Almirante Grau

13.3

Cruiser | Pan-America | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

12345678910

VIII

Special

Almirante Grau — Pan-American special premium Tier VIII cruiser.

The flagships of the Peruvian Navy traditionally bear the name of Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, with a total of five such ships in history. The third ship bearing this name was purchased from the Netherlands in 1973. Cruiser De Ruyter was laid down in 1939 in Schiedam and completed after the war according to a modified project, which included dual-purpose main battery guns and modern radar equipment. Almirante Grau had been the flagship of the Peruvian Navy for 45 years. At the time of her decommissioning, the ship was the last artillery cruiser belonging to any navy.

Almirante Grau was first released for sale on 12 May 2023.

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
152 mm/53 Model 1942 in a turret	8.6	22.5	143	2,150	11	3,000		0	0

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Almirante Grau	33,900	13	100	4		8/4/4				0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk8 mod. 1		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 85,000 hp	32		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning. The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

Almirante Grau is a premium Tier VIII Pan-American cruiser. Like other Pan-American cruisers, she has access to a special combat instruction, which heavily shapes her tactics. However, Almirante Grau's combat instruction is somewhat unique: Unlike the tech tree line, she does not need to land main battery hits to prepare — Almirante Grau merely needs to remain undetected for 50 seconds. The effect of the instructions is also unusual - Rather than improving the cooldown of consumables, Almirante Grau receives 30 seconds during which guns reload three times faster than normal.

Almirante Grau's other noteworthy feature is her anti-aircraft defenses - she boasts among the strongest AA suites in the game, at any tier, handily out-damaging even Tier X ships, thanks to her excellent base damage numbers and access to the Defensive AA Fire  consumable. She can easily fend off lower and even-tier planes, (sometimes before they can even attack) and even Tier X squadrons will take heavy losses if attacking her or flying too close.

Hull:

Much like the De Zeven Provinciën that it is based on, Almirante Grau is an exceptionally light cruiser. Her armor plating is average, and her HP pool only 33,900, meaning that she can not survive much concentrated fire. Her turning maneuverability is slightly better than De Zeven Provinciën, but like her sister, her top speed is capped at only 32 knots.

That being said though, for having such mediocre defenses, Almirante Grau is a surprisingly survivable ship. Many AP shells will overpenetrate, and the submerged citadel is difficult to hit reliably. While captains should still avoid showing their broadside to enemies for extended periods, being spotted is far less likely to be a death sentence the way it is for other light cruisers such as Minotaur or Jinan.

Almirante Grau also benefits from being extremely narrow. When pointing directly towards or away from an enemy, she presents a very small profile, causing many shells to simply miss. She also has quite good concealment for a cruiser - Fully built for it, her detection radius is only 9.6km by sea, and 6.9km by air. (Which exactly matches the range of her anti-aircraft guns.)

Armament:

The guns on Almirante Grau are fairly disappointing at first glance. Eight 152mm guns, mounted in four twin turrets, they are hurt by their reload time of seven seconds. The shell velocity is also on the low side, causing the shells to arc significantly, and giving them a max range of only 16km. While the high arc can be useful for attacking from behind islands, it also significantly increases the difficulty in hitting fast-moving, targets at range.

The HE rounds have a respectable 11% fire chance, but the AP struggles to penetrate heavily armored targets. On the upside though, all of the guns can rotate the full 360 degrees, which gives captains a lot of flexibility in maneuvering, while still maintaining full firepower.

All of this changes, however, when Almirante Grau's unique combat instruction is active. For 30 seconds, her guns fire at triple speed, significantly increasing her damage. During this mode, she can easily out-damage anything at her tier, and is a threat to anything within range. Even well-angled targets will take heavy damage from a barrage of HE shells, and multiple fires are all but guaranteed.

Anti-Aircraft:

Almirante Grau's anti-aircraft defenses are also quite formidable. She has the same (exceptional) anti-aircraft mounts as De Zeven Provinciën, but unlike her sister ship, also has access to the Defensive AA Fire  consumable. This allows Almirante Grau to boost her already top-tier anti-aircraft defenses into something incredible. Even higher tier carriers will suffer significant losses if they attack, and anything even or lower tier is likely to lose the entire squadron. (In extreme cases, sometimes before they even have a chance to attack.)

While Almirante Grau does possess flack batteries, the bulk of her threat to aircraft comes from the continuous damage AA mounts. While technically they can damage planes as far as 6.9k, the full damage only applies to planes that make the mistake of flying within 4km of her.

Anti-Submarine:

The anti-submarine weapons of Almirante Grau are basic, ship-launched basic depth charges. While Almirante Grau's maneuverability and narrow profile give her at least a fighting chance to dodge torpedoes, submarine hunting is usually better left to ships with access to plane-based ASW.

Consumables:

In addition to the standard Damage Control Party , Almirante Grau has access to three charges each of Defensive AA Fire  and Hydroacoustic Search . The Hydroacoustic Search  has 5km detection range for ships, and 3.5km range for spotting torpedoes.

Play Style:

Due to the nature of her unique combat instructions, Almirante Grau plays extremely well as a hit-and-run ambusher. A full concealment build is highly recommended, given how much her power depends on going dark and recharging her combat instructions. Because she lacks any ability to heal, it is important to conserve health as much as possible. Staying near islands and cover is important.

The best situation for Almirante Grau is one where she can attack freely for the full 30 seconds of combat instruction, without receiving return fire. The most common ways to accomplish this are either by attacking over an island or from within smoke provided by an ally.

When such opportunities are not available, Almirante Grau does best when she can isolate a large target in such a way that the rest of the enemy team cannot shoot her. (By taking partial cover behind an island, or similar.) Attacking ships that are already engaged with a teammate is also a good approach.

In general, when combat instruction is not active, Almirante Grau should retreat, go dark, and wait for it to recharge if possible. (Unless the enemy is close enough to death that she can finish it off with her lackluster normal DPM.) Combat instruction is such a huge increase in damage that it is almost always worth holding fire and letting it recharge. As a result, Almirante Grau captains should try to remain near islands when possible, and keep a general eye on the location of enemy destroyers, to make sure they can break visibility when needed.

Combat Capability - Immediate Main Battery Reload

Almirante Grau is equipped with the Immediate Main Battery Reload combat instruction, which provides a reduction to the main battery reload time. It can be activated after staying undetected for 50 seconds.

Requirements:

Can only be used after staying undetected.
Interval: 5 s
Progress per interval: 10%

Effects:

Main battery reload time: -66%
Action time: 30 seconds

Pros:

Good concealment
High damage output while combat instruction is active
Incredible anti-aircraft defense
Underwater citadel is very difficult to hit
Decent maneuverability

Cons:

Below-average guns while outside of combat instruction
Weak Armor
Modest HP Pool
No way to recover lost health
Low speed

Research

As a premium ship, Almirante Grau has no module upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades are:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection or Defensive AA Fire Modification 1
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
Slot 4: Propulsion Modification 1 or Steering Gears Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack				Defense
1	Grease the Gears +15% main battery traverse speed.	Swift Fish +5% torpedo speed.	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except: Damage Control Party  Repair Party .	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type.	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning of a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5km.	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver - slowly - while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated.
2	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire. +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance fired at submarines.	Fill the Tubes -10% torpedo tubes reload time.	Consumables Enhancements +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search, Surveillance Radar, Smoke Generator, & Engine Boost.	Eye in the Sky Spotting Aircraft: • +2 charges • -50% cooldown time.	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery.	Focus Fire Training In an active priority AA sector: • +1.5% (to 5%) immediate damage. • +25% continuous damage. • +1 flak burst per salvo. −10% aircraft preparation time. −15% reload time of Airstrike armament..
3	Heavy HE and SAP Shells +10% HE and SAP shell damage. +15% ship detectability guns 149mm and up.	Pack a Punch +15% torpedo damage. +20% secondary battery range..	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost.	Heavy AP Shells +5% damage for AP shells 190mm and larger.	Superintendent +1 charge to all consumables.	Survivability Expert +450 HP per ship tier.
4	Top Grade Gunner -10% reload time of secondary batteries If enemy ship is spotted within detectability range, -8% reload time of main battery.	Outnumbered If there are fewer allies than visible enemies within the ship's base main caliber firing range: +8% ship speed -10% main battery dispersion.	Radio Location Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken..	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells Base fire chance reduced by half.	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship.	AAA & ASW Expert +25% continuous AA and flak damage. +15% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −50% ship consumables reload time..
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Almirante Grau equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Hydroacoustic Search  – 3 charges
Slot 3: Defensive AA Fire  – 3 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Almirante Grau comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation.	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding.	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts.	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed.	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables.	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used.
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

References

Ships of Pan-America

Destroyers	VI Juruá
Cruisers	I Hércules • II Almirante Barroso • II Almirante Abreu • III Vicente Guerrero • IV Córdoba • V La Argentina • VI Almirante Cochrane • VII Coronel Bolognesi • VII Nueve de Julio • VIII Ignacio Allende • VIII Almirante Grau • IX Santander • X San Martín
Battleships	V Rio de Janeiro • VIII Atlântico
Aircraft Carriers

Cruisers

Japan	I Hashidate • II Chikuma • III Tenryū • III Katori • IV Yūbari • IV Kuma • IV Iwaki Alpha • V Furutaka • V Agano • V Yahagi • VI Aoba • VI Gokase • VII Myōkō • VII Omono • VII Tokachi • VII Maya • VII ARP Myōkō • VII ARP Ashigara • VII ARP Haguro • VII Southern Dragon • VII Eastern Dragon • VII ARP Nachi • VIII Mogami • VIII Tone • VIII Atago • VIII Shimanto • VIII Atago B • VIII ARP Takao • VIII ARP Maya • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami
U.K.	I Black Swan • II Weymouth • III Caledon • IV Danae • V Emerald • V Hawkins • V Exeter • VI Leander • VI Devonshire • VI London • VI Dido • VI Orion '44 • VII Fiji • VII Surrey • VII Belfast • VIII Edinburgh • VIII Albemarle • VIII Cheshire • VIII Tiger '59 • VIII Belfast '43 • VIII Hampshire • VIII Nottingham • VIII AL Cheshire • VIII STAR Edinburgh • IX Neptune • IX Drake • X Monmouth • X Minotaur • X Goliath • X Plymouth • X Gibraltar • X Defence • ★ Edgar
France	I Bougainville • II Jurien de la Gravière • III Friant • IV Duguay-Trouin • V Émile Bertin • VI La Galissonnière • VI De Grasse • VI Dupleix • VI Montcalm • VII Algérie • VII Toulon • VIII Charles Martel • VIII Cherbourg • VIII Bayard • IX Saint-Louis • IX Brest • IX Carnot • X Henri IV • X Marseille • X Colbert • ★ Condé
U.S.S.R.	I Orlan • II Diana • II Diana Lima • II Novik • III Aurora • III Bogatyr • III Oleg • III Varyag • III AL Avrora • IV Svietlana • V Murmansk • V Kotovsky • V Krasny Krym • V Mikoyan • V Kirov • VI Budyonny • VI Molotov • VI Admiral Makarov • VII Shchors • VII Lazo • VII Lazo B • VIII Chapayev • VIII Tallinn • VIII Mikhail Kutuzov • VIII Ochakov • VIII Pyotr Bagration • VIII Dmitry Pozharsky • IX Dmitri Donskoi • IX Riga • IX Kronshtadt • X Moskva • X Alexander Nevsky • X Petropavlovsk • X Stalingrad • X Smolensk B • X Smolensk • X Sevastopol • X Kommissar • ★ Novosibirsk
U.S.A.	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Annapolis
Germany	I Hermelin • II Dresden • II Emden • III Kolberg • IV Karlsruhe • V Königsberg • VI Nürnberg • VI Admiral Graf Spee • VI Leipzig • VI HSF Admiral Graf Spee • VII Yorck • VII München • VII Weimar • VIII Admiral Hipper • VIII Prinz Eugen • VIII Mainz • VIII Schill • VIII Mainz B • VIII Cross of Dorn • VIII Wiesbaden • IX Roon • IX Siegfried • IX Ägir • IX Admiral Schröder • IX Roon CLR • X Hindenburg • ★ Clausewitz
Pan-Asia	I Chengan • III Ning Hai • V Chungking • VI Rahmat • VI Huanghe • VII Chumphon • VIII Harbin • VIII Irian • VIII Wukong • IX Sejong • IX Dalian • IX Mengchong • IX Tianjin • X Jinan
Spain	I Júpiter • II Méndez Núñez • III Navarra • IV Almirante Cervera • V Galicia • VI Baleares • VI Canarias • VII Asturias • VIII Cataluña • VIII Numancia • IX Andalucía • X Castilla
Europe	I Gryf • VI Elli
Netherlands	I Van Kinsbergen • II Gelderland • III Java • IV De Ruyter • V Celebes • VI Kijkduin • VII Eendracht • VIII Haarlem • VIII De Zeven Provinciën • IX Johan de Witt • IX Van Speijk • X Gouden Leeuw • X Prins van Oranje
Italy	I Eritrea • II Nino Bixio • III Taranto • IV Alberto di Giussano • V Raimondo Montecuccoli • V Genova • VI Trento • VI Duca d'Aosta • VII Zara • VII Duca degli Abruzzi • VII Francesco Ferruccio • VII Gorizia • VIII Amalfi • IX Brindisi • IX Michelangelo • X Venezia • X Napoli • X Napoli B • ★ Piemonte
Commonwealth	I Sutlej • II Port Jackson • III Caradoc • IV Dunedin • V Delhi • VI Hobart • VI Perth • VI Mysore • VII Uganda • VIII Auckland • IX Encounter • IX Hector • X Cerberus • X Brisbane
Pan-America	I Hércules • II Almirante Barroso • II Almirante Abreu • III Vicente Guerrero • IV Córdoba • V La Argentina • VI Almirante Cochrane • VII Coronel Bolognesi • VII Nueve de Julio • VIII Ignacio Allende • VIII Almirante Grau • IX Santander • X San Martín

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Almirante Grau

Modules

Compatible Upgrades