Marlborough B - Tier IX British Premium Battleship 1947

One of the options to use as a basis for designing the Lion-class battleships was project 14B/38. It had sixteen 356 mm guns in four turrets and was developed in case the new 406 mm gun proved to be unsuccessful. The use of 356 mm guns would have sped up the construction of the Lion-class battleships, but this idea wasn't followed through.
Black Friday ship that marks the beginning of 2026's Black Friday events

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Work In Progress

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Key Features and Battle Tips

Key Features

• Devastating 16-Gun Broadside: Armed with 16 × 356 mm guns mounted across four quadruple turrets.
• High Rate of Fire: Base reload time of 25 seconds delivers exceptional sustained DPM.
• Formidable British HE: High explosive shells boast 89 mm armor penetration, 5,500 maximum damage, and a 28% fire chance.
• Strong Concealment & Speed: Top speed of 31.5 knots paired with a low surface detection radius (down to ~12.1 km when fully specialized).
• Solid AA Suite: Robust mid- and long-range anti-aircraft protection to deter enemy airstrikes.
• Fragile Citadel & Armor: A massive, exposed citadel combined with 32 mm external plating makes her vulnerable to heavy AP broadsides and focus fire.

Battle Tips

• Prioritize HE Salvos: Rely primarily on HE against angled targets, heavily armored battleships, and destroyers. The sheer volume of 16 shells with 89 mm penetration strips chunks of HP and causes constant fires.
• Punish Broadside Cruisers with AP: While 356 mm AP struggles against angled capital ships, it is devastating against broadside cruisers and lighter battleships within medium ranges.
• Never Show Pure Broadside: Bringing all 16 guns to bear requires showing a wide angle. Only unmask the rear turrets between enemy reload cycles or when unspotted.
• Leverage Concealment: Use your low surface detection to reposition, disengage from unfavorable engagements, and surprise broadside targets.
• Play from Mid-to-Long Range: Maintain engagement distances between 13 km and 18 km. Rushing into close-quarters brawls will quickly result in catastrophic citadel damage.

Ship Info

Ship Name:

IX Marlborough B

Tier / Level:

9

Rarity Level:

Uncommon Ship

WG Introduction:

August 6th, 2026

Estimated Release:

Update 15.8

Game Nation:

Britain

How to obtain:

According to WG WoWs Devblog: Marlborough B is due to be released in update 15.8 as a dockyard ship [Details on how to obtain]

Armor

Health Points: 76,800 hp

Armour: 19-381 mm

Fore Athwartships: 32 mm

Aft Athwartships: 32 mm

Citadel Fore Athwartships: 32-305 mm

Citadel Aft Athwartships: 32-305 mm

Citadel Torpedo Bulkhead: 40-44 mm

Armor Belt: 32 mm

Citadel Armor Belt: 381 mm

Citadel Deck: 152 mm

Citadel Bottom: 50 mm

Turret Plating: 152-330 mm

Conning Tower: 51-76 mm

Tonnage: 55,678 tn

Torpedo protection, damage reduction: 23%

Main Battery Armament

4 x 4 356 mm/45 Mk.VII on a Mk.III mount:

Max Range: 20.9 km

Reload: 25.0 s

180° Turn Time: 45.0 s

Dispersion at Max Range: 269 m

Sigma: 1.45σ

Shell Types

HE Shells

16x 356 mm HE Mk VIb:

Alpha Damage: 5,500

Alpha Piercing HE: 89.0 mm

Ammo Type: High Explosive

Shell Air Drag: 0.3142

Shell Always Ricochet At: 60.0°

Normalization: 8.0°

Shell Detonator: 0.001

Shell Detonator Threshold: 2.0

Shell Diameter: 356 mm

Shell Krupp: 385.0

Shell Mass: 721.0 kg

Shell Ricochet At: 91.0°

Shell Speed: 757.0 m/s

Burn Probability: 28.4%

AP Shells

16x 356 mm AP Mk VIIb:

Alpha Damage: 10,500

Ammo Type: Armor Piercing

Shell Air Drag: 0.3142

Shell Always Ricochet At: 60.0°

Normalization: 6.0°

Shell Detonator: 0.033

Shell Detonator Threshold: 59.0

Shell Diameter: 356 mm

Shell Krupp: 2295.0

Shell Mass: 721.0 kg

Shell Ricochet At: 45.0°

Shell Speed: 757.0 m/s

Secondaries

8 x 2 133 mm HE Mk IC:

Range: 7.0 km.

Reload: 6.7 s.

Max Shell Damage: 1,900

Ammo Type: High Explosive

Alpha Piercing HE: 22.0 mm

Shell Air Drag: 0.3209

Shell Detonator: 0.001

Shell Detonator Threshold: 2.0

Shell Diameter: 133 mm

Shell Krupp: 1.0

Shell Mass: 36.3 kg

Velocity: 792.0 m/s

Burn Probability: 8%

Airstrike

Aircraft: Handley Page Halifax GR

Airstrike range: 10.0 km

Reload time: 30 s

Available flights: 2

Number of aircraft in attacking flight: 1

Aircraft HP: 2000

Bombs in payload: 2x 350 lb Bomb Mk VIII

Maximum bomb damage: 4,200

Chances of causing a fire on target: 24.0%

Depth Charges

Not available

Anti Aircraft Armament

Continuous damage: 292

Long Range

8 x 2 133 mm/50 QF Mk.I on an RP10 Mk.I mount:

Firing range: 6.0 km

Hit probability: 75 %

Damage Within an Explosion: 1,540

Damage by long-range AA guns: 81

Number of Explosions Per Salvo: 4

Priority sector reinforcement: 50%

Mid Range

10 x 2 40 mm/56 OQF Mk.X on a STAAG Mk.2 mount;
9 x 6 40 mm/56 OQF Mk.IX on a Mk.VI mount:

Firing range: 3.5 km

Hit probability: 75 %

Damage by medium-range AA guns: 529

Short Range

Not Available

Mobility

Maximum speed: 31.5 kt

Turning circle radius: 860 m

Rudder shift time: 16.8 s

Propulsion: 140,000 hp

Detection

Detectability range by sea: 14.9 km

Detectability after firing a main gun shell: 12.9 km

Detectability range by depths: 0.0-10.0 km

Detectability range by air: 10.0 km

Combat Instructions

Not available

Available Consumables

Slot 1: Damage Control Party

Charges: Unlimited

Work time: 15 s

Reload time: 80 s

Slot 2: Repair Party

Charges: 4

HP per second: +384

Duration time: 28 s

Reload time: 80 s

Note: All stats are listed without crew and upgrade modifiers but with best available modules. The stats are subject to change at any time.

Important: All information in this post is 'Work in Progress', the announced adjustments and features may undergo multiple changes during testing, all changes will be added to this post immediately after they become available, the final details will be officially published and labelled in the ship info as 'Released' on this post.