Together with the legendary German battlecruiser, we introduce player-controlled reconnaissance aircraft in War Thunder naval battles!

Scharnhorst, Germany. Rank V

Scharnhorst will appear in our game with the release of the next major update as a rank V battlecruiser in the German bluewater fleet research tree. Due to political restrictions, this well-protected and fast ship received “only” 283 mm guns. Within the game, however, Scharnhorst is more than competitive in comparison with other battleships: record protection in the main armour belt area (350 mm armour belt plus 105 mm armoured deck slope), a record maximum speed of 31.65 knots among battleships and battlecruisers, excellent main battery turret defense and a good selection of shells offer gameplay more typical for light cruisers more than battleships.

The auxiliary calibre of the battlecruiser Scharnhorst is single and twin mounts with 150 mm guns, quite well protected as well. Numerous anti-aircraft artillery is represented by twin mounts with 105mm cannons, as well as in 37mm and 20mm autocannons. The weak point of this brilliant ship is the lack of anti-torpedo bulges. The area below the ship's waterline is very vulnerable to torpedoes and artillery fire, hits there often lead to fires and damage to the propellers and rudders.

In other great news for all fleet commanders: in the upcoming update, War Thunder will have mechanics for launching shipbourne reconnaissance aircraft! We plan to have reconnaissance seaplanes on ships of all playable nations, and we will definitely add new aircraft in future major updates. The reconnaissance aircraft will allow you to better examine the enemy grouping, scout a ship hidden behind rocks, fight enemy aircraft, destroy an enemy boat with cannons and machine guns, or damage an enemy cruiser or destroyer with bombs. Just like regular seaplanes, reconnaissance hydroplanes will be able to capture points - a small plane can decide the outcome of a battle for large ships!

Let's see how this mechanic works in the example of the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, which is armed with Arado Ar.196 hydroplanes. When you press the button for activating the reconnaissance aircraft, the catapult starts turning the seaplane to a ready for take off position in the direction set by the player. When the take-off indicator changes color from red to blue - take-off is allowed! Pressing the aircraft control button again will take you to the cockpit, and the ship will continue to move on a preset course at a preset speed. When the situation around the ship requires the participation of the player, press the aircraft control button again - the scout aircraft will be controlled in automatic mode, and you will again find yourself on the ship's bridge. If the reconnaissance aircraft is lost, and the ship has spare aircraft and free catapults, after a certain period of “recharging” , the seaplane will be able to fly out for reconnaissance once again.

For a complete list of reconnaissance seaplanes, as well as the ships on which they will appear in the next update, see the changelog that we will publish on the day of update’s release. We believe that reconnaissance seaplanes will make the battles of big fleets even more interesting, and commanders of sea giants will have something to have fun with during their long maneuvers!