Through the Spy Glass: Michelangelo

Although the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 halted capital ship production for ten years, Italy received an exception to build a new capital ship in 1927. Italy embarked on several projects, some based on foreign designs and others entirely unique—Michelangelo was one of these. Her design was proposed by Admiral de Feo and featured a ship with eight 12.6-inch (320 mm) guns in quadruple-gun turrets placed near the midship frames, while the secondary battery mounts were positioned toward the fore and aft ends of the ship.

Michelangelo is an Italian Tier VIII Premium cruiser. Her main strength lies in her powerful, long-range secondary guns with SAP shells, complemented by fast-moving torpedoes that deal significant damage. The ship's main guns have a large 12.6-inch (320 mm) caliber and can also be equipped with SAP shells instead of HE shells if you upgrade them. However, the main guns have narrow firing angles due to their positioning in the center of the ship, so you'll need to sail sideways to shoot effectively. This unusual setup encourages an interesting and unique playstyle focused mainly on the secondary battery.  

We recommend assigning Francesco Mimbelli as the Commander for Michelangelo. His skill set will enhance the effectiveness of the ship's main battery. 

His base trait "Time to Make a Move" reduces your cruiser main battery reload time by up to 5.5%. For the skill selection: 

• Ingenious, improving cruiser gun traverse speed by up to 1.6 deg/s, reducing incoming splash damage by up to 7%, and showing the number of enemy ships that are currently targeting your ship with their main batteries. 
• Full Speed Ahead, increasing maximum cruiser speed by up to 5% and reducing rudder-shift time by up to 10%. 
• Behind the Curtain, improving your ship detectability range after firing main battery guns inside a smoke screen by up to 10%; reducing incoming damage from shells, torpedoes, and bombs to your cruiser while inside a smoke screen by up to 10%; and increasing smoke screen dispersion time by up to 5%. 
• Steer Clear, reducing rudder-shift time and steering gear repair time by up to 7%. 
• Fully Packed, reducing your consumable cooldown time by up to 5% and giving you an additional charge for all consumables. 

For inspirations: 

• Gunichi Mikawa, improving your cruiser's concealment by up to 6%.   
• Franz von Hipper, improving the range of your secondary battery by up to 15% and the shell grouping of your secondary battery by up to 5%.