[img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//4649813/db6cf453b98af7466abae451f7b4b77f9e3b5890.gif[/img] [i]Light cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov is the last Soviet ship wielding big guns. The ship comes to the game as part of the upcoming War Thunder update in her latest upgraded version, featuring fast-firing anti-missile guns.[/i] [h2]Mikhail Kutuzov, light cruiser, USSR, rank V[/h2] Features: [list] [*] High muzzle velocity of the main caliber rounds [*] Improved short range AA artillery [*] Ballistic deck [*] Insufficient firepower to counter heavy ships [*] Lacks of torpedoes [/list] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//4649813/419c64ba559abddd15fd36a6155d35879a16116b.jpg[/img] The most famous Project 68 cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov comes to the game as a part of the upcoming major update, and the ship will be presented in the version after the last upgrade. Together with the premium Zheleznyakov and the researchable Sverdlov, the new ship will become the best light cruiser in the entire research tree of the Soviet bluewater fleet. Project 68 ships are well known to seasoned captains: decent firepower, excellent air defense and good mobility. Mikhail Kutuzov is a little different from her sisterships. Let’s see the ship in details! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//4649813/ffa46762358a5e170e49a8c30e5cfb5dcf3348e7.jpg[/img] A large modernization program initiated in 1970 aimed for a further improvement of the air defense of Soviet cruisers. 8 paired AK-230 mounts with rapid-fire 30mm guns appeared on the platforms around the bow superstructure, which supplemented the 37mm auto cannons familiar to you from Sverdlov and Zheleznyakov. The new guns, although somewhat inferior in caliber, are remotely controlled and provide an amazing density of fire at short and medium fire distances - each barrel spits 1,000 rounds per minute! The universal 100mm guns remain effective as before: their high-explosive fragmentation rounds do a good job of destroying light ships and boats, and their radio-fuzed shells are ideal for destroying aircraft at considerable distances. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//4649813/ad59b68745f48a55d184dec545fbea565b6e2dcc.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//4649813/f569fc8e2c17a5916cdd1331b8e4421055755927.jpg[/img] The crew of the cruiser has somewhat decreased - 1057 men against 1270 on the Sverdlov, which in the game realities can be attributed to the ship’s cons. During the modernization, torpedo tubes were also dismantled - another thing to missing from her sisters. But everything else, for which we love the Project 68 ships, is still here! The main battery of 12 152mm guns in four turrets works perfectly both against destroyers and other cruisers. The shells lack the destructive power to effectively damage battlecruisers and battleships, but thanks to the high muzzle velocity of shells and smoother ballistics, it is very easy to fire at longer distances at softer targets. Mikhail Kutuzov, like other Project 68 cruisers, has a special ballistic deck that increases the ship's survivability against cruiser-caliber shells. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//4649813/c2c132d14085fd0a32575ac9558b2e159eb6ac95.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//4649813/34304ee5f6a2a27d486e20cdc4b7fad4975f66c9.jpg[/img] Mikhail Kutuzov, perhaps the best light cruiser in the USSR fleet research tree, will be waiting for you in the next major update. Visit our Developer Diaries more often to know more about cool new stuff planned for the upcoming update! See you soon!