After seeing the name of this Armada episode,
you might well have thought about one of the characters of the famous
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll—the Cheshire Cat.
We won’t be surprised if its ability to fade away bit by bit
becomes fuel for sarcastic jokes in regard to the main hero of this episode,
but I want to remind to you about Alice's first impressions
upon meeting the famous cat.
"It looked good-natured, she thought:
still it had very long claws and a great many teeth,
so she felt that it ought to be treated with respect".
Please welcome British heavy cruiser Cheshire.
In reality, the ship, just like the famous cat, only ever existed on paper.
Moreover, it wasn't even proper Cheshire that remained at the project stage,
but heavy cruiser Albemarle that preceded it,
which also occupies Tier VIII in the branch of British heavy cruisers.
While designing Cheshire, the World of Warships developers
theorized the possible further development of that ship type in the 1940s.
At that time, British shipbuilders just had their shackles removed,
with the outbreak of war negating all previous limitations.
This meant that they were able to finally build a truly heavy cruiser—
a really big and mighty one.
First of all, Cheshire can be rightfully proud of her artillery.
The ship is equipped with 234 mm Mark XII guns
that proved their greatness on British monitors during World War I.
There are just six of them, but their capabilities are fantastic.
In addition to her impressive salvo weight,
here's an interesting fact for you:
Cheshire's HE shells can penetrate 58 mm-thick armor,
so even Yamato's deck doesn't stand a chance against them.
The cruiser has decent deck armor for her type
and her Repair Party is highly effective—
capable of restoring 50% of any citadel damage.
The consumable also restores 2% of the ship’s maximum HP per second.
On the whole, the ship is a typical representative
of the branch of British heavy cruisers,
and possesses their specific features:
solid deck armor, HE shells with high penetration capabilities,
and an arcing trajectory for her shells
that allows her to fire from behind islands.
When in battle, you should focus on choosing a good position on the map
and observing enemy movements.
After having occupied a comfortable firing position,
particularly when behind the cover of an island,
the cruiser can hold it quite successfully,
but it's important to avoid getting surrounded by enemies.
Even though you have Repair Party and relatively decent armor,
the ship is still very vulnerable when under focused fire from several enemies.
Like any other cruiser, she also fears getting hit by battleships' AP shells.
If you play cautiously and choose your targets wisely,
you can deal decent damage.
The ship is effective against battleships and other armored targets
thanks to her perfect HE shells with high penetration capabilities,
and the decent chance of setting enemies ablaze with them also helps.
Her AP shells and torpedoes will be effective at close quarters
when the distance is less than 8 km
and there’s an opening to hit the enemy from the side.
Recommended upgrades:
Main Armaments Modification 1,
Engine Room Protection, Aiming System Modification 1,
Propulsion Modification 1, and Concealment System Modification 1.
For a Commander with 10 skill points we recommend:
Priority Target, Adrenaline Rush,
Superintendent, and Concealment Expert.
We recommend that you choose skills for a 19 skill-point Commander
based on your playstyle.
Pay attention to the following skills:
Expert Loader, Expert Marksman,
Demolition Expert, Vigilance, and Jack of All Trades.
If you want to increase the efficiency of your AA defenses,
pay attention to Basic Firing Training and Advanced Firing Training.
Finally, I'll remind you that Cheshire provides increased XP and credit income.
In the “British Cruisers: Part II” event,
Cheshire will prove to be very effective at earning Royal Tokens.
You’ll be able to exchange these later on in the Armory
for days of Premium Account, credits, signals, expendable camouflages,
doubloons, and a new unique Commander— Andrew Cunningham.
Good luck, Captains!