War Thunder’s H-39 Will Bring Germany a Rank VII Battleship
The 18 forward-mounted torpedoes add a rare option for high-rank naval fights, but careless angling can leave the magazines exposed.
Germany’s fleet will gain the Rank VII H-39 battleship in War Thunder’s upcoming Eagle’s Shadow major update. Gaijin’s Steam announcement describes a ship weighing more than 63,000 tons and measuring around 277 meters, which would make it the game’s longest vessel once added.
Four twin turrets will carry eight 406 mm guns, the largest caliber available to Germany in the game. Gaijin compares their performance to the U.S. 406 mm guns on South Dakota and North Carolina, with enough penetration to threaten battleship armor across most combat ranges. The tradeoff is a slower reload than Bismarck’s, at two shots per minute for a trained crew.
H-39’s firepower comes with a positioning tradeoff
The ship’s internal armor is stronger overall than Bismarck’s, even though its external belt is slightly thinner. The bow and stern are its weak points. An overly direct angle toward an enemy can let shells bypass the internal protection and reach the magazines, so H-39’s guns are best used from longer range without exposing either end too sharply.
Eighteen 533 mm torpedoes give H-39 an uncommon weapon at higher ranks, but their launchers sit at the front of the ship. Aligning them can expose the same vulnerable angles, so the torpedoes are better treated as an opportunity when the ship is already turning than as a reason to point directly at an opponent. Its turrets traverse quickly for their size, but limited anti-aircraft protection means it will benefit from staying near allies with stronger defenses.
The real H-39 never made it past the keel
Germany ordered battleship H on April 14, 1939, and laid its keel at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg on July 15. Work stopped that September, with only around 800 tons of steel in the keel. The navy ordered it scrapped in November 1941. Design work continued on paper after the loss of Bismarck and bomb damage to Scharnhorst, including proposals for thicker deck armor and larger 42 cm guns, before battleship development ceased in August 1942.
Gaijin cautions that H-39’s in-game specifications may change before the ship joins the fleet. How would you balance its forward torpedoes against the risk of exposing its magazines? For updates as the ship’s specifications develop ahead of Eagle’s Shadow, stay connected on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
War Thunder
Developed by Gaijin Entertainment
War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicular combat MMO featuring aircraft, ground vehicles, and naval craft spanning from the early 20th century to the modern era. Players progress through technology trees across multiple nations, unlocking increasingly advanced military vehicles. The game offers three realism tiers for each vehicle type: arcade, realistic, and simulator modes. Originally developed as a flight simulator under the name "World of Planes," the game expanded to include tanks in 2014 and naval forces later, becoming a combined-arms experience. A mobile version was released in 2023.
- Genre Shooter, Simulator, Tactical
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One
- Perspective First person, Third person, Virtual Reality
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
- Release January 28, 2013
- Publisher Gaijin Entertainment
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