Ship:Colossus

14.8

Colossus

Aircraft Carrier | U.K. | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points47,600

AA Defense

40 mm/56 OQF Mk.III on a Mk.VII mount19 х 1 pcs.

40 mm/39 Vickers QF Mk.VIII on a Mk.VII mount6 х 4 pcs.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed25 knot

Turning Circle Radius890 m

Rudder Shift Time10.7 sec

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range11.4 km

Air Detectability Range9.7 km

Battle Levels

12345678910

VIII

Special

Colossus — British special premium Tier VIII aircraft carrier.

The Colossus class was envisioned as an intermediate link between the heavy aircraft carriers of the Illustrious class and the U.S. escort ships; the hull was built according to the technology used for constructing merchant ships, while the propulsion unit was partially borrowed from light cruisers. Colossus took part in the liberation of Hong Kong and Shanghai as the flagship of the 11th Aircraft Carriers Squadron. In 1946, she was handed over to the French Navy and renamed Arromanches. In the ranks of the French Navy, the aircraft carrier participated in combat operations in Indochina and the Suez Crisis.

Colossus was first released for sale on 19 May 2023.

Modules

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Colossus	47,600	13	40			19/6				0	0

	Speed (knot)	Average Damage per Second (HP/min)	Loadout	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Vought Corsair MkIV	169			1,460		0	0

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Fairey Barracuda MkV	5,200	127	2,060		0	0

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Fairey Barracuda MkV		130	2,230		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 40,000 hp	25		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning: The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

Colossus

Colossus is a unique British aircraft carrier that specializes in dealing heavy damage to cruisers and carriers. Her hull is a departure from same tier British carriers in that she lacks an armored deck; however, she compensates for this with low detectability allowing for more aggressive positioning.

Vought Corsair MkIV Attack Aircraft

The strongest armament at Colossus’s disposal, these aircraft fire armor piercing rockets that deal heavy damage to broadsides. Each squadron consists of 12 aircraft with a strike containing 3 planes launching 5 rockets each. These rockets boast a high alpha for the aircraft launched armor piercing armament type. If the citadel of a light cruiser or carrier is exposed to the rockets, the entire ship could be sunk in one strike. These rockets also deal high damage to the super structure and upper deck of many capital ships.

Fairey Barracuda MkV Torpedo Bombers

Colossus’s torpedo bombers launch slow torpedoes with a decent alpha and high flooding chance. Each squadron consists of 6 aircraft with a strike containing 3 planes each dropping 1 torpedo. The small squadron size makes it difficult to carry out multiple strikes on the same target. Captain’s should be advised to utilize islands as much as possible to minimize anti-aircraft fire. This squadron comes with an in-flight repair consumable that allows for increased survivability.

Fairey Barracuda MkV Carpet Bombers

Colossus’s carpet bombers are effective against all targets that have up to 32mm armor plating. Each squadron consists of 9 aircraft with a strike containing 3 planes each. A full strike drops 18 bombs that have a decent alpha and high fire chance enabling the stacking of multiple fires on the same target. These aircraft boast a high health pool allowing for increased survivability against heavy anti-aircraft fire.

Pros:

• Very powerful AP rockets that can deal massive damage
• Torpedo bombers have high flood chance
• Bombs have a good fire chance
• Good ship concealment
• Planes have high health with good speed

Cons:

• Small hanger with longer plane restoration
• Short-ranged AA defenses
• Low top speed

Research

As a top-tier ship, Colossus has no module upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades are:

• Slot 1: Air Groups Modification 1
• Slot 2: Aircraft Engines Modification 1
• Slot 3: Aerial Torpedoes Modification 1
• Slot 4: Attack Aircraft Modification 2
• Slot 5: Flight Control Modification 1

Commander Skills

• Note: Hidden Menace states that your planes reach safe altitude at 50% lower height which is not true because your planes are still vulnerable to flak, therefore the skill is bugged and not recommended.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense		Support
1	Last Gasp Completely restores engine boost for the last attack squadron. ★★★	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. ★	Engine Techie -20% Engine Cooling cooldown time.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time. ★	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to CAP squadrons.	Search and Destroy +10% to action radius of Patrol Fighter and Interceptor squadrons.
2	Torpedo Bomber -10% torpedo arming distance. ★★	Swift Fish +5% to torpedo speed.	Improved Engines +2.5% aircraft squadron speed. ★★★	Repair Specialist +1 In-flight Repair consumable +10% its action time.	Secondary Armament Expert +10% flak and continuous damage -10% secondary battery reload time.	Patrol Group Leader +1 fighter to Patrol Fighter or Interceptor squadrons.
3	Sight Stabilization +7.5% aiming speed.	Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition +3% damage from AP bombs and rockets.	Pyrotechnician +1% chance of HE rockets causing a fire. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire.	Aircraft Armor -10% continuous AA damage while in an aura. ★★★	Survivability Expert +25 aircraft HP per ship tier. ★★★	Interceptor Interceptors replace Patrol Fighters:  +10% action radius.  Invulnerable to fighters.  Cannot attack fighters.  Cannot spot ships.
4	Bomber Flight Control +5% speed all bomber types.	Proximity Fuze -10% (absolute) to target's torpedo protection. ★★	Close Quarters Expert Secondary batteries: +20% range -30% dispersion.	Enhanced Aircraft Armor -25% damage from flak. ★★★	Hidden Menace -15% ship detectability range. -20% Damage Control Party cooldown. +50% aircraft return time.	Enhanced Reactions -80% time before activated Patrol Fighters or Interceptors attack. +25% action time. +50% cooldown time.
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful      ★★ - Frequently Useful      ★ - Occasionally Useful     No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Colossus equips the following consumables:

Aircraft Carrier:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
• Slot 2: CAP Fighter  – 4 charges

Attack Aircraft:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  – 2 charges
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  – 3 charges

Torpedo Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  – 2 charges
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  – 3 charges
• Slot 3: In-flight Repair  – 3 charges

Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  – 2 charges
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  – 3 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Colossus comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Charlie Kilo +5% ship HP; +2.5% squadron HP.	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration. ★★★	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. ★★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. ★★★	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time. ★★	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★★★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables.	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Gallery

Historical Info

Colossus, 1945

Construction

Builder: Vickers-Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne

Laid down: 1 June 1942

Launched: 30 September 1943

Commissioned: 16 December 1944

Fate: Loaned to France in 1946, scrapped 1978

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Specifications

13200 tons displacement, standard

212m length

24.4m beam

7.2m draft (mean)

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Machinery

4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons geared turbines

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Performance

25 knots at 40000 shaft horsepower

12000nm range at 12 knots

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Armament

Anti-Aircraft

24 (6x4) 40mm 2 pounder AA guns

32 (16x2) 20mm Oerlikon AA guns

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Aircraft

48 Aircraft

HMS Colossus was a light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. She was commissioned in 1944, but did not see combat during World War II. After a brief service with the Royal Navy repatriating Allied PoWs and internees, she was initially loaned to, and then bought by, France.

Background

The 1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier, later renamed to the Colossus-class after the lead ship, was designed to be built quickly to provide the Royal Navy with additional aircraft carriers. They were designed to be built in civilian shipyards, providing more capability than the smaller and slower escort carriers while being cheaper to build than full-size fleet carriers. They had no armor, no heavy AA guns, and limited top speeds. Sixteen ships were laid down to the same specifications as Colossus; eight were finished to the original design, with the remainder being completed as maintenance carriers or with a modified design as the Majestic-class. They were intended to be “disposable warships” which would be scrapped after the war finished, however the last ship did not leave service until 2001.

Royal Navy Service

Colossus was ordered on 14 May 1942, one of three Colossus-class ships ordered at the same time. She was laid down in June 1942 at the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Newcastle. The ship was launched on 30 September 1943 as the 6th Royal Navy ship to carry the name Colossus, dating back to 1787. She officially joined the Royal Navy on 16 December 1944.

She left the UK on 12 March 1945 for the Far East, with aircraft from 1846 NAS (Naval Air Squadron) and 827 NAS on board. She sailed via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, and arrived at Colombo in Ceylon on 13 June 1945. She departed for Australia, and a brief refit and upgrade of her AA weapons, before joining the British Pacific Fleet as flagship of the 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron in August.

With the end of World War II, Colossus was part of the task force sent to re-occupy Hong Kong. She was also designated as the flagship for the occupation task force for Shanghai with the cruisers Bermuda and Argonaut, plus five destroyers. She spent the rest of 1945 transporting former PoWs and civilian internees from Japanese territory to the Philippines and India.

On 17 January 1946, Colossus arrived off Cape Town, prior to drydock at Simonstown. Her refit lasted until April, when she returned to the UK and was placed in reserve. She did not gain any battle honours for her Royal Navy service.

Marine Nationale Service

On 6 August, HMS Colossus was transferred to France, for a five year loan. She was renamed Arromanches, after the site of the British Gold Beach on D-Day. She took part in the First Indochina War in 1948 and was purchased in 1951, as her loan arrangement expired, and returned to Indochina several additional times. She was deployed to the Mediterranean for the Suez Crisis, where her aircraft bombed Egyptian airfields. In 1957-1958 she was refitted with an angled flight deck, mirror landing device, and additional anti-submarine warfare modifications. She underwent another refit in 1968 to convert her to a helicopter carrier for the French Marines and served until 1974. She was decommissioned in January of that year and was eventually broken up in Toulon in 1978.

Historical Gallery

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References

Ship Change Log

• Available for testing by supertesters in the game starting from Update 12.0.

Testing Changes

• DevBlog 399:
  • Preliminary characteristics.
• DevBlog 413:
  • Changes to Attack aircraft:
    • Rocket dispersion increased by 17%. Reduced the chance of rockets hitting closer to the center of the crosshair.
    • Aircraft recovery time increased from 83 to 90 s.
  • Changes to Bombers:
    • Bomb dispersion increased by 12%. Reduced the chance of bombs hitting closer to the center of the crosshair.
    • Aircraft recovery time increased from 76 to 80 s.
  • Changes to Torpedo bombers:
    • Aircraft recovery time increased from 62 to 80 s.
• DevBlog 418:
  • Attack aircraft machine gun pre-firing time increased from 0.3 to 1.5 s.
  • Changed the parameters of the torpedo bombers:
    • Aiming sight spread when maneuvering while preparing for an attack run increased by a factor of 2.
    • Aiming sight spread when maneuvering during an attack run increased by a factor of 4.3.
    • Aiming sight reduction speed during an attack run increased by a factor of 2.2.
    • The width of the aiming sight increased approximately by a factor of 6.
• DevBlog 422:
  • With the release of Update 12.2:
    • Fixed an issue which caused attack aircraft to launch rockets at an incorrect angle.
• Update 12.3:
  • Fixed the geometry and textures of the ship.

• First available for sale on 15 May 2023, as the last bundle out of 10, as well as through Royal Navy Premium containers. The final stage of these sequential bundles cost 1 credit, and unlocking Colossus cost players 23,250 doubloons, or 17,850 doubloons when discounted. The containers had a 1.5% chance of dropping her.
• Update 12.11:
  • Improved geometry and textures of the ship.
• Update 13.1:
  • Changed the parameters of Attack Aircraft:
    • Number of rockets per plane reduced from 6 to 5.
    • The size of aiming ellipse increased by 20%.
    • The amount of rockets that are guaranteed to hit closer to the center of the aiming ellipse reduced from 50 to 33%.

Ships of U.K.

Aircraft Carriers