Naval Academy
Greetings, fellow Captains!
In our previous episode, we told you about aircraft carriers.
In this episode, we'll talk about American and Japanese destroyers.
Torpedo boat destroyers, or simply destroyers,
are not as big and heavily armored as cruisers,
they have no armor, are fast and maneuverable-
but still, these ships are able to strike and crush
an adversary many times as large as they are.
Having much in common,
the Japanese and American representatives of this type
have several critical distinctions, both in armament and in combat application.
The first three Japanese destroyers—
Umikaze, Wakatake, and Isokaze—
were designed and built in the 1910s.
They were classic torpedo boat destroyers during World War I
with up to a thousand ton displacement,
533 mm torpedo tubes,
and speed up to 35 knots.
Their torpedoes travel as far as 7 km,
but even that distance lets them be unnoticeable
for adversaries due to their small size.
Their American counterparts—
Sampson, Wickes, and Clemson—
carry much more torpedo tubes: four double or triple-tubes.
But their unfavorable location—
two tubes on each side—
and much less effective range of torpedoes neutralize their quantitative advantage.
The destroyers Wickes and Clemson are worth a separate discussion.
These ships refer to the so called flush-deckers—
the most wide-scale class of destroyers in history.
Over 250 flush-deckers were built during World War I and in the post-war years.
Ships of this class served in the American, Canadian,
British, Soviet, and even Japanese fleets.
At Tier V of the American Tech Tree,
there is the first and so far the only "paper" destroyer
reconstructed by the World of Warships team
based on drawings and design information.
Nicholas is a project of the leading torpedo boat destroyer dated 1919-
the project wasn't implemented due to financial reasons.
The ship carries much more powerful and numerous 127 mm guns
that became the main armament of the American destroyers for many years.
The Japanese Tiers V and VI destroyers Minekaze
and Mutsuki compete with Nicholas in the ocean.
Having excellent speed and heavy 120 mm artillery,
they are a dangerous opponent for any ship.
Mutsuki is especially dangerous
since it was the first in the Japanese destroyer branch
to carry 610 mm torpedo tubes—
the most powerful
and travelling for the longest distances - up to 10 km at her Tier.
The same torpedo tubes are mounted on the following Japanese destroyers as well:
Hatsuharu, Fubuki, and Kagero.
These ships refer to "special type" destroyers having all-purpose artillery
grouped into twin turret guns and moving at a speed of up to 35-37 knots.
They set the worldwide standard for destroyers for a long time.
These destroyers were the first to have "Long Lance"—
610 mm oxygen torpedoes and carrying up to a ton of explosive
for a distance of up to 15-20 km.
No torpedo belt can endure this weapon successfully.
But we should remember
that mechanization of the main turrets in the Japanese fleet is worse
than in American ships, and the turret traverse speed in the Japanese destroyers
is much lower than in the American analogues,
which can create certain difficulties in battles using artillery armament.
All-purpose caliber in artillery
is also used by the American destroyers of compatible tiers—
Farragut, Mahan, Benson, and Fletcher.
They all are very similar and are bright representatives
of the American destroyer evolution in the 1930s.
Poor effective range of torpedoes, especially if compared to the Long-Lance,
is levelled by the impressive artillery power—
both of primary armament and AA guns.
Traditionally, the Americans were scrupulous about ship protection from air strikes.
For this reason players can come across a crowd of AA guns in the American destroyers—
from the Browning machine gun and the "Chicago piano"
to 40 mm Bofors guns and famous 127 mm guns
with barrel lengths of 38 calibers,
which are rightfully considered to be the best all-purpose caliber gun during World War II.
The American Tier IX destroyer Fletcher
was probably the most famous destroyer in World War II.
In all, 175 ships of this class were built
and they justly deserved the affection of the whole American fleet
by becoming the backbone of the US Navy during the war in the Pacific.
Fletcher-class ships served in naval forces of 12 countries
until the very beginning of the 21st century.
At present, four of such ships are kept as museums.
The top ships of the branches are the Tier X destroyers Gearing and Shimakaze.
The former of them was the peak of evolution for the American destroyers.
Having three 127 mm twin guns and heavy AA artillery,
Gearing is an unrivalled fighter in an artillery duel and a perfect defender from aviation.
And Shimakaze carries the highest—
among the destroyers—
number of torpedoes in broadside:
three quintuple torpedo tubes equipped with a Long Lance
that can drown any ship in the game in a few moments.
In our next episode we'll talk about the game tactics in different battle modes.
Action Stations