World of Warships New Premium The Tirpitz Battleship, The Efficient German

Hi all and welcome back for another Ship review for World of Warships!

The Incredible Opening Trailer for World of Warships

This week I will be featuring the new German Addition to World of Warships the Tirpitz. There has been a lot of hype leading up to this ships release along side the German tech tree. Now this ship has had little over a week to bed into the game, I though this would be a perfect time to give a little on the ships history development and express my opinions on the ship in game.

The Tirpitz didn't have a very exciting service history but the lengths that the British went to to destroy the Tirpitz from its construction to its sinking were extraordinary and are definitely worth of some mention (or alot as this is my longest post to date).

Shore Shot of the Finished Tirpitz

The Tirpitz began its life as a small cog in the wheel of what was known as 'Plan Z' that was developed by Erich Raeder throughout 1938. After World War 1 and the following restrictions laid down by the 'Treaty of Versailles' made sure that German Naval power was extremely limited as to avoid something simular to WW1 to ever happen again. 'Plan Z' was essentially a naval power development program whose goal was to re-equip the German Navy with enough power to challenge the British Navy.

Within the founding design of Plan Z The Bizmark and the Tirpitz were just the start to this grand design to rebuild the German naval fleet. Proceed these ships were plans to build larger more aggressive battleships that the world have never known before. These were the H Class battleships.  These designs only existed in blueprints but they were set to dwarf all known designs of battleship ever conceived, even the mighty Japanese battleship Yamato. The largest of the H designs was the H44 that would have weighed a estimated 155,000 tonnes, been 400 meters long and house eight gigantic 508mm guns.

The Gigantic H44 Design Battleship

The Tirpitz was laid down in 1936 and launched in 1941. At the time of her launch she was 25% bigger than what the Treaty of Versailles allowed. After wartime modifications she was the heaviest battleship ever built by a European Navy. The ship at the time of her launch was impressively armoured and equip for war. She was fast being able to reach speeds of almost 40mph and was able to fire her projectiles over 20 miles. To the British having already faced off with the Bizmark knew the threat that the Tirpitz posed to a Island nation of Britain. The sinking of HMS Hood stood testament to that. A ship like the Tirpitz having the ability to strike with high speed with big guns,  if left unmolested or allowed to break out into the Atlantic Ocean could reek havoc in the shipping lanes. These lanes were the lifeline that supplied the UK with enough food and materials to not be starved into surrender. Churchill saw the Tirpitz as one the biggest threats to the UK and was determined to disrupt or destroy the Battleship at all costs.

The Tirpitz 

March the 28th 1942 saw one of the boldest operations in the British offensive to disrupt the Tirpitz. The mission was simple, knock out the only dock large enough to repair or service a ship of that size in sailing range of the Atlantic Ocean. By destroying this base it would effectively limit the operation area of which the Tirpitz could be a threat to Britain in. 600 British Commandos moved towards the Harbour against a defending force of over 6000 troops disguised as a German flotilla. This was inevitably going to be a one way trip for many of the troops with the odds so heavily stacked against them and no way of being able to retreat. The flotilla ruse worked in allowing the Commandos entrance to the harbour where they beginning their attack. In the Action the Campbeltown Destroyer I42 rammed the dry dock of the Saint-Nazaire harbour allowing the commando's landing quick landing onto the dock but disabling the ship. After the intense fighting between the Germans and British Commandos the fighting came to an end by either the capturing killing or capturing of British troops. The Campbeltown sat firmly in the in the wall of the dry dock harbour and the German forces boarder to search the ship. After the all clear was given the german troops settled down to celebrate their victory.

The Campbletown Wedged Firmly into the Harbour Wall

The search of the Campbeltown was not thorough enough and missed the large amounts of explosives hidden deep within her hull. Just before noon 4 tonnes of high explosives erupted in a massive mushroom cloud, sowing panic and either killing or wounding over 200 German solders near the ship. The explosion had completely destroyed the dry dock rendering the harbours ability to be able to be a base for the Tirpitz's intended battles in the Atlantic.

Following this set back and a few further unsuccessful brutish air attacks the Tirpitz was ordered to Kaafiord in Norway to put her out of reach from any British Air attack launched from within the UK. The ships new position was ideally situated to strike at convoys travelling between Britain and Russia, something the Russians sorely needed to stay open to aid their fight against the German. The Brits decided to take a new approach at tackling the German menace that had thus far avoided any serious damage from numerous air raids. The decision was made for a more stealthier approach, a under water strike with manned vessels.

Following Britains first failed operation using submersible torpedoes called 'chariots' to attach explosive charges to the Tirpitz hull, a new operation was initiated using Midget subs or X Craft. The Tirpitz by this point was defended a vast array of field guns, machine gun nests and torpedo nets in a bay that gave the defenders a natural fortress.

Torpedo Nets Can Be Seen from Aerial Shots.

When the Operation was in progress and the subs were approaching the mission area only 2 of the 3 X Craft launched made it to strike the Tirpitz.  After the 2 X Craft snook into the bay behind a smaller patrol vessel the crews found themselves behind the Torpedo nets and with the Tirpitz clearly in sight. Explosives were successfully attached to the Tirptiz's hull before the crews allowed themselves be captured. The proceeding detonations caused crippling damage to the ships infrastructure, buckling the hull of the ship. The turbines had been destroyed in the blast and the the rudder was severely damaged. Not only did this mean a lengthy period of repair work following the X Craft attack, it was a huge moral set back for her crew. For a ship that many hoped would be at the forefront of glory and German supremacy she had so far only fired her guns in anger once at shore targets.

A Midget Sub or X Craft Sub

Following this attack Churchill ordered a huge air attack on the Tirpitz on the 3rd of April 1944 with 41 new Barracuda dive bombers with Corsair escort to which little effect was done. Churchill was at wits end. Every attack sent failed to deliver the decisive blow he craved to secure waters around Britain. Churchill turned to Barnes Wallice, the infamous inventor of the bouncing bomb, for a final solution the would end danger imposed by the Tirpitz. Barnes Wallace's response to this challenge was the invention of the impressive but truly terrifying 'Tall Boy' Bomb.

The Tall Boy was 20 ft long and weighed in at about 12,000 lb (5443 Kg). The blast craters left in testing were up to 100 ft wide and 35 ft deep, a purely destructive weapon perfect for destroying any target it would hit. Churchill called on the infamous 617 squadron to carry out this risky precision bombing exercise on the Tirpitz. This squadron had already made a name for itself after successfully carrying out the famous bouncing bomb run that destroyed the dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley.

The Famous Bouncing Bomb

On the first bombing attempt 27 Lancaster Bombers from the 617 had to travel to a remote Russian Air Base to be within striking distance of the Tirpitz in Norway and await clear weather. When the operation was green lit and the 617 squadron was  approach the bay where the Tirpitz was sleeping, the defensive smoke generators were activated in response to the incoming air attack. The smoke released had almost covered the Tirpitz and the bay in smoke making bombing the Tirpitz even more difficult. The Tall boy was extremely expensive so the crews were told only to drop the bomb if they thought it could hit the intended target. Many of the 27 Lancaster bombers didn't drop their payload but from the ones that did one tall boy hit its mark near the bow of the ship. The blast was huge leaving a mangled gaping hole where the bomb had struck. This hit had rendered the ship more or less useless as a sea vessel due to the extensive structural damage sustained and the decision was made to move the ship to a a static location where she could act as floating artillery.

The Tirpitz was moved to Tromso and was placed in shallow waters to act as a floating artillery platform. Special bed on the bay were constructed so that if the ship was to take on water and sink she would just rest on the bottom and still be able to fight. This move to Tromso was a vital mistake put her within striking distance of Lancaster bombers launched from the UK. On near perfect conditions on 12th of November 1944 the 617 squadron set out again. The Luffwafer air base set up near the Tirpitz to defend her in the event of a air attack scrambled in response to the incoming attack but went to the wrong location leaving the Bomber a clear attack run to hit the Tirpitz.

Tall Boys Explode Around the Tirpitz During the Attack

29 Tallboy's were dropped and the ship took 2 direct hits and one near miss. Several of the Tallboys hit close enough to disrupt the sea bed and the sand bank specifically built to cushion the Tirpitz in the even that she was to sink. The first hit struck the deck between turrets Anton and Bruno but failed to explode. The second hit amid ships between the catapult and  funnel ripping open a huge hole and causing massive damage to the ship. The blast had ripped a hole from the side of the ship to the bottom; an entire section of belt armour had been obliterated by the blast.  The third seemed to have struck to the port side of Turret Caesar blasting more holes below the water line. The ferocious bombing cause the ship gradually list to port. As the list increase further and approached 45 degrees and as the ship looked as if she would stabilise, the Turret Caeser detonated blasting the turret roof and parts 25 meters into the air that landed back into the water ontop of a group of men swimming to safety. The damage sustained had exceeded the threshold that the mighty Tirpitz could handle in a final explosive show of fury, the once monstrous beast rolled over capsizing in surrender.

The Hull of the Tirpitz after Her Capsizing

Over 5 years the ship was attacked over 40 times and never got to achieve the glorious nature she was built for. The dogged determination and grit of the British had finally made the ship succumb. The Tirpitz's service to the German nation never more strategic than that of actual battle, tying up available ships that would have otherwise been used else where to defend British interests. Churchill's main concern was worried that she may interfere with the D Day landings due to her location in Norway. In the end, like most of the biggest Battleships of the second world war, the ship succumbed to relentless air attack. 

Wow that was a bit of a mouthful but this ship is definitely worth the time it took to rustle up the history on this ship. It cause a real headache for the British Navy and Air force and even though its service history in the was lacking a heroic battle. The plans to sink her couldn't have been more interesting to read so I Just couldn't miss them out in telling the story of the Tirpitz.

So down to the Business of talking about how this ship performs in World of Warship. What are my initial thoughts on this ship? The Tirpitz can boast that it is the best well rounded ship I have played to date in World of Warships. All being said this ship is on sale for little over £40 and in my opinion that is way too much regardless of how good this ship is.

Since leaving the Closed Beta battleships have just not been that fun for me. Shooting the Guns mostly rely on praying to RNGesus to grace you with his light whilst suffering splicing shot after splicing shot. This is made worse when trying to shoot ships at close range and your shots miss by a fricking mile. This is a problem that will largely now have been fixed in the new patch (wargaming are massively boosting Battleship accuracy for ranges under 3km) but still when you have a very slow reload time and miss all your shots, your pretty much waiting to die by horrible torpedo death. This has made many battleship captains as far back from the fight to counteract the close range 'Armageddon' cause by the nimble destroyer in close quarters. The ensuing passive play style is, in my opinion, on of the main contributing factors why most matches end up in draws in World of Drawships current state.

I have had some serious fun in the Tirpitz and I put this down to the fact this ship reacts more like a heavy cruiser than a battleship whilst still maintain arsenal and armour. Her 15'' guns are relatively quick firing of 2.3 rounds per minute and have a good turret rotation time at  36 seconds for 180 degrees. This highlights the first main strength that its a good close range brawler against other battleships and cruisers. The Amagi has a turret rotation speed with its top hull of 42 seconds per 180 degrees and the North Carolina has a Turret rotation speed of 45 seconds. Having this speed in acquiring your targets allows you to keep your guns pointed at a target at close range against even destroyers and also gives you the ability to switch between targets at range without waiting for your turrets to turn. This allows the Tirpitz to be more flexible and fire more shells down range than any other battleship close to its tier.

World of Warships, the Tirpitz

The Tirpitz does however have 15'' guns over her equal tiered 16'' gunned Japanese and American battleships. This is a obvious disadvantage when it comes to initial alpha damage output from impacting shots, however there are advantages to having a smaller gun size. The Tirpitzs has a vastly superior fire rate and the rounds have less chance of over penetrating lighter armoured cruisers like the Pensacola. This enables harder hitting shots to targets that may be harder to damage effectively. This combined with decent turret rotation makes these ship a joy rather than a fight to get the most out of them

The dispersion of the shots fired on paper doesn't look very good. 280 meters dispersion at maximum range is pretty bad when you consider the Amagi's 128 meter or the North Carolina's 270 meter dispersion. This dispersion is really off set by that its inaccuracy is as maximum range of its guns. The Tirpitz can fire up to 21.4 km, so when your at normal combat ranges of 15km - 10 km you can assume that the dispersion will be roughly half that which is more than good enough to get hits on any salvo being let off.

I predict this is probably what's going to characterise the German Battleships over the other nations ships having smaller sized fast firing guns. German ships in the second world war had smaller sized guns compared to other nations ships so may lead to this being uniform for the ships to be implemented in the near future (until you consider what ships they wanted to build through Plan Z that could make their way into the line up in the German Tech Tree). I think World of Warships will probably end up implementing the German nations ships as being well rounded DPS ships. Its still hard to see what Wargaming has planned for the nations characteristics until we get at least one more nation to see an average of stat's to compare against to really make that kind of assumption.

Stat Comparisons

The Tirpitz in battleship terms has the ability to manoeuvre pretty well. The ships rudder response speed is extremely fast (for a battleship) to help react quickly to incoming fire or torpedoes. At 21 seconds for pretty damn good for a battleship rudder shift time considering when the Amagi has 25.6 second and the North Carolina has 28.6 seconds respectively.  The turning circle radius is a little disappointing however at 850m (or could be very average but we won't know until another nation is added to see where it sits in nation characteristics) but again this is offset more or less by the ships rudder speed enabling you to get a full lock faster than any other battleship of your tier. 

One advantage this ship has many people talking about it are the addition of torpedoes to a Battleship. This is unique to the battleship class its only the Tirptiz that has them thus far. On both sides of the ship she has a single quadruple torpedo launcher. These Torpedoes do lack in size over the Japanese torpedoes but they are fast (64 knots) and have a 6km range. This makes them incredibly hard to dodge at close range and adds a very potent sting to ships that like to hero run on battleships to sink them (if all the torps hit its almost 55k damage potential).

The biggest weakness of the Tirpitz is its AA potential. This is a battleship that really needs to have cruiser escort to survive any large scale air attack by the enemy. This ship did survive over 40 air raids before her eventual demise at the hands of the 617 squadron so I think this has been a little harsh on balanced in my opinion but its something you will have to adapt to when taking this ship out.

The Swept Lines of This Ship Are Gorgeous

As far as my over all view of the Tirpitz, I really like this ship and will be eagerly awaiting the German line of ships and what they will have to offer. If its more of this it looks like I will be liking them a lot more than the other nations ships. The higher dpm off sets the accuracy of the guns by sheer volume of fire in battleship terms and the turret rotation speed is much more enjoyable diverse play than other battleships. The torpedoes give a nice edge in close quarters but only to be used as a last resort other than a main armament. I have fallen for the noval trap having knowledge of Torps in a battleship and motoring ahead to try use them. As fun as it is to destroy other ships it will end up pushing you too far forward to be able to dodge incoming fire and ultimately lead to a premature death. The armour on the Tirptiz is pretty awesome and with some angling you will cause serious problems for ships firing AP as may will jsut bounce harlessly off. Combine angling with your rudder speed when facing incoming fire and you will be a hard nut to crack when you decide to make a stand. Any CV captain with any sense will single you out as a priority target if he has the sense/chance to hit you. The AA its good enough for self defence against a few planes but a determined attack will really cause you headaches if not a quick trip back to you port. The ships ability to adapt because of its versatile nature makes it a real power house. Its a great ship and a good money earner for in game credits. I think the pricing for many people will be a big deal breaker when thinking about getting this ship. I do love this the ship but still think its very over priced for what it is. In hind sight of just buying this ship to review and experiencing it, I could have just bought a new game for what it cost to get this ship, however I don't regret my purchase the Tirpitz as it has to be played to be understood.

One of My Many Average Games but Shows the Ships Money Making Potential of This Ship

Thats all for this week. I hoped this provided some insite before looking at looking to buy this expensive ship. I will catch you back here for a tiger styled update later on in the week. Till then late care and have fun. 

Imperial Japanese Furutaka

Hi all and welcome back for another ship review.

This weeks ship of focus will be the tier 5 Japanese Furutaka. This is the first cruiser in the game to have 203 mm guns. This 'up gunning' changes how this ship should be played coming from the previous tiers Kuma and Tenryu Class Cruisers.

The Furutaka was the first generation of the Japanese navy's high speed heavy cruisers. With the development of the American Omaha (also in World of Warships) and the British Hawkins class scout cruiser the development of a cruiser capable of dealing with this new threat was needed. Following the earlier experiments from the Yubari cruiser, (See my previous ship review on the Yubari for more info) the lessons learnt from that ship were transferred into the design of the Furutaka. The Furutaka was laid down in the 5th of December 1922 and launched on the 25th of February 1925. Upon her initial commissioning in 1926 she was assigned to the 5th cruiser division until 1931 where the Furutaka was placed in reserve fleet. She underwent significant refits during the 1930's where she was fitted with more fire power and defensive armaments.The Furutaka was fitted with a plane catapult which solved the much complained about problem of having to lower planes into the water before they took off (not particularity handy in an engagement).

Her final refit in 1937 saw the Furutaka received her trademark 201 mm guns that we see in World of Warships (203mm in World of Warships but I'm not going to deliberate over 2mm... they are still big guns for a cruiser), new oil fired boilers and the extra addition of new 'Long Lance' torpedo tube mountings.

Entering WW2 the Furutaka was involved in the invasion of  Guam which happened at about the time of the Attack of Pearl Harbour.  After the successful occupation of Guam and the following attempt at capturing Wake Island which had failed, the Furutaka was assigned to cruiser division 6 where the Japanese successfully mounted a second attack and occupied Wake island on the 22nd of December 1942.

The Furutaka was involved in the Battle of the Coral Sea where she was tasked with the escort of the light carrier Shoho. Following a 2 day attack which started on the 7th of May 1942, the US Carriers USS Yorktown and Lexington succeeded in sinking the Shoho and severely damaged the Shokaku carrier. After the attack Furutaka was tasked with escorting the battered surviving Shokaku carrier to Truk for repairs.

August 1942 in the Battle of Savo Island, the Furutaka took part in an successful attack against an enemy fleet. Under the cover of darkness with flares dropped by spotter planes to silhouette the enemy ships,  the Furutaka accompanied by the cruisers Chokai, Kako, Kinugsasa, Tenryu, Yubari and Destroyer a Yunagi, attacked by firing multiple shells and torpedoes. The resulting battle ended with the Heavy Cruisers USS Astoria, Quincy, Vincennes and HMAS Canberra being sunk. Heavy Cruiser USS Chicago and destroyers Ralph Tabot and Patterson being damaged. On the Japanese side a total of only 6 shell hits were received.

The Furutaka's conflict in the Battle of Cape Esperance (also known as the second batle of savo island) was to be her last after an attacking American fleet successfully managed to cross the fleet containing the Furutaka's 'T'. In the confussion of the Attack the Japanese fleet thought they were under friendly fire and began a 180 degree turn. The Aoba was heavily damaged as the ship exposed her sides in the turn.

The Furutaka fell out of the line of battle to engage Salt Lake City only to find herself coming under fire from the destroyer USS Duncan. After numerous shell hits the Furutaka was put out of action, where she was later to be hit by a Torpedo. Combined with up to 90 shell hits her storage of Type 93 Long Lance Torpedoes seated in her mid decks finally went up from the resulting fires. The Furutaka sank stern first with the loss of 33 and 110 counted as missing. 514 survivors were rescued by 3 passing destroyers. 115 were captured by the American fleet.

In World of warships the Furutaka is a tier 5 cruiser. I have found this a ship that has some draw backs that many players (including myself) have found challenging to grasp. The Japanese get their big caliber 203mm guns on the Furutaka and upwards. Due to this up gunning the Furutaka subsequently suffers from a rate of fire loss which in turn results in a big damage per minute disadvantage against the American nations cruisers . The lack of rounds per minute and slow turning of the turrets mean this is not a brawling ship and seats more in a support ship role. Given the opportunity to put down fire on the enemy the guns can really show its superior caliber. Taking fire and manoeuvring to avoid the shells causes this ship its main problems as I will explain as go through comparing this ship to its alike tiers.

First we will start with the Furutaka's good points. For a Cruiser the Furutaka has a decent health pool and has a good Torpedo armament for a cruiser. The Guns are very punchy and have good burst potential if using cover to your advantage between shots. As the guns are of larger caliber they do more reliable damage against armoured targets so have more chance of citadel hits. As a Japanese Cruiser you have a better concealment rating than your american cruiser equivalents but at 12.2 km this is no destroyer. She has a good top speed too so will be normally up alongside the destroyers in the initial engagement. Unfortunately that's really all this ship has when looking at it on paper.

This ship was oringinally designed to specifically destroy Phoenix/Omaha Cruisers but its horrible turret rotation speed and rate of fire of the guns that really let this ship down in World of Warships. The Omaha (Tier 5 American cruiser) in a straight up gun duel can put out over double the amount of damage per minute than the Furutaka with its guns alone (assuming all shots fired are AP and hit citidels the Furutaka has a DPM of 98700 and the Omaha has a DPM of 213280). Even the Phoenix Cruiser vastly out damages the Furutaka in a one on one duel where in lies the first major weakness of this ship. It just can't dish out the damage when its needed to so leaves you in a arisen of trying to dictate the engagements.

This is the First ship I have looked at and feel it needs a decent buff to make it competitive. Being a Japanese ship with such low  rate of fire you would have thought that the turret speed may be ok to compensate... Nope, its 45 secs for 180 degrees turret rotation... like a battleship (face palm). The Omaha has a 24 second 180 degree turret rotation speed. I could carry on with this but you know where I'm going with this... Bigger in this instance definitely isn't better. The Furutaka does however have a secondary armament that can support up to a spectacular range of 4 km. This short range really isn't going to help you in any instance unless you have a destroyer trying to suicide run you.

The main guns slow rotation speed makes you have to straighten out in dangerous situations to get guns on target. where the ship doesn't really have the armour to take prolonged punishment its definitely a risk business. This makes you an easy target for enemy gunners and in my opinion is the single worst thing about this ship.

Due to turret number 4 due to being next to the plane catapult, it has a limited firing arc. In most situations won't be able to fire that turret at what ever your aiming at as you should be angling your armour against fire to maximum the ships armour potential and make yourself a smaller target.

This isn't the most manoeuvrable of cruisers, having quite a large turning circle and slower rudder shift speed for a cruiser. Its not terrible or unworkable when it comes to dodging incoming fire or torpedoes but its still not up to the American cruisers standard. The manoeuvrability mixed with the ships decent speed working fairly well when getting out of dangerous situations however but doesn't have such a superior speed advantage where you could run away from other cruisers. The speed is good enough to chase most fleeing destroyers down so that's definitely a plus for the Furutaka

This really looked to be a terrible ship to play when as I am working my way along the Japanese Cruiser line again. It has some very horribly noticeable weaknesses that are by no means hard to miss. Surprise however when I played in this ship it didn't completely suck. Knowing its blatant weaknesses and playing this ship as a burst damage support ship seems to suit the Furutaka's characteristics of play.

You will not be brawling in this ship as you won't rotate your turrets fast enough to keep up with throwing the ship about and targets circling you.  The guns are reliable in that they do decent damage consistently upon hitting their target. She does seem to be better armoured than the american tier 5 light cruiser and does benefit from angling the armour from incoming cruiser/destroyer caliber AP shells. Getting into engagements where you can work as a team and sit behind close range specialist brawlers. Keeping attention away from you whilst dishing out damage with the bigger guns is the way to use this ship. Going alone against other ship will get you focused down quickly and it can be frustrating knowing you are getting your ass handed to you by rapid firing lower tiered ships spamming HE shells.

Don't get me wrong I don't think this is a horrific ship but I don't think its great either. The Furutaka is one of the biggest missed opportunities for Wargaming World of Warship team to make a really fun ship and all it would take is a slight buff of turret rotation speed and fire rate. I can deal with the manoeuvrability being worse but giving half the amount of damage to an equal Tier is pretty bad balancing in my opinion. Its not impossible to do well if you correctly position your ship in battle but in most instances this is very situational and won't always work out in your favour. With HE being so effective against armour in the Open Beta it negates a lot of this ships big gun caliber advantages. it will be interesting to see if any changes come in to effect that may make this a more competitive ship

That's all for this weeks review I look forward to seeing you back here for my Tiger Update later in the Week.

World Of Warships Hatsuharu Destroyer, The Doom Bringer

Welcome back.

By the time you are getting this it will be Wednesday and I will be enjoying a well deserved break in Berlin, Germany with my wonderful girlfriend. As there will only be one post this week due to my holiday so I hope you make the most of it & enjoy it!

This week I will be looking at a one of my most loved ships in my harbour, the Hatsuharu Tier 7 Japanese Destroyer. This is the first Destroyer in the Japanese line to get the Type 93 Long Lance Torpedoes. This 610mm Type 93 is a massive step up from the from the previous tiers 5-6 in damage. These Torpedoes are fast, have a long range and a hard punch with a base alpha damage of over 17 k.

The Hatsuharu Class Destroyer

The Hatsuharu class destroyer was built at the beginning of the 1930's. At this time the Imperial Navy's ship developments were limited by the London Navy Treaty.The design limitations imposed by the treaty meant that the Hatsuharu was smaller than previous Fubuki and Akatsuki class Destroyers that had come before her previously. It also limited designs for the Hatsuharu to a displacement of 1500 tons. The designers had to stretch the contemporary destroyer design to its limit whilst still trying to arm the new destroyer design with almost equally powerful armaments of its earlier classes. This causes severe stability problems due to the ships smaller hull and displacement. The resulting top heavy designs created worrying structural weaknesses, not just the Hatsuharu but many of the ships of this treaty's era. These structural design flaws were fatally highlighted when the torpedo boat Tomozuru capsized in 1934 and a typhoon ripped the bows of two Fubuki class destroyers in 1935. As a result of these 'incidences', all the Hatsuharu class vessels went through a major rebuild or were extensively modified to remedy their stability problems.

So Pretty Yet so Dangerous

Suffering stability problems for weaponry caused a lot of issues but Hatsuharu but it was able to hold its own in a fight. It used the same calibre 50 type 3 naval guns (12.7cm) as its Fubuki class predecessor however its guns could serve as dual purpose anti air as well anti ship with having a 75 degree elevation. An additional two 40mm AA guns also served as closer range air deterrence if the need presented itself. The 2 Triple 61cm torpedo launchers could do a full 360 degree turn in around twenty five seconds thanks to its electro hydraulic system and each emptied launcher tube could be quickly reloaded with the use of a mechanical wired system (Kiryoku sōtenshiki jihatsu sōten sochi) in around 23 seconds (I wish it was like this in world of warships).

During the second world war The Hatsuharu class destroyers saw action in the Battle of Midway, battle of Kolombangara and even escorted the mighty Yamato on her final Operation tengo. In the Battle of Kolmbangara the 'Yugure' Hatsuharu class destroyer assisted in the sinking off USS Gwin and the damaging of HMNZS Achilles, USS Honolulu and USS St. Louis. All the Hatsuharu class destroyers in service were eventually sunk in different conflicts throughout the second world war either by air bombings, submarine torpedoes or by mines.

In World of Warship this destroyer really enters the Japanese Destroyers into the arena of versatile long range strikes. The speed of the torpedoes mixed with its range their 10 km range has surprised many a ship I had been stalking whilst captaining this ship. The Hatsuharu gains a larger surface detectability range of 6.7km but still maintains a comfortable 3 km safe area in which to launch surprise attacks from without ever being spotted.

Like most Japanese destroyers the guns are pretty unremarkable being of smaller number and a with slower rotation speed than their American counterparts. At Tier 7 The American Mahan is a pretty poor destroyer in comparison to the Hatuharu. Its guns have a longer range and quicker rotation speed but has exceptionally poor ranged torpedoes (the worst in the game at 4.5km un-upgraded and 6.4 km upgraded). A Mahan has a surface detectability of almost 8 km so has to sail well within secondary range of most battleships to be effective. Unsurprisingly the Mahan has been given more health than the Harauhatsu to take a little extra punishment but its still a destroyer and won't last long under sustained punishment. Battleship weaponry seems to get a lot more accurate when firing at targets between 12 and 6 km so puts the Mahan at a distinct disadvantage when engaging larger ships.

The guns are not as painful to use as previous tiers of Japanese destroyers having around half the turret rotation speed of the Minekazi & Mitsuki (45 seconds on these ship where the Hatsuharu has a 25 secs for 180 degrees). This welcome change lends towards more versatile play for Japanese destroyers where guns actually might be a viable option in some most scenarios. As the Hatsuharu has similar sized guns to the Mahan  the American has to rely on its main advantage of faster firing guns to get it out of trouble. Being able to spot and outrun the Mahan whilst maintaining stealth gives the Hatsuharu the advantage as a destroyer to react and avoid a close up brawls. Forcing American destroyers to take up chase limits their fire which takes their gun advantage away from them.  Maintain a decent distance using your higher speed, whilst drive them back by your firing guns (which will be novel for most Japanese destroyer player) and torpedoes. This is normally enough to deter even the most dogged of attackers after setting them on fire a few times and causing them to take evasive manoeuvres dodging incoming torpedoes.

The Mahan Tier 7 American Destroyer

I like the Hatuharu. I have to admit when sailing the T6 Mitsuki I found it hard to adjust my playstyle for that ship. The Minekaze was a great little destroyer and I felt the Mitsuki was a bit of a let down. This made me think about what impact the future changes in the heavier higher levelled destroyers would effect my play. I am happy to say that the Hatsuharu is much more fun to captain than the Mitsuki and I have begun to see high amounts of damage rack up in most of my games. I find its balance of power, speed and stealth really aids my approach to the battlefield which works well as a fast paced doom bringing machine. I would definitely recommend this ship for anyone that loves that hard hitting potential only destroyers can give.

Hatsuharu Doom Attack

I hope this review has helped you make a decision on whether you would like to take up Japanese destroyers and would love to hear your feed back. Till Next time.

Imperial Japanese Kuma Class Cruiser

Welcome back to my blog for another World of Warships ship review,

I have a little bit of bad news to start off. Next week I will be away in Berlin for my first holiday in like forever (4 years to be precise... getting a stable career in the 3D Industry is a bit of a killer) so please forgive my absence but I will be doing an extra post this week which will go out on a delay for the coming week. It means a little more work for me this week to do so but at least you will be getting something here over the time that I will be away. I am planning on visiting the Berlin Museum of Technology so I'll be posting a few images from that up here when I am back for all those people that like efficient mechanical things.

For this weeks Ship review I will be taking a look at the Kuma class cruiser from world of warships. This capable cruiser is Currently a tier 4 cruiser (as all is subject to change in the Closed Beta). This cruiser has a well balanced stats and load out so read on and I'll give you the overall comparisons to its equal tiers. If your not interested in this ship I'll tell you about its weaknesses so you can seek to exploit them if you happen to cross guns with them.

The Kuma Cruiser

With the development of the new Omaha Class light cruiser following the end of World War 1 the Japanese Navy realised that they would be in danger of being out gunned by their pacific neighbour. With the Development of the Minekaze that had a formidable speed of 39 knots, the current Tenryu class cruiser, that had a maximum speed of 33 knots, were unable to keep pace. The long range Torpedo, the Type 93 Long Lance, was developed in the 1930s so plans were drawn up to create a special ‘Night Battle Force’ of torpedo cruisers. With the new development of the Type 93 these torpedoes had a longer range than most Battleship main armaments, the idea of the new cruiser development was to attack at night with a over whelming barrage of torpedoes. A later force would then follow up the morning after the night battle to dispatch a critically damaged enemy.

WW2 Kuma Class Cruiser Photo

The Kuma class cruiser was built between 1917 - 1921 and commissioned into the Japanese Navy between 1920 - 1946. Only 5 Kuma Class Cruisers were built, the Kuma, the Tana, the Kitakami, the Oi and the Kiso. Four of the Kumas were sunk throughout the course of the second world war. The Kitikami was converted into a torpedo cruiser before the second world war. For those that play World of Warships you will recognise this ship as a premium tier 8 cruiser. This may seem high when considering the Kuma is only a tier 4 cruiser but when you find out that the conversion put 40 torpedo tubes ( 20 each side) you can see its potential to just fill small island channels with a horrendous numbers of submerged torpedo death.

The Kitikami... ALL the Torpedoes

The Kuma sported seven 14cm guns in central line individually mounted turrets but due to their positioning a whole broadside would only be able to bring 6 of these to bear. The Kuma wasn't quite done their as it also carried 8 long range 533mm torpedoes as back up to its main gun arsenal. The Kuma lacked in anti air armament like its Tenryu predecessor. The two 8cm 3rd year type naval guns and two 6.5mm machine guns were not going to be repelling any determined air attack. Even though the Kuma class was Heavily disadvantaged in AA fire power it was Torpedoes that finished off 3 of the 4 sunk in total throughout World War 2. 

Kuma Class Cruiser Stats

The Kuma in World of warships is a balanced ship where it currently seats in the tech tree when looking at its stats long side the Phoenix and Omaha cruisers it seems to be well balanced. When compared directly with tier higher tiered Omaha (which the Kuma was designed to compete with) it has slightly longer gun range, a longer torpedo range and better concealment ranges as it characteristic of the strengths of most Japanese ships. The Omaha trumps the Kuma with its gun caliber (getting 152mm to the Kumas 140mm), gun amount (having one extra gun) and a better manoeuvrability. This makes it  a pretty good little ship for cruiser captains even when facing slightly higher tiers. The Kuma will always have to fear a engagement with the Cleveland class cruiser. 2 tiers above, the Cleveland will always present a significant threat due to its rapid firing guns (even high teir ships don't like this ship) but I think it's a little overpowered at the moment with what its capable of doing and will probably get hit with the nerf bat at some point (you may or may not agree but this video shows what its capable of). 

The Mighty Jingles Presents The Cleveland

Having more health than both the Phoenix or Omaha means you can take a little more punishment that your american comparisons but the slower rudder shift time makes you less responsive to threats and dodging fire/Torpedo attacks.

In conclusion the Kuma is a well balanced ship with all the good parts of the Japanese characteristics. Its the first ship in the Japanese cruiser line that you will start to get a good feel for the direction they will be headed in future tiers. The T3 Tenryu felt more like a big destroyer than a cruiser so the Kuma is a more welcome divide from the early tiered gunboat style mixed play to more a specific class personalities. The extra range with fairly quick torpedoes again give a fighting change against Battleships without having to wade deep into their secondary ranges like the american Omaha and Phoenix, whilst having a decent amount of fast firing guns to make a difference when it matters. Be cautious of your slower reaction/rudder shift time when facing of against other like tiered cruisers and start to learn and work the Japanese style of play to your advantage. These traits are only accentuated more in the T5 Furutaka Cruiser (bigger guns, bigger torps, bigger fun =D) so the Kuma is a solid ship to find out if the Jap style of play is for you.

The Furutaka T5 Jap Cruiser

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you back here soon. 

Commanders Cupola Update on Work in Progress

Welcome back to my blog,

I thought I would give a quick update of where I am at with my Tiger. I've been concentrating on the little details that really start to pull this commanders cupola together and bring it to a close. I want to get this done in the next week as I have been spending a little too much time playing World of Warships. This is good for you meaning if your interested in this as I can give better ship reviews and work towards them all important higher tiered ships. I'm sure you all have your eyes set on particular ships that you will like to get if your waiting for access to the Closed beta. I am currently at tier 7 in the Japs destroyer line with my Hatsuharu ship.

Not my port but same pretty ship!

I have been looking for some decent reference imagery of this spring loaded hinge that aids the commander to open his hatch. Unfortunately I have been pretty unlucky with my efforts so from the images that I have been able to find I have had to still do some significant guess work with how this part works (if anyone has any decent close up pictures of this part from the 131 Tiger at Bovington Tank Museum it would be much appreciated) .

Any detail shots of this would be appreciated.

Here is my modelling work in progress with my early Tiger tank commanders cupola.Take care and have a good weekend and I look forward to seeing you back here at a later date to see my progress

Lightwave Models

Sketch Fab Previewer

Commanders Cupola High Poly Progress by dna87 on Sketchfab

Minekaze Destroyer, The Japanese Imperial Navy Torpedo Ninja

welcome back to my blog,

This week I am taking a look at one of my favourite destroyers currently in World of Warships, the Minekaze. For its tier I feel this is a incredibly competitive ship with its stealthy nature and fast reloading powerful torpedoes. 

The Minekaze class destroyers consisted of 15 ships commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy whilst the first world war was still at its height. The first world war came to a end but of the ordered Minekaze destroyers were completed. The decision was made to continue their production to replace the already dated destroyers in the Imperial navy at that time. Unlike previous design choices the Japanese moved away from just copying pre existing British designs to take their own approach to creating an effective ship. The decision to lengthening the forecastle with a beak gave vital shielding from dangerous wash to crew members manning torpedo launchers at the front of the ship. This and other design choices made the Minekaze very competitive alongside any other destroyer of that time frame. The Minikazi was primarily designed as a destroyer escort for the Amagi class Battleships. The Amagi in an 'act of god made' was damaged extensively in its construction when a earth quake struck. This ultimately lead to this Battleship being scrapped and the Minekaze destroyers being deployed else where in the Imperial fleet.

The design and construction of the Minikaze Class destroyer came really at the wrong time frame to be of any effect in many of the major world war conflicts. Arriving to late for WW1 and being too outdated for Pacific conflicts by WW2 the service history of the Minikazi ship is somewhat unremarkable. Most of the Minizake Destroyers were relegated to either support ships or patrol boats. Many of of the 15 ships built were sunk by US Subs, used as target practice or taken as prize by other nations.Only a small percentage were eventually scuttled or broken down for scrap.

One of the Minikaze ships the Akikaze was the subject of a War Crime investigation after reports that civilians were strung up by the hands on a gallow, shot dead and then thrown overboard. No action was taken against the ships crew after the Austrailian War Crimes Trial was handed over to the American authorities. The Akikaze found equally gruesome end being eventually sunk by a torpedo hit (which was meant for the aircraft carrier Jun'yo but the Akikaze sacrificed herself to save the carrier) from the USS Pintado, resulting in the loss of all hands. 

Here in World of Warships I really enjoy playing this tier 5 Destroyer. The Minekaze seems to be the last destroyer that has a focus on more guns and torpedoes before a lot of anti air starts getting strapped on to subsequent Japanese destroyers higher in the tech tree. Whilst this is good in a support anti air role (which at this tier is largely negated due to most ships having vastly better AA than proceeding tiers but more importantly me turning AA off right at the start) the lack of decient guns for self defence seems to be the major downfall of the Japanese destroyer line. The lack of gun performance is balanced with the having the best Torpedoes currently in the game for its tier.

In World of Warships the Minekaze is a solid destroyer for people that like the stealthy approach to game play. With a surface detectibility range of only 5.9km and a torpedo range of 7 km with its non upgraded torpedoes. These stats enable you to kill without ever been seen unlike the american line where you have to close to dangerously close to make use you your torps. You can upgrade the torpedoes to a 10 km range but this comes with the disadvantage of  losing 11 knots of speed. I personally use the faster but lower range torps as I don't like giving people the option of dodging. The Torpedoes reload once every 46 seconds and with 3 separate dual launchers. With controlled fire I never seem to find myself in a position where I am caught out with at least 4 torpedoes ready to fire.

The guns on the Minekaze aren't particularly great. When compared to the Nicholas Destroyer (the equivalent American tier destroyer) the guns are only just a bit smaller being 120mm to the American 127mm but its the rotation speed that really hampers these guns performance. This seems to be the Japanese Nations characteristic with their destroyers having powerful torps but horrendous turret rotation speed.

The Minekaze has great manoeuvrability being over half a second faster rudder shift time than the Nicholas and Gremyashchy destroyers and is also the fastest of its equivalent tiers. These stats gives the Minekaze all the makings of a awesome ambush ship. In a Destroyer, being able to dodge and dish out pain quickly is the important feature to have and for tier 5 I think the Minekaze is probably the best at it.

In a close range knife fight you will probably be throwing this ship around to avoid incoming fire and this is where the slow turret will really start to be a problem. A one on one in close range, the harsh reality is you will probably lose against the American destroyers or cruisers unless you get some torpedoes on target at an early stage. You just won't be able to put the fire down needed to deter their attack. Using your stealth to your advantage will be key to your survival against other destroyers as you have the lowest detectability range and can turn away quickly if you see the odds stacked against you. American destroyers need to hit tier 9 before they can drop torpedoes outside their detectability range so drop torpedoes to force them into evasive manoeuvres and high tail it out of there. Better to run away and drop more torpedoes than stand your ground and be sunk.

Torpedoes on the Japanese ships really make this ship fun to play with. I have missed having the third launcher on the Mitsuki and Hatsuharu as it gives more flexibility on where you can place multiple shot. I remember one particular game where I launched 2 spreads down a channel between 2 islands after being spotted. The enemy ship turned having seen them went right around one of the islands only to find I had launched the final 2 torps to meet him as he nosed round the island. The Mitsuku and Hatsuharu only have 2 launchers (with more torps launched with each launcher so swings and rounds abouts) so I would have had to be more restrained in that kind of attack. Having this option with the Minekaze give more flexibility with your attack choices.

Having centrally mounted torpedoes in the kamikaze something that I like over its American counterpart. The tier 5 Nicholas has more launchers but these are mounted to the sides of the ship. To make use of your larger number of launchers you have to expose both port and starboard lengths of your vessel. Steaming about in this manner tends to make make your attacks movements very predictable which normally leads to you being very dead after taking more fire.

So to conclude this review of this great little destroyer, its a great hit and run ship. With strong torps, low detectability range and god like manoeuvrability its a competitive ship for its tier. Keep your distance from dangerous ships to negate your bad turret rotation speed and attack when the time is right. Its always a mistake in the Minekaze to sail straight in a gun fight to allow your slow turrets to bear on a target. It is generally better to use your small profile and fast reloading torps to your advantage. I have really had fun playing this ship in Co-op and random battles and have had a good amount of success getting a few 5 kill matches (yet I forgot to take a screen shot to prove it... yep noob mistake there but bellow is my max ships sunk. I've had a few 5 kill matches and the Minekaze is definitely responsible for a few along with the Warspite).

I hope you enjoy this little ninja of a ship as much as I have and would like to hear if you share my opinion on this ship. Do you agree that this is a strong ship for its tier, or do you prefer the guns ho approach of the american line? I'd love yo hear your opinions. I look forward to seeing you here later on in the week for an update on my slow but steady progress on my tiger tank.

SketchFab 3D Model Web Embedded Previewer

Welcome Back,

For all you hard working 3D Artists this is a post you should definitely read. I thought I would write about a 3D model Previewer I am thinking about using to display my models on here in the future. Its pretty good not only for you to look around my models I am doing to see how its been done, but also enable you get up close and personal at all the detail from different angles than just a single photo. For me this means I will have to be more diligent as all the mistakes people may not be able to see will now be viable to anyone with a keen eye =D.

Wargaming seems to uses this site for proving their models for the game engine. Its also a place where fans can view their hard work up close and see the beauty's they are grinding for. To keep it short I am going to embed some of their newest models for you to view and have a play with and will use this where possible to show you my updates of my Tiger model.

AMX-30B - World of Tanks by Wargaming.net on Sketchfab

Cromwell Berlin - World of Tanks by Wargaming.net on Sketchfab

IS 2 Berlin - World of Tanks by Wargaming.net on Sketchfab

For those of you that play world of tanks regularly you will instantly recognise these tanks. some being apart of the Berlin trio and others being higher tier tanks. These 3d models should give you an idea of how much hard work goes into each of these tanks. With Wargaming making HD models for its tanks with PBR textures, these are representative of their current and upcoming standard they are aiming for with in game models. 

Take care all and have a good weekend. 

World of Warships Destroyer Tactics

Hi all,

I thought I would try something a bit different and talk through some of the techniques I have been getting some success with in Destroyers. I thought I would have a little experiment with this as I haven't really done anything like this before. This post is  a little later this week as I had to spend a bit of time doing some work to get something that would help me explain my tactics. My illustrations are still in their early days with this but I hope you like it (and that it also makes sense).

Destroyers in general are fast, agile , stealthy and hard to hit. These are you main advantages as a Destroyer. Your disadvangages are that you have no armour (and therefore low HP), being caught out in the open normally means getting one shotted and you have low caliber guns. Time and time again I witness destroyer captains yollo up to multiple enemy in open water with no support which in most cases earning them a untimely one way ticket to their harbours. Don't get me wrong there are times you have to take risks but you do have to pick and choose your times to engage.

In this post I will talk through my approach to the enemy, Working as a spotter for the rest of your team and thinking about how and when to engage.

1: Initial Match up and map.

As a Destroyer Captain you are more or less what a light tank is in World of Tanks. You are the eyes of your team in the initial stages of the match. Your surviving in this crucial point really depends on your choices you make and taking the right choices can mean you live to the latter stages where you can start to be effective. Your main concern when looking at the ships in each team are how many fast firing guns are going to cause a problem and where the possible areas these ships will go. Cruisers in particular like the Cleveland have fast firing guns that can cause a significant problem for destroyer captains as 3-4 good hits can effectively take you out of the match. a Destroyer doesn't have enough health to trade in a fire fight so caution is normally your best friend. Open water should be avoided at all costs where the enemy will be able to see you. A dead Destroyer is no help to your team and you spotting for your team helps them get those softening up hits in the early game. 

2: Spotting

In the initial stages of the match most destroyer captains will push up using their speed to their advantage. This is a good thing for a Destroyer captain to do as you will start to light up the enemy team for your Battleships and long range Cruisers. Pushing too deep without their support like in world of tanks tends to leave you isolated and normally ends up getting you focused fired down. 

'The Kamikazi Run' to spot the enemy , common mistakes like this leave you exposed in open water

Big ship = Battleship, Medium Ship = Cruiser, Small Ship = Destroyer

Red outlines = Enemy Team, White Outlines = Friendly Team

If their are lots of Battleships on your team you may want to be more cautious in pushing up and sitting further towards your teams half of the map. Battleships are slower so this style of play allows them to move up and tank the damage whilst you get into a better attack position. Where the enemy battleships will have no problem spotting and firing at your teams spotted battleships their will be plenty of enemy cruisers and destroyers that may working their way into the middle of the map to get range on the spotted battleships. This is dangerous for destroyer drivers as they will be singled out as the only viable target for shorter ranged vessels if you are too far forward. Use your team as HP piñatas to detract away from your sneaky stalking methods.

Sling Shooting gaps like this enables you to spot and quickly get back into cover.

When approaching land masses which you think you would be able to spot enemies (from looking at the team list and noting faster ships or battleships) duck in behind one land mass before hard turning  in a almost 180 degrees behind another land mass. This enables you to get spots on incoming enemies that are pushing up in the safest possible way. This tactical use of this spotting technique only shows your ship for the smallest amount of time possible. It reduces the time you could possibly receive damage if you are spotted at all. This spot also gives your team a better idea of where the enemy are coming from because you have done an early spot and enables them to manoeuvre to into a more advantageous position

3: Stalking

Good use of cover in destroyers is essential for survival. It not only helps to obscure your position to the enemy team but also enables you to get the drop on a enemy ship with with torpedoes. Its like being a Panther, you stay in the shadows and then unleash fury.

Stalking take time to get to grips with as it requires map awareness which many players lose track of mid to late game. This style of play is only really a option once you team have moved up and are spotting and being spotted by the opposing team for you to move into a good ambush position. (think HP Piñatas)

In this imaginary example, friendly battleships have moved up from your initial spot and the game has moved into the mid stages of the match. at this point you should be using cover to keep line of sight off you and assessing the enemy position to see how you can best get the drop on.

Battleships at the point will be firing salvos at each other or cruisers that have been spotted (or unfortunate destroyers who have done a kamikaze run). You should be looking at the map and scanning the enemy visual contacts making use your not inside your surface detectability. Keep an eye out for scout planes as this can potentially give away your position when stalking as planes can see over islands.

In this 4 stage attack you should have singled out a enemy who may be alone or you feel you could get some torpedoes on. Look for enemies in difficult positions to turn in, that are moving towards narrows and also towards land masses.

At the second stage you should be checking the map for spotter planes or other ships that could potentially be a problem whilst hugging the cover as best you can to maintain concealment . This is probably the most important time of the stalking attack run as this is where you can abort the run without being seen by your target(if something pops up unexpectedly you can pop smoke and run away).

In the third to fourth stage or attack you swing the ship into a turn whilst dropping you Torp's in the water. In this stage I like to turn away as I attack rather than sail out into the open (I see this happen far to much only to shink the ship they were attacking and then getting mobed by the remains of his team). Doing this makes sure as I am half way through a turn before I am spotted and secondary guns open up on me. By the time I am almost completely turned away, torpedoes are already on course ready to shaft the enemy. If by chance the ship has its guns pointed towards me, I will be presenting the smallest possible target to him and can drop my smoke screen to aid my escape.

The Oh Crap... Torps moment.

4: The Boom and Spoon

The last tactic I want to go through its the boom and spoon tactic. This tactic really only works in the later stages of the game if you are lucky to be alive in a destroyer (This is why being cautious and staying alive to the end of the match is important). 

In this Attack I keep outside my detectability range and spot the enemy ships guns and which way they are pointing. Because in this attack you are likely to take a bit of fire from secondary or primary guns, look to your remaining hit points as you have likely taken damage throughout the game. Assess from this if you could survive this kind of risky attack.

While stalking the enemy keep a check on the mini map . They will only be able to fire once if at all in my Zoom and Spoon attack. I sail straight towards (Zoom) the enemy without showing any of my side. Doing this I give the smallest possible target to any salvoes from primary or secondary fire. I try to close to a minimum of 3 km before I start the turn to let lose my metal fish or if the enemy has his guns on me after he fires.

Starting the attack turn to early gives his guns a bigger target to hit and provide a longer time for him to position himself against incoming torp.  Really this attack it meant to devastate your opponent within 15 second of him noticing you are making a run on him. It is using the naturally large gun dispersion and long reload time of a Battleship against him, whilst using the tiny profile of your ship to its maximum potential. 

Perfect example of close range gun dispersal from a battleship at close range

Note these shots were at a side on battleship and not a head on destroyer.

 Once within a range your know the Battleship won't escape my Torp's he May have already started to turn into or away from you/ turn his turrets. The Spoon is where you turn to maximise you torpedo hitting potential and turn with the battleship to avoid fire from main or secondary guns by scooping round his helm or stern. this way the main danger time is the turn to get the torps out on target. You will probably take a few hits from secondary guns (hence knowing at the start if you can take exchange a few HP to secure the kill/win the game).

I see people trying this but turning slightly to hit them with all their guns, in doing so they receive more effective fire from presenting a larger side target. This ends up getting their components crippled by the enemy ships, get killed or in some cases pulling off a successful attack but take way too much damage in doing so. Timing your turn after a salvo being fired at you or choosing to attack from a position that the guns cant hit by the time you get into close range increases your survivability in this attack.

This is one of my favourite tactics to use on lone ships/battleships at the end of a game. This can work on cruisers but I faster firing ships are a problem in this attack as their shell dispersion tends to far smaller. Ships like this tend to damage steering or engines to easily in a short time to make this attack viable. Also if there is more than one ship using this attack is substantially more dangerous as you expose more of the side of your ship to at least one of the ships you do this attack on so I wouldn't recommend it unless the situation call for it.

Hopefully that helps all you budding destroyer captains out there, Take care and stay sea worthy.