The Caernarvon is a standard Tier 8 British heavy tank. Possessing excellent turret armor and a punchy, high DPM gun, the Caernarvon is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
The Caernarvon's armor profile is extremely strong. The turret is coated in 254 mm armor plates, enough to completely stop all tier 8 rounds and some tier 9 ones. Tanks like the skorpion g, su 130 pm, etc. do not have chance of getting through. Only the newly-added isu-152k has a chance.
The UFP is also very strong. 130mm of armor angled at 57 degrees will bounce some shots from tanks of the same tier. It is about 200 mm effective when viewed straight-on. The LFP is much weaker, consisting of a 76mm plate angled at about 50 degrees. This can only protect against some HE shells, with 100 mm effective. This is the achilles heel of the tank.
The side armor is below average, consisting of a 76mm plate with no angling. This does not allow the tank to sidescrape efficiently, but it can still be angled sufficiently to boost the frontal armor while the side remains impenetrable.
The gun is very good. 220 pen will suffice for most tier 8 tanks, but you will have to load premium shells for tier 9s. The premium shells are not great either, with only 252mm of pen.
The best part of the gun is the DPM and gun handling. 2.5k base DMP will allow the Caernarvon to rip through its enemies. With vents, rammer, and vert stabs, the DPM easily breaches 3k. In addition, the gun is a joy to fire with great gun handling.
The mobility is not bad. The traverse and acceleration are pretty mediocre, but top speed is pretty good.
The worst part of this tank has to be the grind to get to it. The church 1, 7, and BP are all mediocre tanks, with the church 7 being the worst within them. I would recommend using blueprints or boosters to expedite the grind.
This tank is great for frontline as well, but it is better in a defensive scenario, where it can dig in and find a hull-down position.
Compared to tanks like the patriot and caernarvon AX, this tank has higher dpm and similar turret armor. It is one of the few tanks that can compete with premiums of the same tier. however, it will struggle against a few tanks, such as the IS3a, which is pretty much broken.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this tank to everyone. It remains a competitive tank and can hold its own against anything if on a ridge. However, beware of the stock grind, lower plate, and weak premium pen. Good luck, and thank you for reading.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/WorldofTanks/comments/h8zlln/caernarvon_review_its_one_of_the_best_tier_8/
