In the mid-1950s,
the U.S.S.R. and the People's Republic of China were close allies.
Moscow gave Beijing a range of armament systems, including ships—
for example, four Project 7 destroyers.
Anshan, which you are probably familiar with from World of Warships,
was one of them.
As for larger ships, the Soviet Navy suffered from a shortage of them itself.
But let's imagine what could have happened
if the Soviet Union had enough of them...
Just before World War II,
Soviet shipbuilders prepared the concept design
for a MK-6 small cruiser armed with dual-purpose artillery.
She was similar to the American Atlantas and British Didos,
and she was conceived primarily to fight against enemy destroyers,
protect allied light ships, and contribute to the AA defense of capital ships.
In 1941, the project was approved by the Soviet Navy Shipbuilding Committee,
but it didn't see further development because of the outbreak of World War II.
However, World of Warships designers embrace challenges—
so, please welcome Tier IX cruiser Dalian!
Dalian is based on that very project of a MK-6 small cruiser
with the artillery, fire-control, and radar systems
that the ship could have received during an overhaul in the early 1950s.
The cruiser has:
Five BL-109 130 mm twin-gun automated artillery mounts
that were tested on destroyers between 1952–1954,
but never saw batch production.
ZIF-31 57 mm coaxial twin-gun anti-aircraft guns
and 4М-120 quadruple-gun autocannons
that were adopted into service at that time.
Four 533 mm triple-tube torpedo launchers.
Now, let's take a look at how
new Pan-Asian cruiser Dalian performs in battle.
Thanks to her good flat-trajectory ballistics and high firing rate,
this ship can deal significant damage per minute—
enemy cruisers and battleships will quickly feel the truth of that first-hand.
Dalian is equipped with the Smoke Generator consumable
with a reduced cooldown time,
Repair Party,
She also has good concealment.
However, when choosing a target,
keep in mind that your 130 mm main battery shells
can't boast of having very high armor penetration.
The cruiser herself doesn't have particularly strong armor.
Moreover, her citadel is situated in quite a high position,
which makes Dalian extremely vulnerable to enemy attacks—
a couple of accurate salvos can easily send her back to Port.
With that in mind, make sure to choose your position carefully
and stay under the cover of islands or smoke screens.
It's high time to talk about upgrades.
Main Armaments Modification 1, Engine Room Protection,
Aiming Systems Modification 1, Propulsion Modification 1,
Concealment System Modification 1,
Main Battery Modification 3
or Gun Fire Control System Modification 2.
Now, a couple of words about our traditional raffle,
with the main prize being an Admiral Pack with cruiser Dalian,
a 10-skill-point Commander, the Silk Dawn permanent camouflage,
a commemorative flag, and other valuable items.
To enter the raffle,
you need to be subscribed to our channel, like this video,
and answer this question correctly:
"What is the caliber of Dalian's main battery?"
Make sure to specify your in-game nickname and server
in your comment with the correct answer.
Keep your eyes open, take part in the raffle,
and good luck, Captains!