Battleship Killer

The TDS "Hell Knight II" Battleship Killer I built myself. Very simple, with 4 46cm guns and a custom built bridge.

Battleship Killers are battleships which concentrate their armament onto the

MAS Resilient. This vessel is characteristic of Battleship Killers in the armament layout.

front. These vessels are designed to destroy battleships through sheer frontal firepower at the expense of all-around engagement capabilities.

A good example of a 'battleship killer' layout, with all the main guns facing forward, and secondary guns aft.

Armoured battleship carrier, not a true battleship destroyer, as a speed of only 20 knots, but incredible armoUr and survivability, moderately large air group and will make your opponent bleach their eyes (6 tomahawks)

Armament

These vessels are often armed similarly to their battleship cousins, and the only true distinction is their weapon placement. Thus, they often are armed with large batteries with multiple secondary batteries. AAA and ASW is often carried.

Roles and Usage

These ships are designed to destroy proper battleships of equivalent or superior firepower, since it does not need to expose its sides to focus the majority of its firepower. Because of the focused firepower, they are easier to flank and destroy. Thus, they focus on destroying warships at or above its level.

Because of the AI and the focus on frontal firepower, they are more potent than battleships in single-player. AI does not typically engage in a turning battle, and will rarely flank. As a result, they are good resource earners because levels are taken down faster than battleships, whose rear-facing heavy guns will remain idle for most of the match.

Tactics

The HMS ''Nelson'', while a battleship herself, her armament reflects the layout of battleship killers

See Battle Tactics

As a skipper, use your superior frontal firepower to dismantle a battleship. Attempt to keep your front facing the opponent, since if the battleship was to come at your sides, your layout advantage is nullified, and lose the advantage if the battleship makes its way to the rear, where the smaller guns are often incapable of dealing with the battleship.

As an opponent, exploit the fact that they typically will have smaller guns facing the rear, and are more manageable. Attempt to outmaneuver the ship, dodging or taking shells in the process. Put raking fire into the rear of the ship, where their boilers are.

The rear of a battleship killer will typically mount its boilers in the back. This makes it very easy to disable your ship if your vessel is outflanked, thus worsening an already bad situation for the battleship killer skipper. Players who use battleship killers should be mindful of this vulnerability which destroyers and fast boats are happy to exploit. However, this can be an advantage if facing enemies from the front- their placement would mean the more durable weapon mounts would take both artillery and torpedo hits.

The Future

Battleship killers are highly specialized ships, and the game has been changed dramatically. With missiles and aircraft, it is no longer necessary for armament to be arranged in a certain fashion to maximize frontal firepower. While helpful up close, it would no longer be as necessary. With new long-range high-damage low-space weaponry, cruisers can easily fill this role. While battleship killers are still potent, they are often superfluous due to the new long-range high-damage low-space weapons which can be equipped on smaller ships. Overall, these ships will be less used, though it will still reign the seas alongside the battleship.