S-38b
Contents
Description
The S-38b is a rank II German motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X" as part of the fleet closed beta test.
General info
Survivability and armour
The S-38b is nearly identical to the S-38 in terms of survivability. The S-38b has the same hull construction and composition, yet the bridge is constructed of 10 mm thick anti-fragmentation armour. This means the bridge is more resilient to damage on the S-38b than S-38.
Mobility
The S-38b is also nearly identical to the S-38 in terms of mobility. It too is quick and agile. The difference is that the S-38b is slightly quicker forwards at 106 KPH (66 MPH).
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 106 | 33 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 76 | 24 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
While good but not excellent, the 20 mm cannons are capable guns for shredding lightly armoured boats and low-flying aircraft. However, the short clip capacity tends to be an issue. While using this guns, the aiming must be really accurate. Being lightweight guns, the turning speed and aiming speed are very fast and accurate. This should be used as an advantage as this reduces the risk of being flanked and surprised attacked by enemy boats and aircraft.
Secondary armament
The main difference between the S-38 and the S-38b is the presence of MG34 machine guns. These machine guns are more suited towards firing upon aircraft instead of ships; citing their meagre calibre. The machine guns are mounted behind the bridge and are initially aimed upwards. The location of these machine guns allows them to fire on either side of the ship, and fire upon aircraft.
Additional armament
The S-38b is armed with two torpedos that have a max range of 6 km (14 km with torpedo mode). They can be used almost at point blank, the torpedos must travel 50 m at minimum to be armed (most of the time "point blank" engagements will be between 100-500 m). Depending on the map, game mode and captain's discretion, the torpedo depth can be adjusted in order to target specific ships.
1 meter depth:
This is the most universal depth used for all types of engagements, being in deep water or at shallow waters. This depth is capable of hitting all sorts of vessels, including PT boats. The main downside is that enemy ships can see the water trail made by the torpedo which can make enemy vessels evade or fire at the torpedo.
4 meter depth:
This is the recommended depth when trying to perform long range sneaky engagements of large ships in deep waters. This is one of the riskier techniques as there is no way to launch them in shallow waters (most shallow water maps have water depth of 2-3 m). Only the captain and the team will be able to see the torpedo symbol while traveling close to them and it will not leave any visible water trail compared to the 1 meter depth torpedo.
| Torpedo Characteristics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torpedo Mode | Mass (kg) | Maximum speed in water (km/h) | Travel distance (km) | Depth stroke (m) | Arming distance (m) | Explosive type | Explosive mass (kg) | TNT equivalent (kg) |
| No | 1528 | 81 | 6.00 | 1 | 50 | SW39a | 280 | 358.4 |
| Yes | 1528 | 55.8 | 14.00 | 1 | 50 | SW39a | 280 | 358.4 |
The S-38b can be armed with WBD depth charges. It is not recommended to load them in the ship as they do not have any practical use in-game besides being a last resort weapon.
Usage in battles
The S-38b has a similar playstyle to the S-38: a fast, agile, lightly armoured but well-armed craft. They main purpose of this vessel is to rush capture points and support other boats. This ship should never face enemies alone due to its light armour that can be easily penetrated by the guns seen at the battle rating, specially the 3-in guns mounted on American and British sub-chasers. Instead, the S-38b should travel with other ships, essentially making the enemy engage in a single target while being engaged by 2-3 or more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Very close to the S-38, one can switch from the S-38 with no special learning required
- Very mobile
- Cannons offer effective stopping power for single target engagements
- Torpedoes are very viable in combat, as they are mounted conveniently and deal significant damage
- Inexpensive to operate
- Good crew size
Cons:
- Hull offers minimal protection
- Key components are close together (ammo is near engines, radio room is near the bridge)
- Cannons have limited capacity per magazine
- Does not do well in numerical inferiority
- Even with additional MG 34s, anti-air coverage is minimal
History
S-38b was a subclass of S-38 class Schnellboots (S-boots), these being later production ships. The S-38b class added an armoured bridge to the design due to the lack of protection for the bridge on the original S-38 class. It was known as the Kalotte (Eng: skull cap) because of its round shape. The S-38b class was eventually equipped with more powerful Daimler Benz MB 501 diesel engines, increasing the maximum speed.
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Germany boats | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | LS 3 · LS 4 Esau · KM-5 · VS-10 |
| S-38 · S-38b · S-100 · S-147 · S-204 Lang · S-701 | |
| R-301 | |
| V-990 | |
| Jaguar · Hugin · Pfeil | |
| Motor gun boats | R-41 · R-130 · Krischan der Große |
| Motor torpedo gun boats | Albatros · Bussard · MZ1 · Pr. 206 |
| Minelayers | VS-8 |
