The Flower-class is a British WW2-era corvette, designed specifically to escort Atlantic convoys and protect them from German U-boats. HMCS Brantford, a Canadian Flower-class corvette, will soon be available in the game as part of the CBT of the Royal naval forces!

In War Thunder, the Flower-class corvette will be represented in the game by the Canadian-built HMCS Brantford, which entered service with the RCN in May 1942. Comparable to some similar ships found at the starting ranks, HMCS Brantford features good firepower and survivability, but lacks in terms of speed and mobility due to the ship’s large size and relatively lackluster engine performance.

As the Flower-class corvettes were primarily intended to combat submarines, their deck-mounted armament was kept relatively light. Consisting of a single 4-inch (102mm) cannon on the bow, forming the primary armament, as well as a single 40mm and two single 20mm automatic cannons forming the anti-air armament, HMCS Brantford is reasonably well-equipped to deal with hostile surface targets.

However, as most of the time commanders of this vessel will likely focus all of their limited firepower on a single target, they need to stay wary of the battle unfolding around them and remain vigilant at all times. Opponents will likely take advantage of the Brantford’s low top speed (16 knots; 30 km/h) and decreased reaction ability in order to outmaneuver it and get into an advantageous position.

Torpedo boats in particular will strive to approach the Brantford unnoticed in order to fire off their torpedoes on the unsuspecting victim for an easy kill. Besides torpedoes, HMCS Brantford is also very susceptible to air attacks, especially if all her guns are already being used to combat surface targets. To counter this, it’s highly recommended to stick close to your allies whenever possible and avoid going off on “lone-wolf” adventures. This way, you’ll always have friendly guns backing you up and, according to Murphy’s laws of combat, the enemy will also have something else to shoot at.  

Despite your best efforts to avoid getting singled out by enemy warships, it’s still bound to happen in certain situations. In those cases, you can always expect your ship to suffer all kinds of damage. Luckily, the HMCS Brantford is a relatively large ship for her rank, with a crew complement of 85 sailors. This gives the ship a respectable combat endurance and ability to virtually “tank” damage, whilst still remaining afloat and operational.   

Make sure to give the Flower-class corvette a try as you work your way up the ranks of the Royal Navy in the closed beta testing! Smooth seas until then, captains!

Check the previous devblogs :