War Thunder previews H-39 battleship for Germany in the Eagle's Shadow update

Gaijin Entertainment has previewed the H-39, the new top-rank ship in War Thunder’s German Bluewater fleet. It’s due in the Eagle’s Shadow major update, which Gaijin says isn’t far off. No release date was given.

The H-39 is a Rank VII battleship. Gaijin calls it Germany’s biggest and strongest, at over 63000 tons and around 277 metres long, which makes it the longest ship in the game.

What it brings

• Guns: eight 406 mm guns in four dual turrets, the largest calibre available to Germany. Gaijin says performance is similar to the American 406 mm guns on South Dakota and North Carolina.
• Reload: slower than Bismarck, at 2 shots per minute with a trained crew.
• Torpedoes: eighteen 533 mm torpedoes, mounted at the front, so they may need some careful angling to line up.
• Turrets: they traverse relatively quickly for their size, which helps when reacting to new threats.

How it plays

Gaijin describes the H-39 as a comfortable battleship. Its outer belt armour is slightly thinner than Bismarck’s, but the internal armour is stronger, so protection is better overall.

The weak spots are the front and rear. If you’re pointed straight at an enemy or only slightly angled, shells can get past the internal armour and hit the magazine, so avoid angling either end too strongly towards the enemy.

Anti-air protection is limited. Gaijin suggests sticking with allies who have stronger air defences and staying at long range, where it says few battleships will trouble the H-39.

A bit of history

Design work began in 1937 as an improvement on Bismarck. Larger guns would have pushed displacement past 80,000 long tons, too big for German ports to handle without major dredging, so a 406 mm battery was chosen. Battleship H was ordered on 14 April 1939 and its keel was laid at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg on 15 July 1939.

War in September 1939 suspended the work, the keel was ordered scrapped in November 1941, and battleship work ended entirely in August 1942.

Gaijin notes that vehicle specifications may change before the ship is added to the game.