Supertest: British Tier VIII Cruiser Albemarle

The Albemarle (initially called Bedford) is based on a 15 500 tons cruiser design from 1940. The design was armed with 9 203 mm guns in 3 triple turrets. The initial design wasn’t planning for any torpedo tube.

In World of Warships, the Albemarle is a more modern version of the design with 113 mm secondaries and equipped with torpedoes.

Characteristics

Stock ship

GeneralMain BatterySecondariesTorpedo TubesAir DefenseConsumables

Tier	VIII
Health	39 400 HP
Displacement	15 500 tons
Main Armament
Maximum Firing Range	14.270 km
203 mm/50 BL Mk IX	3 x 3 203 mm
Secondary Armament
Maximum Firing Range	3.000 km
113 mm/45 RP 41 Mk VI	6 x 2 113 mm
Torpedo Armament
Maximum Firing Range	10.000 km
533 mm QR Mk II	2 x 4 533 mm
Maximum speed	33 kt
Turning Circle Radius	720 m
Rudder Shift Time	15.1 s
Surface Detectability	12.42 km
Air Detectability	7.7 km
Detectability After Firing Main Gus in Smoke	7.05 km

3 x 3 203 mm/50 BL Mk IX
Reloading Time	12 s
180 Degree Turn Time	22.5 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	38°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	36°
Sigma	2.00 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	128 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 203 mm HE 256 lb
Alpha Damage	2 850 HP
Damage	1 230 HP
Penetration capacity	33 mm
Explosion size	0.86
Fire chance	15 %
Projectile Speed	814 m/s
Air Drag	0.304
Projectile Mass	116.1
Type of Projectile	AP – 203 mm AP 256 lb
Alpha Damage	4 500 HP
Chance to Cause Fire	-0.5 %
Projectile Speed	814 m/s
Air Drag	0.304
Projectile Mass	116.1
Projectile Krupp	2 400
Projectile Detonator	0.033 s
Detonator threshold	34 mm

6 x 2 113 mm/45 RP 41 Mk VI
Reloading Time	3.0 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	25°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	32°
Damage	15533
Speed	62 kt
Surface Detectability	1.3 km

6 x 2 113 mm/45 RP 41 Mk VI
Sector range	0.1 km – 5.8 km
Hit chance	90 %
Sector’s damage	38
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	133
Flak clouds number	6
Flak cloud damage	1 470
4 x 8 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII 2 x 4 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VII
Sector range	0.1 km – 2.5 km
Hit chance	90 %
Sector’s damage	56
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	196
16 x 1 20 mm Oerlikon Mk IV
Sector range	0.1 km – 2.0 km
Hit chance	85 %
Sector’s damage	36
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	126

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

GeneralMain BatterySecondariesTorpedo TubesAir DefenseConsumables

Tier	VIII
Health	43 800 HP
Displacement	18 232 tons
Main Armament
Maximum Firing Range	15.697 km
203 mm/50 BL Mk IX	3 x 3 203 mm
Secondary Armament
Maximum Firing Range	3.000 km
113 mm/45 RP 41 Mk VI	6 x 2 113 mm
Torpedo Armament
Maximum Firing Range	10.000 km
533 mm QR Mk II	2 x 4 533 mm
Maximum speed	33 kt
Turning Circle Radius	720 m
Rudder Shift Time	10.7 s
Surface Detectability	12.42 km
Air Detectability	7.7 km
Detectability After Firing Main Gus in Smoke	7.05 km

3 x 3 203 mm/50 BL Mk IX
Reloading Time	12 s
180 Degree Turn Time	22.5 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	38°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	36°
Sigma	2.00 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	141 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 203 mm HE 256 lb
Alpha Damage	2 850 HP
Damage	1 230 HP
Penetration capacity	33 mm
Explosion size	0.86
Fire chance	15 %
Projectile Speed	814 m/s
Air Drag	0.304
Projectile Mass	116.1
Type of Projectile	AP – 203 mm AP 256 lb
Alpha Damage	4 500 HP
Chance to Cause Fire	-0.5 %
Projectile Speed	814 m/s
Air Drag	0.304
Projectile Mass	116.1
Projectile Krupp	2 400
Projectile Detonator	0.033 s
Detonator threshold	34 mm

6 x 2 113 mm/45 RP 41 Mk VI
Reloading Time	3.0 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	25°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	32°
Damage	15533
Speed	62 kt
Surface Detectability	1.3 km

6 x 2 113 mm/45 RP 41 Mk VI
Sector range	0.1 km – 5.8 km
Hit chance	90 %
Sector’s damage	38
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	133
Flak clouds number	6
Flak cloud damage	1 470
6 x 2 40 mm Bofors Mk II
Sector range	0.1 km – 3.5 km
Hit chance	90 %
Sector’s damage	56
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	168
16 x 2 20 mm Oerlikon Mk V
Sector range	0.1 km – 2.0 km
Hit chance	85 %
Sector’s damage	59
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	207

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 armor scheme of the Albemarle is… pretty good and at the same time quite worrying. Her citadel is very exposed which doesn’t go well with her bad firing angles but at the same time, she has solid armor protection in general.

The bow section

The bow is much smaller than on the lower tier ships and stops right before the A turret. It is 25 mm thick which is the standard for heavy cruisers at this tier.

For the frontal protection of the middle section, the upper casemate is only 19 mm thick so AP shells will go through no matter.

For the citadel’s athwartship, the upper part is 152 mm thick and the lower part is 76 mm thick. For a cruiser, this is actually quite good and while it won’t help much against battleships, against cruisers that might get the opportunity to penetrate your bow, it will make the difference.

The middle section

The middle section of the Albemarle is quite well protected but at the same time, her citadel is terribly exposed.

The deck is 30 mm thick so it will bounce AP shells of a diameter of 420 mm or smaller. The side armor is 25 mm and the main belt that is simply massive is 152 mm thick. It is worth noting that this main belt is the citadel and with such a huge portion above the waterline coupled with bad firing angles… you might want to be careful when picking your opponents.

For the horizontal protection, above the engines, the citadel armor deck is 70 mm thick and under the turrets, it’s 102 mm thick. It won’t do much against AP bombs but at least, it does protect from AP shells that would somehow get the necessary angle to not automatically bounce.

It is worth noting that the 70 mm deck is exposed where the torpedo tubes are located. This means that ships with a sufficient HE penetration will be able to get HE citadels on the ship if RNG says yes.

The stern section

The stern has the classic 25 mm plating except around the steering gears. On the sides, there is a 102 mm thick belt and on the flat extremity, there is a 76 mm plating.

There is also an internal protection with a 50 mm armored deck followed by a 38 mm plate. At least, this should prove that the steering gears on this ship should be well protected (unlike the Amalfi that gets her rudder jammed by the 105 mm secondaries of a Bismarck…).

For the rear protection of the middle section. It’s the exact same as at the front. There is a 19 mm casemate followed by the citadel’s athwartships with the upper part being 152 mm thick and the lower part 76 mm thick. Against cruisers, it will be effective protection especially with the flat stern that can allow AP shells to penetrate easily.

The superstructure

The superstructure is 16 mm thick and for the secondary turrets, they are covered with 18 mm of armor.

The turrets

The turrets are relatively well protected with a 152 mm face, 102 mm sides and roof and finally 50 mm back. For the barbette, the upper part is 152 mm thick and the part inside the ship is 102 mm thick.

Personal Opinion

From the look of it, the ship will definitely need the improved British Repair Party. While her armor is good against cruisers and also against battleships when angled, bringing all guns to bear will definitely expose the huge citadel.

Except that… the ship looks decent. The firepower looks good, the torpedo armament makes for a nice side dish, the ship isn’t slow like Surrey and the concealment is also great.

Yuzorah

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