Bravy
Contents
Description
The Pr.56-K, Bravy, 1967 (Бравый; Brave, hull number 650) was one of the Project 56 Spokoinyy (Спокойный, "tranquil") Class Destroyers with Bravy being the 56K variant with enhanced air-defence capabilities; starting in 1962, the vessel was fitted with anti-air missiles, though it was only for testing and this particular refit was never extended to any other vessels of the class. The ship was built in Mykolaiv/Nikolayev Shipyard in 1952 and joined Soviet Navy in January 1956 as one of the ships in the VMF's Black Sea Fleet. The ship was famous for having an accidental collision with the Royal Navy's Ark Royal in November 1970 with casualties onboard Bravy. The ship was later stored in Sevastopol as part of the "mothball fleet" (reserve fleet) and eventually broken up for scrap in 1987.
The Bravy was introduced in Update "La Royale" as the first Soviet ship to receive SAM for air-defence and the first bluewater vessel with guided missiles, although the installation of the Volna-M (Волна, "wave") came at the cost of removing a main turret and AA mounts at the aft, as well as the vessel having a relatively slower top speed than other ships of her class. Bravy is now a fearsome, anti-aircraft destroyer which can blow aerial targets into pieces with its varieties of weapons on board; either by the traditional guns or the latest SAMs of its era.
General info
Survivability and armour
Although still being one of the family of Project 56 Destroyers and sharing mostly identical protection, Bravy has some distinctive features to other ships of its class. The most noticeable difference is the rear superstructure housing the Volna-M (Wave-M) SAM systems and its carousel autoloader, giving it the suffix K in its project number. Due to the system occupying where the aft turret once was, Bravy now only has one SM-2-1 twin 130 mm turret at the bow; the rearranged superstructure also removed the aft quad 45 mm autocannon and now only has 3 turrets of such onboard, and only one quintuple torpedo launcher. At such, Bravy has overall inferior firepower to other ships of its class, though the addition of the RBU-2500 mortars give the ship an ace card at extreme close range. Be extra careful to evade oncoming shots, due to the cramped spaces at the bow with abundance of ammunitions.
Although the large missile carousel is mostly over the waterline and you would assume it to be a huge weak spot, it is surprisingly resilient to detonation. The ship may frequently see inbound fire striking the aft of the ship and not causing any missiles to explode.
Like other Project 56s, the turrets, bridge and funnel are covered by anti-shrapnel armour ranging from 6-10 mm thickness; it is nowhere sufficient to stop direct shots from enemy ships, but at least it will give the Bravy some chance to survive shrapnel from enemy HE shells.
Mobility
Same as other Project 56s, the ship is propelled by 4 GTZA TV-8 steam turbine engines; but due to the new systems and extra superstructure onboard, it has the slowest speed among all the other ships of its class maxed out at only 65 km/h.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 81 | 40 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 66 | 32 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
All Project 56 destroyers has identical main weapon: the 130mm SM-2-1 twin mount turret and Bravy is no exception; but the problem is that the addition of the Volna-M launch has occupied the aft turret, thus Bravy only has one bow turret. The overall firepower is still sufficient to take down light vessels such as destroyers and lightly protected cruisers, though not as efficiently as the regular Pr.56. It is recommended to aim at magazines of enemy vessels, as the 130mm is great at poking into them and causing catastrophic detonations, which is a much more efficient way to destroy a vessel than wearing down the crew, though it can only really be done reliably at closer ranges. The main turret is also a decent tool in the role of air defence with its VT shells. Do remember to keep the turret operational at all times as the remaining autocannons or SAM are not reliable enough to take on other destroyers.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| OF-42 HE | HE | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 |
| PB-42 SAP | SAPCBC | 204 | 174 | 134 | 104 | 82 | 57 |
| ZS-42R HE-VT | HE-VT | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| OF-42 HE | HE | 950 | 33.4 | 0 | 0.1 | 3.83 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| PB-42 SAP | SAPCBC | 950 | 33.4 | 0.04 | 5 | 2.21 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| Proximity-fused shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| ZS-42R HE-VT | HE-VT | 955 | 33.08 | 0 | 0.1 | 240 | 16 | 3 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |
Secondary armament
The Volna-M missile launcher is the main feature of this ship and places the vehicle in the rare category of a missile-armed warship, of which there are only two other ships in the game, both coastal vessels.
The launcher carries two 379 mm V-600P anti-air missiles at a time, with the total number of missiles on the craft at 18. Once both missiles are fired, the launcher requires a minimum of 50 seconds (ace crew) to reload. Though designed for anti-air work, the missiles can be used against surface targets with mixed results. The missiles can detonate a number of destroyers and, on rare occasions, cruisers if they strike a magazine, but this requires pinpoint aim, a good knowledge of weak spots of various ships and a fair degree of luck. If a magazine is not struck, the missiles will still do decent damage to destroyers, taking out a number of crew and modules, and potentially starting moderate to severe flooding, but will usually not be enough to destroy the vessel on its own. Cruisers with light protection are even more resilient to the missiles and against cruisers with any reasonable degree of armour, you may as well not even try.
A very important thing to note about the V-600P is that the missiles can be triggered by any munition (other than low calibre bullets) that passes through its trigger radius. If any stray shells, bombs, rockets or anything of the sort get too close to the missile in flight, it will trigger the warhead and prematurely detonate the missile. It can even be triggered by flying over a torpedo. This has a significant reduction in the reliability of the missile as they can often be seen exploding seemingly at random before hitting the target. Although, this is only really an issue when aiming at surface targets, given the density of fire flying just above the waves. Against air targets, well above the shells being spewed by each team, this occurrence is rare enough not to really worry about.
One of the most noticeable things about the missiles is that they tend to twirl and curve through the air quite substantially rather than flying straight, especially just after launch. The missile attempts to home towards the direction that the player is aiming, however the player's viewpoint is placed in the bridge of the vessel when looking through the binoculars, near the front of the ship, while the launcher is towards the back of the vessel, so the missile darts sideways toward the player's centre of vision right after launch before stabilising itself. Although not too much of a problem most of the time, it can sometimes result in the missile splashing into the water after trying to swing into the centre of vision, as well as making aiming at closer ranger targets more finicky. This effect can be reduced by angling the ship and reducing the horizontal distance between the launcher and the player's viewpoint, which can limit the amount the missile swings off to the side and enables the missile to stabilise faster.
As for the missile curving and twisting through the air midway toward the target, this is because the missile is rather sensitive to the targets movement and is constantly correcting itself, occasionally overdoing it and causing the missile to spiral. This hardly happens against surface targets as ships move slowly and on a flat plane, however firing at aircraft will almost certainly result in some spirals. However, despite careening through the sky almost wildly, the missile is still fairly accurate against aircraft and will almost certainly end up scoring a hit against a target that doesn't evade out of the way.
Against air targets, the missiles have two targeting modes. The default mode is 'chase', where the missile just flies directly toward where the player is aiming. With aircraft typically flying at a relatively high speed, this often results in the missile detonating more towards the rear end of the plane which, due to the large trigger radius of 40 metres, and means that the aircraft may get away with only splinter damage, though the chase mode can still work well when aimed at an aircraft flying straight toward the player. With a warhead of over 40 kg worth of TNT, the missile is essentially the equivalent of a guided proximity-fused battleship-calibre HE shell, however the 40m radius is very large, even for the heavy warhead. If the missile triggers anywhere in the rear hemisphere of an aircraft, the plane will likely not be destroyed in one hit. Though usually inferior at dealing lethal damage to aircraft, an important aspect of chase mode is that it is completely immune to chaff and does not require the radar to even be turned on, only requiring that the player has a line of sight with the opposing plane.
The second mode is 'intercept', which the missile automatically sets to when a radar lock is achieved on the aircraft. In this mode, the missile does not fly directly where the player is pointing, but compensates for the speed of the aircraft by flying ahead of it on an intercept course, which will result in the missile detonating right in front of the plane, which will fly right through the spray of shrapnel and should result in the destruction of even the heaviest of bombers. Although better at dealing damage to an aircraft than chase mode, should the ship lose the radar lock on the plane for whatever reason, such as the radar being knocked out, the missile will switch from intercept to chase mode and this can result in it missing the target. There's also the radar lock dead-zone toward the rear of the vessel where the tracking radar cannot follow, marked by the dark area on the radar map. If a locked aircraft flies into that zone, the radar lock will be lost and a new one cannot be established until the plane moves out of the zone.
The missile moves at a very high speed and is relatively agile, enabling the player to rapidly and precisely strike targets, though it is highly sensitive to player aiming and target movement adjustments, which can throw the V-600P out of place as it barrels towards its new heading and overshoots, requiring it to swing back and possibly then back once more.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| V-600P | SAM | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| V-600P | SAM | __ | 16,000 | 912 | 3 | 0.1 | 300 | 40 | 42.24 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Anti-aircraft armament
The Project 56K design also brings revisions the placement of AA autocannons, Bravy now only has 3 instead of 4 SM-20-ZIF quad mount 45 mm autocannons, though they remain effective tools against aircraft and coastal vessels.
Additional armament
The revised superstructure has removed a set of quintuple 533 mm torpedo tubes, leaving the ship with only has 5 torpedoes; depending on the designated targets' size and draft, adjust the depth of torpedoes accordingly for maximum damage.
An interesting addition to the craft are the RBU-2500 mortars, which enables the player to hurl dozens of explosive charges against targets, but only at very close range. Though the aiming can take time to get used to, the mortars can be truly lethal in ideal circumstances. Each shot carries 26kg worth of TNT, roughly equivalent to a low yield battleship calibre shell, and they can be fired in very rapid succession. Destroyers will be annihilated and even cruisers will crumble under their explosive power, subjected to raging fires, heavy flooding and any module not protected by a major armour plate or buried deep in the ship being smashed up.
Usage in battles
Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Access to high speed V-600P missiles for extensive air-defence
- Missiles can be used against surface targets
- Fast-firing 130 mm turret with excellent ammunition selection
- Sufficiently fast for a destroyer
- Search radar for aerial targets, can lock on to targets and provide lead indicator
Cons:
- Only has single main turret
- Only has 5 torpedoes at disposal
- Very long reload for the missile launcher
- Missiles can have odd behaviour and have limited reliability against enemy vessels
- Somewhat slower than other ships of its class and less agile
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
- Related development
External links
| USSR destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Imperial Russia | |
| Derzky-class | Frunze |
| Fidonisy-class | Kerch |
| Soviet Union | |
| Pr. 1 | Leningrad · Moskva |
| Pr. 45 | Opytny |
| Pr. 7 | Besposhchadny · Ryany |
| Pr. 7U | Soobrazitelny · Stroyny |
| Pr. 20 | Tashkent |
| Pr. 30 | Ognevoy |
| Pr. 30-bis | Smelyi · Bezuprechny |
| Pr. 41 | Neustrashimy |
| Pr. 56 | Spokoinyy · Blagorodnyy · Bravy |
| Trophies | Romania |
| Regele Ferdinand-class | Letuchiy |
