Post by nagato01 on Feb 4, 2018 13:49:17 GMT
In considering Germany’s most famous battleship, I have wondered whether or not this unit was in Set 1 and 6 not given what it was due, or if the ship throughout history has been overhyped.
Now I believe the general consensus is that Bismarck was not “the most powerful battleship in the world” as she was often told at the time of her completion. But while not as legendary as some would make her, she still was a very capable unit. Her guns, despite being 15 inches were very powerful, and had an excellent rate of fire of in some cases almost 3 rounds a minute. And these guns were directed by the excellent German fire control system. Throughout her only mission, Bismarck proved this to be the case, first with the Hood, the Prince of Wales, and many other ships. If I recall correctly, in the engagement between Bismarck, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Prince of Wales, Bismarck straddled the pursuiers on more than one occasion. Her armor was also excellent, as evidenced by the absolute pounding she took before finally going under (by a combination of scuttling and torpedo). Her anti-aircraft system, is one of the more controversial aspects of the Bismarck. Some state it was completely inadequate, some so it was incapable of hitting the slow swordfish because they were designed for fast attack aircraft, and some even go so far as to say the suite of AA was phenominal and the swordfish were lucky. I fall somewhere in the middle.
Now that we have done this comprehensive review of the Bismarck, now let us take a look at her performance in game. Her guns are in my opinion mostly accurate, except I believe Bismarck deserves one more die at range 3, taking her up to Tirpitz. Secondaries and tertiaries I believe are completely accurate, and need no changing. Finally, we come to AA. I believe the value of 8 is too high, and at best it should be 7. Now on to armor, vital armor, and hull points. This area will be the most radical of my proposals. I believe the A/VA rating is in fact accurate, and a good one. However, I believe Bismarck should be a 6 Hull battleship. My argument is based on the amount of damage this ship took before going down, not just in the final battle but throughout the pursuit, first at Denmark strait, then later with torpedo hits from Victorious and later Ark Royal, and finally the Royal Navy let loose with their guns for over an hour, but still they couldn’t kill her. As we look at special abilities, I believe that Bismarck should have a special ability that reads as follows: Expert Fire Control: If this unit attacks the same unit it attacked last turn, add one die to its main gunnery attack pool. This is my version of the Bismarck.
Now we come to two more issues, the first issue being cost. We have changed our unit greatly, making it considerably more powerful. I think Bismarck would sit nicely at 62 points. The second issue is the Tirpitz. I think the Tirpitz, due to the fact that she gets extended range 5, and in her career only fired her guns once at an enemy target (The Spitzburg operation), does not get Expert Fire Control, and should be 3 points more than Bismarck, and gaining an extra AA die bringing it up to 8.
And those are my thoughts on a revamped Bismarck. This is all my opinion, based on my research. Let me know what you guys think!
Now I believe the general consensus is that Bismarck was not “the most powerful battleship in the world” as she was often told at the time of her completion. But while not as legendary as some would make her, she still was a very capable unit. Her guns, despite being 15 inches were very powerful, and had an excellent rate of fire of in some cases almost 3 rounds a minute. And these guns were directed by the excellent German fire control system. Throughout her only mission, Bismarck proved this to be the case, first with the Hood, the Prince of Wales, and many other ships. If I recall correctly, in the engagement between Bismarck, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Prince of Wales, Bismarck straddled the pursuiers on more than one occasion. Her armor was also excellent, as evidenced by the absolute pounding she took before finally going under (by a combination of scuttling and torpedo). Her anti-aircraft system, is one of the more controversial aspects of the Bismarck. Some state it was completely inadequate, some so it was incapable of hitting the slow swordfish because they were designed for fast attack aircraft, and some even go so far as to say the suite of AA was phenominal and the swordfish were lucky. I fall somewhere in the middle.
Now that we have done this comprehensive review of the Bismarck, now let us take a look at her performance in game. Her guns are in my opinion mostly accurate, except I believe Bismarck deserves one more die at range 3, taking her up to Tirpitz. Secondaries and tertiaries I believe are completely accurate, and need no changing. Finally, we come to AA. I believe the value of 8 is too high, and at best it should be 7. Now on to armor, vital armor, and hull points. This area will be the most radical of my proposals. I believe the A/VA rating is in fact accurate, and a good one. However, I believe Bismarck should be a 6 Hull battleship. My argument is based on the amount of damage this ship took before going down, not just in the final battle but throughout the pursuit, first at Denmark strait, then later with torpedo hits from Victorious and later Ark Royal, and finally the Royal Navy let loose with their guns for over an hour, but still they couldn’t kill her. As we look at special abilities, I believe that Bismarck should have a special ability that reads as follows: Expert Fire Control: If this unit attacks the same unit it attacked last turn, add one die to its main gunnery attack pool. This is my version of the Bismarck.
Now we come to two more issues, the first issue being cost. We have changed our unit greatly, making it considerably more powerful. I think Bismarck would sit nicely at 62 points. The second issue is the Tirpitz. I think the Tirpitz, due to the fact that she gets extended range 5, and in her career only fired her guns once at an enemy target (The Spitzburg operation), does not get Expert Fire Control, and should be 3 points more than Bismarck, and gaining an extra AA die bringing it up to 8.
And those are my thoughts on a revamped Bismarck. This is all my opinion, based on my research. Let me know what you guys think!
