Colbert

0.9.5

Colbert

Cruiser | France | Tier X

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase pricepromo

Hit Points36,100

Main Battery

127 mm/54 Mle 19488 х 2 pcs.

Rate of Fire17.65 shots/min.

Reload Time3.4 sec.

Rotation Speed30 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time6 sec.

Firing Range13.8 km.

Maximum Dispersion118 m.

HE Shell127 mm HE Mark 42

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,100

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell7 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity808 m./s.

HE Shell Weight31.5 kg.

AP Shell127 mm AP Mark 41

Maximum AP Shell Damage2,600

Initial AP Shell Velocity808 m./s.

AP Shell Weight32.5 kg.

AA Defense

57 mm/60 ACAD Mle 195110 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second255

. . . Firing Range3.81 km.

127 mm/54 Mle 19488 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second125.6

. . . Firing Range5.19 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed33 knot

Turning Circle Radius620 m.

Rudder Shift Time9.2 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.42 km.

Air Detectability Range7.41 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

0.9.5

Colbert

Cruiser | France | Tier X

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase pricepromo

Hit Points36,100

Main Battery

127 mm/54 Mle 19488 х 2 pcs.

Rate of Fire17.65 shots/min.

Reload Time3.4 sec.

Rotation Speed30 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time6 sec.

Firing Range13.8 km.

Maximum Dispersion118 m.

HE Shell127 mm HE Mark 42

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,100

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell7 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity808 m./s.

HE Shell Weight31.5 kg.

AP Shell127 mm AP Mark 41

Maximum AP Shell Damage2,600

Initial AP Shell Velocity808 m./s.

AP Shell Weight32.5 kg.

AA Defense

57 mm/60 ACAD Mle 195110 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second255

. . . Firing Range3.81 km.

127 mm/54 Mle 19488 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second125.6

. . . Firing Range5.19 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed33 knot

Turning Circle Radius620 m.

Rudder Shift Time9.2 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.42 km.

Air Detectability Range7.41 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

X

promo

Colbert — French promo premium Tier X cruiser.

Designed and built after World War II, and equipped with powerful dual-purpose 127 mm artillery, this relatively small cruiser was primarily used for AA defenses.

Colbert was first released in August 2019 along with the Research Bureau, where she remains available for Research Points.

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 ( )
127 mm/54 Mle 1948	17.6	6	118	2,100	7	2,600		0	0

	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 ( )
Colbert	36,100	10	80	8		10/8		0		0	0

	Firing Range Increase (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ( )
PCA n° 10 Mle 1	0	13.8		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ( )
Propulsion: 87,000 hp	33		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

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

Player Opinion

Performance

Colbert proudly serves at Tier X, representing France. She is equipped with numerous small-caliber main guns sporting lightning-fast turret-traverse time and rate of fire. This blistering firepower can prove to be overwhelming to nearly any ship unlucky enough to find herself on the receiving end of a barrage from these guns.

As a French ship, Colbert is fast. She has access to the Speed Boost consumable, which is most effective when paired with a sierra-mike signal flag. Players intending to deploy Colbert in open water must utilize her speed and employ evasive maneuvers in order to avoid being sent back to port prematurely. Colbert has a quick rate of fire, but her armor and low gun-caliber restrict her ability to hold out against more-heavily armored ships with large-caliber guns, such as her tech-tree counterpart, Henri IV. Her stock firing range is relatively lackluster, meaning that players should expect to devote at least four commander points and/or an upgrade module slot to extending her gun range. Colbert can be a very rewarding ship to play, but she demands a captain who will utilize her strengths to play strategically. Her speed can get her into dangerous situations very quickly--without a torpedo armament or access to a smoke screen consumable, a bold playstyle will likely be punished very harshly by the enemy. Luckily, she has access to numerous charges of the Repair Party () consumable to restore hit points after a close call.

Pros:

• Extremely high rate of fire.
• Extremely fast turret traverse.
• Decent anti-aircraft armament.
• Access to the speed boost consumable, providing a high top-speed.
• Decent concealment.

Cons:

• High citadel and large profile make for an easy target.
• Concealment, consumable, and gun range skills and upgrades are practically a necessity, limiting customization options.
• Relatively low alpha strike potential on anything larger than a destroyer.
• No torpedo armament, smoke screen consumable, or spotter aircraft.

Research

As a premium ship, Colbert doesn't have any upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Colbert are as follows:

• Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 ()
• Slot 2: Steering Gears Modification 1 ()*
• Slot 3: AA Guns Modification 1 ()
• Slot 4: Propulsion Modification 1 ()
• Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 ()
• Slot 6: Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 ()

If available, Engine Boost Modification 1 () should be equipped in Slot 2.

Commander Skills

Key skills for Colbert commanders include Superintendent, Advanced Firing Training, and Concealment Expert.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★★★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines. ★★	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time. Χ	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters. Χ	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. Χ	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire. ★★★	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes. Χ
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable.	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables. ★★★	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm.	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range. Χ	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen. Χ	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed. Χ	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost. ★★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding.	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier.	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes. Χ	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage. Χ	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns. ★	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship. ★★★	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target. ★★★	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes. ★
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three.	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +25% to the armor penetration of HE shells. -50% to base chance of fire caused by HE shells.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +7.5% attack aircraft and torpedo bomber aiming speed. +15% dive bomber aiming speed. Χ	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% AA flak burst damage. ★★	Massive AA Fire +100% instantaneous damage. No boost to continuous damage in a reinforced sector. Shorter effective cooldown.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken. ★	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful      ★★ - Frequently Useful      ★ - Occasionally Useful     No stars - Meh      Χ - Not recommended

Consumables

Colbert can equip the following consumables:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party ()
• Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire () or Hydroacoustic Search ()
• Slot 3: Engine Boost () This is the French special speed boost giving a 20% boost for 180s.
• Slot 4: Repair Party ()

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Colbert comes included with Type 20 camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, reduces her repair costs, and increases the amount of experience she earns.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts.	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time. ★★	India X-Ray +1% chance of causing a fire for bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm. +0.5% chance of causing a fire for bombs and shells with a caliber below 160mm. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.	Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★	Victor Lima +1% chance of causing a fire for bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm. +0.5% chance of causing a fire for bombs and shells with a caliber below 160mm. +4% chance of flooding (against your ship). ★★	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy. ★
November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★★★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when the Repair Party consumable is used. ★★★	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration. ★	India Yankee -20% to fire duration. ★	Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★
Economic
Zulu +20% credits earned for the battle. ★★	India Bravo Terrathree -10% to the cost of the ship's post-battle repair. ★★	Equal Speed Charlie London +50% XP earned for the battle. ★★	Zulu Hotel +50% Commander XP earned for the battle. ★★	Papa Papa +300% Free XP earned for the battle. ★★
Special
Wyvern +50% credits earned for the battle. ★★	Red Dragon +100% XP earned for the battle. +100% Commander XP earned for the battle. ★★	Dragon Flag +333% Commander XP earned for the battle. ★★	Ouroboros +777% Free XP earned for the battle. ★★	Hydra +50% XP earned for the battle. +150% Commander XP earned for the battle. +250% Free XP earned for the battle. ★★	Basilisk +75% XP earned for the battle. +30% credits earned for the battle. ★★
Leviathan +50% XP earned for the battle. +100% Commander XP earned for the battle. +200% Free XP earned for the battle. +20% credits earned for the battle. ★★	Scylla +50% XP earned for the battle. +150% Commander XP earned for the battle. +25% credits earned for the battle. ★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful       ★★ - Frequently Useful       ★ - Occasionally Useful      No stars - Not Useful

Gallery

Historical Info

Colbert, 1959

Construction

Builder: Arsenal de Brest, Brest, France

Laid down: 17th May 1954

Launched: 24th March 1956

Commissioned: 5th May 1959

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Specifications

9,085 tons displacement, standard

180.5m length

20.3m beam

6.5m draft

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Machinery

Four Indret boilers generating steam for two sets of CEM Parsons geared steam turbines

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Performance

33 knots at 87,000 shaft horsepower

4,000 nm at 25 knots

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Armor

Main belt: 50-80mm

Decks: 50mm main deck

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Armament

Main

Sixteen (8x2) 127mm/54 Model 1948

Anti-aircraft

Twenty (10x2) 57mm/60 Model 1951

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Aircraft

One helicopter

File:PICTURE.JPG

CAPTION.

History

Design

The last pure-gun cruiser built by the Marine Nationale, the Colbert was the sole product of what was initially a far more ambitious program. After the Second World War, France was desperately short of cruisers – only three heavy cruisers survived, all obsolescent and useless designs used only as depot ships, as was one of the older light cruisers, while others were used as training ships. Of the six modern La Galissonnière-class light cruisers, half were lost at Toulon, while the other half managed to survive the war. These three cruisers – Glorie, Montcalm, and Georges Leygues – would form the core of France’s post-war cruiser force.

Immediately following WWII, the French Navy began to work on its future fleet structure. As early as March 1945 studies were begun to explore the possibility for a new type of light cruiser with twelve 152mm guns in four triple turrets (the project was abandoned in January 1948). According to the fleet plans drawn up in 1946 and 1947, the Marine Nationale wished to operate two (initially three) battlegroups, one of which could be placed at the disposal of the new NATO alliance. In order to achieve this, a force of twelve cruisers were planned by 1960 – three new light cruisers, and six specialized anti-aircraft cruisers. Ultimately, though, France’s financial situation prevented this from being completed, even with a substantial injection of cash from NATO funds (read: America) in 1949. No additionally light cruisers could be ordered, and ultimately only two of the six anti-aircraft cruisers could be completed – the first was the cruiser De Grasse, laid down before the war and completed to a revised design serving as the prototype for the new AAW cruisers, and the second was Colbert herself, based on De Grasse’s completed form.

Colbert weighed in at about 9,230 tonnes standard, and 11,587 tonnes fully loaded – about a thousand tons lighter than the 9,530/12,520-ton De Grasse. The hull was slightly shorter and beamier, which contributed to the slower design speed. Propulsion power was 86,000 CV on two shafts (Parsons shaft geared turbines) for a design speed of 32 knots. Power was supplied be four Indret 45 kg/cm² (450ºC) boilers, and despite the reduction of fuel load (from 1,850 tons to 1,708 tons) endurance was substantially increased (from 6,000 to 7,000 nm at 18 knots). Due to the ship’s purpose-built role as an anti-aircraft cruiser, she carried considerably less armor, with a 50-80mm armor belt protecting her machinery spaces and a 50mm armor deck over the machinery spaces.

The armament remained identical to what was fitted on De Grasse – sixteen 127mm/54 Mle 1948 in eight twin mounts. The gun was largely a copy of the American 5”/54 Mk.16, and used the same ammunition – firing shells of 31-32 kg at a velocity of 808 m/s with a 9,000-meter AA ceiling, the guns had good ballistic performance and a high rate of fire in the order of 15-18 rounds/minute. Fully dual-purpose, the guns were serviced by four directors, each equipped with a rangefinder and a DRBC 31B fire control radar. This long-range air defense capability was backed up with a powerful battery of medium AA guns, the ubiquitous 57mm/60 Mle 1951. This French AA system was based around the Bofors 57mm AA gun, which fired 2.6 kg projectiles at a velocity of 865 m/s and a cyclical rate of fire of 120 rounds/minute. They were divided into four groups (fore, aft, port beam, starboard beam), each controlled by a director with a DRBC 31A fire control radar.

In 1970 the ship began a major refit that largely reworked the design, to make it better optimized for modern anti-aircraft warfare. All armament and fire control were stripped from the ship and the superstructure reduced. Ballistic armament was reduced to two 100mm/55 Mle 1968 single mounts forward, modern dual-purpose guns firing 13.5 kg shells at 867 m/s with a 6,000-meter ceiling and 9,000-meter effective range. Rate of fire was an impressive 60 rounds/minute, and fire control was conducted via directors using the DRBC-32C fire control radar. However, the main anti-aircraft armament was the twin launcher for the Masurca Mk.2 mod 2 SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile), a super-sonic (Mach 3) anti-aircraft missile with a range of 55 km and 30 km ceiling. 48 missiles were carried in the magazine, with the entire system weighing 450 metric tons. Target acquisition was first achieved with DRBV-23C Jupiter air search radar, a long-range 2D radar that would identify, out of the incoming, the two highest-priority targets, which would then be transferred to the pair of DRBR 51 fire control radars, which provided guidance for the Masurca Mk.2’s (which on paper used a semi-active radar homing, and thus required terminal guidance from the DRBR 51’s – however the mod.2 had a simpler proximity fuse and was extremely reliant on the fire control radars). Two missiles could be in the air and guided at the same time, although it was also possible to fire off multiple missiles, picked up by the guidance radar while they sped in the general direction of the target. However, the missiles were bulky, and thus slow to load from the magazines onto the launching arms. The refit was completed in 1972, and shortly after the missiles were replaced by the updated mod.3 versions, with a superior guidance system (a true SARH system). In 1980, four single box launchers were added for the MM38 Exocet anti-ship missiles, as were the associated DRBV 51 Triton fire control radars. These subsonic sea-skimmers (315 m/s) had a range of 42 km and packed a 165 kg warhead.

====Service====

Historical Gallery

• 

  A great side view of Colbert steaming out of port.

• 

  Colbert as she sat as a museum ship from 1993-2007.

• 

  Colbert from a nice angle as a museum ship.

• 

  Colbert sitting in mothballs waiting to be scrapped.

References

1. French cruiser Colbert (C611) - Wikipedia
   

Ships of France

Cruisers