Supertest: Dutch Tier II Cruiser Gelderland
3 min readHNLMS Gelderland was a Holland-class cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was laid down in November 1897, launched in September 1898 and commissioned in July 1900.
The ship had a really quiet career and at the end of World War I, she was reclassified as a training ship. At some point, she underwent a refit and her two 150 mm guns were replaced by two additional 120 mm guns.
When World War II broke out, she was still in service and during the invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, the ship was captured.
Gelderland was converted into an anti-air cruiser with the work on her being finished at the end of 1943. In March 1944, she was commissioned as a ship of the Kriegsmarine and renamed Niobe.
During the Continuation War, the Niobe was sent to support the Finnish city of Kotka in 1944. At the same time, the Soviet forces were hunting the coastal defense ship Väinämöinen and reconnaissance flights spotted a large ship in the harbor of Kotka. In July 1944, 132 bombers and fighters attacked the ship that ended up being Niobe. After a fierce last stand, the ship was hit and sunk in the harbor with seventy crew members lost.
In 1953, the ship was raised and scrapped.
In World of Warships, we are getting Gelderland as she was after her refit from 1939.
For the classic reminder, this is a ship in testing, anything can change so don’t look at her like she would already be released.
Modules
Hull | Engine | Gun Fire Control System | Main battery |
Gelderland |
Propulsion: 10 000 hp |
SUO Mk 2 Mod. 1 |  120 mm/40 Krupp No.3 |
SUO Mk 2 Mod. 2 |
General Characteristics
| Tier | II |
| Health | 16 600 HP |
| Torpedo Damage Reduction | 3 % |
| Displacement | 4 033 tons |
| Dimensions | |
| Overall length | 94.60 m |
| Beam | 14.61 m |
| Overall height (keel to the highest point on the ship) | 17.26 m |
| Freeboard | 5.0 m |
| Main Armament | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 11.340 km (12.474 km when upgraded) |
| 120 mm/40 Krupp No.3 | 8 x 1 120 mm |
| Maximum speed | 20.0 knots |
| Turning Circle Radius | 330 m |
| Rudder Shift Time | 4.8 s |
| Surface Detectability | 8.28 km |
| Air Detectability | 3.29 km |
| Detectability After Firing Main Guns in Smoke | 3.08 km |
Main Battery
| 8 x 1 120 mm/40 Krupp No.3 | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 11.340 km (12.474 km when upgraded) |
| Reloading Time | 8.0 s |
| 180 Degree Turn Time | 18.0 s |
| Optimal firing angles at the front | 40° |
| Optimal firing angles at the rear | 48° |
| Sigma | 2.00 sigma |
| Maximum Dispersion | 111 m (119 m when upgraded) |
| Shells | |
| Type of Projectile | HE – 120 mm HE Brisantgranaat |
| Alpha Damage | 1 700 HP |
| Damage | 440 HP |
| Penetration capacity | 20 mm |
| Explosion size | 0.39 |
| Fire chance | 7 % |
| Projectile Speed | 820 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.42 |
| Projectile Mass | 20.5 kg |
| Type of Projectile | AP – 120 mm AP Pantsergranaat |
| Alpha Damage | 2 000 HP |
| Projectile Speed | 820 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.42 |
| Projectile Mass | 21 kg |
| Projectile Krupp | 2 000 |
| Projectile Detonator | 0.01 s |
| Detonator threshold | 20 mm |
| Ricochet Angles | 45° – 60° |
Anti-air Armament
| 8 x 1 12.7 mm/80 Browning 3 x 1 7.92 mm/80 Maschinengewehr Patent Schwarzlose M.07 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 1.5 km |
| Hit chance | 85 % |
| Sector’s damage | 53 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 214 |
Consumables
Slot 1 |
Damage Control Party  Work time: 5 sCooldown: 60 s |
The Armor
Just like the rest of the tier II cruisers, it has pretty much no protection against HE shells and AP shells will struggle to not over-penetrate the target.
Personal Opinion
Well… she actually looks fairly underwhelming. Low HP pool, the speed is below average and her damage output isn’t stellar either.
About Author
Obligatory metal song reference:
(Heidevolk, Anthem of Gelre)