A new update is arriving in War Thunder. Seek & Destroy is set to introduce a powerful new battlecruiser that's going to reinforce the top ranks of the British Bluewater fleet. That said, prepare to meet the HMS Queen Mary. This one-off British battlecruiser design was built in the leadup to World War I. Today we're looking into what this battlecruiser has to offer.
Look Back to History
Let's start things off with a little bit of history. HMS Queen Mary was laid down back in March 1911 under the 1910-11 Naval Programme. It was pretty much the sole ship of its class. When it was completed in August 1913, it became the last battlecruiser that was built for the Royal Navy prior to the start of WWI. In terms of design, it was inspired by the Lion class and featured a formidable arsenal along with comparably good protection. The HMS Queen Mary officially entered September 1913 and it wasn't long until it experienced its first combat operation.
Big Battles
In particular, the ship took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight where British and German forces fought in the North Sea in August 1914. Under the command of Admiral Beatty, the HMS Queen Mary and other British warships managed to sink two German light cruisers. Its next major operation was none other than the legendary Battle of Jutland in 1916. Here the battlecruiser managed to get several hits on German warships. Sadly, the German battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger was able to deal a lethal blow which resulted in the magazine of the HMS Queen Mary to detonate. It then led to a major explosion which tore the ship apart and caused it to sink quickly.
Fighting Big and Small
Now that we have the history lesson out of the way, let's take a closer look at this battlecruiser. Like with most battlecruisers, the HMS Queen Mary featured superior mobility and firepower. However, it had less protection compared to battleships. Fitted with four twin 13.5'' (343 mm) cannons, it could not only fight against any capital ship with east but can also fire at greater distances. It also has a secondary battery of 16 4'' (102 mm) cannons and when paired with two 533 mm torpedo launchers, allowed it to engage even smaller vessels. The ship could also harass heavier opponents especially with its high rate of fire.
The main issue players would have with the HMS Queen Mary is that it's a WWI era vessel. What that means is that it doesn't have any dedicated anti-air weapons and is highly vulnerable to air attack. To increase the survivability, players need to be close with allies that can fill the gap.
Not Much Protection
As mentioned, the HMS Queen Mary has less armor compared to your standard battleship. Still, it has as much as 229 mm of armor on its turrets, belts and barbettes. This means the battlecruiser is well protected when it comes to shell fire from enemy cruisers. However, it can't resist fire from battleships.
Another interesting feature of the ship is speed due to a powerful propulsion system. The HMS Queen Mary can reach a top speed of 28.2 kts (52 km/h). This lets the vessel keep up easily with the nimbler allies and is able to respond quickly to a changing tactical situation during battle.
You can learn more about what the upcoming Seek & Destroy update has to offer here.
War Thunder is available for the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X/S.
