World of Warships Supertest: German Tier VIII Premium Cruiser Schill

Historical background

Schill is based on the “Handelszerstörer” (trade destroyer) designs from 1941. This series of designs emerged from the previously canceled P-class (which was a larger version of the Deutschland-class) and the O-class (that we know in the game as Siegfried and if we want to be generous, we can also count Aegir) battlecruisers. While three O-class battlecruisers were ordered, their construction never actually started, partially due to a lack of materials and the fact that shipyards were busy printing U-boats.

However, in 1941, the Kriegsmarine decided to dust off the canceled P-class, modify the design and call it Handelszerstörer. The goal was to create a ship meant to deal with cruisers and destroyers thanks to its stronger armament and armor while being able to outrun battleships thanks to its speed. At least four designs were presented:

• A 26 000 tons design with Diesel engines generating 120 000 SHP and allowing the ship to reach 31 knots. The main armament consisted of two triple turrets with 283 mm guns
• The same as above but with two twin turrets with 380 mm guns
• A 21 000 tons design with steam turbines and armed with two triple turrets with 283 mm guns
• A 28 000 tons design propelled by a mix of steam turbines and Diesel engines and armed with two twin turrets with 380 mm guns

When it comes to Schill, she is based on the third design. However, Wargaming took quite a bit of liberty regarding the armor of the ship.

Ship’s preview

Ship’s commemorative flag

Ship’s permanent camouflage

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	Torpedoes
Schill	Propulsion: 140 000 HP	FKS Typ 8 Mod. 1	283 mm/54.5 SK C/34 on a Drh LC/34 mount	G7a T1

General Characteristics

Consumables
Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 4
Damage Control Party Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s	Hydroacoustic Search Number of charges: 3 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 120 s Torpedo spotting range: 4.0 km Ship spotting range: 6.0 km	Defensive AA Fire Number of charges: 3 Work time: 40 s Cooldown: 80 s Continuous Damage: +50% Damage from shell explosions: +300%	Fighter Number of charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 90 s Number of planes in a squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 3.0 km

Main Armament

2 x 3 283 mm/54.5 SK C/34 on a Drh LC/34 mount
Maximum Firing Range	17.300 km
Reloading Time	16.5 s
180 Degree Turn Time	25.0 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	34°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	34°
Sigma	2.0 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	152 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 283 mm Spr.Gr. L/4.2 Kz.
Alpha Damage	3 200
Penetration capacity	71 mm
Explosion size	21.0 m
Fire chance	20 %
Projectile Speed	910 m/s
Air Drag	0.333
Projectile Mass	300.0 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 283 mm P.Spr.Gr. L/3.7
Alpha Damage	8 400
Projectile Speed	910 m/s
Air Drag	0.333
Projectile Mass	300.0 kg
Projectile Krupp	2 282
Projectile Detonator	0.01 s
Detonator threshold	47 mm
Ricochet Angles	45° – 60°

Secondary Armament

2 x 3 150 mm/55 SK C/28 on a Drh Tr C/34 mount
Maximum Firing Range	7.600 km
Reloading Time	7.5 s
Sigma	1.0 sigma
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 150 mm Spr.Gr. L/4.5
Alpha Damage	1 700
HE penetration	38 mm
Explosion Size	8.1 m
Chance to Cause Fire	8 %
Projectile Speed	875 m/s
Air Drag	0.33
Projectile Mass	45.3 kg
6 x 2 105 mm/65 SK C/33 on a Dop. L. C/38 mount
Maximum Firing Range	7.600 km
Reloading Time	3.35 s
Sigma	1.0 sigma
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 105 mm Spr.Gr. Kz.
Alpha Damage	1 200
HE penetration	26 mm
Explosion Size	4.65 m
Chance to Cause Fire	5 %
Projectile Speed	900 m/s
Air Drag	0.31
Projectile Mass	15.1 kg

Torpedo Armament

2 x 4 533 mm Vierling G7a T1
Reloading Time	90.0 s
Maximum Distance	6.000 km
Optimal firing angles at the front	20°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	20°
Damage	13 700
Flooding Chance	227%
Speed	64 knots
Surface Detectability	1.3 km

Anti-air Armament

ASW Airstrike

Fw.200 Condor – Depth charge airstrike SC-150 Depth Bomb
Reloading Time	30 s
Number of charges	2
HP per plane	2 000
Attack range	0.5 km – 7.0 km
Number of planes in the squadron	1
Number of bombs in payload	2
Damage	4 200
Detonation timer	3.5 s – 4.5 s
Sink speed	7.5-11.3 m/s
Explosion radius	375 m
Fire chances	24%
Flooding chances	300%

The Armor

External armor protection:

Citadel armor protection:

Turrets armor protection:

Turtleback:

Hidden armor protection inside the middle section and stern:

Personal Opinion

When they first showed Schill on stream, I was mildly interested. I was hoping that we would get a proper tier VIII Graf Spee with buffed dispersion and stronger armor and teeeeeeeeeeeeeeechnically, that’s what we got.

HOWEVER.

Wargaming, for God knows what reason, removed the Repair Party which was one of the key features of the Graf Spee, and why it was appreciated by quite a few people. One would have expected that the armor would compensate but nope. At best, the main belt is fairly large and she has a 30 mm deck but otherwise, her armor is far from noteworthy. In fact, the belt is quite thin for what you would expect of a large cruiser.
Also, we are forgetting a key element of why Graf Spee worked at tier VI. It is of course the overmatch capacity of 283 mm guns. With a 19 mm overmatch, you were able to slap multiple cruisers hard. At tier VIII though, unless you face tier VI cruisers or light cruisers with 16 mm hull, it will not be the same story.

So yeah… As of right now, Schill doesn’t particularly look promising.

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