Defence

Ship Overview

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 Defence — British • Legendary Tier • Cruiser.

A hypothetical development of "big cruiser" designs created by British shipbuilders in the late 1930s, with the main battery gun caliber increased to 14 inches (356 mm). The ship was conceived in response to the strengthening of the Japanese Navy. Her main purpose was to counter enemy heavy cruisers.

Defence was released as the final reward of the The Best Form of Offence campaign, which took place from December 16th, 2024 to January 27th, 2025.

 Navy: UK
 Ship: British
 Nation: United Kingdom
 Category: Premium

 Tier: Legendary
 Class: Cruiser

 Year of Design: 1940

━━ Ship Traits ━━

Greater Heal: Repair Party restores severe damage.

Sequential: Torpedoes can be launched one by one.

Big and Flammable: Fires set on this ship last longer due to her large size and high caliber guns.

Ship Stats

Survivability

SURVIVBILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Hitpoints	60 600	-
• Armor (mm)	16 - 305	-
• Torpedo damage reduction (%)	21	-

Maneuverability

MANEUVERABILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Maximum speed (kt)	33	-
• Turning circle radius (m)	770	-
• Rudder-shift time (sec)	12.7	-

Concealment

CONCEALMENT	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Detectability by sea (km)	12.6	-
• Detectability by air (km)	7.5	-
• Detectability while firing in smoke (km)	11	-

Torpedoes

TORPEDOES	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	622mm PR Mk IV	-
• Arrangement	2x4	-
• Reload time (sec)	90	-
• 180° turn time (sec)	15	-
• Maximum simulated damage	21 067	-
• Detectability by sea (km)	1.7	-
• Range (km)	10	-
• Speed (kt)	67	-

Main Artillery

MAIN BATTERY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Main artillery name	356mm/45 Mk.VII	-
• Main artillery arrangement	3x2	-
• Firing range (km)	16	-
• Reload time (sec)	18	-
• 180° turn time (sec)	36	-
• HE maximum damage	6100	-
• HE fire chance (%)	41	-
• HE penetration (mm)	89	-
• AP maximum damage	10 500	-
• Sigma	2.05	-

Secondary Artillery

SECONDARY ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	134mm/50 QF Mk I	-
• Arrangement	8x2	-
• Firing range (km)	5	-
• Reload time (sec)	6.7	-
• HE maximum damage	1900	-
• HE fire chance (%)	8	-
• HE penetration (mm)	22	-

Anti-Aircraft Artillery

AA ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	40mm Bofors Mk IV	-
• Arrangement	6x2	-
• DPS	136	-
• Range (km)	3.5	-
AA ARMAMENT 2	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	40mm Bofors Mk VI	-
• Arrangement	8x6	-
• DPS	234	-
• Range (km)	3.5	-
AA ARMAMENT 3	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	134mm/50 QF Mk I	-
• Arrangement	8x2	-
• DPS	65	-
• Range (km)	4.5	-

Modules, Modifications & Consumables

Modules

Cruiser - Defence

	Hit Points	Min Armor (mm)	Max Armor (mm)	Torpedo Damage Reduction (%)	Main Battery Turrets	Torpedo Launchers	Rudder Shift (s)
Stock	60 600	16	305	21	3x2	2	12.7

	Turret Arrangement	Reload Time (s)	180° Turn Time (s)	Max HE Damage	HE Fire Chance (%)	Max AP Damage
356mm/45 Mk.VII	3x2	18	36	6100	41	10 500

	Main Battery Firing Range
Stock	16 km

	Launcher Arrangement	Reload Time (s)	180° Turn Time (s)	Max Damage	Range	Speed	Detection
622mm PR Mk IV	2x4	90s	15s	21 067	10	67	1.7

	Maximum Speed
Stock	33 kn

Modifications

Cruiser - Defence

SLOT 1	Main Battery Mod 2 Main battery traverse speed +20% Torpedo launchers traverse speed +20%	Aiming Systems Mod 1 Main battery dispersion -7% Secondary battery firing range +5% Secondary battery dispersion -5%	Secondary Battery Mod 2 Secondary battery firing range +20% Secondary battery dispersion -20%	AA Guns Mod 2 AA guns firing range +20%
SLOT 2	Damage Control System Mod 2 Damage Control Party duration +20% Fire duration -15% Flood duration -15%	Supercharges Main battery range +5% AP shell and bomb penetration multiplier +10% Main battery shell grouping -5%	Steering Gears Mod 2 Rudder-shift time -25%
SLOT 3	Chromium Plated Barrels Main battery dispersion -5%	Concealment System Mod 1 Detectability range -10% Incoming fire dispersion +5%	Target Acquisition System Mod 1 Spotting range +20% Torpedo acquisition range +20% RGA of ships +50%	Steering Gears Mod 3 Rudder-shift time -40% Steering gear repair time -80%
SLOT 4	Main Battery Mod 3 Main battery reload time -10% Main battery traverse speed -15%	Torpedo Launchers Mod 3 Torpedo launcher reload time -15% Risk of torpedo launchers becoming incapacitated +50%	Secondary Battery Mod 3 Secondary battery reload time -20%	Gun Fire Control System Mod 2 Main battery dispersion -3% Main battery range +5%

Consumables

Cruiser - Defence

Damage Control Party

Accelerates repairs to damage modules, firefighting efforts and flooding recovery.

Duration: 5s Reload time: 60s The number of consumables is unlimited

Repair Party

Partially restores the ship's HP by repairing any light damage.

HP per second: +1211 Duration: 20s Reload time: 80s Number of consumables: 2

Sonar

Increases the guaranteed acquisition range of enemy ships and torpedoes, including those located within a smoke screen.

Detection of torpedoes: 3.5km Detection of ships: 5km Duration: 100s Reload time: 180s Number of consumables: 2

Smoke Generator

Generates a smoke screen behind the ship that reduces the risk of being detected by the enemy.

Duration: 20s Dispersion time: 40s Reload time: 70s Number of consumables: 5

Community Contributions

Player Opinion

Cruiser - Defence

Pros:

• Great set of consumables
• Large HP pool
• Hard-hitting torpedoes with the turning mechanic, allowing them to be launched at good forward-firing angles
• Main guns are accurate, deal high damage and have great HE penetration and fire-setting chances
• Good turning circle radius and built-in enhanced acceleration

Cons:

• Poor detectability while firing in smoke
• AA defense does not exceed 4.5 km range with poor "long-range" DPS
• Poor main battery turret traverse speed
• Mediocre rudder-shift time
• 45 seconds of fire duration instead of the standard 30 seconds for cruisers

Performance

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