Richelieu, one of the most successful battleships of her time in the world,
was built in France in the second half of the 1930s.
During the development of Richelieu,
the French designed the Gascogne-class battleships,
which carried 380 mm guns.
They planned to lay down three such ships in the first half of 1940s,
but German tanks prevented that from happening.
The desire of the World of Warships designers
to save this rather interesting project from oblivion
has resulted in Tier VIII French battleship Champagne
being added to the game.
The ship stands out by her main guns,
which are quite unique for the French branch.
A 406 mm gun produced by Schneider with a length of 50 calibers
was initially designed for the Soviet Union
within the framework of the agreement on mutual assistance
and military and technical cooperation
that was concluded between the U.S.S.R. and France in 1935.
A curious fact is that the French never produced 406 mm naval guns,
but they were interested in developing them
due to an emerging worldwide trend
towards increasing the main battery caliber of battleships.
In the spring of 1938,
the Schneider company transferred the blueprints to the U.S.S.R.,
and that was the end of the story of that gun in reality.
Champagne embodies the implementation of the Gascogne-class battleship project,
imagining that one such ship had been built in France with 406 mm main guns.
She is the first representative of a separate in-game group of battleships—
a far cry from other battleships
in terms of having more accurate main guns and maneuverability,
but thinner armor.
Let's take a closer look at the ship.
Champagne carries six guns in two turrets,
with a firing range of 25 km
that can be increased to 30 km using Spotting Aircraft.
The battleship's artillery is very accurate for its caliber,
and her high-explosive shells have high chances of setting enemy ships ablaze.
However, the main ammo type for Champagne is her armor-piercing shells.
Thanks to their good ballistics and armor-penetration characteristics,
the ship can inflict damage to enemy ships at any firing range.
Multiple secondary guns offer a good tool against enemy destroyers,
but Champagne should really rather prevent light enemy ships
from reaching the effective range of her secondary guns.
If you spot any light ships,
enemy heavy ships are also likely to be nearby.
Stay alert, because they can inflict severe damage
to the French battleship with focused fire.
The relatively weak armor of Champagne— just 25 mm at her ends—
will require you to keep at a distance from any enemies.
You can control this with her high speed of 34 knots
in combination with Engine Boost.
A small HP pool for a Tier VIII battleship—52,600 hp—
together with her high speed and powerful long-range main artillery,
suggest quite specific battle tactics for Champagne.
The true power of the battleship lies in long range assaults
with careful positioning and rapid changing of flanks.
It's now time for us to share some solid advice
on how to make Champagne more effective with upgrades and Commander skills.
Let's start with Commander skills.
For a 10-skill-point Commander, we recommend:
Priority Target, Adrenaline Rush, Superintendent, and Fire Prevention.
For a 19-skill-point Commander, we recommend additionally:
Concealment Expert, Basics of Survivability, and Jack of All Trades.
For upgrades: Main Armaments Modification 1,
Damage Control System Modification 1, Aiming Systems Modification 1,
Steering Gears Modification 1, and Concealment System Modification 1.
When your new ship is fully armed and upgraded,
you can head into battle!
Let Champagne bring you victory,
as well as increased XP and credit income!
Good luck, Captains!