In the mid-1930s, Italy laid down two Littorio-class battleships.
These ships attracted the interest of the Soviet Union,
and they contacted Italy in an attempt to purchase the project.
The Italians refused, but instead offered a battleship project, UP41,
armed with 406 mm artillery.
The project had been in the design stage for two years,
and the Italians offered to adapt it
to fit the requirements put forward by the Soviets,
but it was never finished.
This unrealized project
served as the basis for Italian Tier IX Premium battleship Marco Polo.
The UP41 project developed by the Ansaldo company
fell in line with worldwide trends of naval shipbuilding in the mid-1930s—
a displacement of 41,000 tons
(that's what the number 41 in the designation stands for),
406 mm main battery, high speed, and good armor.
This ship would have been a great fit for our Naval Legends series,
but in 1937, the Italians decided
that it would be much faster to construct two new battleships
using the proven Littorio project rather than building the new UP41,
especially considering that the 406 mm guns for it had never been created.
However, the World of Warships designers
thought that this project deserved a better fate
than gathering dust in archives.
We took the hull and general layout of UP41
and created Marco Polo using typical solutions
for Italian battleships of that period.
Thus, her main belt of composite armor and anti-torpedo defense system
are borrowed from the Littiorio-class ships.
However, when it came to the main battery,
we needed to apply some serious science—
we had to develop a ballistic solution for a new gun.
Here are the facts. The largest naval gun caliber
that has ever been deployed in the Italian navy was 381 millimeters.
To obtain the characteristics of a 406 mm gun,
we recalculated the 381 mm shell through its caliber cube,
then determined the shell weight and necessary charge weight
to ensure the required muzzle velocity.
The results of these calculations were then converted
into our usual in-game specifications using some magic game dev rituals.
By the way, our "How it Works" video series
has a clear breakdown of these specifications,
so make sure to check it out.
As a result, we have a very interesting Italian battleship
in the form of Marco Polo,
with nine quite-powerful 406 mm guns as her main battery.
However, she can't boast of having a long firing range.
This means that the battleship is best suited to fighting at medium ranges
where her guns, armor, and maneuverability
allow her to be effective against the majority of her adversaries.
Her semi-armor-piercing shells can inflict quite high damage
and the Spotting Aircraft consumable
gives you the ability to interfere with the plans of any approaching enemies
or catch up with a retreating adversary.
Moreover, thanks to her mobility and good concealment,
Marco Polo is capable of quickly taking up a position at medium range.
With precise control, her decent maneuverability
will help you reduce the probability of taking critical damage.
I recommend paying attention to the following upgrades
to increase the combat performance of this ship.
Main Armaments Modification 1,
Damage Control System Modification 1,
Aiming Systems Modification 1,
Damage Control System Modification 2,
Concealment System Modification 1,
Main Battery Modification 3.
Battleship Marco Polo is a Premium ship,
which means that she brings her owner
increased XP and Credit income like a true Venetian merchant.
Finally, a question for the most attentive viewers.
How many times have I mentioned the name
of the great Italian explorer Marco Polo in this episode?
Share your answer in comments.
Good luck, Captains!