Supertest: British Tier IX Cruiser Drake
6 min readThe Drake is where we start seeing big guns for the British cruisers. During 1939 and 1940, Winston Churchill asked for cruisers that would be able to take down heavy cruisers built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty. These ships were meant to carry 234 mm guns while having the armor to resist 203 mm shells. The designs saw quite a few variations with either 9 or 12 guns in triple or even quadruple turrets.
In the end, the designs were abandoned, partially due to the cost that such a ship would require.
The weird thing with Drake is that she is using older 113 mm gun turrets than the Albemarle.
Hull | Engine | Gun Fire Control System | Main battery | Torpedoes |
Drake (A) | Propulsion: 102 000 hp | Mk IX mod. 1 | 234 mm/50 Mk XII | 533 mm Mk IXM |
Drake (B) | Mk IX mod. 2 |
Stock ship
Tier | IX |
Health | 40 100 HP |
Displacement | 15 500 tons |
Main Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 14.450 km |
234 mm/50 Mk XII | 3 x 3 234 mm |
Secondary Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 5.000 km |
113 mm/45 Mk IV | 6 x 2 113 mm |
Torpedo Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 10.000 km |
533 mm QR Mk IV | 2 x 4 533 mm |
Maximum speed | 33.3 kt |
Turning Circle Radius | 760 m |
Rudder Shift Time | 15.5 s |
Surface Detectability | 12.24 km |
Air Detectability | 8.11 km |
Detectability After Firing Main Gus in Smoke | 7.6 km |
3 x 3 234 mm/50 Mk XII | |
Reloading Time | 15 s |
180 Degree Turn Time | 18.0 s |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 40° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 35° |
Sigma | 2.05 sigma |
Maximum Dispersion | 130 m |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 234 mm HE 6 CRH |
Alpha Damage | 3 350 HP |
Damage | 1 820 HP |
Penetration capacity | 38 mm |
Explosion size | 1.12 |
Fire chance | 21 % |
Projectile Speed | 881 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.279 |
Projectile Mass | 172.4 |
Type of Projectile | AP – 234 mm AP 6 CRH |
Alpha Damage | 5 550 HP |
Chance to Cause Fire | -0.5 % |
Projectile Speed | 881 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.279 |
Projectile Mass | 172.4 |
Projectile Krupp | 2 400 |
Projectile Detonator | 0.033 s |
Detonator threshold | 39 mm |
6 x 2 113 mm/45 Mk IV | |
Reloading Time | 5.0 s |
Sigma | 1.00 sigma |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 113 mm HE Mk XVI |
Alpha Damage | 1 600 HP |
Damage | 410 HP |
HE penetration | 18 mm |
Explosion Size | 0.36 |
Chance to Cause Fire | 7 % |
Projectile Speed | 746 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.33 |
Projectile Mass | 25 |
2 x 4 533 mm QR Mk II 533 mm Mk IX** | |
Reloading Time | 96 s |
Maximum Distance | 10.0 km |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 40° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 60° |
Damage | 16 767 |
Speed | 62 kt |
Surface Detectability | 1.3 km |
6 x 2 113 mm/45 Mk IV | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 5.8 km |
Hit chance | 90 % |
Sector’s damage | 33 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 116 |
Flak clouds number | 5 |
Flak cloud damage | 1 540 |
4 x 8 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII 4 x 4 40 mm/39 QF Mk VII | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 2.5 km |
Hit chance | 90 % |
Sector’s damage | 69 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 242 |
12 x 1 20 mm Oerlikon Mk IV | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 2.0 km |
Hit chance | 85 % |
Sector’s damage | 27 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 95 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 |
Damage Control Party I Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 90 s | Repair Party I Number of charges: 1 Work time: 20 s Cooldown: 120 s HP regeneration speed: 2% HP/s | Hydroacoustic Search I Number of charges: 2 Work time: 180 s Cooldown: 180 s Torpedo detection range: 3.0 km Ship detection range: 3.0 km | Spotting Aircraft I Number of charges: 3 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 360 s Bonus: +20% maximum firing range |
Damage Control Party II Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s | Repair Party II Number of charges: 2 Work time: 20 s Cooldown: 80 s HP regeneration speed: 2% HP/s | Hydroacoustic Search II Number of charges: 3 Work time: 180 s Cooldown: 120 s Torpedo detection range: 3.0 km Ship detection range: 3.0 km | Spotting Aircraft II Number of charges: 4 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 240 s Bonus: +20% maximum firing range |
Fully upgraded
Tier | IX |
Health | 46 800 HP |
Displacement | 19 600 tons |
Main Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 15.895 km |
234 mm/50 Mk XII | 3 x 3 234 mm |
Secondary Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 5.000 km |
113 mm/45 Mk IV | 6 x 2 113 mm |
Torpedo Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 10.000 km |
533 mm QR Mk IV | 2 x 4 533 mm |
Maximum speed | 33.3 kt |
Turning Circle Radius | 760 m |
Rudder Shift Time | 11.0 s |
Surface Detectability | 12.24 km |
Air Detectability | 8.11 km |
Detectability After Firing Main Gus in Smoke | 7.6 km |
3 x 3 234 mm/50 Mk XII | |
Reloading Time | 15 s |
180 Degree Turn Time | 18.0 s |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 40° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 35° |
Sigma | 2.05 sigma |
Maximum Dispersion | 143 m |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 234 mm HE 6 CRH |
Alpha Damage | 3 350 HP |
Damage | 1 820 HP |
Penetration capacity | 38 mm |
Explosion size | 1.12 |
Fire chance | 21 % |
Projectile Speed | 881 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.279 |
Projectile Mass | 172.4 |
Type of Projectile | AP – 234 mm AP 6 CRH |
Alpha Damage | 5 550 HP |
Chance to Cause Fire | -0.5 % |
Projectile Speed | 881 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.279 |
Projectile Mass | 172.4 |
Projectile Krupp | 2 400 |
Projectile Detonator | 0.033 s |
Detonator threshold | 39 mm |
6 x 2 113 mm/45 Mk IV | |
Reloading Time | 5.0 s |
Sigma | 1.00 sigma |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 113 mm HE Mk XVI |
Alpha Damage | 1 600 HP |
Damage | 410 HP |
HE penetration | 18 mm |
Explosion Size | 0.36 |
Chance to Cause Fire | 7 % |
Projectile Speed | 746 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.33 |
Projectile Mass | 25 |
2 x 4 533 mm QR Mk II 533 mm Mk IX** | |
Reloading Time | 96 s |
Maximum Distance | 10.0 km |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 40° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 60° |
Damage | 16 767 |
Speed | 62 kt |
Surface Detectability | 1.3 km |
6 x 2 113 mm/45 Mk IV | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 5.8 km |
Hit chance | 90 % |
Sector’s damage | 33 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 116 |
Flak clouds number | 5 |
Flak cloud damage | 1 540 |
4 x 2 40 mm STAAG 4 x 6 40 mm Bofors Mk VI | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 3.5 km |
Hit chance | 90 % |
Sector’s damage | 67 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 235 |
12 x 2 20 mm Oerlikon Mk V | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 2.0 km |
Hit chance | 85 % |
Sector’s damage | 44 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 154 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 |
Damage Control Party I Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 90 s | Repair Party I Number of charges: 1 Work time: 20 s Cooldown: 120 s HP regeneration speed: 2% HP/s | Hydroacoustic Search I Number of charges: 2 Work time: 180 s Cooldown: 180 s Torpedo detection range: 3.0 km Ship detection range: 3.0 km | Spotting Aircraft I Number of charges: 3 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 360 s Bonus: +20% maximum firing range |
Damage Control Party II Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s | Repair Party II Number of charges: 2 Work time: 20 s Cooldown: 80 s HP regeneration speed: 2% HP/s | Hydroacoustic Search II Number of charges: 3 Work time: 180 s Cooldown: 120 s Torpedo detection range: 3.0 km Ship detection range: 3.0 km | Spotting Aircraft II Number of charges: 4 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 240 s Bonus: +20% maximum firing range |
The armor
The Drake is taking a big step up compared to the previous ships in terms of armor protection. Say goodbye to exposed citadels, here comes the spaced armor!
The bow section
The bow remains the classic tier IX cruiser bow with a 25 mm plating on it.
When it comes to the frontal protection of the middle section, the upper casemate is 21 mm thick. For the citadel’s athwartship and the casemates around it, the first part is 177 mm thick and the part deep below the waterline is 19 mm thick. As you can see, for a cruiser, it is very strong protection.
The middle section
The middle section is also well armored. While the upper belt is the classic 25 mm armor, the deck is 30 mm thick and the main belt is 177 mm thick. It is among the thickest main belt in the game for cruisers and yet, it’s not alone.
Behind the main belt, there is the citadel’s side armor which is 37 mm thick and as you can see it is quite narrow, especially below the turrets. If you ever have to shoot at this ship’s broadside, don’t aim for these parts.
Now… everything isn’t nice and shiny. While the vertical protection is quite amazing for a cruiser, the horizontal protection is disappointing with a simple 64 mm citadel deck. As you can imagine, it brings no real protection against AP bombs.
The stern section
The stern has the classic 25 mm armor except around the steering gears where there is an external 114 mm armor.
The protection of the steering gears is completed by a 64 mm armored deck.
The upper casemate is 21 mm thick and for the citadel’s athwartship, it’s the same as at the front. The first part is 177 mm thick and the lower part is 19 mm thick but deep below the waterline.
The superstructure
The superstructure is 16 mm thick and is fairly big for a cruiser.
The turrets
The turrets are both well armored and terribly designed. The face is 229 mm thick but has no slope whatsoever so AP shells will have no issue to penetrate it. The sides are 127 mm thick, the back is 178 mm thick and finally, the roof is 120 mm thick.
When it comes to the barbette, it is 177 mm thick.
Personal opinion
The Drake looks like a very strong cruiser for this tier. Great firepower, good armor, good concealment and on top of that the British improved repair party. The only big black point is the fact that the firing angles are terrible but it isn’t the end of the world.
Also, these triple 234 mm gun turrets are somehow able to make a 180° turn in 18 seconds.
“The turrets are both well armored and terribly designed. The face is 229mm thick but has no slope whatsoever so AP shells will have no issue to penetrate it.”
Not necessarily a bad design. For most ships at long ranges, shells don’t fire in a flat trajectory, they fly downwards in an arc. A shell travelling downwards and hitting a slightly sloped turret is actually hitting a flatter surface. Whereas if it strikes the ‘flat’ face of these turrets it hits the face at a guaranteed angle.
On the other hand, if the shell trajectory is perfectly flat that tends to suggest that the enemy is close enough to pen them regardless.
The worst design is actually 10-20deg sloped turrets in the game. These are near flat against incoming shells for most situations.