Pre-order: Battleships USS Maryland and HMS Nelson

Today, pre-orders for the USS Maryland for the USA and HMS Nelson for Great Britain have started!

Battleship USS Maryland (Rank VI)

Vehicle History

USS Maryland (BB-46), the third Colorado-class battleship, was launched in 1920 and commissioned in 1921. Prior to the Second World War, she served as the fleet flagship, participating in numerous exercises and making visits to Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. On December 7th, 1941, USS Maryland was in Pearl Harbor, where she received minor damage from Japanese bombs, while her neighbor Oklahoma capsized. After repairs, Maryland returned to service in 1942, took part in the Battle of Midway, and patrolled Fiji.

From 1943, USS Maryland went on the offensive. She participated in artillery support for the landings on Tarawa, Kwajalein, and Saipan, but was damaged by a torpedo. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, she repelled the Japanese fleet in the Surigao Strait, but was damaged by a kamikaze attack. During the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945, USS Maryland was again damaged by a kamikaze strike, forcing her to go for major repairs. In August 1945, after completing her modernization, USS Maryland headed back to the combat zone. After the surrender of Japan, she took part in the operation to return American servicemen to their homeland. After the war in 1947, she was decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1959.

Meet “Old Mary”, one of the latest and most advanced super-dreadnoughts for the American Bluewater fleet, coming to War Thunder in the next major update. USS Maryland is the sistership of the formidable USS Colorado. She relies on eight powerful main caliber guns, rapid-fire secondary caliber guns and numerous automatic anti-aircraft weaponry. USS Maryland is very well armored — the armor thickness in the armor belt area reaches 343 mm! She also has a large crew, guaranteeing good survivability even when under immense fire from the enemy team. Like most pre-war dreadnoughts, USS Maryland does not have the best speed, and the gigantic main caliber turrets take a long time to turn to the target. Because of this, make sure to use this battleship at long distance fights, something this ship is best at.

Battleship HMS Nelson (Rank VI)

Vehicle History

The Treaty of Washington limitations forced naval command to revert to the plans for the previously canceled ships in a highly modified form, leading to the development of battleships HMS Nelson and her sistership HMS Rodney.

HMS Nelson was completed in June 1927. Her armament consisted of a total of nine 16 inch guns in three triple gun turrets and twelve 6 inch guns in twin turrets. She was the first British warship to have a tower bridge that incorporated gun directors and a mast, and had flush decks like the previous “Lord Nelsons” from 1908. She was powered by Brown-Curtis geared turbines driving two shafts and had a speed of 23.5 knots for 46,000 HP.

HMS Nelson served as flagship in both the Atlantic and Home Fleets for 14 years, participating in various operations. She took part in the search for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Later in the Second World War, HMS Nelson was deployed to the Mediterranean Fleet, participating in operations like the Torch landings and the invasion of Sicily. Throughout the war, HMS Nelson was involved in key operations, including escorting convoys and engagements against German forces. She narrowly avoided major disasters while participating in D-Day bombardments before undergoing repairs in the U.S. Following service in the East Indies Fleet, Nelson contributed to the Japanese surrender in Malaya.

After the war, she served briefly as flagship before being sold for scrap in March 1949, marking the end of her noteworthy career in naval history.

Meet one of the most famous Royal Navy battleships, HMS Nelson! This ship features an amazing combination of high firepower, excellent survivability and good speed. The main armament of HMS Nelson is nine 406 mm main caliber guns in three, three-gun turrets. Interestingly, all of them are concentrated in the bow of the ship, whereas on the other hand, the 152 mm auxiliary guns are located to the stern. The anti-aircraft battery deserves a special mention, as unlike the poor anti-aircraft battery of her sistership HMS Rodney, HMS Nelson has a total of 129 long, medium and short-range air defense guns! HMS Nelson’s armor is definitely not weak, as the main area belt reaches 356 mm, while the armor plates are located at an angle, which provides a good effectiveness thickness. Surprisingly, this monster is quite easy to control and will not let you down even in active combat. HMS Nelson’s speed exceeds 43 km/h, and the huge main caliber turrets can very quickly aim at targets!

Please note that these vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.