HMS Enterprise
Contents
Description
The Emerald-class, HMS Enterprise (D52), 1944 is a rank III British light cruiser with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea" as part of the British fleet closed beta test.
HMS Enterprise was the second of the so-called Emerald-class cruisers. Unlike her sister, the lead ship HMS Emerald, Enterprise was completed with a prototype twin 6-inch gun turret instead of two single 6-inch mounts. Designed during World War I for speed first and foremost, the two Emerald-class cruisers were still the fastest British cruisers in service at the outbreak of World War II, more than a decade after they were first commissioned.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Enterprise has distributed anti-fragmentation armour plating around the hull. The machinery, engine spaces, and amidships 6-inch gun magazines are protected by a 76 mm armoured belt that reaches up to the upper deck. Towards the bow, the belt reduces to 38.1 mm and reaches up to the tip of the bow. The belt is thickened over the bow 6-inch gun magazine and shell room to 57.1 mm. Towards the stern, the armour belt reduces to 50.8 mm, covering the magazines and shell rooms of the stern 6-inch guns. It is important to note that there are gaps in the armour plating through which the stern-most magazine can be hit from certain angles. In addition, the belt does not reach the end of the stern, and in particular, the steering gear is unprotected by armour.
The entire deck is covered by 25.4 mm plating, and there are five 25.4 mm internal bulkheads also protecting the main gun magazines and subdividing the ship.
The twin 6-inch turret is protected by 25.4 mm of armour, as are the single mounts. The single mounts are, however, open-backed, so they are more vulnerable to nearby HE shell explosions and splinters. Finally, all 20 mm Oerlikon mounts (twin and single) have 12.7 mm armour plating facing the front of the mounts.
The Enterprise's main gun ammunition magazines are quite well protected by armour plating. However, they are all located well above the waterline and sited under each main gun mount, hence there is a lot of main gun ammunition scattered around the ship. This increases the chance of a magazine hit, especially from heavy cruisers that can fairly easily penetrate the armour even at range. The secondary ammunition magazine is also only protected by the thinner 38.1 mm bow belt, and is thus quite vulnerable.
The bridge is completely unarmoured and a large target. It is quite vulnerable to critical damage, which will result in the ship being unable to steer.
The Enterprise has a sizeable crew complement at 574. While nowhere near as large as the absurdly overpopulated Soviet starter cruisers Krasny Krym and Krasny Kavkaz (with 870+ crew), this compares favourably with most other starter light cruisers.
Mobility
The Enterprise is the fastest British cruiser currently in the game. Her acceleration is excellent, and she will reach her top speed without any trouble. The long, narrow hull does, however, make her a bit slow to turn, especially compared to the previous destroyers in the tech tree.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 71 | 30 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 61 | 26 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
The Enterprise's main armament consists of seven BL 6-inch Mk. XII guns. Two of these are located in an experimental prototype twin gun bow turret, while the rest are in open-backed single mounts, a legacy of her design era during World War I. Only six of these guns can be brought to bear on a single target at best due to the inefficient World War I-era gun layout scattered all over the ship. All of the gun mounts can elevate up to 40°, allowing limited anti-aircraft usage. It is important to note that the bow turret's traverse and elevation speeds are considerable slower than those of the single gun mounts.
The rate-of-fire is 7 rounds/minute for all guns. It is important to note, however, that the bow twin turret can only maintain this using the first stage ammunition rack, which can contain up to 20 rounds. Once this is empty, the reload drops to a glacial 5 rounds/minute. The single mounts do not have first stage racks, and can thus maintain a constant rate-of-fire.
The ammunition choices consist of HE, SAPBC, and HE-TF. The HE round contains a considerable amount of filler (6.66 kg TNT equivalent), and will cause substantial damage to lightly armoured parts, destroyers, and smaller craft. The SAPBC has a respectable amount of penetration and a decent amount of explosive filler. It is sufficient against other light cruisers. It will, however, struggle against heavy cruiser belt armour past 5 km. HE-TF is primarily meant for use against aircraft, though its utility is limited by the gun elevation arcs of the main guns.
Secondary armament
The secondary armament consists of three QF 4-inch Mk. V high-angle guns in single mounts. Two of these are located amidships in front of the torpedo tubes, with the third located between the two stern main gun mounts. They are primarily intended as anti-aircraft and anti-torpedo boat weapons. Ammunition choices are HE, SAP, and HE-TF. The SAP is of limited utility except against certain armoured coastal craft, and it is not recommended to bring a lot of it, if at all. HE-TF is slightly more effective against aircraft than HE, although due to the way rangefinding works in the game, it is quite difficult to get the shells to burst at the right distance, especially against fast-moving aircraft.
Anti-aircraft armament
The Enterprise has a considerable amount of light anti-aircraft guns. These consist of two quadruple QF 2-pdr 'pom-pom' mounts, six twin and six single 20 mm Oerlikon mounts. These can put up a deadly barrage against low-flying aircraft with their combined rate-of-fire, and are also very deadly towards torpedo boats that dare to get within range.
Additional armament
The Enterprise has two quadruple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, one on each side of the ship. They are armed with 21-inch Mk.V torpedoes. These boast a respectable top speed of 74 km/h and a considerable 305 kg warhead, but have a stock range of only 4.57 km. The torpedo mode modification can increase this to 12.34 km, at the cost of reducing the speed to only 46 km/h.
Unlike the British destroyers, the Enterprise has decent firing arcs on the torpedo tubes, especially towards the stern. They are thus somewhat easier to use in combat.
Usage in battles
The Enterprise is one of the first British cruisers, and should get players used to the rest of the British cruisers. It boasts fantastic short-range anti-aircraft defences, good speed, decent manoeuvrability (for a cruiser), and well-distributed armour plating protecting most vital components from medium calibre HE damage.
The Enterprise's main armament layout is typical for a cruiser of its generation (World War I era). The guns are distributed all over the ship, mostly in single mounts. This means that it is harder to knock out all of the guns, but it also means that the ship has ammunition magazines for the main guns scattered all over the length of the ship, above the waterline. She can only bring six of the seven main guns to bear on any single target at most, and this requires showing a considerable amount of broadside.
The 6-inch HE shells have a high amount of explosive filler, and will wreak havoc against poorly armoured targets and easily hull break wooden coastal craft. The guns also have good muzzle velocity, making them decent at medium/long ranges. The SAPBC shells have acceptable penetration and a considerable amount of explosive filler; they are capable of penetrating heavy cruiser belt armour at close ranges (<5 km).
The real strength of the Enterprise is found in its powerful short-range anti-aircraft armament. With two quadruple 2-pdr 'pom-pom' mounts and 18 Oerlikon 20 mm cannon in single and twin mounts, backed up by three 4-inch guns, she has the best anti-aircraft armament of the starter light cruisers.
The Enterprise has fairly good armour compared to other starter light cruisers, with decent deck and belt armour covering large parts of the hull. This makes her quite resilient against destroyer HE shells. However, she also has numerous ammunition magazines located above the waterline behind the plating, so anything that can penetrate her plating is likely to hit the magazines with potentially devastating results.
Because of her high speed, considerable firepower, and decent armour, the Enterprise can function well accompanying friendly destroyers and supporting them against enemy destroyers. When angled, her armour is quite resilient against destroyer and coastal boat fire, and her own 6-inch guns are devastating against lightly armoured destroyers. However, it is important not to go in unsupported, as the 6-inch guns have a low rate-of-fire compared to destroyer guns, and in a straight up slugging match against other destroyers the Enterprise can be withered down through fire and crew damage.
Heavy cruisers with guns larger than 6 inches are extremely dangerous opponents, as they can easily penetrate the light armour, causing critical damage and possibly detonating the magazines. The torpedoes (without the torpedo mode installed) can be useful in a pinch against such targets, as their high speed makes them difficult for relatively unwieldy heavy cruisers to evade.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fantastic short-range anti-aircraft defences.
- Good top speed and manoeuvrability for a cruiser.
- Fast, high damage torpedoes.
- 6-inch HE shells have the highest explosive filler mass of all starter light cruisers.
- Decent crew complement size and well-distributed armour plating provide good survivability against destroyer HE shells.
Cons:
- Can only bring 6 guns to bear at most.
- Lower rate-of-fire than most other 6-inch gun cruisers.
- Very short ranged torpedoes (without torpedo mode installed).
- Above-waterline ammo racks under each main gun.
- Completely unarmoured and large bridge.
History
Design and development
HMS Enterprise (D52) was one of two Emerald-class cruisers built for the Royal Navy at the end of the First World War. The Emerald-class cruisers were designed as a successor to the Danae-class with greater speed and forward firepower. In this they succeeded, being 33 knots to the old ships' 29 and with three guns firing forward to their two. Their larger displacement also bought significantly greater range for patrol duty. Though successful, this came at a cost; Emerald was over 50% larger than Danae and had twice the horsepower, making the ships vastly more expensive to build. Enterprise was completed too late to see service during the First World War, but served extensively in the East Indies during the interwar period. During construction she was given an experimental twin turret instead of her forward single mounts, which proved to be successful, evolving into the designs of the later Arethusa and Leander-class cruisers. Enterprise served extensively during the Second World War in the Atlantic and within home waters; she was eventually scrapped in 1946.
Enterprise displaced 7580 tons standard and had a crew complement of 572 officers and crew. Her main armament consisted of seven BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk 12 mounts in five single and one dual turret. Secondary armament consisted of several 4-inch (102 mm) guns, as well as numerous lower-calibre anti-aircraft guns. Throughout the course of her service, Enterprise's anti-aircraft armament was improved several times. Powered by steam turbines, Enterprise was capable of making 33 knots (61 km/h) on 80,000 shaft horsepower.
Operational history
After her commissioning, HMS Enterprise was assigned to the East Indies squadron, remaining there until 1928. Her service resulted in the creation of the Enterprise Cup (from a trophy donated by the sailors of the Enterprise), which remains a hotly-contested rugby competition in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. After returning to the UK for refit, Enterprise returned to the East Indies, remaining there until 1937.
At the start of the Second World War, Enterprise was sent back to the Atlantic where she spent the first several months of war as a convoy escort. She later evacuated 10 million dollars worth of British gold (625 million today adjusting for inflation) to Canada as part of Operation Fish, and repeated the same actions transporting a third of the Norwegian gold reserve to the British isles as part of the Norwegian evacuation, dodging air attack in the process. She later participated in the negotiations with the Vichy French fleet, and subsequently, the bombardment of the French Fleet at the Mediterranean port of Mers-El-Kebir.
In early 1941, Enterprise was reassigned to the East Indies squadron to hunt for the German raider Admiral Scheer; after the start of the war in the Pacific, she rescued sailors from the heavy cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire which had been sunk by Japanese forces. In between, she fought in Iraq, being stationed at Basra in order to destroy a pro-German revolt in the country. In early 1942, Enterprise was redeployed to the home fleet, and later participated in the Battle of the Bay of Biscay, where she sank a German torpedo boat using torpedoes. She served as part of the bombardment force during the D-Day landings, slowly making her way up the coast and into the Netherlands by late-1944 in her duty as naval gunfire support. Following the conclusion of these duties, she was reduced to reserve in October 1944.
Her age and obsolescence made her useless to a rapidly shrinking, post-war Royal Navy. Plans were drawn up for her transfer to Canada; however, after these fell through, she was refitted for troop repatriation. After repatriating British troops in 1946, HMS Enterprise was sold for scrap.
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
References
- Helgason, G. (1995). HMS Enterprise. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1215.html
- Mason, G. B. (1999). HMS Enterprise. Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Enterprise.htm
- Friedman, N. (2011). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After, accessed 16 April 2021. (pages 64-65)
| Britain light cruisers | |
|---|---|
| Emerald-class | HMS Enterprise |
| Dido-class | HMS Dido |
| Leander-class | HMNZS Leander |
| Arethusa-class | HMS Arethusa |
| Town-class | HMS Belfast · HMS Liverpool · HMS Southampton |
| Tiger-class | HMS Tiger |
| Abdiel-class* | HMS Abdiel |
