Drache

Drache

Drache

Description

The R-1-class, Drache is a rank German sub-chaser with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Sons of Attila".

General info

Survivability and armour

While it has barely any armour like the majority of coastal ships, the Drache is compensated for by its huge crew complement of 300 and plenty of hull space, thus significantly buffing its survivability.

Mobility

The Drache is rather slow, with its two diesel engines barely competing with various submarine chasers found at its BR.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded

Armament

Primary armament

The Drache has a pair of 88 mm guns, which are perfect for combating larger opponents you may face (e.g. Japanese submarine chasers). The HE rounds can be used to make short work of any PT boats while the APCBC shells may be saved for more heavily-armoured boats like the MBK pr.186 which are more common at your BR.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		100 m	1,000 m	2,000 m	3,000 m	4,000 m	5,000 m
Spgr. L/4.5 Lh 31	HE	11	11	11	11	11	11
Spgr. L/4.5 Br. Lh 31	HEF-I	11	11	11	11	11	11
PzGr 39	APCBC	146	124	104	88	74	62

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Spgr. L/4.5 Lh 31	HE	700	9	0	0.1	698	79°	80°	81°
Spgr. L/4.5 Br. Lh 31	HEF-I	700	9	0	0.1	698	79°	80°	81°
PzGr 39	APCBC	773	10.2	0.8	28	108.8	48°	63°	71°

Secondary armament

In addition to the 88 mm guns, there are also two dual 37 mm mounts, with a choice of AP and HE shells. They should be kept as second-hand weapons as their rate of fire is lesser than their autocannon counterparts.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Spgr L/4.1 Lh 37	HE	2	2	2	2	2	2
Psgr L'spur Zerl	APCBC	87	84	71	58	48	39

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Spgr L/4.1 Lh 37	HE	1,000	0.75	0	0.1	27.4	79°	80°	81°
Psgr L'spur Zerl	APCBC	1,000	0.82	1.3	15	37.4	48°	63°	71°

Anti-aircraft armament

The Drache sports an extremely powerful anti-aircraft arsenal of two 20 mm Flakvierling 38 guns and two Flakzwilling 38 guns, which can shred any aircraft or PT boat that would be foolish enough to dare and try to approach you.

Additional armament

While both the mines and depth charges are potent if utilized correctly, they are purely situational and may act more as a larger ammo rack than an effective weapon; It is advised not to bring them with you.

Usage in battles

The Drache is a powerful yet slow ship and should be played as such. Since you have a coastal spawn, one such tactic would be to try and provide fire support for your team, taking out PT boats with ease as you hobble over to the capture point. Once you reach the capture point, defending it should be your top priority. You can use your potent 88 mm guns at this point to knock out enemies your team would otherwise have trouble dealing with (e.g. AA ferries or the Albatros).

Another tactic you can use is to be the damage absorber of your team, using your huge amounts of empty space to soak up large amounts of damage while also shielding the rest of your teammates. Though you are capable of withstanding torpedoes, depth charges and some bombs, you are not invincible. Some players may try and stick very close to you to take advantage of your non-existent gun depression and to incapacitate you. However if you react quickly enough with your 20 mm guns this can be avoided.

Enemies worth noting

• Any Soviet boats above 3.7 (MPK Pr.12412, SKR-7): Should you get uptiered, these boats will be your greatest concern. Their 76 mm guns have a significantly faster fire rate than yours, leaving you with little chances to return fire. It is advised not to engage them at any cost, unless you have no other choice.
• Destroyers (USS Litchfield, Kerch): Various destroyers like the aforementioned are in plentiful supply around your BR, and their armament significantly outweighs yours. While they might have a harder time trying to sink you than most other ships due to your large amounts of empty space that will absorb damage, it is also strongly advised not to engage them.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Accurate main guns that can knock out PT boats in a few hits
• Powerful secondary armament
• Large and empty hull space allows the boat to absorb hits from bombs and enemy fire
• Huge crew count for a boat with coastal spawn

Cons:

• Has only two main guns that is too weak to effectively damage destroyers or frigates
• Very slow and sluggish to manoeuvre
• Large and easily recognisable profile

History

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

Media

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.

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft
Minelayer
R-1-class	Drache(*)**
Battleships
Helgoland-class	SMS Helgoland*
Bayern-class	SMS Bayern*
	*Previously Howaldtswerke, Kiel **Previously Deutsche Werft, Hamburg (*)KB Zmaj before it was captured by Nazi Germany

Germany sub-chasers
M-class	M-17 · M-802
R-1-class	Drache
Project 89.2	Bernau