Lion

13.11

Lion

Battleship | U.K. | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

stock

 top

General

Research price180000 exp

Purchase price15,900,000

Hit Points58,600

Main Battery

406 mm/45 Mk.II on a Mk.IV Type A mount3 х 3 pcs.

Rate of Fire2.07 shots/min.

Reload Time29 sec.

Rotation Speed4 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time45 sec.

Firing Range19.21 km.

Maximum Dispersion271 m.

HE Shell406 mm HE Mk II

Maximum HE Shell Damage6,900

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell46 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m./s.

HE Shell Weight929 kg.

AP Shell406 mm AP Mk III

Maximum AP Shell Damage12,600

Initial AP Shell Velocity747 m./s.

AP Shell Weight1080 kg.

Secondary Armament #1

133 mm/50 QF Mk.I on a Mk.I mount8 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range6.95 km.

Rate of Fire9 shots/min.

Reload Time6.67 sec.

HE Shell133 mm HE Mk IC

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,900

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 %

AA Defense

133 mm/50 QF Mk.I on a Mk.I mount8 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second64.8

. . . Firing Range4.5 km.

40 mm/39 Vickers QF Mk.VIII on a Mk.VI mount10 х 8 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second198

. . . Firing Range2.49 km.

40 mm/56 OQF Mk.1/2 on an RP Mk.II mount2 х 4 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second31.8

. . . Firing Range3.51 km.

20 mm Oerlikon Mk.II on a Mk.V mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second36.6

. . . Firing Range2.01 km.

40 mm/56 OQF Mk.XI on a Mk.V mount4 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second49.2

. . . Firing Range3.51 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed28.03 knot

Turning Circle Radius830 m.

Rudder Shift Time22.2 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range14.84 km.

Air Detectability Range10.51 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

13.11

Lion

Battleship | U.K. | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

stock

 top

General

Research price180000 exp

Purchase price15,900,000

Hit Points67,900

Main Battery

419 mm/45 Mk.I on a Type C mount3 х 3 pcs.

Rate of Fire2.07 shots/min.

Reload Time29 sec.

Rotation Speed4 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time45 sec.

Firing Range21.13 km.

Maximum Dispersion271 m.

HE Shell419 mm HE Mk I

Maximum HE Shell Damage7,200

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell48 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m./s.

HE Shell Weight995 kg.

AP Shell419 mm AP Mk II

Maximum AP Shell Damage13,000

Initial AP Shell Velocity747 m./s.

AP Shell Weight1157 kg.

Secondary Armament #1

133 mm/50 QF Mk.I on a Mk.I mount8 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range6.95 km.

Rate of Fire9 shots/min.

Reload Time6.67 sec.

HE Shell133 mm HE Mk IC

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,900

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 %

AA Defense

133 mm/50 QF Mk.I on a Mk.I mount8 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second64.8

. . . Firing Range4.5 km.

40 mm/56 OQF Mk.1/2 on a Mk.IV mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second136.2

. . . Firing Range3.51 km.

40 mm/56 OQF Mk.IX on a Mk.VI mount10 х 6 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second202

. . . Firing Range3.51 km.

40 mm/56 OQF Mk.III on a Mk.VII mount4 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second34.8

. . . Firing Range3.51 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed29.5 knot

Turning Circle Radius830 m.

Rudder Shift Time15.8 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range14.84 km.

Air Detectability Range10.51 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

IX

15,900,000

Lion — British Tier IX battleship.

The last British battleship designed and laid down before the breakout of World War II. In many respects, the ship was a development of the King George V-class ships, but, unlike her predecessors, she had greater dimensions, heavier armor, and modern 406 mm main guns.

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
406 mm/45 Mk.II on a Mk.IV Type A/B mount	2.1	45	271	6,900	46	12,600		0	2,000,000
419 mm/45 Mk.I on a Type C/D mount	2.1	45	271	7,200	48	13,000		35,000	2,500,000

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Lion (A)	58,600	19	381	2/1	8	6/4/2/10/8				0	2,400,000
Lion (B)	67,900	19	381	2/1	8	4/6/10/8				54,000	5,100,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk IX mod. 1		0		0	1,000,000
Mk IX mod. 2		0		26,000	2,600,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 120,000 hp	28		0	600,000
Propulsion: 130,000 hp	29.5		20,000	1,500,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5
Slot 6

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning: The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

HMS Lion continues the trend of mid to high tier British Battleships, following the example set by King George V, with her above average concealment for a Battleship, rather poor vertical protection, and absurd High Explosive Firepower. The most noticeable upgrade to the Lion over the Tier VIII ship, HMS Monarch, is her access to two different sets of 16 inch rifles, either the 406mm guns or 419mm guns. Neither option is a poor choice, with both boasting absurd HE shells that deal a hefty amount of damage while boasting a fairly high fire chance, as well as short fuse AP shells that have a higher chance of arming and detonating inside cruisers, though you will most likely wish to stick with the 419mm guns as they are the ones that you will find on the Tier X Ship, the HMS Conqueror. Another noticeable upgrade is the change to the Repair Party Consumable. Compared to the previous ship in the line, the Repair Party Consumable repairs a tremendous amount of damage, recovering 75 percent of Casement Damage, though unfortunately only 10 percent of Citadel Damage. However, the fact that the ship recovers 2.0% of her HP per second over a 20 second duration ( add on 20 percent more with the flag ), and the Lion can effectively "print" herself a new ship if given the opportunity to disengage.

Speaking of disengaging, the HMS Lion can effectively disappear from enemy sights if she manages to place herself in the optimum position. Her minimum concealment can reach as low as 12 kilometers, which is patently absurd for such a large vessel. That concealment can also allow her to surprise enemy Cruisers or Battleships which have similar or only slightly better concealement, as well as be a nightmare for cruisers caught out in open water thanks to the combination of stealth and her short fuse armor piercing.

Do not be fooled, however, into thinking that the Lion is some sort of monster of a Battleship. She has a fair number of weaknesses, such as a high water citadel, extremely poor firing angles on her main battery guns, and she is coated in 32mm plating, which makes her vulnerable to getting chipped down by HE spammers over time. This is all on top of the fact that she also has an extremely low HP pool of just 67,900 Hitpoints, which is even less than the French Jean Bart, which has 69,000 Hitpoints. All of this combined means that the Lion is forced to play more of a midrange role and is highly susceptible, without proper management of her HP pool, to being sunk in the opening minutes of a match before she can make any effect.

Overall, Lion is a fairly decent ship. You can make good effect out of her as well, just...be careful.

Pros:

• Great armor piercing shell penetration combined with short fuse AP makes her dangerous versus cruisers
• High chance of fire with high explosive shells.
• Excellent handling characteristics.
• Great concealment.
• Decent belt armor that protects the citadel well when angled.
• Decent anti-air weaponry provides more-than-adequate self-defense from enemy bomber aircraft.
• Access to the Specialized Repair Teams  consumable found on Royal Navy cruisers that can heal 75% of normal penetration damage.

Cons:

• Lowest health pool of all Tier IX battleships, as well as weaker Torpedo Defense System.
• Armor scheme is vulnerable to broadside hits from enemy battleships and cruiser HE shells.
• Poor firing angles in general means that she is forced to expose a large amount of broadside to fire all of her guns.
• Her size and length make dodging torpedoes difficult.
• Average top speed for the tier; not fast enough to chase some ships.

Research

Priority should be focused upon upgrading her hull first, then improving her range. The Engine Module should be researched third, and the 419mm guns can be saved for the last part of the grind.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Lion are as follows:

• Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 ensures healthy and strong teeth (main battery guns).
• Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1  helps prevent open wounds (fewer fires and floods).
• Slot 3: AA Guns Modification 1 helps resist enemy fleas and ticks (aircraft).
• Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2 helps control excessive bleeding (reduced time on fires and floods).
• Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1  allows Lion to strike from stealth (because 11.5 km detection radius on a Tier IX battleship puts some Tier IX cruisers to shame).
• Slot 6: Main Battery Modification 3 enables more vicious and rapid attacks (faster reload speed).

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense
1	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type. ★★	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance when firing at submarines.	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except:  Damage Control Party ,  Repair Party .	Emergency Repair Specialist -3% cooldown time of Damage Control Party  and Repair Party . ★★	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning about a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5 km.	Preventive Maintenance −30% chance of main armament, engines, steering becoming incapacitated +15% to HP of secondary and AA guns.
2	Grease the Gears +20% main turret traverse speed. ★★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells. Base fire chance reduced by half.	Brisk So long as the ship remains undetected: +10% ship speed.	Vigilance +25% detection range of enemy torpedoes +7% damage reduction of Torpedo Protection System. .	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★	AAA & ASW Expert +15% continuous AAA and flak damage . +10% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −40% ship consumables reload time..
3	Super-Heavy AP Shells +7.5% AP shell damage −10% fire and flood damage received +25% fire and flood duration.	Long-Range Secondary Battery Shells +20% secondary battery firing range.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★	Basics of Survivability -15% repair, fire, and flooding duration.	Improved Repair Party Readiness −0.8% reload time of Repair Party each time your ship receives potential damage equal to 100% of the ship's base HP. After receiving 2M HP potential damage: +1 charge of Repair Party ..	Focus Fire Training In an active priority AA sector: •  +1.5% (to 5%) immediate damage. •  +25% continuous damage. •  +1 flak burst per salvo. −10% aircraft preparation time. −15% reload time of Airstrike armament..
4	Furious 1st fire / flood   −10% Main battery reload time 2nd etc. (up to 5), each   −5% Main battery reload time	Manual Secondary Battery Aiming −10% secondary battery reload time. −10% secondary battery dispersion. When firing at a manually selected target: dispersion gradually improves from -25% to -50%.	Close Quarters Combat -10% reload time of main battery if an enemy ship is spotted within secondary range.	Emergency Repair Expert Damage Control Party  and Repair Party : +1 charge (each). +10% action time . ★★	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★	Fire Prevention Expert -10% risk of fire. Three fires maximum.
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful      ★★ - Frequently Useful      ★ - Occasionally Useful     No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Lion can equip the following consumables:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
• Slot 2: Specialized Repair Teams 
• Slot 3: Spotting Aircraft  or Catapult Fighter 

When choosing between aviation assets for Slot 3, the pride leader should consider that Spotting Aircraft  provides better vision, enabling her to take more distant prey, while Catapult Fighter  is mainly intended to keep the fleas and ticks at bay. Choose whichever suits you.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Charlie Kilo +5% ship HP; +2.5% squadron HP.	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration. ★★	India Yankee -20% to fire duration. ★★★	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy. ★	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. ★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding.	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time. ★	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Gallery

• 
• 

  An Aichi D3A1 from Kaga inspects the new cub.

• 

  Lion roars.

• 
• 

  Lion leads the pride.

• 

  Lion pounces on an enemy cruiser.

• 

  Lion shreds the enemy Hiryu’s torpedo bombers.

• 

  Lion pounces on another victim.

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  Three ships attempt to take down the Lion.

• 

  An enemy Hood attempts to tame Lion.

Historical Info

HMS Lion, 1938

Construction

Vickers Armstrong; Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, United Kingdom

Laid down: 4 July 1939

Scrapped: Fall 1945

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Specifications

41,262 metric tons displacement, standard

47,627 metric tons displacement, deep load

239.3m length

32.0m beam

10.2m draft

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Machinery

8 Admiralty boilers, 4 Parsons turbines

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Performance

30.0 knots at 130,000 shaft horsepower

14,000 nm at 10 knots

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Armor

Main belt: 149–374 mm

Decks: 63–149 mm

Bulkheads: 100–299 mm

Barbettes and Turrets: 374 mm barbettes,
   374mm face, 174mm sides

Conning tower: 76–114 mm

---

Armament

Main

Nine (3x3) BL 16-inch Mk II guns

Secondary

Sixteen (8x2) QF 5.25-inch Mk I dual purpose guns

Anti-aircraft

Forty-eight (6x8) QF 2-pounder (40mm) guns

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Aircraft

Four (4) Supermarine Walrus, one catapult

The Lion in game is the 1938 design approved by the Admiralty, with hypothetical increases in AA armament and raked funnel caps similar to the ones on Vanguard. In a notable break from historical accuracy, the ship in game can mount 16.5 inch (419mm) guns from 1920s design studies.

History

The Lion-class battleships were a class of six fast battleships designed for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. While the Second London Naval Treaty limited the caliber of battleship guns to 14 inches (356mm), the refusal of Japan to sign the treaty resulted in the caliber limit reverting back to 16 inches (406mm) in April 1937. While it was too late to alter the King George V-class to accommodate larger guns, work began on a new class of battleships that could carry 406mm guns. In the interest of saving time, many design features of the King George V-class were reused. In addition to good balance between speed, armament, and protection, the design must also be able to be built and supported in existing home naval slipways and dockyards; in particular, this limited the beam to 105 ft (32.0m). It was eventually concluded that a well balanced ship that met these requirements would weigh some 40,000 long tons standard, well over the 35,000 long ton standard treaty limit that was still in place; this forced several compromises, such as the reduction of secondary mounts from eight to six, and the deletion of aviation facilities.

However, the refusal of the Japanese to disclose details of their battleships under construction caused the US, Britain, and France to invoke the Escalator Clause on March 31, 1938, which increased the tonnage limit to 45,000 long tons at American insistence (the US Navy intended to use that additional tonnage to build the 33 knot Iowa-class battleships). Again, due to cost and the infrastructure limits of Royal Navy home docking facilities, such as the major naval dockyards of Rosyth and Portsmouth, the designers chose to proceed with the 40,000 ton design; the two deleted secondary mounts and aviation facilities were restored.

Design

1938 Design

The visual appearance of the Lion would have closely resembled the King George V, having reused many of the previous class's design features. Among the biggest improvements is the main armament; the Lion would use 406mm/45 guns of a new design in three triple turrets; unlike the wire-wound BL 16-inch Mk.I on the Nelson, the new Mk.II guns are of solid built up construction; it would fire a 1,077 kg (2,375 lb) APC shell at 747 m/s (2,450 ft/s) muzzle velocity. The secondary armament would be the same as the King George V-class, sixteen 134mm/50 dual purpose guns in eight mounts. As designed, the AA gun armament would have consisted of six octuple 40mm "pom-poms", though this likely would have increased had the ships been completed. The machinery, consisting of eight boilers and four shafts, was largely duplicated from the King George V-class, with a slight increase in power to 130,000 SHP at overload condition, which drove the ship at 30 knots. The hull had transom stern, the first for a Royal Navy battleship, to improve steaming efficiency at high speeds. The protection scheme from gunfire and torpedoes was also largely repeated from the King George V, with minor differences such as increasing the belt armor by the machinery spaces to 14.7 inches (374mm) to match the belt around the magazines. The Admiralty approved the design in December 15, 1938 and bids were solicited very shortly afterwards.

Design Modifications

The design changed several times in response to the removal of all treaty restrictions on size and in light of war experience. Notably, the 1942 design modifications included increased fuel load due to the concerns about King George V's range and fuel state during the hunt for the Bismarck. The requirement to fire the main guns forward at 0 degree elevation was removed in order to accommodate a bow shear; this was intended to reduce the amount of water shipped over the bow. The beam was increased to 108 ft (32.9m), the maximum that could be accommodated by the extant Panama Canal, in order to increase torpedo protection and reduce draft; however this severely limited the number of home docking facilities that could have handled these ships. The number of AA gun amounts was also increased. To reduce weight and draft, the belt armor over machinery spaces was reduced to 13.7 inch (349mm). While not laid down, this revised design contributed to the Vanguard, the last battleship Britain ever built.

Service

Six Lion-class ships were planned, two each in the 1938, 1939, and 1940 Naval Programmes. The first pair, Lion and Temeraire, were ordered on 28 February 1939 from Vickers Armstrongs and Cammell Laird respectively. Lion was laid down at Vickers' Newcastle-upon-Tyne shipyard on 4 July 1939 while Temeraire preceded her at Birkenhead on 1 June. Contracts for Conqueror and Thunderer were awarded on 15 August 1939 to John Brown and Fairfield. It is uncertain if Conqueror was actually ordered, but Thunderer was not. Neither ship was ever laid down, and construction on Lion and Temeraire was later suspended shortly after World War II began in September 1939 in order to free up resources for badly needed escorts to protect supply convoys; both ships were scrapped after the end of the war.

Historical inaccuracies

• The Lion class never considered 16.5 inch (419mm) guns at any point during the design process. The 419mm guns were a part of studies done in the 1920s that resulted in the G3 battlecruiser and N3 battleship designs, which in turn led to the Nelson-class treaty battleships.
• The 1938 Lion as depicted in game should have the Mk. II designation for the 406mm guns; the Mk. IV designation was used for a new design from the 1944 and 1945 Lion design studies.
• The 1938 design for Lion had a top speed of 30 knots, not 29.5 knots as in game.
• The original builders' plans for Lion and her sister ships had a main battery director on the aft superstructure; this is not modeled in game.
• The citadel volume encompassing the magazines, handling rooms, and machinery spaces should all have distinct heights, compared to the uniform citadel roof deck as modeled in-game.
• Had the Lions been completed, they likely would not have been equipped with aircraft, as evidenced by the removal of aircraft on King George V-class ships after 1943.
• British armor thicknesses are actually 0.98 times their nominal thickness, due to using 40 lb/sq ft as the approximate weight of steel (actual weight is 40.8 lb/sq ft). Consequently, the nominal 15 inch (381mm) belt was in reality 14.7 inch (374 mm) thick.
• The 40mm Mk. IV Bofors 'Hazemeyer' mounts were found to be fragile in service, and therefore the placement of these mounts around and on the main battery turrets is unrealistic.
• The placement of 40mm Bofors forward of "A" turret is inconsistent with history, as no power-operated AA guns were to be mounted forward of the "B" turret barbette due to the front of the ship being very wet while underway.

Historical Gallery

• 

References

1. Lion-class battleship - Wikipedia

Ship Change Log

See here for links to Update notes.

Testing Changes

• August 15, 2017:
  • The AP shell fuse delay was reduced from 0.033 to 0.015 s.

• Available to supertesters in the game starting from Update 0.6.7.
• Introduced into the game as a researchable ship in Update 0.6.10.
• Update 0.6.12:
  • Detectability when firing main guns in smoke changed to 14.76 km.
  • The cooldown of thebRepair Party I consumable was changed from 120 to 180 s and Repair Party II from 80 to 120 s.
  • The HP points were insignificantly redistributed between the casemate and the superstructure. The superstructure under the secondary battery guns now refers to the superstructure of the ship.
• Update 0.8.5:
  • Credit earnings decreased by -5%.
  • Experience earnings reduced by -5%.
• Update 0.8.6:
  • The citadel was raised to occupy some of the casemate area.
  • The Repair Party consumable was changed:
    • Casemate (non-citadel) damage restoration was increased from 60% to 75%.
    • Cooldown reduced from 180 to 120 s.
• Update 0.9.3:
  • Fixed a bug due to which the detectability was calculated incorrectly when firing the main battery guns.
• Update 0.9.6:
  • The value of the in-game turning circle radius was changed to 830 m to correct prior discrepancy.
• Update 0.10.0:
  • The firing range of the secondary battery was increased to 6.95 km.
• Update 0.10.3:
  • Fixed a bug due to which torpedoes inflicted damage if they had already passed the ship or were moving in the opposite direction from it.
• Update 0.11.8:
  • Minor fixes to geometry and textures of the ship.
• Update 0.11.10:
  • Main battery firing range increased from 20.7 to 21.1 km.
  • Sigma value increased from 1.8 to 1.85.
  • Main battery reload time reduced from 30 to 29 s.
  • Minor fixes to the geometry and textures of the ship.

Ships of U.K.

Battleships