Meet HMS Vanguard, the last battleship built, coming as a historic addition to Great Britain’s Bluewater fleet!
HMS Vanguard: A Battleship for Great Britain at Rank VII
At a glance:
- 381mm (15”) main guns!
- Great anti-aircraft battery
- Decent speed and maneuverability
- Average armor
Vehicle History
The British admiralty required a stop gap to up the numbers of large British ships to counter projected German and Japanese numbers in the early part of the 1940s. While the Lion class warships were being constructed, Vanguard was to be pushed though to be a single ship of its class using guns and technology from a few other older designs.
As it turned out, HMS Vanguard wasn’t launched until the end of the Second World War due to several redesigns. She slid down the ramp in November 1944 and was finally fitted out in October of 1945 just after the surrender of Japan in August. This ultimately made HMS Vanguard the very last Battleship built as the doctrines for naval combat were changing into the new age.
She was finally commissioned in 1946 and served out her career first as a “Royal Yacht” carrying the King on tour and latterly, as the flagship of the fleet until her decommissioning in 1959. She participated in many exercises including the early joint exercises of the newly formed NATO alliance during the Cold War.
Introducing HMS Vanguard!
Truly BIG ships are making their way into War Thunder and will settle into a new rank for Bluewater naval trees: rank VII. Meet HMS Vanguard, the last battleship ever built! Featuring 15 inch guns, decent speed, armor and plenty of anti-aircraft firepower, this ship is modeled on how she appeared just after launching. Let’s take a closer look at the details!
HMS Vanguard sports traditional armoring and the standard British naval 15” (381 mm) guns that those who play Great Britain will already be used to. They are mounted in pairs in four turrets, 2 fore and 2 aft and come with the standard Mark17b APC as the main shell. The eight turreted twin 133 mm guns (16 in total) are able to fire HE, SAP and HE-VT. Overall, a wee bit low on hitting power, but punchy none the less.
She does have fantastic air defenses, air recon radar and a pretty good array of hard hitting guns 10x6 barreled, 1 twin barreled and 11x single 40 mm Bofors! This will give attacking aircraft food for thought and keep the smaller attack boats at distance.
Interesting: Vanguard was the first British warship with Remote Power Control for her many guns, which meant that the aim of the guns could be controlled from within the armored fire control center. For the first time, no one was needed to operate the guns in their turrets. The firing of naval guns had become safer though crew still had to provide manual loading.
Due to an initial Admiralty requirement in design, HMS Vanguard was built flush-decked to allow all forward turrets to fire at a 3-degree depression across all firing arcs. Final design choices addressed the issue of insufficient freeboard at the bows, which caused excessive wetness in rough seas and occasionally hampered the effectiveness of the forward turrets. She can reach speeds of over 31 knots (57 km/h) in a straight line and turns adequately dependent on speed.
Did you know? Vanguard was one of eleven British ships to use the name. From a 31 gun Galleon in 1586 to the latest iteration in the nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine still in use today.
HMS Vanguard will be a nice little all rounder in the game and is capable of acting both alone using her speed to move out of trouble but will be best put to use in a flotilla, providing excellent air defense for her less well protected compatriots whilst jabbing effectively at the enemy attacking force. She is not outstanding in any particular area but is quite capable of providing a viable account of herself, and let’s face it, as historically the last Battleship ever built, is top of the list for any budding Captain.
That’s it for now! HMS Vanguard will be appearing in the game at Rank VII and be available in the researchable British Bluewater tree with the release of the next major update. Keep an eye out for more dev blogs coming your way!
Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.
