As World War I raged on, the U.S.A. and Japan,
for the most part uninvolved in the most violent theaters of the conflict,
engaged in a serious naval arms race.
The U.S. passed the Naval Act of 1916
that authorized the construction of 10 battleships and 6 battlecruisers.
Japan adopted Hachihachi Kantai, also known as the Eight-Eight Fleet Program,
which included eight ships of both types.
Yuzuru Hiraga, a famous Japanese naval architect,
was appointed as the chief engineering director for this program.
Blueprints and design documents, dating back to September 1916,
for a battlecruiser with 356 mm guns were discovered in his archive.
A variant of this design was refined and implemented in World of Warships
as Tier IX battleship Daisen.
The Americans halted their plans to build Lexington-class battlecruisers,
which were also designed in 1916 with 356 mm guns,
after learning that Great Britain had laid down the famous Hood
with 381 mm guns in May of the same year.
Ships of the Lexington class were eventually equipped with 406 mm guns,
and it's highly likely that the Japanese
would have modified their design in the same way.
For this reason, Daisen's main battery guns have a caliber of 410 mm.
We also hypothesized that the battleship
would have been upgraded with new AA guns
and strengthened armor protection in the late 1930s,
but you can still infer the time period of the design's origin
from the secondary battery guns mounted in casemates.
However, her old-fashioned appearance shouldn't deceive you.
Battleship Daisen's main battery guns are very accurate
and reload quickly for her type.
Moreover, the ship is armed with four quadruple-tube torpedo launchers.
Their comparatively slow reload time is made up for by the torpedoes'
decent range and damage. The battleship is very fast
but has a large turning circle radius.
Though this ship is of immense size, her armor is vulnerable to HE and SAP shells,
and her HP pool isn't particularly large.
Advanced torpedo protection and a well-armored citadel
are just a couple of her advantages.
Daisen is most effective at medium and long ranges.
Thanks to her high speed, she can change flanks,
move closer to her opponents,
or withdraw to a safer distance as necessary.
The ship has access to the Damage Control Party
and Repair Party consumables.
She also offers a choice between Spotting Aircraft
with a significantly increased action time and Fighter.
When upgrading Daisen, we advise you to focus on improving her artillery
and survivability. To achieve this, I suggest the following configuration:
Main Armaments Modification 1 in Slot 1;
Damage Control System Modification 1 in Slot 2;
Aiming Systems Modification 1 in Slot 3;
Damage Control System Modification 2
or Steering Gears Modification 1 in Slot 4.
Reserve the fifth slot for Concealment System Modification 1
and the sixth slot for Main Battery Modification 3.
Now it's time for the traditional Armada raffle!
A Premium Ship IX container will go to a subscriber
who hits the "Like" button under the video
and correctly writes the name of the famous Japanese naval architect
whose archive inspired us to create battleship Daisen.
Don't forget to share your in-game nickname
and the server you play on in your comment with the answer.
We'll announce the name of the winner in the next Armada episode.
Take part in the raffle, and good luck, Captains!