Supertest: Pan-European Tier III Destroyer Romulus
4 min readThe Romulus-class was a group of 2 destroyers operated by the Royal Swedish Navy during the Second World War. The class consisted of HSwMS Romulus and HSwMS Remus. They were built in Italy as the Spica-class torpedo boats Spica and Astore in the mid-1930s and sold to Sweden in 1940. The 2 ships were adapted for northern conditions and remained in service during World War II and into the first decades of the Cold War. They were modernized and re-designated as anti-submarine frigates in 1953. Both ships were scrapped in 1958.
Currently, the concept of European destroyers brings the following features:
- Very fast torpedoes with relatively low damage and long-range;
- Artillery is similar to that of American destroyers: quite effective in close combat but weaker than that of artillery-focused destroyers;
- The speed of the new destroyers is relatively low: 35 knots at Tiers VII — X. It can be increased by an Engine Boost consumable found in a dedicated slot, giving a standard bonus of 8%;
- Starting from Tier VII, the AA defense of European destroyers has a large area of effect and deals good damage;
- Presence of Repair Party: at Tiers V — VIII it is the same as on British destroyers, and at Tiers IX and X this consumable will be active for 4 seconds longer;
- Starting from Tier VIII, ships are equipped with Surveillance Radar in a dedicated slot. It has an action time of 15 seconds and a range of up to 7.5 km;
- Lack of Smoke Generator and relatively high detection range: when fighting with other destroyers for key areas it’s better to rely on Surveillance Radar and torpedoes.
Hull | Engine | Gun Fire Control System | Main battery | Torpedoes |
Romulus (A) | Propulsion: 19 000 hp | SUO Mk 3 Mod. 1 | 100 mm/47 OTO Model 1931 | Torped M1913 |
Romulus (B) | SUO Mk 3 Mod. 2 |
As usual, I will cover the stats of the stock and fully upgraded versions of the ship.
Stock ship
Tier | III |
Health | 6 800 HP |
Displacement | 780 tons |
Main Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 8.610 km |
100 mm/47 OTO Model 1931 | 3 x 1 100 mm |
Torpedo Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 8.000 km |
450 mm Twin 450 mm Quadruple | 1 x 2 450 mm 1 x 4 450 mm |
Maximum speed | 34 kts |
Turning Circle Radius | 440 m |
Rudder Shift Time | 2.93 s |
Surface Detectability | 6.94 km |
Air Detectability | 2.28 km |
Detectability After Firing Main Guns in Smoke | 2.47 km |
3 x 1 100 mm/47 OTO Model 1931 | |
Reloading Time | 6 s |
180 Degree Turn Time | 18.0 s |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 50° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 32° |
Sigma | 2.00 sigma |
Maximum Dispersion | 75 m |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 100 mm HE |
Alpha Damage | 1 450 HP |
Damage | 320 HP |
Penetration capacity | 16 mm |
Explosion size | 0.3 |
Fire chance | 6 % |
Projectile Speed | 840 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.318 |
Projectile Mass | 13.8 |
Type of Projectile | AP – 100 mm AP |
Alpha Damage | 1 650 HP |
Chance to Cause Fire | -0.5 % |
Projectile Speed | 840 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.318 |
Projectile Mass | 13.75 |
Projectile Krupp | 1 721 |
Projectile Detonator | 0.01 s |
Detonator threshold | 17 mm |
2 x 2 25 mm/65 Breda M1935 | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 2.0 km |
Hit chance | 95 % |
Sector’s damage | 4 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 14 |
1 x 2 450 mm Twin 1 x 4 450 mm Quad Torped M1913 | |
Reloading Time | 40 s |
Maximum Distance | 8.0 km |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 58° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 87° |
Damage | 5 100 |
Flooding Chance | 79 % |
Speed | 55 kt |
Surface Detectability | 1.2 km |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Damage Control Party I Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s | Engine Boost I Number of charges: 2 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 180 s Boost: +8% speed |
Damage Control Party II Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 40 s | Engine Boost II Number of charges: 3 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 120 s Boost: +8% speed |
Fully Upgraded Ship
Tier | III |
Health | 7 700 HP |
Displacement | 995 tons |
Main Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 9.130 km |
120 mm/45 Bofors M1924 | 3 x 1 120 mm |
Torpedo Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 8.000 km |
450 mm Twin 450 mm Quadruple | 1 x 2 450 mm 1 x 4 450 mm |
Maximum speed | 34 kts |
Turning Circle Radius | 440 m |
Rudder Shift Time | 2.1 s |
Surface Detectability | 6.94 km |
Air Detectability | 2.28 km |
Detectability After Firing Main Guns in Smoke | 2.47 km |
3 x 1 120 mm/45 Bofors M1924 | |
Reloading Time | 6.5 s |
180 Degree Turn Time | 18.0 s |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 30° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 35° |
Sigma | 2.00 sigma |
Maximum Dispersion | 83 m |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 120 mm HE M1924 |
Alpha Damage | 1 700 HP |
Damage | 500 HP |
Penetration capacity | 19 mm |
Explosion size | 0.4 |
Fire chance | 8 % |
Projectile Speed | 800 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.318 |
Projectile Mass | 24 |
Type of Projectile | AP – 120 mm AP M1924 |
Alpha Damage | 2 000 HP |
Chance to Cause Fire | -0.5 % |
Projectile Speed | 800 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.318 |
Projectile Mass | 21 |
Projectile Krupp | 1 721 |
Projectile Detonator | 0.01 s |
Detonator threshold | 20 mm |
2 x 1 40-??/60 Bofors M1936 | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 3.5 km |
Hit chance | 95 % |
Sector’s damage | 11 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 39 |
1 x 2 450 mm Twin 1 x 4 450 mm Quadruple Torped M1913 | |
Reloading Time | 40 s |
Maximum Distance | 8.0 km |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 58° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 87° |
Damage | 5 100 |
Flooding Chance | 79 % |
Speed | 55 kt |
Surface Detectability | 1.2 km |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Damage Control Party I Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s | Engine Boost I Number of charges: 2 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 180 s Boost: +8% speed |
Damage Control Party II Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 40 s | Engine Boost II Number of charges: 3 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 120 s Boost: +8% speed |
The armor
For the armor, the ship is entirely covered with 6 mm of armor.
Personal Opinion
Just like the Tier II, the Tier III of this new destroyer line is… seriously underwhelming. The Smallest HP pool, the worst concealment, no Smoke Generator and decent-ish firepower at best. Even her torps that are supposed to be fast are slower than the torps of a few other destroyers and have barely more range than things like Campbeltown.
So far, this line is a massive no and I expect quite a few buffs to arrive for these ships.
Quad torpedo launcher on a Romulus/Spica cl***, hm? Since when, Wargaming?