You're in Charge of Premium Ship Releases for 2019

[LittleWhiteMouse]

Here's a fun thought exercise.  You've been put in charge of which premium ships Wargaming will release in 2019.  There is room for 25 premium and reward-ship releases.  They should overlap with some of the tech-tree ships also being released in 2019.  These (fictionally) include:

• French Destroyers (9 ships)
• Dutch Cruisers (10 ships -- brand new tech tree)
• British Aircraft Carriers (7 ships)
• Italian Battleships (8 ships, supplementing a fictional (?) cruiser-release in late 2018)

On top of this, the flagship launches for this year is the completed rework of the Aircraft Carrier game mechanics with a campaign focused around the Battle for the Mediterranean in WW2.  Gimme your 25 dream ship list of premiums we'd see in 2019!  Remember to include things like a New Year's reward ship, possible anniversary giveaway boats and free-experience ships too!

 

 

[swifttex1]

Interesting concept. Dutch cruisers would provide an interesting alternative to what presently exists.

[Nagato_Kai__Ni]

British CV : Ark Royal, Illustrious, Courageous, Unicorn

Dutch: HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck ( 1939 version ), HNLMS Tromp, HNLMS Java

French DD: Adroit class DD( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Adroit-class_destroyer), Mogador class (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogador-class_destroyer), and Fantasque class( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Fantasque-class_destroyer)

Italy: Francesco Caracciolo class (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Caracciolo-class_battleship)

[MasterDiggs]

T61

RN CL, a Southampton class or a Dido class would both work

IJN CA, I really don't care if they just reskin the Takao and give it the normal premium ship benefits

A French CA, maybe at T7 or T8

A FXP CA would be cool, not some unrestricted/large/battle cruiser but an 8inch CA with good range and ROF

A FXP gunboat DD, maybe a German one (I like their shell arcs) would also be cool

That's all I got,

[Commissar_Carl]

OK, this will be a work in progess as the day goes and I think of actual good ideas for premiums.

The obvious one is Ark Royal. One off design, fantastic history. That would be the main one.

In fact, if it is really the year of the carrier, I'd add in the french carrier bearn and italian carrier aquilla.

For the IJN i'll assume that the carrier rework allows the Tone, Ise, and Õyodo to be added. After that, id add in the destroyer Take as a mid tier premium to cover the 'last ditch destroyers' of 44 and 45. Look it up. Finally would add the agano. At this point i think the IJN is kinda complete.

At some point I would need to add Exeter. Again a very famous ship that would add a different RN crusier experience (finally a heavy). I would also finally add in Dreadnought. And to round out the royal navy, Id add in a dido class so i can have a british atlanta.

To keep the americans from complaining too much i'd add in USS Alaska as a tier 9 fxp deal, USS West Virginia as a t7, the USS Wichita as a decent heavy crusier preimium, and the Samual B Roberts as our new year gift ship.

For the french dd line id add in le terrible, a nice trainer that would also conform to the lines flavor.

Id convince WG that there just isnt enough material for a dutch crusier line, and add in zh1, 1047, and de ruyter as premiums instead.

The russians will get Opytny. It will be the historically accurate one with only 3 130mm guns. The torps will still have russian range. At least it will be fast. They should consider themselves lucky that i am giving them that much.

 

 

I'll think of more later.

[Ensign_Cthulhu]

Automatic first choice: Ark Royal, probably at Tier VI or VII.

Tier III: Furious, with flying-off capability for Sopwith Pups and the like and her as-constructed gun armament; the 18-inch would be balanced at tier by a low rate of fire, poor arcs, and the possession of only one. Effectively she is a carrier with only one fighter squadron, so her air group is not OP at tier and she can defend herself against Tier 4 CV attacks and surface attacks by destroyers and some light cruisers (she had a lot of 5.5 inch secondaries). Furious B hull removes the 18 inch gun and adds the aft flight deck with a small bomber squadron. Yes, I know a Tier III CV is unprecedented, but Furious has an interesting place in history and deserves to be in the game in this configuration. Alternatively she could be a Tier IV premium.

Tier IV: Argus, the very first flat-top.

Tier V: Eagle (converted Chilean battleship)

Tier VI: Courageous or Glorious.

Tier VII: Ark Royal

Tier VIII: Illustrious.

Tier IX: Leviathan - launched but never completed.

Tier X: Malta - detail-designed, but never launched.

As much as Thunderer was a troll design, I actually wouldn't mind seeing her as a free-XP premium, though my preference would be for a G3 battlecruiser. Given her speed and guns, she might be viable at Tier VIII. Her arcs are probably suboptimal when compared to Lion, so VIII might be the best place for her. Either that or Vanguard, with big range and dispersion buffs over Hood to reflect her more modern fire control and modified gun mounts.

A nice prize ship could be Borodino.

 

[Navalpride33]

Simple. Even though the BBs are know as the vacation class workload wise, I would choose

1. French DDs
2. Dutch cruisers
3.  After the rework British CV
4. lastly (since we had a lot of love for the BB class for years) The Ninja pasta BBs

[Turbotush]

Alaska.

[Ace_04]

I'd like to see a Royal Navy heavy cruiser premium (Suffolk/Norfolk?) added in advance of a British CA sub-line split at some point in the future.  We all know it is going to happen one day, if not in 2019.

[Spooooooooooooooooooooon]

Need a Tier 7 American BB Premium

[Ellyh]

RN CA HMS Black Prince - T4

6 x 234 mm in a heaxagonal layout

10 x 152 secondaries

23knots speed

[Sventex]

I would like to see a Le Fantasque-class Destroyer as a Premium.  I needs me some of that 45kt goodness.

Le Triomphant would be a good candidate, being the flagship of Free French Pacific squadron, receiving a unique British gun to replace her aft gun and later a refit in the US.  She operated in the Pacific and help with some evacuations against coming Japanese invasions.

Le Terrible would be an option for the predictable review puns.  She received a major refit in Boston getting some USN AA guns and was classified as a light cruiser under Allied designiations.  

Le Fantasque's claim to fame happened when she failed to sink the German ship Titanic in 1944, however she is the lead ship of the class and thus awkwardly suited to be a Premium.

[GrandAdmiral_2016]

1 hour ago, LittleWhiteMouse said:

Dutch Cruisers (10 ships -- brand new tech tree)

Lert will be happy if this happens....

 

Edit: Personally I prefer the RN DDs, even though I stink in ANY DD. The RN CAs would be nice in a line split, or one of them as a Premium. CVs only if they fix the CVs...

[Harv72b]

I just want to see a Pan-European line.  Blyskawica is lonely.

[MorbidGamer]

T4 - 1 cruiser and 1 BB

T5 - 1 DD, 1BB and 1cruiser.

T6 - 2 DD, 2 BB and 2 cruiser

T7 - 2 DD, 2 BB and 2 cruiser.

T8 - 2 DD, 2BB, and 2 cruiser.

T9 - 1 New free XP ship.

T10 - 1 New Steel ship.

5 German, 5 Japanese (Stop making so many DD's), 4 USA, 5 Random (not in list),  2 Italian, 2 Russian and 2 British. 

 

 

[Akeno017]

Shinano!

Make her a FXP T9 premium. I could die happy then.

[SireneRacker]

1. Together with the release of the Dutch Cruisers, I would release an additional Premium which is slightly different from the main line. We had Scharnhorst which was released around the same time as her Tech Tree, as well as the Payfast which came together with RN CLs. So a Dutch Premium Cruiser would definitely be appropriate.

2. To keep the hype around the Dutch Navy alive after the release (or before), a Dutch Premium DD. I have no knowledge on the Dutch Navy I admit, so I can not provide a name. Sorry.

3. There will be a left over RN CV after the RN CV Tech Tree, I am quite sure on that. So with the similar jutification as above, a RN CV Premium.

4. Le Hardi. She is different from the other Destroyers of the French Navy, so she would deserve a slot as a Premium. Would blend in perfectly with the French DD release. I think T7 is appropriate for her.

5. I have no real foot on the Italian BBs, I‘d ask @Phoenix_jz to give me a good candidate that would blend in well with the Tech Tree. But that a Premium would fit in well with the Tech Tree release was something I already explained.

6. USS Oklahoma. A T5 Battleship, having a better turret layout than New York and Texas but pays by having little to no AA. Configuration would be the one she was in during Pearl Harbor. Why not Nevada? Because I‘d like to keep Nevada reserved for a possible Tech Tree split. Perhabs, she could be released on December 7th to remember the events around Pearl Harbor.

7. The SMS Schleswig-Holstein. I am only half serious about her, but I do think that her historical significance justifies her, even if T2 BBs are kinda... eh. She was the ship that fired the opening salvos of WW2, and even saw some service during the war. For a ship of her age, an impressive feature. 

8. The Heavy Cruiser Admiral Scheer. Being one of the Deutschland class ships she would be similar to the Graf Spee, although she had a thinner armor and reinforced AA near the end of the war. Should be enough to make her stand out.

9. Battlecruiser Seydlitz. I swear she‘ll be the last German ship in my post! But if WG does not implement her this year, which I fear, then 2019 should be the date. Her performance during the Battle of the Dogger Bank and Jutland give her all the historical justification you might ask for. As for implementation, she could either be a non-gimmick T4 or a T5 with some modifications to her DamCon and Repair Party to reflect her survivability.

10. Strasburg (probably misspelled her). Dunkerque‘s improved sistership, with better armor. As for placement, I‘d place her at T7, give her an improved AA suite and if necessary play a bit with her sigma, speed and reload. And she‘d be a Free XP ship, just like Nelson. Given that we have T9 Free XP ships, I see little reason why we should not get a second one at T7.

[Shannon_Lindsey]

I have way too busy of a day ahead of me to give this the attention it deserves right now. That said, I intend to make a mega response to this, including details with the four tech tree lines and all 25 premiums. Straight forward, I will say I am reversing the Dutch cruisers and Italian battleships, so that the Mediterranean campaign can hit stride with the CV rework, yet still feature the biggest enemy the theater had to offer.

[FrodoFraggin]

I can’t come up with 25, but I’d like to see these:

Lutzow, 1945, similar to Graf Spee but some interesting visual differences.

IJN Akagi

IJN Shinano

The IJN 4x2x457mm concept (yes, a Japanese Conqueror)

Italian Aquila, Italian CV (and closer to completed than GZ!)

Post Pearl Harbor Tennessee and/or West Virginia

HMAS Australia/Canberra

USS Houston

HMS Exeter

HMS Repulse

HMS Prince of Wales (maybe tier 6 with the glut of T7 RN BB premiums)

HMS Ark Royal

USS Robin, US CV 

[warheart1992]

I don't think I can do 25, my knowledge of low tier potential prems is limited, but here goes:

 

CVs:

1. Ark Royal as most have already said.
2. Arromanches (French Colossus class CV).
3. Aquila maybe as well?

DDs:

1. One of the Fantasque or Mogador classes
2. Maestrale maybe to tease the Italian DD line
3. HMS Fury maybe?  F class that fought in the Mediterranean.

CAs/CLs

1. Dido definitely
2. One of the Zara sisters, possibly Pola, to be the Prinz Eugen to the Hipper of RM
3.  Georgios Averof,a Greek armoured cruiser, as a low tier and introduction of European tree, the last surviving armored cruiser in existence. Interesting guns as well (2x2 234mm).
4. Agano to maybe tease some new additions to the IJN tree?
5. One of the Java class for the Dutch
6. Any RN CA.
7. HMAS Australia, an Australian County class.

BBs

1. HMS Renown, she has a pretty interesting history as well.
2. Possibly the Caracciolo, though I think Italian BBs will be fine premium wise.
3. Arkhangelsk, a Revenge class battleship given to the Soviets.
4. HMS Vanguard could be a T8 free xp premium.

Dunno what more really, I guess with some more lower tiers you could possibly hit 25 premiums with this .

As for the theme of Mediterranean, I feel alot could be done with the defense of Malta and convoy defence Scenario wise.

 

[Gerbertz]

T-61 and Graf Zeppelin please!

[Wolcott]

In no particular order. Bold indicates ships that overlap with speculated tech tree releases. Ships with emoticons are my personal favourites.

1) HMS Sheffield (C24)

• "Shiny Sheff".
• Replacement for the screwed up Belfast.

Spoiler

 

2) Dido-class cruiser

Alternate replacement for Belfast.

Spoiler

 

3) Borodino

• One of the Russian ships of the ill-fated "Voyage of the Damned".
• Mikasa needs her Tsushima adversary.
• This would make a nice New Year's reward or anniversary giveaway ship I think.

Spoiler

 

4) USS Johnston (DD-557)

• One of the "tin cans" of Taffy 3 in the Battle off Samar.
• Obvious free XP candidate. I honestly cannot think of any other DD that even comes close to being as famous as Johnston. This is a no-brainer.
• I know we have many Fletches clones, but this is Johnston we're talking about! Personally, Black doesn't count because it's virtually impossible to get (putting it in the Arsenal makes no difference), and her history pales in comparison to Johnston's.
• There are no Fletchers in the game with an overall Navy Blue paint scheme.

Spoiler

 

5) USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413)

This would make a nice reward ship. I know it's a DE, but seeing as WG is obsessed with gimmicks they only need to remember her nickname when balancing her, "the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship."

Spoiler

 

6) HNLMS Java

• There are no Dutch ships in the game.
• Fought in the Battle of the Java Sea.
• Sunk early in the war, so not many refit options if this was a tech tree ship.
• Tech tree equivalent can be represented by sister ship Sumatra with fantasy upgrades (a "what if" she wasn't used as a blockship for Operation Overlord), allowing Java to serve as a premium ship.

Spoiler

 

7) HNLMS De Ruyter (1935)

• There are no Dutch ships in the game.
• Karel Doorman's flagship at the Battle of the Java Sea.
• Unique light cruiser.
• Never modernized, so no refit options if this was a tech tree ship.
• Tech tree equivalent can be represented by a fictional sister ship with fantasy upgrades, allowing De Ruyter to serve as a premium ship.

Spoiler

 

8) French destroyer Cyclone

• Participated in Operation Dynamo.
• The ship is already modelled.
• Historical version of the tech tree Bourrasque which will probably have fantasy upgrades; surviving ships of the class traded main guns and torpedoes for AA.
• Lost soon after Dunkirk, so not many refit options if this was a tech tree ship.

Spoiler

 

9) USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73)

• One of the "jeep carriers" of Taffy 3 in the Battle off Samar.
• There's no Casablanca-class escort carrier in the game.
• The only CVE in the game, Bogue, has a fictional aircraft loadout. For example, CVEs were equipped with Grumman Avengers, not TBD Devastators.

 

10) Zara-class cruiser

• Historical version of the tech tree equivalent which will probably have fantasy upgrades.
• Three ships of the class were sunk early in the war and the fourth ship received her last refit in 1942, leaving little room for historical upgrades for the tech tree version.
• Duca d'Aosta and Abruzzi are light cruisers, whereas Zara is a heavy cruiser.

Spoiler

 

11) Leonardo da Vinci

• Historical version of the tech tree equivalent, the Conte di Cavour-class battleship, which will have no WW1 hull modules and probably have fantasy upgrades.
• Sunk during WW1 and never modernized, which makes this a perfect low tier premium.
• Sister ship Giulio Cesare is in modernized WW2 condition.

Spoiler

 

12) SMS Lutzow 

• Hipper's flagship.
• Sunk in 1916 and thus never modernized, so its tech tree equivalent will definitely have fantasy Nazi-era upgrades.
• No Derfflinger-class battlecruiser in the game.
• No WW1 German battlecruiser in the game; the upcoming Prinz Eitel will have a fantasy Nazi-era refit.
• Jutland, duh!

Spoiler

 

13) HMS Lion 

• Beatty's flagship.
• Never modernized, so its tech tree equivalent will definitely have fantasy upgrades.
• No Lion-class battlecruiser in the game.
• No WW1 British battlecruiser in the game; Hood is in modernized WW2 condition.
• Jutland, duh!

Spoiler

 

14) SMS Von der Tann. Same reason as above.

Spoiler

 

15) USS Wasp (CV-7)

• Served in the Mediterranean, transporting Spitfires to Malta.
• Perfect candidate for the CV rework campaign.
• Sunk early in the war, so not many refit options if this was a tech tree ship.

Spoiler

 

16) HMS Eagle

• Alternate reward for CV rework campaign.
• Also served in the Mediterranean.
• Sunk early in the war, so not many refit options if this was a tech tree ship.

Spoiler

 

17) USS Houston (CA-30)

• "The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast"
• The Northampton-class cruiser is not in the game.
• Fought in the Battle of the Java Sea.
• Houston and Perth fought together in the Battle of Sunda Strait.
• Sunk in March 1942, so not many refit options compared to her tech tree equivalent which will probably be depicted in late war configuration.

Spoiler

 

18) French battleship France 

• WW1 version of the tech tree Courbet which has only modernized 1930s hull modules.
• Foundered in 1922 and never modernized unlike her sister ship Courbet.
• None of the French tech tree BBs have their historical WW1 hulls; Turenne is mostly a WG invention.
• Courbet has no premium camouflage.
• The French tech tree has no low tier premiums.

Spoiler

 

19) SMS Viribus Unitis

• No Tegetthoff-class battleship in the game.
• No Austro-Hungarian ship in the game.
• Austro-Hungarian Navy ceased to exist after WWI, making a full BB line impossible.
• Never modernized, so no refit options if this was a tech tree ship. Even if it was a tech tree ship it will probably have fantasy refits.

Spoiler

 

20) Either SMS Grosser Kurfurst, SMS Markgraf or SMS Kronprinz

• Historical version of the tech tree Konig which has fantasy Nazi-era refits.
• Replacement for the screwed up Konig Albert (assuming it's suspended from sale again).
• None of the German tech tree BBs have their historical WW1 hulls; Nassau's AA configuration is wrong and Bayern's stock hull has a modern gun director atop her foremast.
• Jutland, duh!

Spoiler

 

21) HMS Agincourt

• All of the early British tech tree BBs are in modernized conditions, some fictional.
• None of the British tech tree BBs have their historical WW1 hulls; Bellerophon has a fantasy 1918 refit.
• Never modernized as she was scrapped after WW1, so a tech tree version will definitely have fantasy upgrades.
• Jutland, duh!

Spoiler

 

 

 

22) Georgios Averof.

• No Greek ship in the game.
• No armored cruiser in the game.
• Suitable as a gift/reward ship.

Spoiler

 

23) Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya 

• Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleship.
• Alternate replacement for the screwed up Imperator Nikolai. I usually don't count Okt Rev because it's Soviet and in modernized condition.
• Historical version of the tech tree equivalent which will probably have fantasy Soviet-era refits.
• None of the ships of this class were modernized or lived to see service in the Soviet Navy.

Spoiler

 

24) USS Washington

• North Carolina's sister ship
• Involved in "one of only two battleship duels of the Pacific War", the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
• If implemented in her 1942 configuration, she will be without any quad 40mm Bofors, thus avoiding an exact copy of her tech tree equivalent.
• North Carolina does not have Measure 22 camouflage.

Spoiler

 

25) Last but not least, HMS Exeter.

• Still no Royal Navy heavy cruiser in the game.
• Still no York-class cruiser in the game.
• Alternate replacement for Belfast.
• Graf Spee needs her River Plate adversary.
• Fought in the Battle of the Java Sea.
• Tech tree equivalent will probably have fantasy refits as both ships of the class were sunk early in the war, York in March 1941 and Exeter in March 1942.

Spoiler

 

Honourable mentions:

• HMS Prince of Wales
• HMS Repulse
• HMS Queen Mary
• HMS New Zealand (1911)
• HMAS Canberra (D33)
• USS Laffey (DD-724)
• Zhemchug
• Rurik (1906)
• Novik (1911)
• ORP Burza

Fingers crossed and thanks for looking!

[AzureTerra]

HMS Ceylon for T7 RN Premium Light

HMS Dreadnought T3 RN BB (really why she isn't in the game yet is a mystery to me)

[Jollyroger95]

1. HMS DIDO. UK DIDO class AA cruiser.

2. USS ALASKA. US Alaska class cruiser(?), BattleCruiser(?)

3. HMS VICTORIUS. UK Illustrious class carrier.

4. HMS EXETER. UK York class cruiser.

5. SHINANO. IJN carrier.

6. HMS KELLY. UK K class Destroyer

7. HNLMS SUMATRA.  Dutch Java class cruiser

8. AKAGI. IJN Carrier

9. HYUGA. IJN ISE class Battleship

10.  POLA. Italian Zara class Cruiser.

 

[Asym_KS]

USS Gyatt - DDG-1 - 1957

To counter the radar meta with SLARMs...............