Is a Dido a battleship or what?

Commander Gizmo · 11-17-09, 12:12 PM

During my recent patrols near the end of 1941 the Brits have decided to start escorting most convoys of substantial size with a Dido or Fiji. As I see it, these are light cruisers. However, my light cruiser and my shiny new aircraft carrier seem to be completely unable to sink one of these things by gun fire. I have expended 50% of my ammo stores and only managed to disable the Dido's guns and cause the Fiji's guns to rotate in my direction. Sure, I can make mean looking damage until you can't see the side of the boat anymore, but that's about it.

What kind of armor do British light cruisers have and where do I get some? Oh, and what size guns do I need to blow them out of the water?

Dread Knot · 11-17-09, 12:43 PM

Anti-aircraft cruiser would be the more apt description although I don't know why yours are so resilient. I've sunken many in my Med careers.

mookiemookie · 11-17-09, 02:01 PM

I have no idea as the thought of taking on an armored cruiser with a deck gun is suicide and I, being a sane U-boat commander, would never do it.

Jimbuna · 11-17-09, 03:12 PM

You'll need the assistance of an extremely large battle fleet to overcome the might of the Royal Navy

kdv · 11-17-09, 04:08 PM

I think it was a Dido that I had a hard time sinking - with the Bismarck.

It eventually took enough damage to go down, but I spent alot of shells on just that one ship. When it did go, it went fast - started a list, into a turn, and flopped over.

It didn't do much damage to me, but seemed to absorb alot more damage than it should have been able to.

BTW - what's playing with the carrier like?

tomfon · 11-17-09, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbuna

You'll need the assistance of an extremely large battle fleet to overcome the might of the Royal Navy

My God... Another declaration of British arrogancy. Will you ever give up?

Jimbuna · 11-17-09, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomfon

My God... Another declaration of British arrogancy. Will you ever give up?

NEVER!!

Wreford-Brown · 11-17-09, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomfon

My God... Another declaration of British arrogancy. Will you ever give up?

We're still looking for Brittany to come back to it's rightful owner

Commander Gizmo · 11-17-09, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdv

I think it was a Dido that I had a hard time sinking - with the Bismarck.

It eventually took enough damage to go down, but I spent alot of shells on just that one ship. When it did go, it went fast - started a list, into a turn, and flopped over.

It didn't do much damage to me, but seemed to absorb alot more damage than it should have been able to.

BTW - what's playing with the carrier like?

The carrier has way more guns than most other ships and is able to rapidly move to new targets. It's AA is outstanding, and very fuel efficient. I sailed Freetown and then up to see some icebergs and still had half a tank.

The down side: it's impossible to sneak up on anything. You present a massive wall which makes a great target too. The armor takes care of most of that though. I just wish the guns were bigger.

---

So are the Dido and Fiji classes overly armored, or were they really that hard to sink?

Oneshot/Onekill · 11-18-09, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I have no idea as the thought of taking on an armored cruiser with a deck gun is suicide and I, being a sane U-boat commander, would never do it.

I think Commander Gizmo is using WSM3.0 I don't think he's using a U-boat.

tomfon · 11-18-09, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbuna

NEVER!!

tomfon · 11-18-09, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wreford-Brown

We're still looking for Brittany to come back to it's rightful owner

Hehe... Cool...
I wonder what jimbuna has to say about that...

cawimmer430 · 11-18-09, 12:16 PM

Last night I was traveling home via the Southwestern Coast of England when my lookouts spotted a warship, close range. It was a V&W Destroyer, about 1,500 meters away. Since it was pretty dark they had not seen me yet but I still dove to periscope depth because I wanted to play it safe.

I nearly crapped my pants when my hydrophone operator reported back various warship contacts - all around me.

Somehow, I had managed to get myself into the middle of a widely space enemy warship task force. They were all around me traveling at low speed. I went to silent running (made me feel better) and thought I would wait it out.

But then I see two tasty targets worth risking my submarine for. Two Dido Light Cruisers, 600 meters to my front. I am in perfect firing position. I only had two forward torpedoes left. Depth under keel was over 100 meters so I figured I could risk an attack. I fire one torpedo at the first Dido Cruiser and the other at the second. The first torpedo hits its target but the ship doesn't go down. In external mode I could see that it was lightly tilting to its starboard side, but it wouldn't slow down or go down. The other Dido Cruiser and warships immediately began zigzagging, turning on their searchlights and pinging away. Needless to say the other torpedo missed. I dove down to the seafloor at max submerged speed, then went to low speed and changed directions to confuse the surface vessels. Apparently the rest of the task force increased speed and went away while a lone destroyer remained behind and scanned the area with his sonar. He didn't detect me and eventually gave up.

I waited awhile before surfacing but man, those Dido Cruisers are pretty tough. I guess a second torpedo would have done the deal, or even a third.

Lt.Fillipidis · 11-18-09, 02:35 PM

Early in the war, i usually sink the escorts first and then take care of the merchants with the deck gun.
Once, in a similar situation, i was out of torps while the only warship left was a Dido. I emerged and began to fire. It took about 80% of my integrity and almost 100 shells but it eventually went down. From range of 6000m, in a vertical position of the ship and manual deck gun firing of course.

Commander Gizmo · 11-18-09, 07:02 PM

We must have a different setup in game then. I wonder if WSM increased their armor?

If I can fire 20 guns that are all at least 150mm each for three hours from 1000 meters away and not sink her, I don't see how our uboat with a single gun could do it. Maybe there is a setting wrong in my install.

11-17-09, 12:12 PM	#1
Commander Gizmo Watch Officer Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 339 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 4	Is a Dido a battleship or what? During my recent patrols near the end of 1941 the Brits have decided to start escorting most convoys of substantial size with a Dido or Fiji. As I see it, these are light cruisers. However, my light cruiser and my shiny new aircraft carrier seem to be completely unable to sink one of these things by gun fire. I have expended 50% of my ammo stores and only managed to disable the Dido's guns and cause the Fiji's guns to rotate in my direction. Sure, I can make mean looking damage until you can't see the side of the boat anymore, but that's about it. What kind of armor do British light cruisers have and where do I get some? Oh, and what size guns do I need to blow them out of the water?

11-17-09, 02:01 PM	#3
mookiemookie Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 9,404 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 1	I have no idea as the thought of taking on an armored cruiser with a deck gun is suicide and I, being a sane U-boat commander, would never do it. __________________ They don’t think it be like it is, but it do. Want more U-boat Kaleun portraits for your SH3 Commander Profiles? Download the SH3 Commander Portrait Pack here.

11-17-09, 03:12 PM	#4
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,473 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	You'll need the assistance of an extremely large battle fleet to overcome the might of the Royal Navy __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

11-17-09, 12:43 PM	#2
Dread Knot Ace of the Deep Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,288 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Anti-aircraft cruiser would be the more apt description although I don't know why yours are so resilient. I've sunken many in my Med careers.

11-17-09, 04:08 PM	#5
kdv Loader Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 85 Downloads: 37 Uploads: 0	I think it was a Dido that I had a hard time sinking - with the Bismarck. It eventually took enough damage to go down, but I spent alot of shells on just that one ship. When it did go, it went fast - started a list, into a turn, and flopped over. It didn't do much damage to me, but seemed to absorb alot more damage than it should have been able to. BTW - what's playing with the carrier like?

11-18-09, 12:16 PM	#13
cawimmer430 Torpedoman Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 114 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Last night I was traveling home via the Southwestern Coast of England when my lookouts spotted a warship, close range. It was a V&W Destroyer, about 1,500 meters away. Since it was pretty dark they had not seen me yet but I still dove to periscope depth because I wanted to play it safe. I nearly crapped my pants when my hydrophone operator reported back various warship contacts - all around me. Somehow, I had managed to get myself into the middle of a widely space enemy warship task force. They were all around me traveling at low speed. I went to silent running (made me feel better) and thought I would wait it out. But then I see two tasty targets worth risking my submarine for. Two Dido Light Cruisers, 600 meters to my front. I am in perfect firing position. I only had two forward torpedoes left. Depth under keel was over 100 meters so I figured I could risk an attack. I fire one torpedo at the first Dido Cruiser and the other at the second. The first torpedo hits its target but the ship doesn't go down. In external mode I could see that it was lightly tilting to its starboard side, but it wouldn't slow down or go down. The other Dido Cruiser and warships immediately began zigzagging, turning on their searchlights and pinging away. Needless to say the other torpedo missed. I dove down to the seafloor at max submerged speed, then went to low speed and changed directions to confuse the surface vessels. Apparently the rest of the task force increased speed and went away while a lone destroyer remained behind and scanned the area with his sonar. He didn't detect me and eventually gave up. I waited awhile before surfacing but man, those Dido Cruisers are pretty tough. I guess a second torpedo would have done the deal, or even a third.

11-18-09, 02:35 PM	#14
Lt.Fillipidis Weps Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Veria, Greece Posts: 365 Downloads: 44 Uploads: 0	Early in the war, i usually sink the escorts first and then take care of the merchants with the deck gun. Once, in a similar situation, i was out of torps while the only warship left was a Dido. I emerged and began to fire. It took about 80% of my integrity and almost 100 shells but it eventually went down. From range of 6000m, in a vertical position of the ship and manual deck gun firing of course.

11-18-09, 07:02 PM	#15
Commander Gizmo Watch Officer Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 339 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 4	We must have a different setup in game then. I wonder if WSM increased their armor? If I can fire 20 guns that are all at least 150mm each for three hours from 1000 meters away and not sink her, I don't see how our uboat with a single gun could do it. Maybe there is a setting wrong in my install.