The HMS Queen Mary and HMS Centurion were somewhat inadequately protected, especially the HMS Queen Mary, whose main armor belt was only 127 mm thick. Furthermore, both ships were prone to burning and exploding after being penetrated and ignited, and HMS Centurion and HMS Queen Mary used the same main guns as the HMS Moorborough.
However, the Moorborough can fire the 13.5-inch APC Mk.IIIa shells, which have higher penetration.
I’d like to add the 13.5-inch APC Mk.IIIa shells to the HMS Centurion and HMS Queen Mary without increasing their battle rating. Currently, these two ships are using
the 13.5-inch APC Mk.Ia 555mm penetration shells
but at very close range, their penetration is inferior to the IJN Settsu’s 12-inch shells because the IJN Settsu’s penetration is the same as the 13.5-inch APC Mk.IIIa, with a maximum penetration of 593mm.
Meanwhile, the USS Wyoming’s 12-inch Mk.15 APC shells can also outperform the 13.5-inch APC Mk.Ia shells.
The USS Wyoming’s 12-inch Mk.15 APC… The penetration power of the shells from both close and long ranges is slightly higher than that of the 13.5-inch Mk.Ia shells of the HMS Centurion.
Furthermore, the horizontal armor protection of the USS Wyoming is completely superior to that of the HMS Centurion and other WWI battleships. At longer ranges, the Mk.Ia APC shells from the HMS Centurion are virtually unable to penetrate the horizontal armor, hoist armor, and vertical armor of the USS Wyoming. The IJN Settsu also has better armor protection in some areas than the HMS Centurion.
Therefore, I’m wondering if it’s possible to add shells with higher penetration power to the HMS Queen Mary and HMS Centurion to compensate for some of their survivability deficiencies.