systems provide SPAA players with distinct battlefield advantages, many come with risks to their use. A number of modern helicopters are equipped with Radar Warning Receivers (RWR), which are capable of detecting radar emissions from SPAAs and alerting the helicopter pilot to their position.

With the release of [[Update 1.89]], the functionality of radars and other sensors was changed. Tracking errors were added, meaning that lead indicators are less accurate at longer ranges and aircraft flying at low altitudes (less than 100 m from terrain) became harder to track. Although less effective than previously, radars are still a very useful tool to have.

==Ground radar / sensors controls==
Below is a table showing all the key-bindings associated with the use of radars and other sensors on ground vehicles. It is recommended to change the default key bindings to make radar systems easier to use.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | Radar / Sensor Controls
|-
! Control name
! Default Keybind (PC keyboard & mouse)
! Description
|-
| Switch radar search on / off || Alt + R || Turns the vehicle's search radar (or other types of search sensor) on or off.
|-
| Change radar mode || Unbound || Unknown
|-
| Change radar search mode || Unbound || Toggles between the radars search modes e.g. sector scan or 360° scan (see radar pages for scan modes supported)
|-
| Change radar scope scale || Unbound || Changes the range scale of the radar display
|-
| Select radar target to lock on || Alt + T || Selects which target on the display to lock on to
|-
| Lock radar target on || Alt + F || Locks onto the selected or nearest target on radar display. In sniper/gunner view: Force '''tracking''' sensor sweep and attempt to lock on the target in the crosshairs with it, or onto the first aircraft the tracker detects.
|-
| Switch radar indicator type || Unbound || Switches between a Plan Position Indicator (PPI) radar display and a B-Scope radar display
|-
|}

{{Notice| Despite being on the same button, locking on with search sensor and tracking sensor '''is not''' the same thing - even if your search radar cannot track something, maybe your tracking radar can. Practice your radar controls in test drive before going on the field.}}

==Radars and Sensors User Interface==
This section will cover the general user interface for ground vehicles with radars and sensors; some sensors have slight differences in their interfaces which will be covered in their own subsection. For the images in this section, a [[Gepard]] is used. All SPAA vehicles with radars and other sensors gain a radar display and compass on their HUD.
===Radar Display===
[[File:Ground_Radars_General.png|300px|thumb|right|A general depiction of the radar display. The default PPI display is at the top with the B-Scope display shown below.]]

There are two types of radar display (see image to the right) which the player can choose from. The default display is a Plan Position Indicator (PPI) display; by pressing the "Switch radar indicator type" key the player can change this to a B-Scope display if they wish.

The PPI is a circular display showing a top-down representation of the airspace around the player's vehicle; the display is a "North Up" format meaning that north is always at the top of the display.

The player's vehicle is located in the centre of the display and a line indicates what direction the turret is facing. If the search radar/sensor is turned on (evident by the presence of a lightning bolt above the display) then a line will appear, moving around the display, representing where the sensor is pointing. There are also pale lines extending from the centre of the display to the edge, these are spaced apart at 30°, and along with the bearing markers on the radar display and compass allow you to work out in which direction a target is located. There are also 4 rings (including the outside edge of the display) within the display, these are evenly spaced and allow you to work out how far away a detected target is (divide the range setting by four to get the distance between rings). If the vehicle has a tracking system then a darker region will be present indicating the area within which targets can be tracked (the area will usually move with the movement of the tank's turret).

The B-Scope is a rectangular display proving a 2D top-down representation of space. The player's vehicle is located at the bottom of the display. The horizontal axis shows what azimuth the target is from the player, and the vertical axis shows distance. North is locked in the middle of the display with -180° in azimuth shown on the left-hand side of the display, and +180 in azimuth shown on the right-hand side of the display. A vertical line represents the direction the turret is facing, and a thicker line represents the sweep of the scanner (when it is turned on). Again there are four range lines which can be used to work out how far away radar targets are. The tracking area is displayed as a darkened box on the display.

====Radar Target Types====
[[File:Radar_Target_Types.png|800px|thumb|left|The different types of targets which can be present on the radar display. Fast moving targets will be represented by a line instead of a dot, but designations will remain same.]]
{{break}}
There are different types of targets which can appear on the radar display, these are shown above. When a target is detected by a search radar (or another type of search sensor) it will most often show up on the radar display as a normal radar target (left-most example in image). If the vehicle's search system is equipped with an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system then targets which are on your team will be displayed with a line under them (right-most example), if an IFF system is not present then all targets will be displayed as normal targets on the radar display.

One of the targets within the vehicle's tracking area on the display will be chosen as the selected target and displayed with a vertical bar on each side of it. The selected target is the one which will be locked on to when the "Lock radar target on" button is pressed. The selected target can be changed to another one within the lock-on-area by pressing the "Select radar target to lock on" key. Targets which have been locked on to are displayed with a solid square around them.

===Compass and Tracked Targets===
[[File:Radar compass and tracking.jpg|500x500px|thumb|right|The interface for the compass and a tracked target]]
In addition to a radar display SPAA vehicles also have a compass present on the HUD, located at the top of the screen. This compass shows what direction the turret is pointing in degrees (0° is due north). Targets which are detected will also be displayed on the compass as triangles. If a target is locked then a solid box appears around its triangle.

When a target is locked onto a box will appear around it. Next, to the box, the distance between the target and the player's vehicle, as well as its speed relative to the player's vehicle will be displayed. Once the target closes to a suitable range an accurate firing indicator will appear.

If the lock on a target is lost for any reason then the tracking square around the target will drift and start flashing to show that it has been lost, after a few seconds it will disappear.

When a target is tracked, the turret will receive the targeting information feed and use it to adjust ammunition self-destruction fuse delays as well as follow the target automatically. When this happens the targeting reticle which appears has a high level of accuracy, as long as the target maintains speed and bearing and does not dramatically alter its speed, course or direction.

==SPAA Sensor Types==

The sensor systems in War Thunder can be categorised into Active Radar systems and Passive Systems. Active radar systems work by transmitting radio waves at a target and detecting those which bounce back, while passive systems use a variety of techniques to allow them to carry out their job passively (i.e. without emitting anything).

Sensor systems also differ in roles, either falling into the category of search systems or tracking systems. When activated search systems will scan the area around the SPAA and display any targets they detect on the radar display and compass. Tracking systems do not detect targets; instead, they lock on to a single target and provide information about it, as well as a firing lead indicator. Most SPAAs have both a search and tracking system allowing them to detect targets and then lock onto them. Some SPAAs however only have tracking systems; in this case, the user must manually place the crosshairs over a visible target to lock the radar onto it. It is possible for vehicles to have a mix of sensor systems. For example the [[ADATS]] has a search radar and an infrared tracking system.

===Active Radar===

Active radar systems are by far the most common type of SPAA sensor; they work by transmitting radio waves at a target and detecting those which bounce back. They come with the disadvantage that these radio waves can be detected by Radar Warning Receivers (RWR) fitted to some aircraft, alerting the aircraft to the SPAA's location. Radar systems also have the disadvantage of suffering ground clutter (false returns from the ground making it harder to detect targets), the multipath effect (an effect where the tracking box appears below low flying aircraft instead of over it), and tracking inaccuracies.

{{Notice|Trees are half-transparent for radars. Radar distance shortens for every tree in its scan direction.|!}}

When the radar is in search mode and does not have a lock on a target, it will scan the area around the vehicle, either through a full 360° or within a limited sector. The current direction of the scanner is represented by a moving line on the radar display (usually thicker than the turret heading line). Targets can only be detected by the radar when it is pointing straight at them, and so a target's position will only be updated as the scanner sweep line passes over it. Be aware, that small planes are harder to detect due to their small profile and obstacles such as trees and hills will obscure radar's field of view, preventing detection or tracking of objects on the other side of them. Even if the search radar is offline or fails to spot a target it is usually still possible to manually position the crosshairs over a target and press the "Lock radar target on" key.

{{Notice|Radars cannot detect or track targets which have a relative speed which is too low|!}}
Another important consideration with radars is that they are incapable of detecting or tracking targets with a low relative speed. The relative speed is not the true speed which the target is actually moving; it is the speed which it is moving relative to the radar. If a target is flying in a circle around the player, moving at a speed near that of the rotation of the radar, then it is possible for their relative speed to drop to a point where it is too low to track/detect.

Radars also have a minimum range, below which they cannot detect or track targets. See individual radar pages for the minimum range and speed characteristics of each radar.

{{Notice|Different radars have different characteristics, a target detectable by a vehicle's search radar may not be visible to its tracking radar and vice versa.}}

If the search radar has detected a target within the radar's locking area (darker area of the radar display) on of the targets in that area will be marked as selected (two vertical lines around it), a lock can be acquired on the selected target by pressing the "Lock radar target on" key. The selected target can be changed by pressing the "Select radar target to lock on" key if a target has been detected in the area but cannot be selected it means it is visible to the search radar but not the tracking radar. When a selected target is locked on to the guns will automatically move to point at it, regardless of where they were pointing previously. Multiple targets (even allied aircraft) close together within the field of the tracking radar can confuse the tracking radar and cause tracking problems, including the loss of a target lock, or the lock transitioning to another aircraft. In the event of multiple aircraft in the search area, it is recommended to switch to gunner view and manually attack targets to ensure not accidentally shooting down any friendly aircraft.

{{Notice|The darker area on the display is the area within which targets can initially be locked on to. Once locked on some radars can track a target even outside of this area.}}

Once a solid lock is achieved, the only concern now is preventing your opponent from dodging the incoming volley of ammunition. For this reason, conservation of ammunition is important and the gunner should not waste ammo firing in long continuous bursts in the same direction if your SPAA's accuracy is adequate.

[[File:Radar_shot_marksman.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px|Enemy plane suffered a serious hit. Even if they somehow escape the rest of the volley, they're out of fighting capability and may crash soon.]]

====Combined Search / Track Radars (TWS - Track While Scan)====
[[File:Radar_Without_TWS.png|300px|thumb|right|A radar without TWS, notice how all other targets are removed from the display when a target is locked.]]
Most SPAA vehicles operate two separate radars or sensors, one for searching and one for tracking. Some vehicles, however, operate a single combined search and tracking radar. These systems operate much the same as regular radars, however, nearly all of them lack Track While Scan (TWS) capability. As a result, when you lock onto a target with such radar, you lose search functionality and cannot see any targets other than the one you are tracking. By comparison, vehicles using a separate search and tracking radar are able to still use their search radar while the tracking radar is active.

====Radar Range Finders====

In real life radar range finding systems were used as a simpler way of proving radar tracking like capability. Rangefinders work by calculating the distance between two objects. There are two main components of a radio rangefinder are the transmitter unit and the receiver unit. The transmitter's job is to transmit a signal, usually, several hundred times a second and then wait. If an object such as an aircraft is hit by the transmitted signals from the rangefinder they will bounce off of the aircraft and reflect back to the SPAA to be received by the receiver.

The rangefinder's processing unit will calculate the time between when the signal was transmitted and received and use it to calculate the distance to the target. The more often the transmitters transmit, the more reflections are received giving the rangefinder an up-to-date distance to the moving aircraft. With this data, the SPAA can set fuses for self-destroying ammo causing it to automatically explode near to where the tracked aircraft is showing to be, not requiring a direct hit, but close enough to cause damage through exploding shells. The range of information can also be used to calculate a firing lead indicator.

In-game radar range finders work like tracking radars, however vehicles equipped with them have no search radar, to the target must be manually identified and locked.
[[File:Rangefinder radar display.jpg|none|thumb|How radar display looks with rangefinder only. There will be no searching going on, and no passive scanning.]]

To use the radar rangefinder substitute, you have to go to gunner (sniper) sight and direct the targeting crosshairs onto the target enemy aircraft, then press the "Lock radar target on" key.

As a result, lock-on will occur:
[[File:M163 radio lock-on.JPG|none|thumb|500x500px|M163 locked on. Always make sure trees do not obscure the gunner's view.]]

All that is left is to aim the true targeting reticle and open fire on the enemy aircraft.

The above information is also true for vehicles such as the [[SIDAM 25]] which use an optronic tracking system, without search functionality.

{{Notice|Although the SIDAM 25's tracker can track targets in an elevation range of -20°/+85° once locked on, it can only initially lock on to targets between -20°/+20° in elevation.}}

====Sector Scan Radar Mode====
Some search radars support sector scanning as well as 360°. The scan mode can be changed by pressing the "Change radar search mode" key. In Sector scanning mode the radar moves back and forth, scanning a sector between two angles. The scanning sector is relative to the front of the turret, so if the turret moves the sector covered by the radar moves also.
[[File:Sector view radar.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Sector view radar. In case of these radars, the system only actively looks for an enemy in a small sector in front of your turret (represented by dark green field).]]

====Line of Sight Scan Radar Mode====
Some radars also support Line of Sight searching, again this can be selected by pressing the "Change radar search mode" key. This mode will stop the radar dish from spinning and lock it facing the front of the turret. In this mode the radar is only scanning a very narrow sector dead in front of the turret, so you need to point straight at aircraft in order to detect them. Since the radar is static in this mode, it is advisable to move the turret a bit, just in case if the plane took a bit different route to where you think it is. You also should note, that smaller planes that fly near to ground are harder to detect, and even this trick might not work on them.

===Passive Infrared and Optronic Systems===

{{Notice|As of Update "Raining Fire", no SPAA in the game have full passive tracking radar and missile guidance. All missile launches will trigger a helicopter's Laser Warning System.}}

After a certain point, air forces realised the danger of radars to their ranks and started using specific radar-seeking missiles, which were able to automatically detect and guide straight onto radars and destroy them.

As a way to avoid this new threat entirely, passive systems which were capable of detecting and tracking aircraft without emitting radar were developed.

One method known as optronic tracking uses a powerful camera controlled by the gunner. The gunner manually identifies the target and locks into it, a computer then uses the video feed of a target to track it and provide a firing lead indicator.

Other method uses infrared sensors to detect the infrared energy emitted from aircraft in order to detect and track them.

These systems tend to have a short-range by Radar standard but are capable of doing the job while being unnoticed by anti-radar detectors.

====Using Passive Infrared Systems====
[[File:Passive_IR_Search_System_UI.png|300px|thumb|right|The interface for Passive IR search, notice how all targets are marked at a fixed range, with only azimuth different.]]
The user interface for passive infrared systems feels about the same as radar. The most noticeable difference at first glance is that power symbol is replaced by letters "IRST". However another difference soon becomes more apparent: infrared '''search''' systems are incapable of telling the range to a target, as such all targets are displayed at the same range around the edge of the display, with only the azimuth being different between them. This is compensated by ability of system to tell if target is hostile or not.

{{Notice|Trees are non transparent for optical sights and guiding devices, such as ADATS tracker or Stormer SPAAGs. Try to not choose positions next to a forest, if possible.|!}}

While this is a serious downgrade, it starts making sense when you actually try to lock on and observe the way IRST targeting sensors work.

Generally, due to low range of infrared tracking systems they are used on vehicles equipped with Anti-Air missiles, which can compensate for the system weaknesses. Overall, infrared tracking does seem to be slightly less accurate and reliable than radar tracking, and heavily relies on optical tracking from sniper seat. For this reason, these kinds of systems require a higher level of "targeting" on crew gunner for better turret tracking and high coordination of the player, as you have to guide very sensitive missiles towards the target as precisely as you can.

{{Notice|The [[Stormer HVM]] has no guns, so there is no lead indicator for this vehicle. The [[ADATS]] does have a lead indicator for its infrared Tracker.}}

[[File:Stormer HMV passive system lock on.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px]]

As could be seen on screenshot above, in full IRST mode sniper crosshair tries to imitate the drag of missile as it tracks the aircraft, by keeping sniper crosshairs on plane you can guide your missile towards an aircraft. Keeping an actual missile on target is more important, however, as system accuracy is generally far from stellar.

Do note, that a plane approaching at a sharp angle will mess with turret automatic guidance, due to it passing by too fast. It is also worth remembering, that SPAA, which rely purely on IRST, have huge gaps in optical zooms, and maximum zoom '''does not equal best missile tracking'''.

[[File:Stormer HVM hit with weird lock-on data.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px]]

As example, Stormer HVM has 10-40X optics, which can be manually adgusted during AA duty, but simply hitting "maximum zoom" will probably result in a miss. Since it is extremely inconvenient to toggle zoom level every time, one can remain in sniper seat and use radar display to lock-on to targets around - spin the turret in direction of your next target on display and try to lock on, the targeting device will do the rest.

==Sensor guidance errors==

While in-game lock-on ballistic calculations are absolute and are always correct, since [[update 1.89]] the guidance error can happen. If you will not pay attention to those, your volley may miss entirely.

===Unstable lock-on===

The more things there are in between of SPAA and plane and the closer the tracking sensor is to its limits, the more lock-on scope "shakes". Eventually, it may start going all over the place and even detach from aircraft. This makes radar-guided reticle less than absolutely accurate and may decrease timing accuracy of proximity fuse shells.

[[File:Sensor error - unstable lock sniper.jpg|thumb|left|As clearly seen here, there is no way sniper would know that the scope is detached from plane, and the error is actually quite big for a 35 mm gun]]

{{break}}

This error is the most dangerous when you fire while using sniper scope, as it's often hard to see both the aircraft and ballistic solution reticle at the same time, so you may not even notice it for a while.

Ingame, the ballistic solution is usually still correct, but your sensor thinks, that aircraft is located in another spot, thus giving you an incorrect firing angle. To counter this error, look how far and in which direction the lock-on square is separated from the actual aircraft and adjust your aim at "true aiming reticle" in opposite direction, firing to where the enemy plane would actually be.

[[File:Sensor error - counter unstable lock.jpg|thumb|left|Shift gun around the reticle to compensate for wobbly radar lock indicator. Note, that the worse lock becomes, the more scope moves around.]]

{{break}}

To avoid getting this error at all, it is better to stay in high and open spot and track at range and angle comfortable for your tracking device, but it makes you more vulnerable to enemy fire, and many hostile aircrafts can attack you back while being well outside of your comfort zone, so it is safer to just get used to it.

===Multipath (Ground echo)===

If hostile aircraft is flying very low (~100 m away from the ground), the ground will start jamming radar-based signal with similar signature echo, bringing the "lock-on" tracker down to the ground.

This error is very confusing, so being prepared is the key. To counter the error, keep your distance and aim where your radar says to, but adjust the height to one at which the plane is flying manually. Resist any attempts of the turret to follow the reticle under the ground. In case of 10.0 SAM you may fire missile at aircraft directly and hope it can intercept plane in time.

[[File:Sensor error - ground echo.JPG|thumb|left|ADATS intercepts low flying jet. Since it's missile is extremely fast, it ignores gun reticle and just tries to hit plane with proximity missile, but it technically could fire gun and still hit a target.]]

{{break}}

==Drawbacks of Using the Radar==

Certain helicopters have a radar detection system, and as such, whenever the radar waves from your vehicle’s radar "hit" them, they see radar alerts. These alerts appear in the form of a lighting symbol appearing on their own "counter radar" display, to indicate roughly what direction a radar is in. The more sophisticated "counter-radar" is, the better it is at telling what is searching for the helicopter, where from and so on. Most versions of it it also trigger sound alert, when radar starts actively tracking them, so if your tracking device is also a radar, they '''will''' know you are about to shoot them down.


Here is an example of what happens, when you got noticed by a helicopter:
[[File:Radar detection ATGM helicopter.jpg|none|thumb]]

Certain helicopters and planes may have no problems with carpet-bombing your position with rockets, just to make sure you aren't going to fire at them ever again. To avoid being bombed like this, you can turn the radar off when you don't need it. This will shut down radar search, but you can usually still lock on to targets (As already mentioned, be aware, that your tracking device may use radar technology as well, and by themselves can still trigger radar warnings). Certain SPAA's also fold their radar behind them, making their profile much smaller and harder to notice by tanks around them.

Vehicles operating passive systems are immune to Radar Warning Receivers.

==SPAA's Which Have Radars and Other Sensors==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="4" | SPAA vehicles with radars or other sensor systems
|-
! Vehicle Name
! Search System
! Tracking System
! Comments
|-
| [[M163]] || None || [[AN/VPS-2]] (Radar Rangefinder) || Only has a radar rangefinder mounted on the side of the turret, it cannot be folded.
|-
| [[M247]] || AN/APG-66 (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded. Uses [[Albis]] as generic tracking radar.
|-
| [[ADATS]] || ADATS Search (Search Radar) || ADATS Track (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Search radar can fold. Missiles are beam-riding and locks trigger LWS (Laser Warning System) on helicopters.
|-
| [[Gepard]] || [[MPDR 12]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Search radar can fold.
|-
| [[FlaRakPz 1]] || Roland Search (Search Radar) || Roland Track (Tracking Radar) || Only the tracking radar can fold.
|-
| [[ZSU-23-4]] || [[1RL33]] (Search Radar) || [[1RL33]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
| [[ZPRK 2S6]] || [[1RL144]] (Search Radar) || [[1RL144]] (Tracking Radar) || Search radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar with TWS capability.
|-
| [[Chieftain Marksman]] || [[Marconi S 400]] (Search Radar) || [[Marconi S 400]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
| [[Stormer HVM]] || Thales ADAD (Passive IR Search) || Thales ADAD (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Sensor cannot be folded (is very very small though).
Missiles are laser-riding and locks trigger LWS on helicopters.
|-
| [[Type 87]] || [[MPDR 12]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded.
|-
| [[SIDAM 25]] || None || [[3JB10]] (Optronic Tracker) || Tracker is integrated in the optics, there is nothing to fold.
|-
| [[OTOMATIC]] || [[SMA VPS-A05]] (Search Radar) || [[SMA VPG-A06]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded.
|-
| [[AMX-30 DCA]] || [[DR-VC-1A]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar cannot be folded. Uses [[Albis]] as generic tracking radar.
|-
| [[Roland 1]] || Roland Search (Search Radar) || ADATS Track (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Search radar cannot be folded (Tracker is integrated in the optics, there is nothing to fold).
|-
| [[SIDAM 25 (Mistral)]] || None || [[3JB10]] (Optronic Tracker) || Missiles use onboard infrared sensors (will track flares). Tracker is integrated in the optics.
|-
|VEAK 40
|[placeholder]
(Search Radar)
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
|Lvrbv 701
|None
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded.
|-
|Lvkv 9040c
|[placeholder]
(Search Radar)
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded. Combined search and track radar without TWS capability.
|-
|ASRAD-R
|None
|[placeholder]
(Tracking Radar)
|Radar cannot be folded.
|-
|}

== Media ==

{{Youtube-gallery|3BbIiDovPPk|'''The Shooting Range #139''' - ''Tactics and strategy'' section at 09:26 discusses the basics of SPAA radars.|luvhoX8Ht1I|'''War Thunder''' - New anti-air defence.|Wq9qHd_TCgk|'''The Shooting Range #184''' - ''Tactics and strategy'' section at 09:26 discusses the tactical use of radar-equipped SPAAs and the typical mistakes to avoid.|tcIeR_s6fp8|'''The Shooting Range #204''' - ''Tactics & Strategy'' section at 09:23 discusses the radars.}}

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6064-development-radar-station-new-opportunities-in-the-game-en|[Devblog] Radar Station: New opportunities in the game]]

[[Category:Game_mechanics]]
[[Category:Radars]]

SMS Westfalen

2020-12-28T12:27:28Z

U9268341: Added text for most General Info. survivability, mobility, corrected pros and cons.

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_battleship_westfalen}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battleship {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "New Power"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
The SMS Westfalen is a dreadnought with the All or Nothing armor scheme. This means she has thick armor all around the ship.

Her armour is rolled cemented "krupp" armour, which contains higher carbon steel on the surface and a softer core. The intent was to try shattering the shells with the tougher layer, while the softer core would absorb the shell's impact. This is one of the latest evolution in armor designs used by dreadnoughts. Much better than "harvey" armor.

When it comes to survivability, her citadel is protected by a turtle back armor scheme in addition to coal bunkers. This should stop most shells from penetrating the important parts such as the ammo racks and the engines, while her 90-170mm thick external armor will stop most destroyer's shells and high explosive rounds from all sources.

Her lack of AA armament is a bad, and also a good thing. Sure, aircrafts will make short work of her. But only Japanese torpedo bombers carry a large enough torpedo to bypass her torpedo bulge. Reggia marina update made the torpedo bulge of heavy cruisers stop up to 250kg of TNT eq. explosives. This will stop most nation's WW2 plane carried torpedoes, except the Japanese type 91 mod 2 and mod 3 torpedoes.

No AA means no crew to be lost easily. The only places she'll lose crew easily are the 88mm guns in the bow and stern, which is not recommended repairing your ship just for fixing those, as it will put new crew inside them to be lost again.

Her engines use coal. This is a good thing because the coal is used as additional armor. Later ships switched to oil for more efficient engines and more operational range.

=== Mobility ===
Don't expect mobilty from a dreadnought. She was made to take damage while sending it back to her opponent. Speed was much less of a concern than armor.

This gives her roughly 38kph top speed, which is quite slow. Not enough to evade easily any bomb attacks.{{NavalMobility}}

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===
{{main|283 mm/45 SK L/45 (283 mm)}}Her armament consists of 6 turrets, with double 283mm each. This is rather weak compared to most opponents who have 305mm or even larger guns. Those will still make short work of cruisers and destroyers.

=== Secondary armament ===
{{main|150 mm/45 SK L/45 (150 mm)|88 mm/45 casemate SK L/45 (88 mm)}}This is where she shines. Twelve 150mm and sixteen 88mm guns. Patrol Torpedo boats will have a hard time sneaking through that firepower. Even destroyers will fear your 150mm cannons as they're likely bigger than their guns!

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===
{{main|88 mm/45 AA SK L/45 (88 mm)|GM08 pattern 1908 (7.92 mm)}}

She has only four GM08 7.62mm machine guns, Rumors say these were mounted to scare seagulls away.

You would rather want to use the captain's pistol instead.

Keep in mind you will not face planes of her era but late WW2 planes.

== Usage in battles ==
As a dreadnought, she excels at taking hits while giving them. Her playground is small maps, where her secondary can make short work of destroyers while her primary takes care of cruisers.

Due to her "small" 283mm cannons, she will have more trouble facing other dreadnoughts who have larger guns. It's not impossible, just better to shoot at softer targets instead.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| Anti-Air Armament Targeting
| 283 mm Psgr. L/3.2
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
|
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
| 150 mm Sprgr. L/3.2 Bdz
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
| Shrapnel Protection
| Ventilation
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
| Ammo Wetting
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Lots of firepower available from guns
* Thick armor all around
* Turtle back citadel armor scheme
* Coal bunkers

'''Cons:'''

* Somewhat weaker main guns in comparison to other battleships
* Mediocre anti-air defense
* Huge profile and low mobility

== History ==

SMS ''Westfalen'' was a member of the four-ship ''Nassau''-class, the first class of dreadnoughts built by the Imperial German Navy. Commissioned in 1909, she saw extensive service during the First World War, where she participated in many naval engagements. She was also responsible for the destruction of three British destroyers at the Battle of Jutland. ''Westfalen'' was damaged in 1918, and thereafter used as a training ship; she was later handed to the United Kingdom as a war reparation, and scrapped in 1924.<ref name=":0">Militaer Wissen. (n.d.)</ref>

=== Design and construction ===
The ''Nassau'' class was built to counter the British HMS ''Dreadnought'', who had revolutionized modern battleship design. As a result, the ''Nassaus'' were the first ships of the German Navy to carry an all-big-gun armament. The ships were also the first German vessels to be equipped with a torpedo bulkhead.<ref name=":0" /> The ships were intended to carry new steam turbines, but the German steam-turbine manufacturing process had not been refined; as a result, the ''Nassaus'' were equipped with large, space-consuming piston engines.<ref name=":0" /> This also contributed to the installation of ''Westfalen''<nowiki/>'s unique hexagonal main armament arrangement.<ref name=":0" /> ''Westfalen'' was launched on July 1st 1908, and commissioned in November of 1909.

''Westfalen'' displaced just over 20 thousand tons, and was capable of making just over 20 knots. She carried a main armament of twelve 11-inch (281 mm) guns in a hexagonal formation, with four guns mounted on the beam.<ref name=":0" /> She also carried a large amount of 5.9-inch (150 mm) and 88 mm guns to counter smaller vessels and torpedo boats.<ref name=":0" /> Later on, ''Westfalen'' was refitted to carry a small number of anti-aircraft guns; she initially carried six underwater torpedo tubes, but these were later removed.1<ref name=":0" />

=== Service History ===
[[File:SMS Westfalen.jpg|thumb|German Battleship SMS Westfalen seen from the side. Her two beam turrets are prominently visible.]]
After her commissioning, the SMS ''Westfalen'' served as the flagship of the First Battle Squadron, replacing the elderly pre-dreadnought SMS ''Kaiser Barbarossa''.<ref name=":0" /> She served in this role until 1914, when she was slated to be moved to the Second Battle Squadron; however, these plans were put on hold following the outbreak of the First World War.<ref name=":0" /> She then served as part of the screening force protecting Admiral Hipper's battlecruisers, which were shelling the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.<ref name=":0" /> She also served a minor role in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga.<ref name=":0" />

''Westfalen'' participated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was at the rear of the German Battleship Formation. However, in the late evening, she encountered a light force of several British destroyers, and an ensuing firefight erupted at close range.<ref name=":0" /> ''Westfalen'' scored several hits on the British destroyer leader ''Tiperrary'', causing critical damage;<ref name=":0" /> the destroyer was later finished off by her sister ship ''Nassau''. She then fired multiple salvoes at the destroyers ''Fortune'' and ''Turbulent'', critically damaging the former and sinking the latter. During this time, her bridge was hit by a round fired from a destroyer, which killed two and injured several others; the ship received no other battle damage.<ref name=":0" />

Following this action, the ''Westfalen'' returned to port for repairs. Several months later, she was yet again part of the screening force for Hipper's battlecruisers, this time for a raid on the town of Sunderland. However, ''Westfalen'' was struck by a torpedo from the British submarine ''E23'',<ref name=":0" /> which flooded her torpedo bulkhead with 800 tons of water. Despite this, the torpedo bulkhead held, demonstrating its effectiveness.<ref name=":0" />

In February of 1918, the ship participated in the Finland intervention by transporting troops.<ref name=":0" /> She also fired her main guns in support of German Forces. In April, ''Westfalen'' completed this operation and returned to the First Battle Squadron; however, in August, she suffered serious damage to her boilers.<ref name=":0" /> Thus, she was decommissioned and used as a training ship.<ref name=":0" /> Following the conclusion of the First World War, ''Westfalen'' was handed over to the United Kingdom as a war reparation. Thus, she was scrapped in 1924 at Birkenhead.<ref name=":0" />

=== [[wt:en/news/6923-development-sms-westfalen-into-a-new-era-en|Devblog]] ===
After the incredible HMS Dreadnought appeared, German shipbuilders began working on a new battleship design to succeed the British flagship.

Several new designs were created and considered as a result, but eventually the “G7b” design was approved by the Kaiser in March 1906, officially becoming the Nassau class. Shortly after, two of the new Nassau battleships were ordered with two further ships being added to the construction queue of German shipyards later.

SMS Westfalen was the last of the Nassau-class battleships to be laid down in August 1907, but the second to be commissioned into service with the Imperial Navy in November 1909. In the years leading up to WWI, Westfalen actively took part in routine fleet exercises and training courses with other elements of the Imperial Navy.

During the war, Westfalen, along with other ships of its type, actively participated in combat. The 2nd division (all ships of the Nassau type) of the 1st Hochseeflot squadron fought in the Baltic, and then in full force at Jutland, where they were especially active during the night phase of the battle. Initially, Westfalen, Nassau and Rheinland shot the destroyer Tipperary, and after that, a collision between Nassau and the destroyer Spitfire occurred where due to the extremely short distance between ships, the destroyer was below the sector of fire of the main battery guns, but was damaged by muzzle gases and barely escaped. Westfalen rammed and sank the destroyer Turbulent, and also participated in the sinking of the destroyers Ardent and Fortune. After Jutland, she took part in Operation Albion. Following the end of WWI, Westfalen was ceded to Great Britain as a replacement for some of the German ships lost to scuttling at Scapa Flow and shortly afterwards sold for scrap, being broken up between 1920 - 1924.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=germany&vehicleType=ship&vehicleClass=battleship&vehicle=germ_battleship_westfalen Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Images
<gallery mode="packed" caption="SMS Westfalen Devblog Images" heights="180">
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Westfalen WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|tiouSo_0Pj8|'''{{PAGENAME}} - Flipped Review''' - ''Flipped StuG''}}

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6923-development-sms-westfalen-into-a-new-era-en|[Devblog] SMS Westfalen: Into a New Era]]

=== Citations ===
<references />

=== Bibliography ===

* Militaer Wissen. (n.d.). Battleship SMS Westfalen. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from <nowiki>https://www.militaer-wissen.de/battleship-sms-westfalen/?lang=en</nowiki>

{{Germany battleships}}

T-26E

2020-12-28T06:03:47Z

U9268341: /* Survivability and armour */ added text

{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_t_26E
|market=T-26E (USSR)
}}
{{About
| about = Soviet light tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other variants
| link = T-26 (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]]. An up-armoured version of the [[T-26]], it stands a better chance deflecting enemy shells off its front armour when angled correctly.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
People will think it is a regular T-26. It's not. Your driver's view port is the weakest spot in your armor, make sure to angle in a way that the enemy won't shoot it.

The added 30mm armor really helps with stopping 20mm AP rounds, and some other weak guns like Japanese low velocity cannons found on reserve vehicles.

You will not be protected from dedicated antitank guns such as the US 37mm found on most early US tanks.

It is quite rare to see an armor 45mm thick at this [[Battle ratings|battle rating]].

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 30 + 15 mm (22°) ''Front plate'' 7 mm (64-80°) ''Front glacis'' 15 mm (6-52°) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 + 15 mm (24-25°) ''Top'' 15 mm (0°) ''Bottom'' || 30 + 15 mm (1°) ''Top'' 30 + 15 mm (12°) ''Bottom'' || 6 mm
|-
| Turret || 30 + 15 mm (12-33°) ''Turret front'' 30 + 15 mm (5-44°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 30 + 15 mm (17-19°) || 30 + 15 mm (17°) || 10 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheel are 10 mm thick while tracks are 15 mm thick.
* The 30 mm applique armour does not cover the entire area on the hull, so there are exposed areas vulnerable to enemy fire. (driver's view port)

=== Mobility ===


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=141|rbMinHp=80}}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|20-K (45 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[20-K (45 mm)|45 mm 20-K]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 205 || rowspan="2" | -6°/+22° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 15.23 || 21.08 || 25.60 || 28.31 || 30.12 || rowspan="2" | 3.77 || rowspan="2" | 3.34 || rowspan="2" | 3.07 || rowspan="2" | 2.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 9.52 || 11.20 || 13.60 || 15.04 || 16.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| BR-240 || APHEBC || 70 || 68 || 59 || 50 || 42 || 35
|-
| BR-240SP || AP || 73 || 71 || 62 || 52 || 44 || 37
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| BR-240 || APHEBC || 760 || 1.43 || 1.2 || 9 || 29.26 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| BR-240SP || AP || 757 || 1.43 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! 11th rack empty
! 12th rack empty
! 13th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''205''' || 202 ''(+3)'' || 197 ''(+8)'' || 187 ''(+18)'' || 177 ''(+28)'' || 167 ''(+38)'' || 157 ''(+48)'' || 139 ''(+66)'' || 121 ''(+84)'' || 103 ''(+102)'' || 79 ''(+126)'' || 61 ''(+144)'' || 29 ''(+176)'' || 1 ''(+204)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_T-26.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

Turret empty: 157 ''(+48)''

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|DT (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm DT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 1,890 (63) || 600 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The main purpose of the {{PAGENAME}} is a diversion. In battle, when a close friendly player is attacked by an enemy, go behind a rock that has the size of the tank's hull, then shoot the target.

* When it's a tank destroyer, shoot its tracks to make it immobile and flank the enemy to penetrate the thin rear of most tank destroyers at low BR.
* When it's a medium tank (like the [[T-28]] ), shoot its horizontal turret drive so it cannot move it's turret(The ring below its turret), then shoot the tracks to immobilize it, making it very vulnerable to flanking.

In summary, it is a good tank, it is friendly to new players, but it is not recommended to players above Rank II.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Mobility
! Protection
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Tracks
|
| Parts
| Horizontal Drive
| BR-240SP
|-
| II
| Suspension
| Brake System
| FPE
| Adjustment of Fire
|
|-
| III
| Filters
|
| Crew Replenishment
| Elevation Mechanism
|
|-
| IV
| Transmission
| Engine
|
| Artillery Support
|
|-
! colspan="6" | This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* High rate of fire
* High turret armour
* Good for gathering SL in low ranks
* Its penetration is effective against almost all enemies in rank I and II, there are exceptions like [[StuG III A]]
* Bonuses of a premium vehicle

'''Cons:'''

* Low hull armour
* A weak spot in the hull box, the driver's hatch - keep this away from enemy fire
* Slow for a scout, but agile
* Somewhat usable at Rank II but useless in Rank III or higher
* Easily distinguishable Standard camouflage & shape

== History ==


===Development===
The [[T-26]] light tank in Soviet service, while making up a major part of the Soviet armoured forces, proved quite under-armoured when against newer anti-tank weapons as it was an old 1931 design. The Spanish Civil War showed some of these defects in the T-26, but it wasn't until the Winter War against Finland that proved that the majority of light anti-tank weapons could destroy the T-26.

In order to remedy this, Factory No. 174 in Leningrad designed a new variant for the T-26 utilizing applique armour on the hull and turret. This variant was dubbed the '''T-26E''' (''E'' for ekranirovanny or "screened"), which added 30-40 mm of armour to the original armour plates via bolting and welding. All of the single-turreted T-26 models made during the Winter War period was given this modification and testings proved that the additional armour made the T-26 much more resilient against light anti-tank weapons. A total of 89 T-26Es were made during and after the Winter War, with 27 single-turret models made from the factory, 27 more as flamethrower-models, and 15 single-turret models were made in workshops near the front-line. After the war, 20 more single-turret variants were made and delivered for tank units. Many more modified T-26s were made during the course of World War II.

===Combat usage===
These '''T-26E'''s were used in the Winter War against Finland and the extra armour over the normal T-26 variants made it impenetrable to Finnish light anti-tank weapons. However, the extra armour added to the T-26 raised the weight from 9.6 tons to 12 tons, thus a larger strain on the chassis, engine, and suspension so the driver was advised to drive the tank in low gear and must take extra care to not overload these systems.

During World War II, applique armour of varying thickness from 15–40 mm was added onto many different T-26s in large quantities ranging to hundreds in the front-lines to fight back the German invasion. Such areas where these modifications took place in Leningrad, Odessa, Moscow, and Sevastopol in the period of 1941–1942 during battles and sieges taking place in or near these cities. However, compared to the modifications made during the Winter War, the World War II '''T-26E'''s were more crude and rough that the gun mask on the tank was unable to move, and the applique armour was only added on the front.

No known combat records exist for these modified T-26s in World War II and may have been simply been added as performances done by regular T-26s, but due to the obsolesce of the T-26 models compared to the German [[Pz.III J|Panzer III]] and [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IV]], many can be presumed to be lost in combat if not due to mechanical failures.

=== In-game description ===
The Spanish Civil War showed that the T-26 tank's armour no longer protected it from new low-calibre anti-tank weapons. So in 1937-1938, strengthening the tank's armour became an immediate concern. Designers at factory No. 174 decided to simply introduce a conical-shaped turret and to slope the armour plates on the underturret box. The armour's thickness remained unchanged, as the undercarriage structure, already pushed to its limits as it was, prevented the tank's mass from being increased. The issue of increasing the light tank's armour became a prominent concern again by the Winter War beginning on 30 November 1939.

The first battles showed that Finland's anti-tank weapons easily destroyed the tanks. On the 20th of December, work began on up-armouring T-26 tanks with 30-40 mm thick armour plates at factory No. 174. On 30 December 1939, firing tests were carried out on the first up-armoured T-26 at the factory's ballistic range, with positive results. The vehicle withstood fire from a 45 mm anti-tank cannon at a distance of 400-500 m.

Having successfully passed testing, the up-armoured design was accepted as a success and the Leningrad Kirovsk factory equipped around 70 tanks with the additional armour. The additional armour was attached to the turret, underturret box, side and front of the tank with screw rivets and electric arc welds. The gun mantlet was also up-armoured. The tank's mass increased to 12 tonnes, which meant the engine and suspension were overloaded. The tank could now only move in low gear and had an increased risk of breaking down.

T-26Es were used at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Several vehicles remained in service on the Leningrad front until 1943. Captured light tanks of this type were used by the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in 1941-1942.

== Media ==


;Skins

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== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''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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* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''
* ''other literature.''

{{USSR light tanks}}
{{USSR premium ground vehicles}}

SPAA radars

2020-12-28T05:57:05Z

U9268341: /* SPAA's Which Have Radars and Other Sensors */ edited "Comments" column.

{{DISPLAYTITLE: SPAA Radar & Sensor Systems}}

{{Notice|Due to constant updates to radar UI and in-game functionality of the system, it is recommended to manually refresh the page before browsing, to see if any example images were updated.}}

War Thunder [[Update 1.87 "Locked On"]] introduced mechanics for radars and other sensors. The new mechanics replaced an "arcade-style" lead indicator previously present, and a greater number of aircraft and SPAA vehicles which were historically equipped with radars gained access to the new features allowing for a more in-depth, realistic and a historic feel when playing them.

Prior to this update, SPAA's equipped with radars were able to use an Arcade battles style lead indicator in realistic and simulator battle modes. While the targeting reticles tended to be extremely inaccurate, they were nonetheless helpful to the operator, giving them a general idea of there to shoot. After the update, the arcade-style lead indicator was removed. SPAA vehicles are now equipped with various radars and other sensor systems which provide the ability to detect and/or track aircraft. Vehicles with this capability have a radar display visible as part of the in-game interface, the location of detected air targets is displayed on this interface. In addition for vehicles equipped with tracking systems the player may lock onto targets, this proves an accurate range and relative velocity information about the target and, when the target is close enough, an accurate lead indicator.

Although such systems provide SPAA players with distinct battlefield advantages, many come with risks to their use. A number of modern helicopters are equipped with Radar Warning Receivers (RWR), which are capable of detecting radar emissions from SPAAs and altering the helicopter pilot to their position.

With the release of [[Update 1.89]], the functionality of radars and other sensors was changed. Tracking errors were added, meaning that lead indicators are less accurate at longer ranges and aircraft flying at low altitudes (less than 100 m from terrain) became harder to track. Although less effective than previously, radars are still a very useful tool to have.

==Ground radar / sensors controls==
Below is a table showing all the key-bindings associated with the use of radars and other sensors on ground vehicles. It is recommended to change the default key bindings to make radar systems easier to use.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | Radar / Sensor Controls
|-
! Control name
! Default Keybind (PC keyboard & mouse)
! Description
|-
| Switch radar search on / off || Alt + R || Turns the vehicle's search radar (or other types of search sensor) on or off.
|-
| Change radar mode || Unbound || Unknown
|-
| Change radar search mode || Unbound || Toggles between the radars search modes e.g. sector scan or 360° scan (see radar pages for scan modes supported)
|-
| Change radar scope scale || Unbound || Changes the range scale of the radar display
|-
| Select radar target to lock on || Alt + T || Selects which target on the display to lock on to
|-
| Lock radar target on || Alt + F || Locks onto the selected or nearest target on radar display. In sniper/gunner view: Force '''tracking''' sensor sweep and attempt to lock on the target in the crosshairs with it, or onto the first aircraft the tracker detects.
|-
| Switch radar indicator type || Unbound || Switches between a Plan Position Indicator (PPI) radar display and a B-Scope radar display
|-
|}

{{Notice| Despite being on the same button, locking on with search sensor and tracking sensor '''is not''' the same thing - even if your search radar cannot track something, maybe your tracking radar can. Practice your radar controls in test drive before going on the field.}}

==Radars and Sensors User Interface==
This section will cover the general user interface for ground vehicles with radars and sensors; some sensors have slight differences in their interfaces which will be covered in their own subsection. For the images in this section, a [[Gepard]] is used. All SPAA vehicles with radars and other sensors gain a radar display and compass on their HUD.
===Radar Display===
[[File:Ground_Radars_General.png|300px|thumb|right|A general depiction of the radar display. The default PPI display is at the top with the B-Scope display shown below.]]

There are two types of radar display (see image to the right) which the player can choose from. The default display is a Plan Position Indicator (PPI) display; by pressing the "Switch radar indicator type" key the player can change this to a B-Scope display if they wish.

The PPI is a circular display showing a top-down representation of the airspace around the player's vehicle; the display is a "North Up" format meaning that north is always at the top of the display.

The player's vehicle is located in the centre of the display and a line indicates what direction the turret is facing. If the search radar/sensor is turned on (evident by the presence of a lightning bolt above the display) then a line will appear, moving around the display, representing where the sensor is pointing. There are also pale lines extending from the centre of the display to the edge, these are spaced apart at 30°, and along with the bearing markers on the radar display and compass allow you to work out in which direction a target is located. There are also 4 rings (including the outside edge of the display) within the display, these are evenly spaced and allow you to work out how far away a detected target is (divide the range setting by four to get the distance between rings). If the vehicle has a tracking system then a darker region will be present indicating the area within which targets can be tracked (the area will usually move with the movement of the tank's turret).

The B-Scope is a rectangular display proving a 2D top-down representation of space. The player's vehicle is located at the bottom of the display. The horizontal axis shows what azimuth the target is from the player, and the vertical axis shows distance. North is locked in the middle of the display with -180° in azimuth shown on the left-hand side of the display, and +180 in azimuth shown on the right-hand side of the display. A vertical line represents the direction the turret is facing, and a thicker line represents the sweep of the scanner (when it is turned on). Again there are four range lines which can be used to work out how far away radar targets are. The tracking area is displayed as a darkened box on the display.

====Radar Target Types====
[[File:Radar_Target_Types.png|800px|thumb|left|The different types of targets which can be present on the radar display. Fast moving targets will be represented by a line instead of a dot, but designations will remain same.]]
{{break}}
There are different types of targets which can appear on the radar display, these are shown above. When a target is detected by a search radar (or another type of search sensor) it will most often show up on the radar display as a normal radar target (left-most example in image). If the vehicle's search system is equipped with an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system then targets which are on your team will be displayed with a line under them (right-most example), if an IFF system is not present then all targets will be displayed as normal targets on the radar display.

One of the targets within the vehicle's tracking area on the display will be chosen as the selected target and displayed with a vertical bar on each side of it. The selected target is the one which will be locked on to when the "Lock radar target on" button is pressed. The selected target can be changed to another one within the lock-on-area by pressing the "Select radar target to lock on" key. Targets which have been locked on to are displayed with a solid square around them.

===Compass and Tracked Targets===
[[File:Radar compass and tracking.jpg|500x500px|thumb|right|The interface for the compass and a tracked target]]
In addition to a radar display SPAA vehicles also have a compass present on the HUD, located at the top of the screen. This compass shows what direction the turret is pointing in degrees (0° is due north). Targets which are detected will also be displayed on the compass as triangles. If a target is locked then a solid box appears around its triangle.

When a target is locked onto a box will appear around it. Next, to the box, the distance between the target and the player's vehicle, as well as its speed relative to the player's vehicle will be displayed. Once the target closes to a suitable range an accurate firing indicator will appear.

If the lock on a target is lost for any reason then the tracking square around the target will drift and start flashing to show that it has been lost, after a few seconds it will disappear.

When a target is tracked, the turret will receive the targeting information feed and use it to adjust ammunition self-destruction fuse delays as well as follow the target automatically. When this happens the targeting reticle which appears has a high level of accuracy, as long as the target maintains speed and bearing and does not dramatically alter its speed, course or direction.

==SPAA Sensor Types==

The sensor systems in War Thunder can be categorised into Active Radar systems and Passive Systems. Active radar systems work by transmitting radio waves at a target and detecting those which bounce back, while passive systems use a variety of techniques to allow them to carry out their job passively (i.e. without emitting anything).

Sensor systems also differ in roles, either falling into the category of search systems or tracking systems. When activated search systems will scan the area around the SPAA and display any targets they detect on the radar display and compass. Tracking systems do not detect targets; instead, they lock on to a single target and provide information about it, as well as a firing lead indicator. Most SPAAs have both a search and tracking system allowing them to detect targets and then lock onto them. Some SPAAs however only have tracking systems; in this case, the user must manually place the crosshairs over a visible target to lock the radar onto it. It is possible for vehicles to have a mix of sensor systems. For example the [[ADATS]] has a search radar and an infrared tracking system.

===Active Radar===

Active radar systems are by far the most common type of SPAA sensor; they work by transmitting radio waves at a target and detecting those which bounce back. They come with the disadvantage that these radio waves can be detected by Radar Warning Receivers (RWR) fitted to some aircraft, alerting the aircraft to the SPAA's location. Radar systems also have the disadvantage of suffering ground clutter (false returns from the ground making it harder to detect targets), the multipath effect (an effect where the tracking box appears below low flying aircraft instead of over it), and tracking inaccuracies.

{{Notice|Trees are half-transparent for radars. Radar distance shortens for every tree in its scan direction.|!}}

When the radar is in search mode and does not have a lock on a target, it will scan the area around the vehicle, either through a full 360° or within a limited sector. The current direction of the scanner is represented by a moving line on the radar display (usually thicker than the turret heading line). Targets can only be detected by the radar when it is pointing straight at them, and so a target's position will only be updated as the scanner sweep line passes over it. Be aware, that small planes are harder to detect due to their small profile and obstacles such as trees and hills will obscure radar's field of view, preventing detection or tracking of objects on the other side of them. Even if the search radar is offline or fails to spot a target it is usually still possible to manually position the crosshairs over a target and press the "Lock radar target on" key.

{{Notice|Radars cannot detect or track targets which have a relative speed which is too low|!}}
Another important consideration with radars is that they are incapable of detecting or tracking targets with a low relative speed. The relative speed is not the true speed which the target is actually moving; it is the speed which it is moving relative to the radar. If a target is flying in a circle around the player, moving at a speed near that of the rotation of the radar, then it is possible for their relative speed to drop to a point where it is too low to track/detect.

Radars also have a minimum range, below which they cannot detect or track targets. See individual radar pages for the minimum range and speed characteristics of each radar.

{{Notice|Different radars have different characteristics, a target detectable by a vehicle's search radar may not be visible to its tracking radar and vice versa.}}

If the search radar has detected a target within the radar's locking area (darker area of the radar display) on of the targets in that area will be marked as selected (two vertical lines around it), a lock can be acquired on the selected target by pressing the "Lock radar target on" key. The selected target can be changed by pressing the "Select radar target to lock on" key if a target has been detected in the area but cannot be selected it means it is visible to the search radar but not the tracking radar. When a selected target is locked on to the guns will automatically move to point at it, regardless of where they were pointing previously. Multiple targets (even allied aircraft) close together within the field of the tracking radar can confuse the tracking radar and cause tracking problems, including the loss of a target lock, or the lock transitioning to another aircraft. In the event of multiple aircraft in the search area, it is recommended to switch to gunner view and manually attack targets to ensure not accidentally shooting down any friendly aircraft.

{{Notice|The darker area on the display is the area within which targets can initially be locked on to. Once locked on some radars can track a target even outside of this area.}}

Once a solid lock is achieved, the only concern now is preventing your opponent from dodging the incoming volley of ammunition. For this reason, conservation of ammunition is important and the gunner should not waste ammo firing in long continuous bursts in the same direction if your SPAA's accuracy is adequate.

[[File:Radar_shot_marksman.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px|Enemy plane suffered a serious hit. Even if they somehow escape the rest of the volley, they're out of fighting capability and may crash soon.]]

====Combined Search / Track Radars (TWS - Track While Scan)====
[[File:Radar_Without_TWS.png|300px|thumb|right|A radar without TWS, notice how all other targets are removed from the display when a target is locked.]]
Most SPAA vehicles operate two separate radars or sensors, one for searching and one for tracking. Some vehicles, however, operate a single combined search and tracking radar. These systems operate much the same as regular radars, however, nearly all of them lack Track While Scan (TWS) capability. As a result, when you lock onto a target with such radar, you lose search functionality and cannot see any targets other than the one you are tracking. By comparison, vehicles using a separate search and tracking radar are able to still use their search radar while the tracking radar is active.

====Radar Range Finders====

In real life radar range finding systems were used as a simpler way of proving radar tracking like capability. Rangefinders work by calculating the distance between two objects. There are two main components of a radio rangefinder are the transmitter unit and the receiver unit. The transmitter's job is to transmit a signal, usually, several hundred times a second and then wait. If an object such as an aircraft is hit by the transmitted signals from the rangefinder they will bounce off of the aircraft and reflect back to the SPAA to be received by the receiver.

The rangefinder's processing unit will calculate the time between when the signal was transmitted and received and use it to calculate the distance to the target. The more often the transmitters transmit, the more reflections are received giving the rangefinder an up-to-date distance to the moving aircraft. With this data, the SPAA can set fuses for self-destroying ammo causing it to automatically explode near to where the tracked aircraft is showing to be, not requiring a direct hit, but close enough to cause damage through exploding shells. The range of information can also be used to calculate a firing lead indicator.

In-game radar range finders work like tracking radars, however vehicles equipped with them have no search radar, to the target must be manually identified and locked.
[[File:Rangefinder radar display.jpg|none|thumb|How radar display looks with rangefinder only. There will be no searching going on, and no passive scanning.]][[TWS]]

To use the radar rangefinder substitute, you have to go to gunner (sniper) sight and direct the targeting crosshairs onto the target enemy aircraft, then press the "Lock radar target on" key.

As a result, lock-on will occur:
[[File:M163 radio lock-on.JPG|none|thumb|500x500px|M163 locked on. Always make sure trees do not obscure the gunner's view.]]

All that is left is to aim the true targeting reticle and open fire on the enemy aircraft.

The above information is also true for vehicles such as the [[SIDAM 25]] which use an optronic tracking system, without search functionality.

{{Notice|Although the SIDAM 25's tracker can track targets in an elevation range of -20°/+85° once locked on, it can only initially lock on to targets between -20°/+20° in elevation.}}

====Sector Scan Radar Mode====
Some search radars support sector scanning as well as 360°. The scan mode can be changed by pressing the "Change radar search mode" key. In Sector scanning mode the radar moves back and forth, scanning a sector between two angles. The scanning sector is relative to the front of the turret, so if the turret moves the sector covered by the radar moves also.
[[File:Sector view radar.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Sector view radar. In case of these radars, the system only actively looks for an enemy in a small sector in front of your turret (represented by dark green field).]]

====Line of Sight Scan Radar Mode====
Some radars also support Line of Sight searching, again this can be selected by pressing the "Change radar search mode" key. This mode will stop the radar dish from spinning and lock it facing the front of the turret. In this mode the radar is only scanning a very narrow sector dead in front of the turret, so you need to point straight at aircraft in order to detect them. Since the radar is static in this mode, it is advisable to move the turret a bit, just in case if the plane took a bit different route to where you think it is. You also should note, that smaller planes that fly near to ground are harder to detect, and even this trick might not work on them.

===Passive Infrared and Optronic Systems===

{{Notice|As of Update "Raining Fire" 1.101, no SPAA in the game have full passive tracking radar and missile guidance. All missile launches will trigger a helicopter's Laser Warning System.}}

After a certain point, air forces realised the danger of radars to their ranks and started using specific radar-seeking missiles, which were able to automatically detect and guide straight onto radars and destroy them.

As a way to avoid this new threat entirely, passive systems which were capable of detecting and tracking aircraft without emitting radar were developed.

One method known as optronic tracking uses a powerful camera controlled by the gunner. The gunner manually identifies the target and locks into it, a computer then uses the video feed of a target to track it and provide a firing lead indicator.

Other method uses infrared sensors to detect the infrared energy emitted from aircraft in order to detect and track them.

These systems tend to have a short-range by Radar standard but are capable of doing the job while being unnoticed by anti-radar detectors.

====Using Passive Infrared Systems====
[[File:Passive_IR_Search_System_UI.png|300px|thumb|right|The interface for Passive IR search, notice how all targets are marked at a fixed range, with only azimuth different.]]
The user interface for passive infrared systems feels about the same as radar. The most noticeable difference at first glance is that power symbol is replaced by letters "IRST". However another difference soon becomes more apparent: infrared '''search''' systems are incapable of telling the range to a target, as such all targets are displayed at the same range around the edge of the display, with only the azimuth being different between them. This is compensated by ability of system to tell if target is hostile or not.

{{Notice|Trees are non transparent for optical sights and guiding devices, such as ADATS tracker or Stormer SPAAGs. Try to not choose positions next to a forest, if possible.|!}}

While this is a serious downgrade, it starts making sense when you actually try to lock on and observe the way IRST targeting sensors work.

Generally, due to low range of infrared tracking systems they are used on vehicles equipped with Anti-Air missiles, which can compensate for the system weaknesses. Overall, infrared tracking does seem to be slightly less accurate and reliable than radar tracking, and heavily relies on optical tracking from sniper seat. For this reason, these kinds of systems require a higher level of "targeting" on crew gunner for better turret tracking and high coordination of the player, as you have to guide very sensitive missiles towards the target as precisely as you can.

{{Notice|The [[Stormer HVM]] has no guns, so there is no lead indicator for this vehicle. The [[ADATS]] does have a lead indicator for its infrared Tracker.}}

[[File:Stormer HMV passive system lock on.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px]]

As could be seen on screenshot above, in full IRST mode sniper crosshair tries to imitate the drag of missile as it tracks the aircraft, by keeping sniper crosshairs on plane you can guide your missile towards an aircraft. Keeping an actual missile on target is more important, however, as system accuracy is generally far from stellar.

Do note, that a plane approaching at a sharp angle will mess with turret automatic guidance, due to it passing by too fast. It is also worth remembering, that SPAA, which rely purely on IRST, have huge gaps in optical zooms, and maximum zoom '''does not equal best missile tracking'''.

[[File:Stormer HVM hit with weird lock-on data.jpg|none|thumb|500x400px]]

As example, Stormer HVM has 10-40X optics, which can be manually adgusted during AA duty, but simply hitting "maximum zoom" will probably result in a miss. Since it is extremely inconvenient to toggle zoom level every time, one can remain in sniper seat and use radar display to lock-on to targets around - spin the turret in direction of your next target on display and try to lock on, the targeting device will do the rest.

==Sensor guidance errors==

While in-game lock-on ballistic calculations are absolute and are always correct, since [[update 1.89]] the guidance error can happen. If you will not pay attention to those, your volley may miss entirely.

===Unstable lock-on===

The more things there are in between of SPAA and plane and the closer the tracking sensor is to its limits, the more lock-on scope "shakes". Eventually, it may start going all over the place and even detach from aircraft. This makes radar-guided reticle less than absolutely accurate and may decrease timing accuracy of proximity fuse shells.

[[File:Sensor error - unstable lock sniper.jpg|thumb|left|As clearly seen here, there is no way sniper would know that the scope is detached from plane, and the error is actually quite big for a 35 mm gun]]

{{break}}

This error is the most dangerous when you fire while using sniper scope, as it's often hard to see both the aircraft and ballistic solution reticle at the same time, so you may not even notice it for a while.

Ingame, the ballistic solution is usually still correct, but your sensor thinks, that aircraft is located in another spot, thus giving you an incorrect firing angle. To counter this error, look how far and in which direction the lock-on square is separated from the actual aircraft and adjust your aim at "true aiming reticle" in opposite direction, firing to where the enemy plane would actually be.

[[File:Sensor error - counter unstable lock.jpg|thumb|left|Shift gun around the reticle to compensate for wobbly radar lock indicator. Note, that the worse lock becomes, the more scope moves around.]]

{{break}}

To avoid getting this error at all, it is better to stay in high and open spot and track at range and angle comfortable for your tracking device, but it makes you more vulnerable to enemy fire, and many hostile aircrafts can attack you back while being well outside of your comfort zone, so it is safer to just get used to it.

===Multipath (Ground echo)===

If hostile aircraft is flying very low (~100 m away from the ground), the ground will start jamming radar-based signal with similar signature echo, bringing the "lock-on" tracker down to the ground.

This error is very confusing, so being prepared is the key. To counter the error, keep your distance and aim where your radar says to, but adjust the height to one at which the plane is flying manually. Resist any attempts of the turret to follow the reticle under the ground. In case of 10.0 SAM you may fire missile at aircraft directly and hope it can intercept plane in time.

[[File:Sensor error - ground echo.JPG|thumb|left|ADATS intercepts low flying jet. Since it's missile is extremely fast, it ignores gun reticle and just tries to hit plane with proximity missile, but it technically could fire gun and still hit a target.]]

{{break}}

==Drawbacks of Using the Radar==

Certain helicopters have a radar detection system, and as such, whenever the radar waves from your vehicle’s radar "hit" them, they see radar alerts. These alerts appear in the form of a lighting symbol appearing on their own "counter radar" display, to indicate roughly what direction a radar is in. The more sophisticated "counter-radar" is, the better it is at telling what is searching for the helicopter, where from and so on. Most versions of it it also trigger sound alert, when radar starts actively tracking them, so if your tracking device is also a radar, they '''will''' know you are about to shoot them down.


Here is an example of what happens, when you got noticed by a helicopter:
[[File:Radar detection ATGM helicopter.jpg|none|thumb]]

Certain helicopters and planes may have no problems with carpet-bombing your position with rockets, just to make sure you aren't going to fire at them ever again. To avoid being bombed like this, you can turn the radar off when you don't need it. This will shut down radar search, but you can usually still lock on to targets (As already mentioned, be aware, that your tracking device may use radar technology as well, and by themselves can still trigger radar warnings). Certain SPAA's also fold their radar behind them, making their profile much smaller and harder to notice by tanks around them.

Vehicles operating passive systems are immune to Radar Warning Receivers.

==SPAA's Which Have Radars and Other Sensors==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="4" | SPAA vehicles with radars or other sensor systems
|-
! Vehicle Name
! Search System
! Tracking System
! Comments
|-
| [[M163]] || None || [[AN/VPS-2]] (Radar Range Finder) || Only has a radar range finder mounted on the side of the turret, it cannot be folded.
|-
| [[M247]] || AN/APG-66 (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded. Uses [[Albis]] as generic tracking radar.
|-
| [[ADATS]] || ADATS Search (Search Radar) || ADATS Track (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Search radar can fold. Missiles are beam riding and locks triggers LWS (Laser Warning Receiver) on helicopters.
|-
| [[Gepard]] || [[MPDR 12]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Search radar can fold.
|-
| [[FlaRakPz 1]] || Roland Search (Search Radar) || Roland Track (Tracking Radar) || Only the tracking radar can fold.
|-
| [[ZSU-23-4]] || [[1RL33]] (Search Radar) || [[1RL33]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar without [[TWS]] (Track While Scan) capability.
|-
| [[ZPRK 2S6]] || [[1RL144]] (Search Radar) || [[1RL144]] (Tracking Radar) || Search radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar with [[TWS]] (Track While Scan) capability.
|-
| [[Chieftain Marksman]] || [[Marconi S 400]] (Search Radar) || [[Marconi S 400]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar can be folded. Combined search and track radar without [[TWS]] (Track While Scan) capability.
|-
| [[Stormer HVM]] || Thales ADAD (Passive Infrared Search) || Thales ADAD (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Sensor cannot be folded (is very very small though). Missiles are beam riding and locks triggers LWS on helicopters.
|-
| [[Type 87]] || [[MPDR 12]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded. Radars semi-historical.
|-
| [[SIDAM 25]] || None || [[3JB10]] (Optronic Tracker) || Tracker is integrated in the optics, there is nothing to fold.
|-
| [[OTOMATIC]] || [[SMA VPS-A05]] (Search Radar) || [[SMA VPG-A06]] (Tracking Radar) || Both radars can be folded.
|-
| [[AMX-30 DCA]] || [[DR-VC-1A]] (Search Radar) || [[Albis]] (Tracking Radar) || Radar cannot be folded. Uses [[Albis]] as generic tracking radar.
|-
| [[Roland 1]] || Roland Search (Search Radar) || ADATS Track (Passive Infrared Tracker) || Search radar cannot be folded (Tracker is integrated in the optics, there is nothing to fold.)
|-
| [[SIDAM 25 (Mistral)]] || None || [[3JB10]] (Optronic Tracker) || Missiles use onboard infrared sensors (will track flares). Tracker is integrated in the optics.
|-
|}

== Media ==

{{Youtube-gallery|3BbIiDovPPk|'''The Shooting Range #139''' - ''Tactics and strategy'' section at 09:26 discusses the basics of SPAA radars.|luvhoX8Ht1I|'''War Thunder''' - New anti-air defence.|Wq9qHd_TCgk|'''The Shooting Range #184''' - ''Tactics and strategy'' section at 09:26 discusses the tactical use of radar-equipped SPAAs and the typical mistakes to avoid.|tcIeR_s6fp8|'''The Shooting Range #204''' - ''Tactics & Strategy'' section at 09:23 discusses the radars.}}

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6064-development-radar-station-new-opportunities-in-the-game-en|[Devblog] Radar Station: New opportunities in the game]]

[[Category:Game_mechanics]]
[[Category:Radars]]

User talk:U9268341

2020-12-28T05:07:30Z

U9268341: Created page with "Hey! I'm traeng, a war thunder veteran. I even played Birds of Steel on PS3, the paid, original war thunder. I then played war thunder on PS4, back when crossplay wasn't even..."

Hey! I'm traeng, a war thunder veteran.
I even played Birds of Steel on PS3, the paid, original war thunder.
I then played war thunder on PS4, back when crossplay wasn't even implemented.

This means I know the game from both worlds.
I like anything technical about anything that flies, drives, or floats.

Gud'day!

SMS Helgoland

2020-12-28T04:13:26Z

U9268341: Corrected calliber and some info.

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_battleship_helgoland}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battleship {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "New Power"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
This Helgoland-class dreadnought comes with a thick side armored belt of 300mm, and other places being 90 to 170mm thick. This can stop 356mm HE rounds except at the higher sections of the bow and stern.

Against AP shells, All 6 turrets have thick barbettes, which AP shells have to go trough after the already thick side armor.

Ammunition is surrounded by coal bunkers, in addition of a turtle back armor scheme.

In short: She is one of the most though dreadnoughts of war thunder, as long as she faces fair opponents.

To survive longer, do not repair secondary battery. Doing so will remove crew from your armored hull and put it in the vulnerable secondary turrets, for them to be killed again.

=== Mobility ===
Her maximum speed is slower than a human. This already says a lot about her mobility.

Being a dreadnought, it was all about armor and firepower. She will reach a little bit over 38 kph maxed out. You're not outrunning that PT boat.

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===
Her armament is somewhat lacking for her size. She has 6 turrets, but only 4 can fire at a broadside. 3 can fire most of the time and worst case scenario only 2 will fire.

Her turrets have each double 305mm guns, this is somewhat lacking for long ranges fights.

=== Secondary armament ===
While her primary armament is lacking, she makes it up with great secondaries.

She has fourteen 150mm guns in casemates all around the ship, and fourteen 88mm guns with fragmentation shells. Patrol Torpedo boat will not like getting close to you.

Even her 150mm are a real threat to any destroyers, even light cruisers.

=== Torpedo armament ===
She comes with fixed underwater torpedo tubes. Being an old ship, her torpedoes are not remotely good.

She carries a total of sixteen torpedoes, in several launchers: 1 forward, 1 rear, 2+2 per broadsides.

Her torpedo carry only 160kg of TNT, which may not be enough to break through the torpedo bulges of other dreadnoughts and heavy cruisers. This means that several hits are needed.

== Usage in battles ==
As of patch 2.3, her main gameplay is spawn, shoot at other ships, and eat some torpedoes later in the game.

On small maps, that's where she shines, as she can make full use of her 150mm and 88mm secondaries killing some destroyers while her main turrets shoot something else.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| 305 mm Psgr. L/3.4
|
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
|
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
| 150 mm Sprgr. L/3.2 Bdz
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
| Shrapnel Protection
| Ventilation
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
| Ammo Wetting
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Massive firepower, primary and secondary
* Heavily armored, making it hard to sink

'''Cons:'''

* Has no anti-air defenses
* Is very slow
* 305mm may have difficulties destroying other dreadnoughts from afar

== History ==

[[File:SMS Helgoland.jpg|thumb|SMS Helgoland, Circa 1911-1917.]]
SMS ''Helgoland'' was the lead ship of the ''Helgoland''-class of pre-WWI dreadnought battleships. Being an incremental improvement upon the preceding [[SMS Westfalen|''Nassau'']]-class battleships, they featured a more powerful 12-inch (305 mm) battery and improved propulsion system. Built in 1909, she saw service in World War 1; she served in the raid on Scarborough, Battle of Riga, and Battle of Jutland. After the war, ''Helgoland'' was handed to the United Kingdom as a war reparation; she was scrapped in 1924.<ref name=":0">World War 1 Co. (1998)</ref><ref name=":1">Military Factory. (2020)</ref>

=== Design and construction ===
The ''Helgoland''-class was of overall similar construction to the preceding ''Nassau''-class. They displaced 22,500 tons standard, and with 28,000 shaft horsepower, were capable of making 20 knots (37 km/h).<ref name=":0" /> The ''Helgoland'' featured a unique hexagonal main armament arrangement, similar to the ''Nassau''-class, but had a higher-calibre main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns in six twin-turrets.<ref name=":0" /> The ''Helgoland'' also carried numerous 5.9-inch (150 mm) guns and 88 mm guns in casemate mountings.<ref name=":0" /> She later gained four 88 mm high-angle anti-aircraft weapons, but this is not reflected in the game. As a result, the 1911 ''Helgoland'' didn't have any anti-aircraft protection. Finally, the ''Helgoland'' carried six 50 cm torpedo tubes mounted underneath the waterline.<ref name=":0" />

The ''Helgoland'' was laid down in November of 1908, named after the Heligoland archipelago in the North Sea.<ref name=":1" /> She was launched in September of 1909. She was completed and commissioned on August 23rd 1911, after the completion of three years of construction.<ref name=":0" />

=== Operational history ===
The Helgoland entered service with the German 1st Battle Squadron, which formed the core of the German battleship strike force.<ref name=":1" /> She participated in some training exercises before the war, along with her sister ships. After the start of the First World War, Helgoland saw her first combat action at the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby. Due to heavy fog, the British and German forces never directly engaged despite the fact that ''Helgoland'' was at one point just 10 nautical miles away from the British fleet. ''Helgoland'' later participated in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga, though she failed to see major combat action.

''Helgoland'' participated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was located at the centre of the German battleship line. As a result, she saw less action than ships at the front of the formation, such as the battleship ''Konig''. Despite this, ''Helgoland'' still fired 63 12-inch shells, and took a hit from a 15-inch shell that caused a moderate amount of flooding.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The battle of Jutland was a tactical victory for the German fleet, having lost less ships and men than the British. However, it was a strategic victory for the British as the German grand fleet would never set sail in large numbers again.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

''Helgoland'', along with her sister ships, were docked at Wilhelmshaven until the end of the war; she was supposed to participate in the suicidal German raid against the British fleet, in an attempt to secure better surrendering conditions.<ref name=":1" /> However, this failed as the sailors manning the ship mutinied.<ref name=":1" /> Thus, ''Helgoland'' was handed to the British as a war reparation, along with her three sister ships. She was eventually scrapped by 1924.<ref name=":1" />

== Media ==


;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|B1PfKRvLTVs|'''The Shooting Range #227''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:28 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.}}

== 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 ==

=== Citations ===
<references />

=== Bibliography ===

* World War 1 Co. (1998). Helgoland Class Dreadnought Battleship. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from <nowiki>http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/battleship/sms-helgoland.html</nowiki>
* Military Factory. (2020, September 4). SMS Helgoland Dreadnought Battleship. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from <nowiki>https://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=sms-helgoland-battleship-imperial-german-navy</nowiki>
{{Germany battleships}}

SMS Helgoland

2020-12-28T03:58:08Z

U9268341: Filled empty places in general info, armament, added few pros and cons.

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_battleship_helgoland}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German battleship {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "New Power"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
This Nassau-class dreadnought comes with a thick side armored belt of 290mm, and other places being 90 to 170mm thick. This can stop 356mm HE rounds except at the higher sections of the bow and stern.

Against AP shells, All 6 turrets have 283mm thick barbettes, which AP shells have to go trough after the already thick side armor.

Ammunition is surrounded by coal bunkers, in addition of a turtle back armor scheme.

In short: She is one of the most though dreadnoughts of war thunder, as long as she faces fair opponents.

To survive longer, do not repair secondary battery. Doing so will remove crew from your armored hull and put it in the vulnerable secondary turrets, for them to be killed again.

=== Mobility ===
Her maximum speed is slower than a human. This already says a lot about her mobility.

Being a dreadnought, it was all about armor and firepower. She will reach a little bit over 38 kph maxed out. You're not outrunning that PT boat.

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===
Her armament is somewhat lacking for her size. She has 6 turrets, but only 4 can fire at a broadside. 3 can fire most of the time and worst case scenario only 2 will fire.

Her turrets have each double 283mm guns, this is somewhat lacking. Most other dreadnoughts have 305mm guns if not larger.

=== Secondary armament ===
While her primary armament is lacking, she makes it up with great secondaries.

She has twelve 150mm guns in casemates all around the ship, and sixteen 88mm guns with fragmentation shells. Patrol Torpedo boat will not like getting close to you.

Even her 150mm are a real threat to any destroyers, even light cruisers.

== Usage in battles ==
As of patch 2.3, her main gameplay is spawn, shoot at other ships, and eat some torpedoes later in the game.

On small maps, that's where she shines, as she can make full use of her 150mm and 88mm secondaries killing some destroyers while her main turrets shoot something else.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="2" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| 305 mm Psgr. L/3.4
|
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
|
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
| 150 mm Sprgr. L/3.2 Bdz
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
| Shrapnel Protection
| Ventilation
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
| Ammo Wetting
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Massive firepower
* Heavily armored, making it hard to sink
* Awesome secondary firepower for her class

'''Cons:'''

* Has no anti-air defenses
* Is very slow
* 283mm is rather small for her guns and class

== History ==

[[File:SMS Helgoland.jpg|thumb|SMS Helgoland, Circa 1911-1917.]]
SMS ''Helgoland'' was the lead ship of the ''Helgoland''-class of pre-WWI dreadnought battleships. Being an incremental improvement upon the preceding [[SMS Westfalen|''Nassau'']]-class battleships, they featured a more powerful 12-inch (305 mm) battery and improved propulsion system. Built in 1909, she saw service in World War 1; she served in the raid on Scarborough, Battle of Riga, and Battle of Jutland. After the war, ''Helgoland'' was handed to the United Kingdom as a war reparation; she was scrapped in 1924.<ref name=":0">World War 1 Co. (1998)</ref><ref name=":1">Military Factory. (2020)</ref>

=== Design and construction ===
The ''Helgoland''-class was of overall similar construction to the preceding ''Nassau''-class. They displaced 22,500 tons standard, and with 28,000 shaft horsepower, were capable of making 20 knots (37 km/h).<ref name=":0" /> The ''Helgoland'' featured a unique hexagonal main armament arrangement, similar to the ''Nassau''-class, but had a higher-calibre main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns in six twin-turrets.<ref name=":0" /> The ''Helgoland'' also carried numerous 5.9-inch (150 mm) guns and 88 mm guns in casemate mountings.<ref name=":0" /> She later gained four 88 mm high-angle anti-aircraft weapons, but this is not reflected in the game. As a result, the 1911 ''Helgoland'' didn't have any anti-aircraft protection. Finally, the ''Helgoland'' carried six 50 cm torpedo tubes mounted underneath the waterline.<ref name=":0" />

The ''Helgoland'' was laid down in November of 1908, named after the Heligoland archipelago in the North Sea.<ref name=":1" /> She was launched in September of 1909. She was completed and commissioned on August 23rd 1911, after the completion of three years of construction.<ref name=":0" />

=== Operational history ===
The Helgoland entered service with the German 1st Battle Squadron, which formed the core of the German battleship strike force.<ref name=":1" /> She participated in some training exercises before the war, along with her sister ships. After the start of the First World War, Helgoland saw her first combat action at the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby. Due to heavy fog, the British and German forces never directly engaged despite the fact that ''Helgoland'' was at one point just 10 nautical miles away from the British fleet. ''Helgoland'' later participated in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga, though she failed to see major combat action.

''Helgoland'' participated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was located at the centre of the German battleship line. As a result, she saw less action than ships at the front of the formation, such as the battleship ''Konig''. Despite this, ''Helgoland'' still fired 63 12-inch shells, and took a hit from a 15-inch shell that caused a moderate amount of flooding.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The battle of Jutland was a tactical victory for the German fleet, having lost less ships and men than the British. However, it was a strategic victory for the British as the German grand fleet would never set sail in large numbers again.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

''Helgoland'', along with her sister ships, were docked at Wilhelmshaven until the end of the war; she was supposed to participate in the suicidal German raid against the British fleet, in an attempt to secure better surrendering conditions.<ref name=":1" /> However, this failed as the sailors manning the ship mutinied.<ref name=":1" /> Thus, ''Helgoland'' was handed to the British as a war reparation, along with her three sister ships. She was eventually scrapped by 1924.<ref name=":1" />

== Media ==


;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|B1PfKRvLTVs|'''The Shooting Range #227''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:28 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.}}

== 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 ==

=== Citations ===
<references />

=== Bibliography ===

* World War 1 Co. (1998). Helgoland Class Dreadnought Battleship. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from <nowiki>http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/battleship/sms-helgoland.html</nowiki>
* Military Factory. (2020, September 4). SMS Helgoland Dreadnought Battleship. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from <nowiki>https://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=sms-helgoland-battleship-imperial-german-navy</nowiki>
{{Germany battleships}}

MBK-161 early

2020-12-23T04:37:28Z

U9268341: added some descriptions that were empty. mobility, armor and survivability mostly.

{{Specs-Card
|code=ussr_mbk_161_1943
|market=MBK-161 (1943) (USSR)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium gift rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet armoured gun boat {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]] as a reward for the Operation Shipyard event.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
armor and survivability are amazing. Let me explain. Armor is extremely thick for a ship of this size, reaching 52mm for the center section and 60mm for the superstructure!

The vessel comes with 39 crew, this is twice as much as most other PT boats.

Something that can be considered overpowered, is that her compartments, especially the middle section and superstructure, are armored all around. This means they will remain intact, keeping their crew alive. There are even 30mm thick plates inside the ship to separate front to middle and rear to middle sections. Ships firing high explosive rounds will only lower your crew to about 20 to 40%, and not do a single damage after that. You will not be brought down by destroyer's HE salvos easily.

The 1943 variant has a lower BR sitting at 3.3 in RB, this means you're facing the reserve destroyers of most nations with inexperienced players. They will fire mostly HE at you, and you are capable of winning 1V1 fights against destroyers.

This may be the toughest boat of its BR.

Cannon APHE and aircraft will make short work of you however.

Your 2 main turrets are the same found on T-34 1941 tank. These will almost never be destroyed.

=== Mobility ===
Your forward speed is just above 25kph. This is extremely slow, most aircraft will bomb you without any issue. You won't be able to reach capture points in time, and rely on good line of sight. Plan your route in advance, as you will not have enough time to change course later on.

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===

{{main|F-34 (76 mm)}}

The MBK-161 (1943) has 2 turrets on the main deck, which are the same ones you can find on the [[T-34 (1942)]] medium tank. The two turrets present the 76 mm F-34 cannon, practically with the same characteristics as the ground model.

* The '''76 mm OF-350M''' is the stock shell you will start with, and it is the best of the two available. With a explosive mass of 621 g, a well-fired salvo is enough to set enemy ships on fire and take almost a third of their crew members in the majority of cases. It can be used against early destroyers, as they do not have a lot of protection.
* The '''76 mm BR-350A''' is a ballistic high explosive shell that sacrifices explosive power in exchange of a higher penetration. You will successfully penetrate every vessel you shoot at, but the post penetration damage is not as powerful as with the HE. It requires 4 mm of armour to activate, and in the common scenario it will pass trough the enemy clear, only taking a few crew and the module behind. Use it only against heavy armoured boats such as the Russian PR and MBK boats. It can also be fired against early destroyers, but with the small amount of explosive filler will produce little damage.

The guns are very reliable, and work perfect against any type of enemy boat. The turning is a little bit slow, so try to figure out where will be the enemy before it shows up so you can have both guns facing the target.

=== Secondary armament ===

{{main|45 mm/46 21-K (45 mm)|37 mm/67 70-K (37 mm)}}

The MBK-161 (1943) carries a 45 mm cannon with quick reloading time and good accuracy at close range. This, with a lower calibre than the turret cannons, turns faster and can be a solution for quickly moving targets when your turrets are facing the apposite direction. It can be loaded with the following ammunition:

* The '''45 mm OR-73A HET''': As stock you get a High Explosive shell with low penetration and small amount of explosive. It has a high velocity, but it does not compensate the damage produced.
* The '''45 mm O-240 HE''': An HE shell which contains 118 g of explosive and a stable penetration of 5 mm at any distance and angle. It produces higher damage, and is quite a good shell both for naval and air targets.
* The '''45 mm BR-240 APHE''': It is the only shell of the calibre that penetrates up to 75 mm at 100 meters. It has a significance reduction of explosive filler, but can still make damage if it hits an enemy module.
* The '''45 mm F-73 HE''': It is an HE shell with a time fuse, which means you can adjust the explosion time. It has quite similar explosive filler as the O-240 shell, but with an improved penetration of about 21 mm at 100 meters. It is the best shell for anti-air purposes.

It is recommended to use it as an anti-aircraft gun with the F-73 shell, as it can make a lot of damage if hits at the correct timing. Nevertheless, it can perform great against enemy ships.

The MBK-161 also carries a 37 mm 70-K automatic cannon, with a standard belt of ammunition. It is a good AA armament, delivering powerful hits to enemy aircraft that dare to get close to you. As a secondary armament it also performs great, similar to the one present in the [[BMO]]. It is placed at the stern of the ship, so take care to frontal attacks.

Take care when the AI is controlling the 37 mm cannon, as it will tend to shoot rounds until overheating the gun, leading to a malfunction that will cost some precious time. Try to look for planes and only activate the AA when it is close enough.

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===

{{main|DShK (12.7 mm)}}

The MBK-161 also carries three 12.7 mm DShK machine guns with standard belts, situated 2 of them at the port and starboard side of the bridge, and one at the very top. They can hit hard if the enemy attacks from the front and the rear. Elevation does great until a certain angle, so attack from above may present a threat.

=== Special armament ===

{{main|BM-37 mortar}}

The MBK-161 carries one the most unique armaments for a boat: a 82 mm BM-37 mortar. It shoots 82 mm shells, with a explosive filler of 0.4 kg of TNT equivalent.

Unfortunately, it can only fire at a fixed range of 300 meters around the mortar, and the parabolic shot takes around 17 seconds to land. It is pretty difficult to actually hit a moving target, and it does not guarantee to make a perfect shot. As it was developed as an armament against ground forces near rivers, it has no real use in naval battles. It is quite unique, and maybe it can have a role in the future.

== Usage in battles ==
Use this ship in areas where you will be hidden from larger vessel. Especially destroyers and cruisers using APHE rounds. HE rounds can be stopped by your armored center section, and will mostly just destroy your secondary weapons, bow, and rear. You are slow and will shine at the early stages of a battle, before there are too many aircraft around. Enemy PT boats will have a very hard time killing you.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="3" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| 45 mm O-240 HE
| Anti-Air Armament Targeting
|
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
| Smokescreen
| 45 mm BR-240
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
| 76 mm BR-350A
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
|
|
|
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
|
| 45 mm F-73
|
|
|-
! colspan="7" | This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== 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 ==


* [[wt:en/news/6399-operation-shipyard-mbk-161-1943-shallow-water-battleship-en|Operation "Shipyard": MBK-161 (1943) - Shallow Water Battleship]]

{{USSR boats}}
{{USSR premium ships}}

Pr.191M

2020-12-23T04:16:50Z

U9268341: /* Survivability and armour */ aspects added

{{Specs-Card|code=ussr_pr_191m}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet armoured gun boat {{Battle-rating|1}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]] when the Soviet fleet was implemented into the game.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
Positive aspects:

* Hull is made of steel 6mm, this can stop some small caliber HE rounds and the occasional shrapnel.
* The armored sections were designed to withstand rifle caliber, and will not protect you against 20mm AP and larger rounds.
* The dual 14.5mm turrets are however a serious threat to aircraft, a good salvo can seriously damage it, but that doesn't mean he won't be able to attack.

Negative aspects:

* Speed is rather slow at roughly 35kph, making you a great target for destroyers
* Armor doesn't cover 100% of any compartments, meaning any HE that pierces more than 5mm can destroy any compartments except the superstructure
* Low crew of 14
* 85mm ammo isn't protected by any armor plates

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

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===
{{main|85 mm/54,6 ZIS-C-53 (85 mm)}}
The 85mm/54.6 zis-C-53 gun is one of the best guns you will ever find at this . This gun's HE is able to penetrate most if not all ships it faces, but it is recommended to keep a few APHE just in case.

=== Secondary armament ===
Secondary armament consists of 2 turrets equipped with dual 14.5mm KPV heavy machineguns. The KPV was designed to destroy light vehicles, and can penetrate up to 40mm of RHA close up. This is not to be ignored, the round will go through aircraft's armor and engines like butter, wrecking anything in its way. This also means the KPV can deal significant damages to other PT boats, should the 85mm get knocked out.

As AA guns, these will do well at close ranges up to 2000m. They will have difficulty against anything further away, and aren't well suited to attack medium and large bombers.

=== Special armament ===

{{main|MIRAB mine}}
The ship comes with 12 MIRAB mines. These mins are rather small, and should be used mostly against corvettes and smaller vessel. A destroyer will survive a hit without issue, and anything hitting a torpedo bulge won't deal any damages. These are best used in small capture points against other PT boats.

== Usage in battles ==
This ship is mainly a sniper, stay between 2000m and 4000m from PT boats and you'll be fine.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Tier
!Seakeeping
! colspan="2" |Unsinkability
! colspan="3" |Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| IAI
| 85 mm BR-365
|
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
| Smokescreen
| API-T
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
|
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
|
|
|
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
|
|Mines
|
|
|}

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

* 85mm main gun will be useful against all types of targets up to destroyer sized. 14.5mm KPV will help against close aircraft and PT boats
* Armor can withstand up to 12.7mm rounds, this will stop shrapnel and most aircraft guns

*

'''Cons:'''

* Low crew of 14, the compartment aren't fully covered in armor, meaning some HE salvos may knock you out instantly
* low speed of barely over 30kph, making you a great target for canons
* lacks any decent medium/long range AA

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.''

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

== See also ==
''Links to the 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;''
* ''encyclopedia page on ship;''
* ''other literature.''

{{USSR boats}}

Pr.191

2020-12-23T03:56:50Z

U9268341: /* Usage in battles */ added

{{Specs-Card|code=ussr_pr_191}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet armoured gun boat {{Battle-rating|1}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]] when the Soviet fleet was implemented into the game.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

As an "armoured gun boat", the Pr.191 has layers of armour around the hull and bridge to help against small-arms fire from the opposition. Almost all the armour on the boat are of the RHA composition, and so their stated thickness are their actual protection values provided for the ship.

The armour covers the bridge and turrets in all angles. However, despite all this armour in the fuselage enveloping the ship's centre and the rear turret's ammo stowage, it does not cover the bow ammo rack carrying the 85 mm rounds for the main armament; nor does it cover the rear fuel tanks, steering gear, and transmission. Because of this, glancing shots towards the bow and stern of the boat may put the ship into a perilous situation.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Hardened armour (Rear and top 12.7mm dshk turrets)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Bow (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Stern !! Deck
|-
| Hull || 7 mm || 7 mm (0-32°) || 7 mm || 10 mm (0-89°)
|-
| Bridge || 14 mm || 14 mm || 14 mm || 10 mm (90°)
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Main turret || 30 mm (0-42°) ''Front'' 10 mm (23-47°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 30 mm (9-13°) || 30 mm (17°) || 20 mm (88-90°)
|-
| Secondary turrets || 12 mm || 12 mm || 12 mm || 12 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Turret base have an armour thickness of 10 mm. While the bow 85 mm turret base is made of RHA, the stern turret base is made of hardened armour.

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! colspan="3" |Weight (tons)
|-
| colspan="3" |50.3
|-
! colspan="3" | Max Speed (km/h)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|25.2
|__.__
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|25.2
|__.__
|-
|}

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===

{{main|ZiS-C-53 (85 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[ZiS-C-53 (85 mm)|85 mm ZiS-C-53]]
|-
! scope="row" | Vertical guidance
| colspan="6" | -8°/+77°
|-
! scope="row" | Horizontal guidance
| colspan="6" | ±140°
|-
! scope="row" | Ammo capacity
| colspan="6" | 180
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 100m
! 1000m
! 2000m
! 3000m
! 4000m
! 5000m
|-
| 85 mm O-365K || HE || 38 || 30 || 24 || 20 || 16 || 11
|-
| 85 mm BR-365 || APHEBC || 132 || 112 || 193 || 77 || 65 || 55
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| 85 mm O-365K || HE || 785 || 9.54 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 741 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| 85 mm BR-365 || APHEBC || 792 || 9.2 || 1.2 || 15 || 164 || -1° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|}

=== Secondary armament ===

{{main|DShK (12.7 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[DShK (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm DShK]] (x4)
|-
! colspan="6" | Turrets (Bow to stern)
|-
! || Centre turret (x2) || Stern turret (x2)
|-
! scope="row" | Vertical guidance
| colspan="6" | -5°/+85°
|-
! scope="row" | Horizontal guidance
| ±180° || -135°/+145°
|-
! scope="row" | Ammo capacity
| colspan="6" | 8,000
|-
|}

=== Special armament ===

{{main|MIRAB mine}}
This ship comes with 10 MIRAB mines. These mines are rather small, and should be used only against corvette and smaller sized ships Several hits may sink a destroyer from flooding.

== Usage in battles ==
AB -

RB -The Pr.191can be considered a sniper. The armor is not strong enough to stop most HE shells above 50mm, but we can consider this ship mainly 12.7mm proof, it can even withstand some 20mm rounds from afar. The player should try to stay between 2000m and 4000m where his 85mm gun will perform best. The dual 12.7 Dshk turrets can help against the occasional aircraft, but don't expect too much from them. Any ship with APHE over 37mm will shred you apart. Your ammo aren't protected well, another reason to stay afar.

The size of this ship means larger vessels main not target you, nor even see you, while your 85mm still can hurt quite badly destroyers.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Tier
!Seakeeping
! colspan="2" |Unsinkability
! colspan="3" |Firepower
|-
|I
|Dry-Docking
|Tool Set
|
|12.7 mm HE belts
|85 mm BR-365
|
|-
|II
|Rudder Replacement
|Fire Protection System
|Smokescreen
|12.7 mm APIT belts
|Auxiliary Armament Targeting
|
|-
|III
|Propeller Replacement
|
|
|
|Primary Armament Targeting
|Improved Rangefinder
|-
|IV
|Engine Maintenance
|New Pumps
|
|Mines
|
|
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Possesses a whoppin' 85 mm cannon to pick off targets
* Relatively thin profile, presents a rather small target when facing enemy face-on

'''Cons:'''

* The main 85 mm gun is limited towards only the front and bits of the sides
* Is covered in armour... except for the front ammo rack and rear mobility modules and fuel tanks
* Small crew complement

== History ==

Following the Soviet's experience with the [[Pr.1124 (1945)|Pr.1124]] and 1125 armoured boats, development for an improved successor came in the immediate post-war period of 1946, assigned to Central Design Bureau №19 (TsKB-19) at Leningrad. The improvements were for more armour, an 85 mm gun, two 12.7 mm machine guns and powered by the T-34 V-12 diesel engine.<ref name="Navpedia_191M" /> The boat developed as the '''Project 191''' in Shipyard №344 at the city of Molotov (today known as Perm).<ref name="Navpedia_191" /><ref name="RusShip_191" />

The single unit produced was designated '''BK-166'''.<ref name="Navpedia_191" /><ref name="RusShip_191" /> From the ship's development, improvements were made with M-50 diesel engines and 14.5 mm machine guns that would be used in succeeding units as the ''[[Pr.191M|Project 191M]]'',<ref name="Navpedia_191M" /> of which 118 units would be produced.<ref name="RusShip_191" />

== Media ==
''An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.''

== See also ==


* [[Pr.191M]] - Main production variant of the ship, with the main improvements in machine gun armaments and mobility.

== External links ==


* [http://www.navypedia.org/ships/russia/ru_cf_bk191.htm [Navypedia<nowiki>]</nowiki> BK-166 armoured motor gunboat (project 191) (1946)]
* [http://russianships.info/eng/warfareboats/ [RussianShips.info<nowiki>]</nowiki> Project 191]

{{USSR boats}}

<references>
<ref name="Navpedia_191">Gogin, Ivan. "BK-166 armoured motor gunboat (project 191) (1946)." Navypedia, [http://www.navypedia.org/ships/russia/ru_cf_bk191.htm Website].</ref>
<ref name="Navpedia_191M">Gogin, Ivan. "BK-167 Armoured Motor Gunboats (Project 191M) (1947 - 1953)." Navypedia, [http://www.navypedia.org/ships/russia/ru_cf_bk167.htm Website].</ref>
<ref name="RusShip_191">Brichevsky, Andrew and Volkov, Roman. “Gun Boat - Project 191.” RussianShips.info, [http://russianships.info/eng/warfareboats/project_191.htm Website].</ref>
</references>

Pr.1204 late

2020-12-23T01:53:25Z

U9268341: Corrected a few descriptions about armament

{{Specs-Card|code=ussr_pr_1204_late}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet armoured gun boat {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update 1.79 "Project X"]] when the Soviet fleet was implemented into the game. It bears strong resemblance to the [[Pr.1124 (1940)]], and inherits its main gun and its tactics.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

The turret is the most heavily armoured section of the ship with 15 mm of RHA, meaning that it cannot be knocked out by HE shells under 100 mm in calibre. In addition, the bridge and Automatic Grenade Launchers are protected by thin layer of hardened armour, making them more resistant against low-calibre HE. However, this armour is insufficient to stop large-calibre autocannon fire or armour-piercing machine gun rounds.

In addition, there is an armoured compartment protecting the engine. This gives some resistance against engine knockouts, which will help the stock grind (before FPE).

=== Mobility ===


The ship has a moderate top speed both forward and reverse, meaning that you will never be the first to capture points. Your stopping time is also somewhat poor, and so to turn round it would be better to do a U-turn in most cases. However, your rudder speed is good, and gets much better with the modification installed, so avoiding torpedoes is not an issue for the Pr. 1204.

{{NavalMobility}}

== Armament ==
=== Primary armament ===

{{main|D-56TS (76 mm)}}

The primary armament is roughly the same as the Pr. 1124, and offers no new shell types. It is conveniently mounted on the bow of the boat, with a blind spot directly behind the boat. Being moderately armoured, it is rarely knocked out. HE shells are sufficient against most boats, but it is sensible to carry some of the APHE as well especially to face some Russian armored boats, where your 11mm of penetration with HE rounds won't be enough.

Use HE at all times, especially at longer ranges, because the APHE needs a solid hit to damage anything.

=== Secondary armament ===

{{main|2M-3 (25 mm)}}

The dual 25mm turret tears aircraft apart in a few hits, and it can help against very fast PT boats. A small group of these boats together with a destroyer have a decent combined AA.

=== Anti-aircraft armament ===

{{main|BP "Plamya" (30 mm)}}

The "anti-air" armament of 4 x 30 mm grenade launchers is largely ineffective at ranges of over 1 km. It is useful, however, in close quarters fighting (though not recommended), or for fending off patrol boats that get too close, something that is very challenging with only the main gun. This is a major improvement over the Pr. 1124, which had to use its 12.7 mm machine guns for this, leaving it vulnerable from the air.

Note that the grenade launchers are classified as AA, but the true AA is your 25mm gun, which you will use against pretty much anything.

=== Special armament ===

{{main|BM-14-17|YAM-43 mine}}

Like prior Soviet river boats, there is an option to mount a ''Katyusha'' rocket launcher on the back. This can be effective against large or static targets, making up for the lack of torpedoes.

Note: this artillery rocket launcher has a larger caliber than others in the tech tree. This will allow you to fire up to 17 rocket 3km away, very effective against destroyers.

You also have the option to carry a few mines. These mines are very small, and were supposed to be used in rivers. Using them against destroyers has very little effect, even several of them. These are supposed to be used against other PT boats, and are not really worth the trouble.

== Usage in battles ==

The Pr. 1204 late is very similar in playstyle to the [[Pr.1124 (1940)]], which you will have played before this boat. Remaining at long range is still important due to your high repair cost and thin armour, however more ships have guns capable of engaging at range at the higher BR. You have better defence against fast and evasive enemies and air power thanks to your 25 mm AA gun and the 30 mm grenade launchers, but these can be easily overwhelmed by large numbers of enemies. You are also still relatively flammable, and going into close-quarters battle is not recommended.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! Seakeeping
! colspan="2" | Unsinkability
! colspan="3" | Firepower
|-
| I
| Dry-Docking
| Tool Set
|
| 25 mm HE magazines
| Anti-Air Armament Targeting
|
|-
| II
| Rudder Replacement
| Fire Protection System
| Smokescreen
| 25 mm AP magazines
| Auxiliary Armament Targeting
| 53-BR-354
|-
| III
| Propeller Replacement
|
|
| Rocket Launcher
| Primary Armament Targeting
| Improved Rangefinder
|-
| IV
| Engine Maintenance
| New Pumps
|
| Mines
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Has a 30 mm grenade launcher weapon for defence in close quarter battles
* Effective AA turret
* Powerful main gun
* Rocket launcher highly effective on a hit
* Moderate armour protects well against small arms fire
* Good turn rate to avoid torpedoes

'''Cons:'''

* 30 mm grenade launcher has short range
* Only one AA turret easily overwhelmed
* Only one main gun, unlike Pr. 1124
* Rocket launcher is very difficult to hit with (similar to [[MO-4]])
* Armour is insufficient against 20 mm autocannons present on many boats at this BR
* Low top speed

== History ==

The Pr.1204 (Or Shmel) class of river boats were developed in the mid 1960's as a successor to the USSR's aging fleet of WWII era river boats. 118 Shmel class river boats were built between 1967 and 1974. The boats were designed specifically to operate in shallow waters, such as rivers or littoral waters. The Shmel class was designed to support operations in rivers or shallow water conditions such as denying waterway passages, protecting harbors supporting troop movements, as well as providing fire support form ship to shore scenarios. As of 2017, several are still in service with the Russian Navy, with at least 4 assigned to the Caspian fleet.<ref>https://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=shmel-class-artillery-gunboat-soviet-union</ref>

== 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 ==


* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=shmel-class-artillery-gunboat-soviet-union [Military Factory<nowiki>]</nowiki> Shmel (class) / Project 1204 Armored Artillery Gunboat / Patrol Boat]

=== References ===
<references />

{{USSR boats}}

Harrier GR.1

2020-12-11T22:32:20Z

U9268341:

{{Specs-Card|code=harrier_gr1}}
{{About
| about = British jet fighter '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Harrier (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a premium rank {{Specs|rank}} British jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "New Power"]]. Like all members of the [[Harrier (Family)|Harrier family]], the Harrier GR.1 is a [[VTOL]] aircraft with thrust vectoring nozzles, which allow it to take off and land vertically.

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 1,124 || 1,118 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 32.5 || 33.9 || 63.0 || 61.5 || rowspan="2" | 550
|-
! Upgraded
| 1,143 || 1,133 || 31.5 || 32.0 || 98.5 || 80.0
|-
|}

==== Details ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="6" | Features
|-
! Combat flaps !! Take-off flaps !! Landing flaps !! Air brakes !! Arrestor gear !! Drogue chute
|-
| X || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || X || X 
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || N/A || 833 || 556 || ~14 || ~6
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 648 || < 950 || < 790 || N/A
|-
|}

==== Engine performance ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine
! colspan="5" | Aircraft mass
|-
! colspan="2" | Engine name || Number
! colspan="2" | {{Annotation|Basic Mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot, engine oil, and full water tank; but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="3" | Wing loading (full fuel)
|-
| colspan="2" | Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk.101 || 1
| colspan="2" | 5,868 kg || colspan="3" | 439 kg/m2
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine characteristics
! colspan="4" | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) || rowspan="2" | Max Takeoff Weight
|-
! Weight (each) || colspan="2" | Type
! 10m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 34m fuel
|-
| 1,640 kg || colspan="2" | Vectored-thrust low-bypass turbofan
| 6,542 kg || 7,216 kg || 7,890 kg || 8,160 kg || 12,679 kg
|-
! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)|The maximum thrust produced by each engine, while mounted in the aircraft. NOTE: Thrust varies significantly depending on speed & altitude.}}
! colspan="5" | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
|-
! Condition || 100% || WEP
! 10m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 34m fuel || MTOW
|-
| ''Stationary'' || 8,708 kgf || 9,240 kgf
| 1.41 || 1.28 || 1.17 || 1.13 || 0.73
|-
| ''Optimal'' || 8,708 kgf (0 km/h) || 9,240 kgf (0 km/h)
| 1.41 || 1.28 || 1.17 || 1.13 || 0.73
|-
|}
{{Notice|The Pegasus engine loses a significant amount of thrust as your speed increases}}

=== Survivability and armour ===


The Harrier GR.1 has no armour. The engine and all fuel tanks are packed in a tight cluster in the centre of the fuselage.

All harriers, given a skilled pilot, can return to base with critical damages as long as the engine is in one piece.

It is possible to lose a wing, even 2 wings, and still make it back to base alive. This has to be done at VTOL speeds, meaning under 300kph, making you a big target.

== Armaments ==
=== Offensive armament ===

{{main|ADEN Mk.4 (30 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is armed with:

* 2 x 30 mm ADEN Mk.4 cannons, belly-mounted (200 rpg = 400 total)

=== Suspended armament ===

{{main|H.E. M.C. Mk.II (500 lb)|G.P. Mk.I (1,000 lb)|SRAAM|SNEB type 23}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

* Without load
* 5 x 500 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.II bombs (2,500 lb total)
* 4 x 500 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.II bombs (2,000 lb total)
* 3 x 1,000 lb G.P. Mk.I bombs (3,000 lb total)
* 4 x 1,000 lb G.P. Mk.I bombs (4,000 lb total)
* 108 x SNEB type 23 rockets
* 4 x SRAAM missiles
* 4 x SRAAM missiles + 3 x 500 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.II bombs (1,500 lb total)
* 4 x SRAAM missiles + 3 x 1,000 lb G.P. Mk.I bombs (3,000 lb total)
* 4 x SRAAM missiles + 72 x SNEB type 23 rockets

== Usage in battles ==


Despite having a weaker engine than other members of the [[Harrier (Family)|Harrier family]], the Harrier GR.1 still possesses exceptional acceleration and rate of climb. Coupled with a decent selection of load-outs (including the extremely powerful [[SRAAM]] missiles), and VTOL capability; this makes the Harrier GR.1 a very potent aircraft for both air-to-air combat and ground attack.

Generally a good way to start the game in the Harrier GR.1, when you are are facing aircraft around your BR or lower, is to takeoff and use your incredible accelerate and climb rate to get up and above the enemy aircraft. Climb slightly to the side of the battle and once you have sufficient altitude begin to swoop down on enemy aircraft below you, dispensing of them with your SRAAMs, or ADEN cannons. When climbing it is best to keep the throttle at only 90-95%, and to not use WEP; even at 90% throttle the mighty Pegasus engine is still capable of giving the Harrier a very impressive climb rate. This is advisable as the Harrier only has about 90 seconds of total WEP time, and there are better uses for it than climbing; in addition the Pegasus engine is not designed to be run a full power for extended periods of time and will overheat if left on 100% throttle for too long. As the battle goes on you can drop down to lower altitude to engage your enemies; you should generally avoid turn fighting, instead opting to make high speed attacks from the side of enemies. How much fuel you take is up to you: the minimum load of 10 minutes gives you an incredible thrust to weight ratio and can be enough for short battles, however it is not enough to last longer battles without refuelling.

When facing enemy aircraft which are mostly above your BR (i.e. top tier jets) you need to be much more cautious when taking the climbing approach. Against top tier jets the Harrier's climb rate is less impressive, and being at high altitude leaves you vulnerable to attack from long range [[Air-to-air_missiles#Semi-Active_Radar_Homing_.28SARH.29_missiles|semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile]], an issue exacerbated by the Harrier GR.1's lack of a radar warning receiver. In such battles it is better to stay low and fast, picking off top tier jets with fast approaches from the side, or by forcing an overshoot (thrust vectoring helps with this).
[[File:Harrier SRAAM Kill.mp4|thumb|400px|right|Getting a side-attack kill with an SRAAM. When launched in this way the SRAAMs are extremely hard to dodge.]]
The primary air-to-air weapon of the Harrier GR.1 are its four incredibly powerful [[SRAAM]] missiles. The SRAAMs are missiles of extremes, outside of 1.0 - 1.2 km they are near useless, however once you get to within 1.2 km of your target they transform into one of the hardest missiles in the game to dodge. The thrust vectoring nature of SRAAMs make them extremely manoeuvrable and hard to dodge, but mean the missiles cannot manoeuvre at all after the motor burns out, significantly limiting their range. To get the most out of SRAAMs you need to play to their advantages, the SRAAMs' poor range means that firing them from directly behind a target while chasing them is not the best idea unless you are very close, have a speed advantage, or the target is manoeuvring. Instead, the optimal way to use SRAAMs is to approach perpendicular to the target and attempt to obtain a lock from as far out as possible. With a lock obtained you should close on the target from the side; as you approach the 1.2 km mark you should turn into the target and "lead" the missile like you would your guns. Fire the missile within 1 km of the target and there is little they will be able to do about it; the SRAAM's extreme manoeuvrability allows them to follow the target through most evasive manoeuvres. A video of this method can be seen to the right. A key weakness of the SRAAMs (other than their limited range) is that they are highly susceptible to flares. You should either pick targets not equipped with flares, or if a target is equipped with flares try to attack when they are distracted or approach from an angle where you will hopefully not be noticed until it is too late.

While the addition of SRAAMs makes the Harrier GR.1 a potent fighter, it was designed as a ground attack aircraft, and it is very capable at filling this role in-game. The Harrier GR.1 has a good selection of bombs or rockets, coupled with a [[Ballistic Computer|ballistic computer]] providing CCIP this makes the Harrier a powerful ground attacker in both air and ground battles. In air battles the two ADEN cannons are very effective at killing ground targets up to medium tanks and light pillboxes (a task made easier with the ballistic computer), and have a plentiful ammo supply. The ability to reliably kill ground targets is useful for both opportunistic attacks for extra RP and for winning matches (if it comes to it).

The defining feature of the Harrier GR.1 is of course its [[VTOL]] (Vertical Take Off and Landing) capability; while this might at first seem like a "party trick" with limited utility there are situations where it can be surprisingly useful. Obviously VTOL allows for short/vertical takeoffs, and while conventional takeoffs are usually the better option (you typically get up to speed quicker) there are occasions where such capability is desirable (e.g. getting out of the way of players strafing the airfield). A more useful feature of VTOL on takeoff is that it allows the Harrier to take-off from aircraft carriers. Taking off from carriers allows you approach the battle from a different angle, sometimes this an be tactically useful depending on how you want to play the match. Where carriers particularly come in useful is if you need to rearm, but suspect the enemy is waiting for you at your main airfield. Some maps allow you to chose from multiple aircraft carriers to spawn on. These will be one of the [[wt:en/news/6925-development-new-ai-aircraft-carriers-en|three modern carriers]]; there is little to choose from between USS Forrestal and HMS Ark Royal (the Forrestal is a bit larger), however Baku is a little more interesting. If you go with USS Forrestal and HMS Ark Royal you get a speed boost on conventional takeoff (simulating a catapult launch); on Baku you get no such boost, requiring you to use your VTOL capability, but the Baku does have significantly better anti-air protection than the other carriers. Regardless of which aircraft carrier you land on the Harrier has no tail hook or drogue chute, so you will need to make use of your VTOL capability when landing.

Where the Harrier's VTOL capability makes the aircraft unique is in the ability to vector the exhaust nozzles to any angle you want during forward flight, at any speed. Vectoring the nozzles will typically lead to very rapid speed loss and therefore should only be done in certain situations. The most basic use of thrust vectoring is for forcing an overshoot, with the air brake deployed and nozzles fully vectored (so pointing slightly in reverse) the Harrier will slow down quite a bit faster than other aircraft; you can use this to make the aircraft on your tail overshoot then hit them with an SRAAM as they fly past. This technique should only be used as a last resort in one-on-one battles though, as you will lose all of your energy and leave you vulnerable to any other enemy aircraft in the area. A more advanced use is to vector the nozzles during turns to enhance turning performance; while deflecting the nozzles will make you lose speed quicker and thus hurt sustained turning performance it can sometimes give you the little bit extra instantaneous turning performance you need to get guns on target, or dodge an enemy attack. You will need to practice and find for yourself the correct balance between turning performance and speed loss in different situations. A more obscure situation in which thrust vectoring can help is when pulling out of a dive, if you have left it too late then pointing the nozzles downwards can sometimes give you enough lift to avoid hitting the ground.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Flight performance
! Survivability
! colspan="2" | Weaponry
|-
| I
|Fuselage repair
|Compressor
|
|Offensive 30 mm
|2 500 LB GP
|-
| II
|New boosters
|
|Airframe
|
|1000 LB GP
|-
| III
|Wings repair
|Engine
|
|New 30 mm cannons
|Matra SNEB
|-
| IV
|G-suit
|
|Cover
|
|SRAAM
|-
! colspan="6" | This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Exceptional thrust to weight ratio
* Extremely good acceleration
* Is a thrust vectoring VTOL aircraft
** Can take off/land vertically
** Nozzles can be deflected in flight to help with manoeuvring
* Extremely powerful [[SRAAM]] missiles
* Has a [[Ballistic Computer]]

'''Cons:'''

* Limited WEP duration of ~90 seconds
* Engine overheats if left at high throttle setting for too long
* Although deflecting nozzles in flight can help with manoeuvrability doing so bleeds a lot of speed
* Weaker engine than other [[Harrier (Family)|Harriers]]

== History ==

=== [[wt:en/news/6918-development-jump-jets-arrive-in-war-thunder-meet-the-harrier-en|Devblog]] ===
In the late 1950's, the Bristol company was conducting work on developing an engine featuring innovative thrust vectoring technology. Hawker, impressed with the new engine, began closely working with Bristol to develop an aircraft which could successfully harness the full potential of the Pegasus thrust vectoring engine. The basic idea was to design an aircraft with V/STOL capabilities. From that point, the project became known as the P.1127.

In the early 1960's, a growing interest for V/STOL strike aircraft could be observed among most NATO member states. This resulted in an agreement between the US, Great Britain and West Germany in 1961 to order nine modified versions of the P.1127 - the first versions of which were test flown in the previous year - as evaluators. At the same time, the British evaluation aircraft received the designation Kestrel FGA.1.

Despite suffering setbacks with the P.1154 - a supersonic version of the aircraft developed by Hawker in parallel - evaluations of the Kestrel continued as planned during the early 1960's and concluded in November of 1965. After the P.1154 was ultimately cancelled, the RAF, pleased with the evaluation results of the Kestrel, put up a requirement to modify the Kestrel and placed an order for six pre-production aircraft, designated P.1127 (RAF). Following its maiden flight in August of 1966, the RAF extended the purchase order to 60 production aircraft, now receiving the official designation Harrier GR.1.

The Harrier GR.1 undertook its maiden flight in December 1967 and officially entered service with the RAF in April of 1969. Being involved early on with the aircraft's development, the US also expressed interest in procuring the Harrier. This ultimately resulted in a partnership agreement between Hawker Siddeley and McDonnell Douglas in the late 1960's for a large delivery of Harriers to the USMC in the early 1970's. In US service, the aircraft would receive the designation 'AV-8 Harrier'.

The Harrier was initially deployed with British forces in West Germany in the early 1970's. However, the Harrier saw the peak of its service career during the Falkland War in 1982, flying both ground attack as well as combat air patrol missions (modification Sea Harrier FRS.1) with great success, thus earning itself a high reputation.

Apart from British and American service, variants of the Harrier were also operated by Spain, Thailand and India. In total, around 270 Harriers were produced across all variants with the last being decommissioned from active service in the early 2000's. The original Harrier was subsequently succeeded by a further developed variant - the Harrier II - but more importantly, it had successfully proven the viability of V/STOL aircraft, thus generating a sustained interest in such designs which can still be seen today.

== Media ==


<gallery mode="packed" heights="250">
File:Harrier GR.1A XV755.png|A Harrier GR.1A (XV755) pulling away from the burning wreck of an enemy after firing an SRAAM at close range.Note the port side missile cover missing, indicating a fired missile
File:Harriers XV755 & XZ145.png|2 Harrier GR.1s of No.1 Sqn RAF (marketplace camo) & 899 Naval Air Squadron (user skin) are seen flying in formation during a battle
</gallery><gallery mode="packed" caption="Harrier GR.1 Devblog Images" heights="180">
File:Harrier GR.1 WTWallpaper 001.jpg|
File:Harrier GR.1 WTWallpaper 002.jpg|
File:Harrier GR.1 WTWallpaper 003.jpg|
File:Harrier GR.1 WTWallpaper 004.jpg|
File:Harrier GR.1 WTWallpaper 005.jpg|
File:Harrier GR.1 WTWallpaper 006.jpg|
</gallery>

== See also ==


*[[Harrier GR.3]]
*[[AV-8A]]
*[[AV-8C]]
*[[Yak-38]]
*[[Yak-38M]]
*[[Jaguar GR.1]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6918-development-jump-jets-arrive-in-war-thunder-meet-the-harrier-en|[Devblog] Jump Jets arrive in War Thunder: Meet the Harrier]]

{{AirManufacturer Hawker}}
{{Britain jet aircraft}}
{{Britain premium aircraft}}

Su-7BKL

2020-12-11T22:26:34Z

U9268341: /* Flight performance */

{{Specs-Card|code=su-7bkl}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Soviet jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Raining Fire"]].

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===

The Su-7BKL is not a fighter, Without additional weapons, its top speed is its only advantage in a fight. Boom and Zoom tactics are recommended.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 11,000 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 2,166 || 2,151 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 27.5 || 28.5 || 168.0 || 159.6 || rowspan="2" | 1,250
|-
! Upgraded
| ___ || ___ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._
|-
|}

==== Details ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="6" | Features
|-
! Combat flaps !! Take-off flaps !! Landing flaps !! Air brakes !! Arrestor gear !! Drogue chute
|-
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || X || ✓ 
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} ||700||520||473|| ~10 || ~3
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 700 || < 650 || < 600 || N/A
|-
|}

==== Engine performance ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine
! colspan="5" | Aircraft mass
|-
! colspan="2" | Engine name || Number
! colspan="2" | {{Annotation|Basic Mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot and engine oil, but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="3" | Wing loading (full fuel)
|-
| colspan="2" | Saturn AL-7F-1-250 || 1
| colspan="2" | 8,446 kg || colspan="3" | 343 kg/m2
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine characteristics
! colspan="4" | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) || rowspan="2" | Max Takeoff Weight
|-
! Weight (each) || colspan="2" | Type
! 9m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 31m fuel
|-
| 2,200 kg || colspan="2" | Afterburning axial-flow turbojet
| 9,380 kg || 10,522 kg || 11,560 kg || 11,664 kg || 15,010 kg
|-
! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)|The maximum thrust produced by each engine, while mounted in the aircraft. NOTE: Thrust varies significantly depending on speed & altitude.}}
! colspan="5" | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
|-
! Condition || 100% || WEP
! 9m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 31m fuel || MTOW
|-
| ''Stationary'' || 5,848 kgf || 8,257 kgf
| 0.88 || 0.78 || 0.71 || 0.71 || 0.55
|-
| ''Optimal'' || 6,664 kgf (1,000 km/h) || 9,974 kgf (1,000 km/h)
| 1.06 || 0.95 || 0.86 || 0.86 || 0.66
|-
|}

=== Survivability and armour ===

Pilot: Pilot is protected by light aluminum plates and an armored glass. These will not stop 20mm AP frontally, but offer a decent protection from the rear.

Engine: The engine is only protected by fuel tanks underneath. These can reduce the damages of shrapnel hitting the engine, but this is it.

Flight controls: The flight control's cables go underneath the fuselage, and have a good chance to stay in one piece when being hit.

The aircraft does not come with flares nor RWR, it will struggle against anything higher than its BR.

== Armaments ==
=== Offensive armament ===

{{main|NR-30 (30 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is armed with:

* 2 x 30 mm NR-30 cannons, wing-mounted (80 rpg = 160 total)

=== Suspended armament ===

{{main|OFAB-250-270 (250 kg)|FAB-500M-54 (500 kg)|S-3K|S-5K|S-24}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

* Without load
* 96 x S-5K rockets
* 160 x S-5K rockets
* 6 x S-24 rockets
* 42 x S-3K rockets
* 6 x 250 kg OFAB-250-270 bombs (1,500 kg total)
* 4 x 500 kg FAB-500M-54 bombs (2,000 kg total)
* 4 x 500 kg FAB-500M-54 bombs + 2 x 250 kg OFAB-250-270 bombs (2,500 kg total)

== Usage in battles ==

''Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Flight performance
! Survivability
! colspan="3" | Weaponry
|-
| I
|Fuselage repair
|Compressor
|
|Offensive 30 mm
|
|UB-16
|-
| II
|New boosters
|
|Airframe
|
|FAB-250
|UB-32
|-
| III
|Wings repair
|
|
|New 30 mm cannons
|
|S-3K
|-
| IV
|G-suit
|Engine
|Cover
|
|FAB-500
|C-24
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good horizontal flight speed
* Large variety of mounted weapons

'''Cons:'''

* Mediocre controllability
* No guided weapons

== History ==

''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==

''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==

''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
* ''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;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the aircraft;''
* ''other literature.''

{{AirManufacturer Sukhoi}}
{{USSR jet aircraft}}