The ships of the Project 68K class are a group of Soviet light cruisers initially laid down before WWII, but were later completed during the early Cold War. Soon, Soviet captains in War Thunder will have the chance to take command of Chapayev - the lead ship of the class - after its arrival to the game with the upcoming update 1.91 “Night Vision”!

Chapayev, light cruiser, USSR, IV rank.

Pros

• Excellent anti-air capabilities
• Large ammunition selection
• Good mobility and protection

Cons

• No torpedo armament

In War Thunder, the Chapayev will become available to all captains at rank IV of the Soviet naval tree. Sporting excellent firepower for a light cruiser, combined with good mobility, a sizeable crew complement and decent protection, the Chapayev will provide captains and fans of Soviet naval vessels in War Thunder with a highly versatile ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ type of warship.

Despite sharing some visual similarities with the Kirov-class, the Chapayev is quite distinctly different from its predecessor. For starters, unlike the Kirov, Chapayev was roughly built around the terms dictated by the Second London Naval Treaty. As such, the Chapayev didn’t receive 180mm guns, but was instead fitted with four triple 152mm main guns, more befitting of a light cruiser design. This also makes the Chapayev the first Soviet cruiser in War Thunder to be equipped with 152mm guns.

While the 12 main guns will surely be a considerable threat to most opponents encountered on the high seas, smaller vessels and aircraft won’t be spared by Chapayev’s secondary and anti-air weapons either. Being fitted with four dual 100mm turrets, supported by an additional 14 dual 37mm cannons, pilots and captains of smaller vessels will have a hard time punching through the concentrated defensive fire coming from all these guns. On the other hand however, Chapayev was not fitted with any torpedo launchers, leaving aspiring captains of this vessel with somewhat more limited tactical options than previous vessels did.

Beside more than adequate firepower, Chapayev also features solid protection and survivability. With its 100mm thick belt armor and crew count going up to 1,184 sailors, Chapayev is able to both absorb some damage from enemy fire at longer range, whilst also having the ability to sustain enemy fire for some time thanks to its higher than average crew count. Rounding off Chapayev’s performance is a more than respectable top speed of 33.5 knots (62 km/h), which is on par with most other vessels of similar capabilities in the game.

Chapayev, along with many other new and interesting additions is coming to War Thunder very soon with the release of the upcoming update 1.91 “Night Vision”. In the meantime however, make sure to keep a close eye on the news for all the latest developments surrounding the next major update coming to the game. Until then, calm seas captains!

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