Marlborough

13.9

Battleship | U.K. | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

12345678910

IX

Special

Marlborough — British special premium Tier IX battleship.

One of the options to use as a basis for designing the Lion-class battleships was project 14B/38. It had sixteen 356 mm guns in four turrets and was developed in case the new 406 mm gun proved to be unsuccessful. The use of 356 mm guns would have sped up the construction of the Lion-class battleships, but this idea wasn't followed through.

Marlborough was first available for completing all 32 Stages of the Clydebank Dockyard on 08 December 2021.

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 ()
356 mm/45 Mk.VII on a Mk.III mount	2.4	45	268	5,500	28	10,500		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 ()
Marlborough	76,800	19	381	4	8	10/9/8				0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk IX mod. 1		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 140,000 hp	31.5		0	0

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.

The Marlborough is a demanding ship to play with very light armour and exposed citadel for its class and rank. Its 14-inch guns (356mm) will see its AP broadside overmatched even against lower tier vessels. In a straight shootout with any battleship (including lower tier) or high level cruisers, players may find themselves trading poorly.

The Marlborough does however benefit from a modestly larger health pool than is typical for its tier to resist withering fire from HE, as well as a faster rudder shift common to premium Tier IX ships. It also boasts an impressive 16 guns in an 8 front 8 back configuration and a rapid 25 second reload.

Players should avoid exposing their broadside at all costs even to equal tier cruisers, this will involve sacrificing the ability to bring all 16 guns to bear due to extremely poor gun angles common to many British higher tier battleships. However due to having 8 guns front and back, players will still have an competitive 8 guns while allowing for optimum angling to reduce incoming damage.

Players should focus on using HE at long range particularly in the early phase of the game to start fires. The low calibre of the main battery makes AP at range extremely inefficient with very high incident of ricochet even against cruisers. AP should be used only for closer range exchanges when broadside is exposed, when the shell is not dependant on arching fire to punch through armour. A half salvo of 8 AP rounds even from the Marlborough's light guns can do significant damage at short range when you can guarantee a high hit rate, and if you're lucky can penetrate the citadel.

A 25 second reload allows for very rapid shell switching if taken with "Gun Feeder" (-50% time to switch shell) and "Main Battery Modification 3" (-12% main battery reload), which reduces a reloaded shell switch to just 9 seconds and volley time to 22 seconds to assist in optimum shell usage at all times. Proper shell usage may find a playing equally splitting their damage 50/50 between AP and HE through a game.

Pros:

Sixteen (16) main guns
Very quick main battery reload speed (25 seconds unmodified)
Improved HE penetration (89mm)
Good speed and rudder shift for a Tier 9 battleship
Great concealment when fully upgraded, as low as 12.1km

Cons:

Slow main battery traverse and very poor firing arcs
Main battery accuracy is overall bad
Small gun caliber, cannot overmatch 25mm or thicker armor with AP shells
Very poor durability for a battleship - weak external armor and massive, exposed citadel block
No access to aviation or utility consumables

Research

As a premium ship, Marlborough has no module upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades are:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1 
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2 or Steering Gears Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 or Main Battery Modification 3

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

Marlborough equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Repair Party  – 4 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Marlborough comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation.	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. +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.	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 .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

References

Ships of U.K.

Destroyers	II Medea • III Valkyrie • III Campbeltown • IV Wakeful • V Acasta • VI Icarus • VI Gallant • VII Jervis • VII Jupiter '42 • VIII Lightning • VIII Cossack • VIII Cossack B • IX Jutland • IX Somme • X Daring • X Druid
Cruisers	I Black Swan • II Weymouth • III Caledon • IV Danae • V Emerald • V Hawkins • V Exeter • VI Leander • VI Devonshire • VI London • VI Dido • VI Orion '44 • VII Fiji • VII Surrey • VII Belfast • VIII Edinburgh • VIII Albemarle • VIII Cheshire • VIII Tiger '59 • VIII Belfast '43 • VIII Hampshire • VIII Nottingham • VIII AL Cheshire • VIII STAR Edinburgh • IX Neptune • IX Drake • X Monmouth • X Minotaur • X Goliath • X Plymouth • X Gibraltar • X Defence • ★ Edgar
Battleships	III Bellerophon • III Indefatigable • III Dreadnought • IV Orion • IV Queen Mary • V Iron Duke • V Tiger • V Agincourt • VI Warspite • VI Queen Elizabeth • VI Renown • VI Repulse • VI Repulse B • VII King George V • VII Rooke • VII Hood • VII Nelson • VII Duke of York • VII Collingwood • VII Renown '44 • VII Rodney • VIII Monarch • VIII Hawke • VIII Vanguard • IX Lion • IX Duncan • IX Marlborough • IX Scarlet Thunder • X Conqueror • X St. Vincent • X Thunderer • X Incomparable • X Cumberland • X [[Ship:[Conqueror]\|[Conqueror]]] • ★ Devastation
Aircraft Carriers	IV Hermes • VI Furious • VI Ark Royal • VIII Implacable • VIII Indomitable • VIII Colossus • VIII Theseus • X Audacious • X Malta • X [[Ship:[Audacious]\|[Audacious]]] • ★ Eagle

Battleships

Netherlands
U.S.A.	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VII Colorado 2 • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • VIII Volunteer State • VIII North Carolina 2 • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • IX Iowa 2 • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • X BA Montana • X [[Ship:[Montana]\|[Montana]]] • X Montana 2 • X Utah • ★ Maine
Europe	V Viribus Unitis • IX Karl XIV Johan
Germany	III Nassau • III Von der Tann • III König Albert • IV Kaiser • IV Moltke • V König • V Derfflinger • VI Bayern • VI Mackensen • VI Prinz Eitel Friedrich • VII Gneisenau • VII Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst • VII AL Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst B • VII Scharnhorst '43 • VIII Tirpitz • VIII Bismarck • VIII Zieten • VIII Odin • VIII Brandenburg • VIII Anhalt • VIII Brandenburg B • VIII Tirpitz B • VIII BA Tirpitz • IX Friedrich der Grosse • IX Prinz Rupprecht • IX Pommern • IX Pommern B • IX Prinz Sigismund • X Grosser Kurfürst • X Schlieffen • X Preussen • X Mecklenburg • X [[Ship:[Grosser Kurfürst]\|[Grosser Kurfürst]]] • ★ Hannover
U.S.S.R.	III Knyaz Suvorov • IV Imperator Nikolai I • IV Gangut • V Pyotr Velikiy • V Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya • VI Izmail • VI Novorossiysk • VII Sinop • VII Poltava • VIII Vladivostok • VIII Lenin • VIII Borodino • VIII V. I. Lenin • IX Sovetsky Soyuz • IX Navarin • IX AL Sov. Rossiya • X Kremlin • X Slava • ★ Admiral Ushakov
Italy	IV Dante Alighieri • V Conte di Cavour • V Giulio Cesare • VI Andrea Doria • VII Francesco Caracciolo • VIII Vittorio Veneto • VIII Roma • VIII AL Littorio • IX Lepanto • IX Marco Polo • IX Giuseppe Verdi • X Cristoforo Colombo • X Ruggiero di Lauria • X Sicilia • X Amerigo Vespucci
Pan-America	V Rio de Janeiro • VIII Ipiranga • VIII Atlântico • IX Los Andes • X Libertad • X Comodoro
Japan	II Mikasa • III Kawachi • IV Myōgi • IV Ishizuchi • V Kongō • V ARP Kongō • V ARP Kirishima • V ARP Haruna • V ARP Hiei • V HSF Hiei • VI Fusō • VI Mutsu • VI Ise • VI Ise 2 • VI Ise 3 • VII Nagato • VII Ashitaka • VII Hyūga • VIII Amagi • VIII Yumihari • VIII Kii • VIII Ignis Purgatio • VIII Ragnarok • IX Izumo • IX Adatara • IX Musashi • IX Hizen • IX Iwami • IX Daisen • IX Tsurugi • IX Iwami B • X Yamato • X Bungo • X Shikishima • X ARP Yamato • X [[Ship:[Yamato]\|[Yamato]]] • ★ Satsuma
U.K.	III Bellerophon • III Indefatigable • III Dreadnought • IV Orion • IV Queen Mary • V Iron Duke • V Tiger • V Agincourt • VI Warspite • VI Queen Elizabeth • VI Renown • VI Repulse • VI Repulse B • VII King George V • VII Rooke • VII Hood • VII Nelson • VII Duke of York • VII Collingwood • VII Renown '44 • VII Rodney • VIII Monarch • VIII Hawke • VIII Vanguard • IX Lion • IX Duncan • IX Marlborough • IX Scarlet Thunder • X Conqueror • X St. Vincent • X Thunderer • X Incomparable • X Cumberland • X [[Ship:[Conqueror]\|[Conqueror]]] • ★ Devastation
France	III Turenne • IV Courbet • V Bretagne • VI Normandie • VI Dunkerque • VI Dunkerque B • VII Lyon • VII Strasbourg • VIII Richelieu • VIII Gascogne • VIII Champagne • VIII Flandre • VIII Picardie • VIII [[Ship:[Richelieu]\|[Richelieu]]] • IX Alsace • IX Jean Bart • IX Jean Bart B • X République • X Bourgogne • ★ Patrie
Pan-Asia	IX Bajie • IX Wujing • IX Sun Yat-Sen • IX Louchuan • IX Xuan Wu
Spain	IX Victoria
Commonwealth	VII Yukon

Games

Navigation

Tools

Marlborough

Modules

Compatible Upgrades