HMS Canada - Premium Potential - Tier 5

[Brokenstar]

My proposal for a tier V British Premium, the HMS Canada.


-Who is the HMS Canada?

The HMS Canada served in the British Royal Navy from September of 1915 until 1920 when she was re-purchased by the Chile Navy. She was laid down in 1911, and was Launched in November of 1914 under the name of Almirante Latorre and served for Chile for just 9 monthes before being re-purchased and re-named to HMS Canada by the Royal Navy with the break out of WWI. After she was in service with the Royal Navy, she was slightly modified for British usage, including the bridge being taken off in favor of two open platforms, and a mast was added in between the two funnels to support a derrick that would service launches of sea planes. 

She Initially served as part of the 4rth squadron of the Grand Fleet, and first saw action in the battle of Jutland, suffering no damage.She was then in 1916 transferred to the 1st battle squadron, and upgraded with better range finders, and 2 of her aft secondary 6 inch guns were removed as they were damaged from the middle 14 inch turret firing. Later on she received another refit to add additional launch platforms on top of the super firing turrets both on the front and aft of the ship.

She was moved into the reserve of Royal navy ships in March of 1919, where she would wait for 13 monthes until being re-purchased by Chile in April 1920, where she was re-named to Almirante Latorre yet again.

 

-She is one of a kind, Seriously!

The HMS Canada is one of 2 Almirante Latorre class Super-Dreadnoughts ordered by Chile, however, the 2nd ship of the class, the Almirante Cochrane was never completed. Laid down in 1913, with construction continuing until 1918 when Britain re-purchased the ship, and started converting her into an aircraft carrier, completed in 1924, under the new name of the HMS Eagle. The HMS Eagle served in the Royal Navy for 18 years until she was sunk by U-Boat 73 in the battle of Malta.

No other orders for Almirante Latorre class ships were ever ordered or built, making the HMS Canada absolutely unique. To this day a few parts of the HMS Canada still exist, as parts for the IJN Mikasa, (now to this day a museum ship) which were fitted on for her restoration after Japan bought the HMS Canada from Chile for scrap in 1959.

 

 

 

Why bring her into World of Warships?

-She has some unique aspects to her. Comparatively to other ships currently in the game, she probably like a new york class battleship in main armament, with more beefy but less in quantity secondary armaments. In the regard of fanbase, you would be hitting 2 birds with one stone, British and Canadian players. In regards to the economics of her as a premium ship, she would do well to, well, satisfying the entire Canadian player base such as myself, especially given Canadian designed ships are few in number and would otherwise not be introduced for a long time, possibly not for years after WoWS goes live. To differentiate her from the Warspite for British ship fans, if she is placed at a different tier then the Warspite, she could be a cheaper option. To super strong British fans, who would want to train their British commanders faster, having a second British ship to put them on would be useful further bringing an the appeal. Furthermore, given her more aggressive gun layout, she may be a more attractive option for gameplay prospect/playstyle, where as the Warspite is more attractive to the history buff fans.

Gameplay Statistics:

-Tier V Premium

Armament:
-10 x 14inch main guns

-16 x 152mm scondary guns (Unless we go to the modified variant of the ship which only has 14)

-2 x 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns

-4 x 3-pounder guns (Dual Purpose?)
-4 Submerged Torpedo 21inch (533mm) tubes (If that gameplay element is ever added)
My assessment on the armament is she would be on par with the new york, able to be aggressive, good armament for close range DDs, but susceptible to planes/aircraft. Her main guns could reach a max range of 33km, given WoWS uses effective firing ranges as max ranges, I'd estimate they'd be about 18km.
 

Maneuverability

-22 Knots max speed

-other in game characteristics unknown

My assessment/guess, based on the diagram showing she has 1 rudder and 4 propellers, she is likely the opposite to the Warspite in that the Canada would have good acceleration but slow/large turning radius.

Armor:

-250 mm (Barbettes and Turrets)

-230mm (Belt)

-280mm (Conning Tower)
-38mm (Deck)
Assessment, She is less armored then the new york of the same tier, but better consistent armor then the Kongo

 

Final Assessment on her potential Gameplay:
-She feels different then other ships around her in my suggested tier. Her Gameplay would be unique, comparatively to what is in the game currently (patch 0.3.1). I feel she would be good in just an outright slug fest, could hold her own against her main rivals, the Kongo and the New York, as tier 5 battleships are concerned. Her drawbacks being slow and poor AA, her strengths being main and secondary armaments, as well as possibly good acceleration. 

Her Gameplay is unique, different from the Warspite, and probably alot of fun, and a good chance to appease the canadian player base (even though this ships association to Canada is its name only), as that would otherwise be a long off goal, making us canadians such as myself sad, as we did have the one of the largest navies in WWII. 

Hope you enjoyed the read, took me a couple of hours to write this 

(I run a duplicate article on NA)

~Just a Canadian player in a game of war.

[Aldramelech]

I'd rather see a premium Cruiser or Destroyer myself, Warspite is already here and will come back sooner or later for those that missed out.

 

Interesting article though +1 for that.

[PhroX]

Yeah, HMS Canada would make for a nice premium. As would another foreign ship "acquried" by the RN as WW1 began - HMS Agincourt (or Rio de Janeiro, or Sultan Osman I or whatever you want to call her...). Slow, unspectacular armour, but 14 12" guns

 

[simonmd]

Lets hope it makes an appearance as a normal ship in the RN tech tree, I dont want any premiums thanks very much, I want the entire fleet like the US and IJN do! One I would pay for though would be the HMS Belfast, a ship that anyone whos been to London will know. She fired the opening shots on the D Day landings and of course, survived the war intact. Would make a very cool T9/10 cruiser.

[Kais_S012]

I have to agree with the preference for a Cruiser or Destroyer as the next RN premium IF we are blessed with another sometime before 2020

 

that been said having a ship that rings true within the commonwealth fanbase as well as the British one would be a great addition to the game

[Brokenstar]

3 birds, one stone, (British, Canadian, and Chile)

[von_Boeg]

What a WONDERFUL post, Brokenstar!

 

I would love to see the HMS Canada as one of the first RN premiums, and no matter the reason why Wargaiming wants to publish a Russian paper line first I think it is very foolish not to have the British ships at this point.

 

No matter that, let us lovers of British Sea Power unite and try to get at least some premium RN ships, and what would be better then this one?

 

[Iron_Walls]

I would prefer to have the HMCS Athabaskan I as a premium Destroyer ( first of three destroyers of the Royal Canadian Navy to bear this name.) as it was a national renowned ship.    It was a RCN ordered, British built Tribal class destroyer with a speed of 67 km/h. Armed with 3x2 4.7"(119mm) La Guns and 1x2 4"(100mm)  guns, an 1x4 21" Mk IX torpedos and  4x1 2 lber (47 mm?) AA guns and 6x2 20mm guns (Canadian built Tribals do not seem ever to have been equipped with the12.7 Mmg in quad mounts found on other vessels of this class) .as well as depth chargers.  Sunk in 1943 in a night battle  off the coast of France near the mouth of the Morlaix River near Ile de Bas.  

FYI the RCN had 11 warships at the start of WW2, but by the end of the war it had 900+ ships and was the 3rd largest navy in the world with the vast majority being corvettes and Frigates!
 

[Brokenstar]

^Sounds interesting ^-^ I am considering writing an article here for the HMCS Ontario, which could be another british/canadian unique premium.

[Brokenstar]

Another interesting fact about the HMS Canada/Almirante Latorre, when she was finally decommissioned by Chile, she was infact sold to japan for scrap, Japan however, used some of her parts to restore the IJN Mikasa, who lived the rest of her days, and still around today, as a museum ship.

[mr3awsome]

 HMCS Ontario, which could be another british/canadian unique premium.

 

Except thats just a Swiftsure class cruiser. HMS Canada is unique, Ontario isn't.

Just pay WG to have option to glue a maple leaf to the funnel.

[RAMJB]

I'd rather see Agincourt as a premium, tbh.

[Brokenstar]

 

Except thats just a Swiftsure class cruiser. HMS Canada is unique, Ontario isn't.

Just pay WG to have option to glue a maple leaf to the funnel.

 

True, as the HMS Canada is one of only two Almirante Latorre class Super-Dreadnaughts, and the 2nd of the class, the Almirante Cochrane, was never completed in her design, as she was re-purchased by the british navy mid-construction, and she was converted into the aircraft carrier, the HMS Eagle.

 

This means that you are correct in that the HMS Canada/Almirante Latorre was the only one of her design to ever exist.

[Brokenstar]

EDIT: Added the "She is one of a kind, Seriously!" section

[jonas45]

nice this looks very good indeed

[Brokenstar]

There is one other possibility in regards to "Canada related battleships" and that would be 3 Queen-Elizabeth class Super-Dreadnoughts which Canada had passed a the "Canadian Naval Aid Bill of 1913" in parliament to fund, however the funds were never made, and thus the 3 battleships never were ordered.

These battleships would of been named the Acadia, Ontario, and Quebec, it is un-clear if these ships would of served in the Canadian navy or in the royal navy. I suspect that even if they were to serve in the royal navy, post-war they would of likely been transferred over the the Canadian navy. (presuming they survived the WWI)

In case you are not aware, this is the same class of ship as the Warspite, so adding them would be somewhat useless, I wouldn't expect to see any of them until WG gets the problem of "Scratching the bottom of the barrel" in choices of ships to add, much like WoT is getting to on what vehicles haven't been added yet.

But these 3 ships aside, I'd much rather see the HMS Canada as she is completely unique in design.

[Brokenstar]

I hope she gets added some day :/

[OhMyDiddlyDais]

Good luck on the crusade sir!

[Historynerd]

She was laid down in 1911, and was Launched in November of 1914 under the name of Almirante Latorre and served for Chile for just 9 monthes before being re-purchased and re-named to HMS Canada by the Royal Navy with the break out of WWI. 

 

She was launched in the month of November of 1913, was acquired by the Royal Navy  on 9 September 1914 and was finally commissioned (as HMS Canada) on 15 October 1915.

So, she did not serve in the Chilean Navy before her acquisition by the British, as she was not commissioned and even fitted out yet.

 

Other than this, nice topic; if it comes, it would sure be interesting.

[BlueMoon51]

I'm not sure if this is a question anyone can answer but.... was there some kind of clause added to contracts on such projects like this whereby in this case the RN could lease back the ship being constructed in case of war???

[Armo1000]

Lets hope it makes an appearance as a normal ship in the RN tech tree, I dont want any premiums thanks very much, I want the entire fleet like the US and IJN do! One I would pay for though would be the HMS Belfast, a ship that anyone whos been to London will know. She fired the opening shots on the D Day landings and of course, survived the war intact. Would make a very cool T9/10 cruiser.

 

No way tier 9/10. She is very similar to the Cleveland and has the same caliber guns so will most likely be tier 6/7.

[Trainspite]

 

No way tier 9/10. She is very similar to the Cleveland and has the same caliber guns so will most likely be tier 6/7.

 

Cleveland is being moved, most likely to tier 8 when the US Light cruiser line appears.

Tier 8 is more likely for Edinburgh & Belfast. They are quite different to the rest of the towns.

Edinburgh (main tech tree) & Belfast (Premium)

Southampton/Gloucester would be the tier 7 Light Cruiser.

My prediction for the Light Cruisers from tiers V-VIII would be:

 V                              VI                    VII                   VIII

Arethusa(34)       ->Leander    -> Southampton -> Edinburgh

Emerald               -> Dido        -> Fiji                  -> Minotaur?

Scylla/Charybdis  Bellona             Uganda           Belfast          (Premiums)

 

As for HMS Canada, she is unique, but very similar to the Iron Dukes, and therefore would make another decent tier 5 premium battleship alongside HMS Agincourt. 

[Historynerd]

I'm not sure if this is a question anyone can answer but.... was there some kind of clause added to contracts on such projects like this whereby in this case the RN could lease back the ship being constructed in case of war???

 

I don't know if in the contracts there was anything, but it goes without saying that in case of need the British government would strongly try and get these ships. The two battleships being built and fitted out for Turkey were more or less forcibly seized, while Chile (being a key exporter of saltpeter, vital for munitions industry) had to be treated in a different way, and so the British government offered to buy them.

I think there were other examples of ships being built that were in a way or another taken over by the constructor country for its own navy.

[T0byJug]

Great article there  old chap..

Just 1 small correction! She never did or was intend to carry aircraft.

 

you sentence

"and a mast was added in between the two funnels to support a derrick that would service launches of sea planes. " is wrong the derrick was  added to support Launches.. Launches as in ships boats with an Engine....

 

I would however agree with Aldramelech a DD or CA would be better...

[T0byJug]

I'm not sure if this is a question anyone can answer but.... was there some kind of clause added to contracts on such projects like this whereby in this case the RN could lease back the ship being constructed in case of war???

 

For warships no

 

For Merchant ships Kind of

 

At the time It was Common for Liners built of British Firms and registered in UK to be Requisitioned in War! It was common for these ships to be built with Strong points for Armaments. The Company they were built for Got kick back from the UK for doing this( Less taxes and UK Funding for the building of the ship)

 

In war time these became Troop/Hospital ships and Armed Merchant Cruisers.

 

UK in the first half of the 20th Century had the largest ship building industry in the world (by late 1930s I believe US was number 1 I believe). If a Country Got UK to build them a warship they were well aware if UK entered in to a War there was a real risk of there ship being bought by RN if it had not yet been delivered.