Helena
| Tier VI | Type: Cruiser | |
| Preceded by | Succeeded by |
| Dallas | Cleveland Seattle |
| Cost | 9 000 000 |
| XP Required | 143 000 |
| Hitpoints33 300 |
| Armor6 - 165 |
| Torpedo Damage Reduction4 % |
| 152mm Mk16 mod. 15x3 |
| Firing Range14.2 km |
| Reload Time9 s |
| 180 Turn Time20 s |
| HE Max Damage2200 |
| HE Fire Chance12 % |
| HE Penetration25 mm |
| AP Max Damage3200 |
| 127mm/38 Mk29 mod. 04x2 |
| Firing Range4.5 km |
| Reload Time6 s |
| HE Max Damage1800 |
| HE Fire Chance5 % |
| HE Penetration21 mm |
| 20mm Oerlikon Mk410x1 |
| DPS36 |
| Range2 km |
| 20mm Oerlikon Mk204x2 |
| DPS24 |
| Range2 km |
| 40mm Bofors Mk14x2 |
| DPS45 |
| Range3.5 km |
| 40mm Bofors Mk24x4 |
| DPS64 |
| Range3.5 km |
| Maximum Speed32.5 kn |
| Turning Circle Radius680 m |
| Rudder Shift Time9.1 s |
| Detectability by Sea12.1 km |
| Detectability by Air7.2 km |
| Detectability firing in smoke5.8 km |
Modules
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Hit Points | Min Armor (mm) | Max Armor (mm) | Torpedo Damage Reduction (%) | Main Battery Turrets | Rudder Shift (s) | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | 28 700 | 6 | 165 | 4 | 5x3 | 12.8 | 0 |
| Hull B | 33 300 | 6 | 165 | 4 | 5x3 | 9.1 | 1 800 000 |
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Turret Arrangement | Reload Time (s) | 180° Turn Time (s) | Max HE Damage | HE Fire Chance (%) | Max AP Damage | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 152mm Mk16 | 5x3 | 10 | 22.5 | 2200 | 12 | 3200 | 0 |
| 152mm Mk16 mod. 1 | 5x3 | 9 | 20 | 2200 | 12 | 3200 | 225 000 |
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Firing Range Increase (%) | Main Battery Firing Range | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | 0 % | 13 km | 0 |
| Targeting System: Mk5 mod. 2 | 10 % | 14.2 km | 225 000 |
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Maximum Speed |
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| Stock | 32.5 kn |
Modifications
| SLOT 1 |
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| SLOT 2 |
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| SLOT 3 |
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Consumables
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| Accelerates repairs to damage modules, firefighting efforts and recovery from flooding. |
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| Increases the range of guaranteed acquisition of enemy ships and torpedoes, including those within smoke screens. |
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| Follows the ship and automatically attacks enemy aircraft. |
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| Increases the efficiency of AA fire. |
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Player Opinion
Pros:
- Massive broadside firepower; landing most of an HE salvo on an enemy ship can do a significant amount of damage.
- Three rear facing turrets allows for effective kiting tactics.
- Decent concealment.
- Quick rudder shift.
- Portion of citadel near waterline is short for a ship of its size. May lead enemies to shoot at less vulnerable parts of the ship thinking there is citadel there.
Cons:
- Weak broadside armor.
- Poor forward turret angles.
- High shell arcs, making aiming at long range harder.
Performance
Changes
- Stock main battery reload time increased from 8.5 s to 10 s
- Upgraded main battery reload time reduced from 9.5 s to 9 s
- Removed "side-grade" change of shells from the artillery upgrade
- Upgraded main battery AP shell damage reduced from 3400 to 3200
- Upgraded main battery HE shell damage reduced from 2300 to 2200
History
USS Helena (CL-50) was an American light cruiser, the ninth of the Brooklyn class (represented in-game by the premium ship Boise), and the second vessel of the St. Louis subclass. First modern American light cruisers after the Omaha class, they were developed following the London Naval Treaty which limited the number of heavy cruisers and separated the cruiser in two types : the heavy, armed with 8 inches/203mm, and the light, armed with 6.1 inches/155mm. The goal was to create a class of ships with a range that would allow them to operate in the Pacific, with heavy cruiser-grade speed and range. The class was heavily armed, with no less than fifteen 6 inches/152mm guns with a high rate of fire. The last two ships, the St. Louis subclass, had a slightly better AA suit and a different propulsion system, with higher pressure boiler and a different machinery arrangement. They were the basis for all following US cruiser design : the USS Wichita (CA-45), a one of a kind cruiser, shared the same hull, which was the basis for the Baltimore class cruiser ; and the Cleveland class was a vast rework of the Brooklyn, with fewer guns but more AA capability.
The class served in both the Pacific and the Atlantic theaters and lost only one ship, USS Helena, during the conflict. After the war, they were put into reserve and sold to South American countries. ARA General Belgrano, formerly USS Phoenix (CL-46), was sunk during the Falkland war in 1981, being until 2022 the larger warship sunk in battle after WWII.
She received 7 battle stars during world war two for her service in the pacific, and was the first ship to receive the Navy Unit Commendation.
Commissioned in late 1939, Helena entered service the same month as the war broke out in Europe. She did her shakedown cruise in South America water before returning in early 1940 home. She took part in multiple exercises on the east coast, before being transferred to the Pacific in September. During the next year, Helena took part in multiple fleet exercises and shooting practice.
Helena was moored at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese raid started. Unluckily for her, she was at the usual emplacement of the battleship Pennsylvania (BB-38), making her a priority target by the Japanese bombers. Within the first 3 minutes of the attack, Helena took a torpedo hit amidship on starboard while the crew was racing to battle stations. Once the ship was fully in battle order, her AA defence proved sufficient enough to prevent her to suffer new damages. Thanks to the incredible capability of the damage control crew, the flooding created by the torpedo allowed the ship to stay afloat, and once the raid over, Helena sailed to California for repair, before being assigned to USS Wasp (CV-7) Task Force during the early actions of the Battle of Guadalcanal, in mid-1942. Helena witnessed the sinking of USS Wasp by three torpedo hits, but helped save around 400 of her mens. Later, she took part in the Battle of Cape Esperance where she was the first to spot the enemy vessels thanks to her radar, sinking during the battle the Japanese heavy cruiser Furutaka and the destroyer Fubuki. Later, Helena once again was the one spotting first the enemy forces thanks to her radar, and took only minor hits in her structure during the engagement with the Japanese forces. In early 1943, Helena contributed to shore bombardment of New Georgia, at the west of the Solomon Islands. Her floatplane sank the Japanese submarine I-18 before joining Sydney for a overhaul. Returning to the Solomon, Helena was deployed in the Kula Gulf where she took part in her last action.
During the night of the 5th july, Helena, alongside a group of three cruisers and four destroyers engaged a group of 10 Japanese destroyers. The flash of her gun attracted the enemy's attention, and she took a torpedo hit 7 minutes after she opened fire. Three minutes later, she took two more. Helena, condemned, sank. Later, in the morning, two destroyers, USS Nicholas (DD-449) and USS Radford (DD-446) came to rescue the crews. However, in fear of an air attack, both destroyers stopped the operation and left early, leaving 275 crewmen behind. They managed to reach an island after a day-long travel, and were rescued the next morning by USS Owin (DD-433) and USS Woodworth (DD-460). Another group was left in the bow of the ship, which they used as a liferaft. A Navy B-24 Liberator dropped some life jackets and lifeboats to help the survivors, and the men managed to reach Vella Lavella islands, where they hid in the jungle to avoid Japanese patrols. Finally, Nicholas and Radford, reinforced with USS Jenkins (DD-447) and USS O'Bannon (DD-450) finally reached the survivor, and brought them back home.
In World of Warships Legends, USS Helena is represented with a fictional AA armament in her Hull A. Only four quadruple 1.1" (28mm)/75 caliber guns were fitted to her and her sister and they were augmented by eight 0.5" (12.7mm) M2 Browning machine guns. However, the in-game model has eight quad 1.1" guns and all eight Brownings are missing. Furthermore, Neither St. Louis nor Helena carried 20mm Oerlikons in twin mounts. Both ships actually carried twelve 20mm Oerlikons in single mounts.
Source :
Gallery
Legends Ship Map 