HMS Chatham Puns

Hi folks,

This is a very "mini" review of the HMS Belfast after a single game played during the Chatham event in the UK earlier today. It was a Tier 9 game on Shatter with plenty of T9 BB's (Iowa's, Geman BB) and lots of T8 IJN CA's. I scored 45k damage and was sunk by an Iowa/Grob Ferd combo which started at the top and sneaked from the top around the left flank to our spawn to surprise us from the rear. We initially took C and then B but lost C when the flank collapsed.

As it was only 1 game it's obviously a very limited review (and I'm awful at remembering numbers - especially with MrConway sat next to me so I couldn't take any sneaky phone pics :D) but overall I liked it.

Overall - Plays like a low concealment Cleveland with flatter arc's and squishier armour.

Guns - "15.something" km range, 7.5 sec reload (I thought that all the RN line CA's were getting 20rpm guns so the 7.5 sec reload caught me out), arc's "felt" about the same as the Kirov but I didn't check out the stats to see shell velocity. Firing at a Mogami at 13.5km, 1/2 the target ship had to be off screen to get a hit and at 13-10km a BB had to be around 2/3'ds of the way between the reticle and the edge (nearer to the edge). Fire chance was adequate (can't remember the figure but think 10%+) and got 3-4 fires from 60 HE hits. AP was good into BB superstructure hitting 3-5k salvos at 5-6km, didn't try against CA's. Turret speed was very Cleveland like, even with EM spec'ed.

Armour - Felt softer than the Clevelands but better than the Atlanta's.

Handling/Speed - A little slow to turn but adequate (better then SN ships!). I saw 35kts but I think it went a few kts faster.

Concealment - 9.4km with CE spec and camo.

Consumables - Having all 3 (hydro/smoke/radar) available was fantastic. Hydro picked up torps when you were sat in smoke (smoke had 103sec duration) giving you time to move whilst the 9km radar (20 sec I think) helped if no-one was spotting for you whilst you were sat in smoke. There was only myself and the DD's with smoke in the match and it didn't descend into a smoke-fest. As soon as smoke was dropped nearby DD's torp'ed it keeping people moving. However if there was 2-4 RN CA's all dropping smoke as well as smoking DD's, I could see it being a massive pain.

I'd just like to say a massive "thank you" to Mr Conway and Tuccy for our all to brief chat and for the video interview-type thing I embarrassed myself with at the end!

Museum ships are a bit easier to look up and so are memorials, but artifacts and exhibits are a bit harder to look up. For example, I didn't know about Hood's bell or Prinz Eugen's propeller until late last year, so I'm counting on your help to help make the list as complete as possible. My only requirement is that you include he link to an official site as part of the submission (Wikipedia submissions and links to other Reddit posts are not automatically rejected but they need an official source).

Here's what we have so far...

Museum Ships

• Belfast – Pool of London, England

• Mikasa – Mikasa Park, Yokosuka, Kanagawa

• North Carolina – Wilmington, NC

• New Jersey – Camden, NJ

• Massachusetts – Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA

• Intrepid – Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Manhattan, New York City

• Avrora – Saint Petersburg – credit to /u/TimesJay and /u/LimeNarrow2702

• Alabama – Mobile Bay, AL

• Cavalla – American Undersea Warfare Center, Galveston, TX

• An Shan – PLA Navy Museum, Qingdao, Shandong – credit to /u/TimesJay

Memorials

• Arizona – USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Pearl Harbor, HI

• Gangut (Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya) – Anchor Square, Kronstadt, Saint Petersburg – credit to /u/LimeNarrow2702

• Mutsu – Mutsu Memorial Museum, Suooshima, Yamaguchi – credit to /u/LimeNarrow2702

• Takao – Memorial at Goō Shrine, Okauencho, Kyoto – credit to /u/Rezics

• Kirov – Kirov Memorial, Baltic Fleet Square, Vasilyevsky Island, Saint Petersburg – credit to /u/Alesby

• San Diego – USS San Diego Memorial, Tuna Harbor Park, Embarcadero, San Diego, CA – credit to /u/Kitchen_Haunting

• [National Destroyer Me

In order to maintain an appropriate and relevant nuclear deterrent, Great Britain must turn her attention to the seas, or more accurately, beneath the seas. For this purpose, a submarine mounted nuclear solution should be ordered to provide such a deterrent. This shall come in the form of the Vehement class.

The Vehement class submarine will be based on the O class hull design, with an 8.4m long extension for four missile tubes aft of the conning tower. Distance from keel to top of the extended section will be 16.5m in height in order to provide space for the missile tubes and associated equipment.

The tubes have been designed to match those found on the upcoming American Lafayette class missile submarine in order to operate a variant of the A-2 Polaris missile. Unlike the American A-2 however, the British Polaris missile will carry the heavier 1mt Green Bamboo warhead, leading to a reduced range of 1,250 nautical miles. In British service, this missile will be known as "Amber Dragon".

Four bow mounted torpedo tubes complete the armament of the submerged vessel, with a total of twelve Mark VIII** or Mk.20S torpedoes stored onboard.

Just like the O class submarine, the Vehement class submarine will use the tried and tested Type 187 sonar alongside the Type 1002 X-band surface & air search radar. Powered by a pair of two 2,500hp diesel engines, the Vehement class SSB will be capable of 12 knots surfaced and 18 knots submerged. Using her four 224 cell battery tanks, Co2 absorption system and ample supply of sodium chlorate candles, the Vehement class submarine can remain submerged for up to 36 hours without requiring the use of its snort.

Total cost for the class is £40mn. The Polaris missile cost is expected to be approximately £150-175mn, with an additional £38.5mn for the new British warheads. Construction will be split between Chatham and Barrow-in-Furness.