As the battle begins, while battleships are still gaining speed
and cruisers are deciding which flank and island to approach,
the brave sailors on destroyers break forward,
and are the first to start fighting.
Smoke, shells, torpedoes…
A Captain can only survive, and may even emerge victorious,
in such chaos by possessing great experience, nerves of steel, and…
Mogador, the Tier IX French destroyer.
At the beginning of 1930s, France started developing a lead destroyer
that could fulfill the role of a scout in a search and strike force
headed by fast battleship Dunkerque,
and that would be well-suited to missions in the Atlantic Ocean.
As a result, they created a ship, which belonged more
to light cruisers than destroyers, judging by the ship's parameters.
The full displacement was more than 4,000 tons,
and the ship had eight 139-mm guns.
Two ships of that class were built: the lead ship, Mogador, and Volta.
Mogador entered service in April 1939, and in July 1940,
the destroyer had to break through from the Algerian port of Mers-el-Kébir.
By that time France had fallen,
and the British Royal Navy launched Operation Catapult
in order to destroy or capture any French ships
so they wouldn't end up in the hands of the Germans.
An AP shell from a British battleship hit Mogador on her rear
while the destroyer was exiting the harbor.
The shell overpenetrated the ship and caused her depth charges to detonate.
But the destroyer didn't sink, she stayed afloat and somehow managed
to get to Toulon where she underwent repairs until November 1941.
A year later, in order to avoid being captured by German forces,
Mogador and other 76 French ships were sunk just around the pier of Toulon.
Wipe away your tears, friends!
We’ve recreated Mogador in World of Warships in her full battle glory,
and now you can write new history with this ship.
She has her specific charms.
Look at this elegant bench installed at her rear.
Be assured that it's not a figment of the developers’ imaginations,
but a real element of ship's exterior.
It's easy to imagine a young French officer resting on the bench
with a book by Jean-Paul Sartre and a glass of pastis.
However, this sophistication hides incredible firepower.
This is presented with an extraordinary main battery,
which makes the ship a powerful artillery platform
that’s effective against any enemy depending on the situation.
The ship has eight 139-mm guns with great ballistics and an 8s reload time.
The Main Battery Reload Booster consumable increases the firing rate
of the main battery by 100%, but only for 15 seconds.
However, it can be a major advantage at a crucial stage of battle.
Mogador’s armor-piercing shells
have good penetration parameters and ballistics that allow her
to crush the citadels of enemy cruisers at ranges from 8 to 10 km.
“Keep moving to stay alive” isn't such a good slogan,
but it characterizes the best survival strategy that Mogador can adopt.
The lack of a Smoke Generator consumable
is made up for by the unusual characteristics of her hull.
It consists of modules, each of which has a finite amount of HP.
That's why she takes damage differently from other destroyers,
because a destroyed part of the ship
will receive just 1/6 of the damage from enemy hits.
Players can improve her HP by installing the relevant module
and unlocking the corresponding Commander skill.
Finally, let’s talk about her torpedoes,
because Mogador is a destroyer after all.
The ship has 10 torpedo launchers placed in quite a unique manner—
each side has a couple of triple- and twin-tube launchers.
The torpedoes inflict decent damage
and have a pretty impressive speed of 75 knots.
Their only disadvantage— a range of just 8 km.
The torpedoes require smart implementation,
so a good target in this case would be an enemy destroyer
hiding behind a smoke screen not too far away,
because she'll hardly be able to avoid a torpedo salvo
from the French destroyer—not to mention battleships following a straight path.
In conclusion…
Mogador is an artillery destroyer,
and her choice of tactics highly depends on the specific battle situation.
Remember, the ship doesn't have a Smoke Generator,
so she's a ship of the second line from the start of battle.
When a battle becomes more or less steady-paced,
and the directions for attack and defense are being determined,
that's the time for the French destroyer to apply all her firepower.
The best tactic for Mogador's Captains
is to force the enemy to fight them on their own terms,
perform mighty strikes with shells
using the Main Battery Reload Booster consumable or with torpedoes,
and then escape the fight with the aid of the Improved Engine Boost.
Good luck, Captains!