[Development] HMAS Tobruk: Advance Australia! (4 - Page) ) - News

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HMAS Tobruk: Advance Australia!

28 November 2019 Development

HMAS Tobruk is one of two late so-called “Australian Battle-class” destroyers, built in the immediate postwar years for the Royal Australian Navy. Despite seeing a relatively short service life, HMAS Tobruk is soon making its way into the game with update 1.95, boosting the strength of the British destroyer line in War Thunder!

Briefly: One of the last Battle-class destroyers to be built, sporting an enhanced anti-air armament and a larger crew complement for improved survivability.

HMAS Tobruk, destroyer, Britain, III rank.

Pros

Fast-firing main guns
Higher crew count
Improved anti-air armament

Cons

Lower top speed
Fewer main battery turrets

HMAS Tobruk was one of two late Battle-class destroyers of the so-called “Australian Battle-class” design. These were based on a cancelled third and final batch of Battle-class destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy in the late stages of WWII. Nonetheless, the Australian government proceeded with ordering the construction of two ships of this subclass, thus earning it its name.

HMAS Tobruk was the second of the two ships to be ordered and was laid down on 5 August 1946 in Sydney. Being built in the immediate postwar years meant that construction progressed slowly, resulting in the ship being only commissioned into RAN service in May 1950.

From there, HMAS Tobruk took part in several conflicts of the 1950s, such as the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency, earning the ship two battle honours. In the late 1950s, HMAS Tobruk was subjected to its first of two friendly fire incidents, which caused light structural damage and the loss of one crew member.

The second incident, which also sealed HMAS Tobruk’s fate, occurred in September 1960. Namely, the ship was once again hit by friendly fire, this time coming from her sistership HMAS Anzac during a gunnery exercise off Jervis Bay. However, the damage was severe enough to be considered uneconomical to perform repairs, resulting in the ship being decommissioned in late 1960.

HMAS Tobruk undertook its final sea voyage under tow to Japan where the ship was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1972.

In War Thunder, HMAS Tobruk will be a new destroyer coming to rank III of the British naval forces tree as part of the upcoming update 1.95 "Northern wind". Compared to the existing Battle-class destroyer in game - HMS Armada - HMAS Tobruk offers its aspiring captains improved anti-air firepower and survivability, coming at the cost of slightly reduced mobility and a cut down primary armament suit.

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Starting off with the latter - aspiring commanders of HMAS Tobruk will need to make do with the fact that this later modification of the Battle-class had its midship single 4.5’’ (114 mm) gun turret removed in favour of increased AA armament. Although this does mean that the vessel’s effectiveness is somewhat decreased against larger surface targets, the additional four single 40mm Bofors AA cannons will undoubtedly increase the ship’s effectiveness when dealing with smaller surface targets and aircraft in particular.

However, one area in which HMAS Tobruk outclasses its existing counterpart in the game is survivability. Having an increased crew complement consisting of a total of 292 sailors over HMS Armada gives HMAS Tobruk the ability to sustain slightly more damage in battle, thus increasing its combat endurance as a direct result.

Fun Fact: HMAS Tobruk received its name, like other ships of the class, after an important battle. In this case, the ship received its name after the iconic Siege of Tobruk of 1941.

Increased AA firepower and a larger crew does come at a certain price, however. Namely, HMAS Tobruk has a slightly increased displacement over HMS Armada, causing its mobility to decrease slightly as a result. Therefore, captains can expect to ‘only’ reach a maximum top speed of 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h) compared to HMS Armada’s 37.75 knots (70 km/h). While this slight decrease in mobility certainly shouldn’t affect the ship too much in the context of random battles, it does mean that HMAS Tobruk can’t be considered as one of the fastest destroyers in the game, like her sistership, but instead takes a more ‘middle of the pack’ place within the game.

Overall, HMAS Tobruk can be seen as a ‘sidegrade’ to the existing HMS Armada, offering those captains who prefer a more powerful AA suite a choice of a better alternative within the British destroyer line in the game, while preserving all of the characteristic features of the Battle-class’ design!

HMAS Tobruk is coming to War Thunder as part of the upcoming update 1.95 "Northern wind" and will become available to all captains at rank III of the British naval forces tree. In the meantime, be sure to let us know what you think of this new addition to the game in the comments below and stay tuned to the news for more sneak peaks at what’s coming with the next major update. Until then, calm seas captains!