HMS Rodney (29)

## HMS Rodney

The Rodney, as seen in game. Note: table statistics do not reflect flag bonuses.

## Armament

### Primary Batteries

Nine 406mm (16 inch) gunsDamage: 26,400 to 32,604

Reload: 17 to 14 seconds

### Secondary Batteries

Twelve dual mountsRange: 1,020 to 1,167 meters

Damage: 7,554 to 8,642

Reload Time: 12 to 9 seconds

### Anti-Aircraft Guns

Four "class 1"DPS: 464 to 553

Six "class 2"

DPS: 240 to 286

### Aircraft Catapults (Interceptors)

None.

"*Non Generant Aquilae Columbas (Eagles do not breed doves)" - Rodney's motto*

HMS Rodney was a British battleship featured in the game.

Rodney is quite an oddball amongst the battleships. Firstly, she has all of her primary armament facing forward, which enforces a bow on play-style. Secondly, due to her armament layout, aft firing scenarios are impossible. And finally, her accuracy when firing from a broadside; anything within 3.5 KM can almost be guaranteed to be hit with 100% accuracy with a broadside salvo. Interestingly, when firing bow-on, Rodney's accuracy decreases to something reminiscent of a shotgun blast. It is not known why it is such.

## Background History

The Rodney, along with the Nelson, were the two ships of the Nelson class battleships. Both ships had a unique turret arrangement due to the limitations set by the Washington Naval Treaty, causing ship architects and engineers to improvise.

The Rodney was laid down on December 28, 1922, launched on December 17, 1925, and was commissioned on November 10, 1927. Before the war, Rodney usually served the role of a flagship for the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy. In 1941, the Rodney participated in the sinking of the Bismarck and numerous other operations thereafter.

After the war, she became part of Britain's reserve fleet. The ship was scrapped in 1948.

## Tactics

Being a purpose built bow-on ship, Rodney should always be employed as such. Never show your broadside unless you are at extreme ranges to take advantage of a Rodneys accuracy at such ranges with a broadside. Her achilles heel is her speed. Only 23 knots stock and a max of 27 even when maxed, she is a slow ship by all definitions. When employed properly, Rodney can stand toe to toe against the likes of Yamato despite it's overall inferior stats. Another semi-unique trait of Rodney that is shared by some of the other high tier battleships is that it has critical multipliers in close range. This allows the Rodney to deal potentially 45K dmg per salvo from the base max of 33k, or from 48k to 57k when equipped with damage boosting flags. This ship has significantly good guns and should therefore play as flagship for the team if no better ship is present.

**When playing as a Rodney**

Due to the fact that all guns are located at the bow of the ship, always face the enemy bow on. But if the battle calls for it, going broadside can also be advised. Its gun accuracy is also becomes better when on broadside. Don't try to rush in to the enemy team all alone because you don't really have the speed to outrun the hostile warships just in case you got yourself mispositioned. Also, stay close to allies to defend yourself from hostile aircraft because the Rodney doesn't really win any prizes when it comes to AA defense, as a matter of fact, she has one of the weakest AA armament in the whole low-tier. Apart from that, this would as help you protect your aft.

**When playing alongside a Rodney**

Always give a helping hand to a Rodney in need, and if you are a cruiser, or a warship with good AA, stick with your ally Rodney as much as possible. This would give Rodney the much needed AA cover and you will have a BB that, who knows, might help in turning the tide of battle thanks to its large guns. Help in defending a Rodney by securing its aft arc, as the Rodney will help in sweeping the front lines.

**When up against a Rodney**

Never challenge a Rodney bow in, its guns are concentrated in its bow. Brawl a Rodney if you have to, and a concentrated air strike might be of help, assuming that the ship is not escorted. Sneak past a Rodney and attack it at its stern, if it ever happens at all.

Special tip to Alsace and Dunkerque users. You have comparable frontal battery firepower and have much better bow on gun accuracy and are faster. Use this speed in Dunkerque to force a Rodney into a broadside while you remain bow on. Do be very careful however, as the Rodney outdeals the Dunkerque in terms of gun damage and HP.

On Alsace, use this to force a broadside slugfest and fire all your guns at Rodney. Your DPS will sink Rodney before it can deal any substantial damage. However, be careful at doing this also, and prepare to fight with very little HP remaining. An Alsace may or may not survive long enough to sink a Rodney, but will have a high chance to never get to see their ship live in less than a minute.

If you are in a ship such as Tirpitz your torpedoes are great assets that can help sink the Rodney while still keeping a decent amount of HP intact. You may not even get to use the torps however, as they are an effective deterrent for any battleship that would have considered a knife fight so be prepared for a long range slugfest just in case.

## Advantages and Disadvantages

**Advantages**

* High main gun damage.
* Decent secondaries.
* Really good turning radius

**Disadvantages**

* Very low speed of only 23 knots, even when fully upgraded it still struggles to catch up.
* Lacks main guns in its aft.
* Weak and quite lackluster AA
* No fighter aircraft on deck for extra AA DPS

## Editor/Contributor's Opinion

1) **XercesDenial** :- " I just don't understand how the No. 3 turret fires.. but anyways.. since it does.. you can bow-tank all day :) "

## Trivia

* The ship gained the nickname "Rodnol" due to its tanker like appearance.

* The historical HMS Rodney is the only battleship to have ever launch and successfuly struck a torpedo up against another battleship, the KMS Bismarck.
* She is also the only ship alongside Nelson in the Royal Navy to have been equipped with 16-inch guns.

**In-game Inaccuracies**

* There are actually torpedoes on the Rodney, but these are not present in game.
* The ship's model in the game lacks an Octuple 40 mm Mount at the ship's stern.
* The ship lacks an aircraft catapult at its "C" turret (the No.3 Turret).
* Even with nine 16 inch guns, the ship deals far lesser damage with respect to the other ships which historically have a lower caliber and smaller amounts of guns.
* She can fire C turret (No. 3 Turret) bow-on, even if B and A turret (No. 2 and No. 1 Turret respectively) is blocking it.