HMS London is a heavy cruiser of the British County-class, second group, designed and built in the interwar years around the restrictions imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty. Captains may look forward to the arrival of HMS London as the first 8’’ gun-armed British cruiser to make its way to War Thunder as part of the upcoming update 1.97 “Viking Fury”!

HMS London, heavy cruiser, Britain, V rank.

Pros:

• Hard-hitting 8’’ (203mm) guns
• Good anti-air firepower

Cons:

• Light armour protection

In War Thunder, HMS London will be a new rank V heavy cruiser docking in the ports of British captains with the release of the upcoming update 1.97 “Viking Fury”. Being the much anticipated successor to HMS Hawkins, HMS London gives British captains access to the larger calibre weapons, namely 8’’ (203mm) cannons, and as such allows fans of the Royal Navy to fight on a more equal footing with top tier vessels of other nations!

Arguably the most noteworthy feature of HMS London are its eight BL 8-inch (203mm) Mark VIII cannons, split down into four twin turrets. Being the first Royal Navy vessel in the game to come fitted with these high-calibre cannons, HMS London will allow British captains to effectively counter some of the top ranking vessels of other nations, introduced with previous updates.

Apart from an impressive main battery arsenal, HMS London also comes fitted with a wide range of secondary and anti-air weapons, numerous and powerful enough to make even the most determined adversary think twice before committing to an attack. Namely, captains will have access to four dual 4-inch (102mm) dual-purpose cannons, two octuple and four single 40mm cannons, as well as eight dual and four single 20mm cannons. If that isn’t enough, HMS London is also outfitted with a quadruple 21-inch (533mm) torpedo launcher on either side of the ship’s hull.

However, while British shipbuilders certainly didn’t cut any corners as far as firepower is concerned, the same cannot be claimed about the ship’s armour protection. In fact, HMS London’s armour had to be kept very light in order to keep the ship within original displacement limits, resulting in protection levels being unusually low for heavy cruiser standards. In 1942 however, HMS London’s base 25mm belt armour was further strengthened with 89mm add-on plating, thus somewhat improving resistance to enemy fire. Regardless however, the ship’s protection remains relatively light compared to other vessels of this class in the game, meaning that captains are well-advised to keep their distance from any intense firefights.

In terms of mobility, HMS London can reach a top speed of 32.2 knots (59.7 km/h), thanks to the propulsion generated by four steam turbines generating 80,000 horsepower. As a result, HMS London may not be spearheading any attacks, although this isn’t necessarily a deficit, given the ship’s rather lackluster armour protection.

HMS London is coming to War Thunder as part of update 1.97 “Viking Fury” and will become available to all captains as a new researchable rank V British heavy cruiser. In the meantime, keep your spyglass close at hand and your sights firmly fixed on the news for more information on the next major update coming to the game very soon. Until then, calm seas captains!

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