HMS Nelson and Rodney in Know Your Ship #46

[iChase]

Enjoy folks a little bit of history of HMS Nelson and Rodney 

 

[MrEndeavour]

I love learning!!! 

 

[iEaTDaGrudge]

[Battleship_60]

 

Yay!

[pufek]

So witch one WG eventually will introduce in the game as Premium BB T7, HMS Rodney or HMS Nelson? Personally I would chose HMS Rodney, crossing our fingers.

 

[Battleship_DukeofYork]

If WG is loyal to designs, these *should* be the best 'standard' (re: not Scharnhorst) tier 7 BBs - they have a superb belt, decent secondaries, proficient AA (when fully upgraded in WWII their decks and turret tops resembled that of Texas; littered with guns), very strong turret armor and passable speed (23 knots is by no means great, but isn't worst in the tier, either). The guns are somewhat iffy, but the survivability is pretty much off the charts.

[Lampshade_M1A2]

If the Nelson class is T7 it will be horribly overpowered for its tier. I can't wait.

[Battleship_DukeofYork]

If the Nelson class is T7 it will be horribly overpowered for its tier. I can't wait.

 

There's no way it's a tier 8 BB - the AA is good, but not in any way competitive for that next tier, and the speed, while not a complete embarrassment in tier 7, would be a joke in tier 8.

 

The guns... were also pretty bad. They had really high shell velocity like a German weapon, but were reputed to suffer from accuracy/spread issues throughout the service lives of both ships - which is the one flaw I really have a hard time stomaching. They'll also pack less of a punch than either Nagato or Colorado's main battery, as the shells were significantly lighter than either the Americans' or Japanese 16" projectile of the time. 

 

I do think they'll be very, very good boats for their tier, but that accuracy thing always gets under my skin. Plus, the British already have a shoe-in for tier 8 in King George V, which was in every way imaginable the Royal Navy equivalent of a Bismarck/So.Dak/Littorio/Richelieu (and I expect HMS Vanguard to be a very strong tier 8 premium). Tier 9 will be Lion, and tier 10 will be something out of left field (though I am personally hoping for an upgraded [new powerplant for more speed] N3 [re: Nelson's over-sized juggernaut of a daddy]). 

[YamatoA150]

If WG is loyal to designs, these *should* be the best 'standard' (re: not Scharnhorst) tier 7 BBs - they have a superb belt, decent secondaries, proficient AA (when fully upgraded in WWII their decks and turret tops resembled that of Texas; littered with guns), very strong turret armor and passable speed (23 knots is by no means great, but isn't worst in the tier, either). The guns are somewhat iffy, but the survivability is pretty much off the charts.

 

And it has major negatives, while it did have a small turning radius (same as Colorado's 640m in-game), their handling was atrocious, which would lead to long rudder shift times.  Which won't help it out if it pushes out too far and needs to turn around.

[Battleship_DukeofYork]

 

And it has major negatives, while it did have a small turning radius (same as Colorado's 640m in-game), their handling was atrocious, which would lead to long rudder shift times.  Which won't help it out if it pushes out too far and needs to turn around.

 

That's contested, though - if you read the Wikipedia article on the class (or maybe it was Nelson; I'm tired), there's a quote from one of her captains that claimed they handled excellently. I'm not sure if there's any telling at this point whether or not they had those "citadel-acts-as-a-sail" issues or not, but there does seem to be a lot of evidence out there that the whole thing was a myth. 

[mr3awsome]

If memory serves, the ships handled well, but they were quite a steep learning curve due to the position of the bridge compared to the usual. 

As existed, Nelson fits best at tier VII. 

A tier VIII premium Rodney using the various rebuild proposals could work. 

[Arthur_Dayne]

 

There's no way it's a tier 8 BB - the AA is good, but not in any way competitive for that next tier, and the speed, while not a complete embarrassment in tier 7, would be a joke in tier 8.

 

The guns... were also pretty bad. They had really high shell velocity like a German weapon, but were reputed to suffer from accuracy/spread issues throughout the service lives of both ships - which is the one flaw I really have a hard time stomaching. They'll also pack less of a punch than either Nagato or Colorado's main battery, as the shells were significantly lighter than either the Americans' or Japanese 16" projectile of the time. 

 

I do think they'll be very, very good boats for their tier, but that accuracy thing always gets under my skin. Plus, the British already have a shoe-in for tier 8 in King George V, which was in every way imaginable the Royal Navy equivalent of a Bismarck/So.Dak/Littorio/Richelieu (and I expect HMS Vanguard to be a very strong tier 8 premium). Tier 9 will be Lion, and tier 10 will be something out of left field (though I am personally hoping for an upgraded [new powerplant for more speed] N3 [re: Nelson's over-sized juggernaut of a daddy]). 

 

unless they fake the 14 inchers punch to be more powerful...the bruts will be woefully outgunned at tier 8...it was the rodney which punched a hole in the bismarcks turret...the rodney also got off more rounds...objectivly i think the rodney would defeat th kgv...however 10 14 inchers...fireing he maybe the kgv strength...plus it has maybe the best armor at tier 8...just weak guns

[cmdr_raccoon]

 

There's no way it's a tier 8 BB - the AA is good, but not in any way competitive for that next tier, and the speed, while not a complete embarrassment in tier 7, would be a joke in tier 8.

 

The guns... were also pretty bad. They had really high shell velocity like a German weapon, but were reputed to suffer from accuracy/spread issues throughout the service lives of both ships - which is the one flaw I really have a hard time stomaching. They'll also pack less of a punch than either Nagato or Colorado's main battery, as the shells were significantly lighter than either the Americans' or Japanese 16" projectile of the time. 

 

I do think they'll be very, very good boats for their tier, but that accuracy thing always gets under my skin. Plus, the British already have a shoe-in for tier 8 in King George V, which was in every way imaginable the Royal Navy equivalent of a Bismarck/So.Dak/Littorio/Richelieu (and I expect HMS Vanguard to be a very strong tier 8 premium). Tier 9 will be Lion, and tier 10 will be something out of left field (though I am personally hoping for an upgraded [new powerplant for more speed] N3 [re: Nelson's over-sized juggernaut of a daddy]). 

 

Very likely will be tier 7 along with the other Big Sevens. So far tier 7s are usually.... controversial ships, except the IJN.I like the armor on these ships but as highlighted in that quote.. the guns might be the thing that will turn me off from them. As evident in existing BBs, I despise it when the guns are so bad that only near point blank range is where the BIG guns really shine and crap all at other distances. I expect bad dispersion and more bounces, like Bayern right now. Also, I read the rate of fire is a bit slow. if the shells at least behave like the Warspite's right now, punchy and still good enough at some range, i would so like it but seems unlikely

 

Sad, because I so hoped for a good T7 European BB.

[Lampshade_M1A2]

Close range AA shouldn't be too bad. I think they had seven octuple 2-pdr mounts and a few 20mm. Long range AA from the six 120mm guns won't be great but it's competitive with the other non-premium T7s.

 

As for the N3, I think the L3 would actually be the better choice for a T10 due to its somewhat higher speed and better turret arrangement. Seems odd that in reality the N3 was selected over it.

[mr3awsome]

 Seems odd that in reality the N3 was selected over it.

Not so. There are severe space limitations with L3 when it comes to where it can go into dry dock. 

Thats why all the ships get smaller from L3 & K3 down to N3 & G3. 

[Gabriel_LXIX]

I've always had a thing for the Nelsons, 

 

maybe because they are so ugly

 

will drive one for sure 

[Gabriel_LXIX]

If WG is loyal to designs, these *should* be the best 'standard' (re: not Scharnhorst) tier 7 BBs - they have a superb belt, decent secondaries, proficient AA (when fully upgraded in WWII their decks and turret tops resembled that of Texas; littered with guns), very strong turret armor and passable speed (23 knots is by no means great, but isn't worst in the tier, either). The guns are somewhat iffy, but the survivability is pretty much off the charts.

 

Given the high freeboard and their awful turning it should be pretty soft

[Raulmacca]

Will rodney have torps?

 

As for tier, in real life she would have torn the twins apart in a fight, she is a tier 8 all day

[Trainspite]

Will rodney have torps?

 

As for tier, in real life she would have torn the twins apart in a fight, she is a tier 8 all day

 

No, they are underwater fixed tubes.

 

Tier 7. NelRod is still the equivalent of Colorado and Nagato afterall. 

[Super_Dreadnought]

If memory serves, the ships handled well, but they were quite a steep learning curve due to the position of the bridge compared to the usual. 

As existed, Nelson fits best at tier VII. 

A tier VIII premium Rodney using the various rebuild proposals could work. 

 

I'd put it the other way round personally. Rodney didn't really get much in the way of upgrades during WW2 because of how busy she was. Nelson's attraction to magnetic mines however meant that she was regularly getting repaired, upgraded, and maintained better. The older sister would seem to be the more natural fit for a 'what if' 1938 reconstruction and late war modernisation.

[cmdr_raccoon]

I've always had a thing for the Nelsons, 

 

maybe because they are so ugly

 

will drive one for sure 

 

huh, i think shes quite pretty 

[Battleship_DukeofYork]

 

huh, i think shes quite pretty 

 

I would go with 'weird looking,' but not necessarily ugly. Izumo is a ugly boat - it looks barren and half-finished; as if Wargaming's designers decided to go out for a cigarette break 2/3rds of the way through and were devoured by Russian wolves. 

[mr3awsome]

I'd put it the other way round personally. Rodney didn't really get much in the way of upgrades during WW2 because of how busy she was. Nelson's attraction to magnetic mines however meant that she was regularly getting repaired, upgraded, and maintained better. The older sister would seem to be the more natural fit for a 'what if' 1938 reconstruction and late war modernisation.

The only thing that Rodney didn't get over Nelson during the war was the 1944/45 refit. However, Rodney was the first choice for the rebuild because her electrics needed replacing. 

Plus she hadn't had the deck armour installed forward of the forward bulkhead prewar. 

Therefore, it should be Nelson in the tree as a regular, with a premium Rodney. 

[Battleship_DukeofYork]

The only thing that Rodney didn't get over Nelson during the war was the 1944/45 refit. However, Rodney was the first choice for the rebuild because her electrics needed replacing. 

Plus she hadn't had the deck armour installed forward of the forward bulkhead prewar. 

Therefore, it should be Nelson in the tree as a regular, with a premium Rodney. 

 

What would a comprehensive rebuilding have entailed? I assume an upgrading of the DP secondaries... but what else? Swapping out guns for the Mk. II version?  A boost in speed? Would there even have been room in the hullform for a different powerplant?

[iChase]

My guess is Nelson would be normal tech tree, and Rodney would be premium because famous