Kearsarge

13.10

Battleship | U.S.A. | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

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IX

Special

Kearsarge — American special premium Tier IX battleship.

The unique project of a powerful battleship aircraft carrier that was developed in the United States in the second half of the 1930s (Project 1058.1).

Kearsarge was first released for sale on 21 Oct 2021.

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 ()
406 mm/45 Mk.6 in a turret	1.7	45	255	5,700	36	13,100		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 ()
Kearsarge	84,300	19	406	4	14	20/10/14				0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk9 mod. 1		0		0	0

	Speed (knot)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_MED_DAMAGE (HP/min)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_AMMO_AMOUNT	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
F8F Bearcat	176			1,840		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 300,000 hp	30		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5
Slot 6

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.

Being released just prior to Halloween is fitting for this ship. The Tier IX hybrid battleship Kearsarge appears at a glance to be a frankensteined Montana, North Carolina, Bogue, and Midway. She is armed with the traditional heavy guns of a battleship yet also brings a squadron of attack aircraft to the fight. While her ungainly appearance may be off-putting to some, she may just surprise those willing to take the helm.

The Ship

Kearsarge's armored belt consists of a lower belt with 254mm thickness, a middle section with 330mm thickness and an upper belt at only 38mm thick. Her bow and stern at 32mm thick are in theory capable of bouncing 16-inch shells but it most likely will not feel that way in battle. With her large flight deck that occupies most of amidships, she takes a lot of damage to this area. As of this writing it does NOT saturate.^[1] so enemy captains capable of hitting this massive area with little to no difficulty can farm damage at will. At 84,300 health points she has the largest health pool of the Tier IX American battleships which does help to offset this, but she also has the worst torpedo damage reduction at just 24%. As a result, she will not hold up in a one on one fight and captains will find themselves in trouble quickly if they are too aggressive.

Kearsarge has some of the worst maneuverability of Tier IX American battleships. Her speed at 30 knots base is okay. But she is sluggish with a 1050m turning circle radius — worse than the larger Tier X American battleships — and a rudder shift time of 18.4 seconds. Captains will struggle to respond quickly to emergency situations. Her base surface detection is 16.9km (14km from the air) so she isn’t exactly a subtle ship. Together with her armor profile, this suggests more of a support ship staying at range where she can better respond to situations and decrease the chance that she is shot at.

Armament

Kearsarge is armed with twelve 406mm/45 mk.6 rifles in four triple turrets. These are the same guns found on her lower tiered sister North Carolina, with a few differences. With two turrets forward and two back she boasts surprisingly good firing angles considering the large flight deck amidships. Captains can bring all of her guns to bear while showing a surprisingly small amount of her side to the enemy. While on paper Kearsarge has better stated dispersion than her lower tiered sister it is because she has a shorter range at just 19.6km. ^[2] She does have access to Artillery Plotting Room Module 2 to extend her range. Combining typical USN accuracy with a potential broadside of 157,200 damage she can pack a heavy punch against broadside battleships and especially enemy cruisers.

Kearsarge boasts a potentially stronger secondary battery with fourteen dual-purpose 127mm guns per side per side — eight more 5" rifles than any other USN battleship. With a base reload of 6 seconds (slower than those on other USN BBs) and a base range of 7km, these guns should discourage an opponent from approaching too closely. But, considering the DPM is not as high as might be expected, and how large and sluggish she is, Secondaries is not a recommended build.

In terms of AA, she bristles with weaponry, bringing twenty 20mms, forty 40mm barrels, and her twenty-eight 5" rifles to the party. The majority of her damage is done at medium to long range or 3.5–5.8km. Planes approaching her will have a hard time living through the storm of flak before being able to drop their ordnance.

A hybrid battleship is distinguished by its aviation arm. Kearsarge launches a flight of five F8F Bearcats each armed with three Tiny Tim rockets. As with the Russian carriers, all planes in the flight attack at the same time so each launch is one and done. Tiny Tim rockets are very dangerous to an enemy ship, with a 33% chance of causing a fire, a solid 68mm of penetration, and 5400 damage each. Unlike an aircraft carrier the captain does not need to worry about running out of planes. The two minute ready timer starts at each launch and another flight is ready as soon as it expires.

Although capable of significant damage, don't focus on the air group as the main source of damage throughout the battle. In some situations it may best be deployed to spot. In the meantime, don't neglect the potential of Kearsarge's powerful main battery.

Game Play

This is not a forgiving ship if played overly aggressively. She is simply too large and sluggish to get herself out of danger. Captains would be advised to play her as a mid range support ship from 12-15kms out to make the most out of her guns and planes. Early game, a Kearsarge captain should try to preserve health and keep an eye on the map to position the ship to flank targets or use their planes to spot. Having preserved health, captains can afford to be more aggressive towards the later half of the battle. By this stage enemy ships should have reduced health and damaged AA suites, making it easier to strike them. The captain might be a little devious if they work with a friendly carrier or another Kearsarge to stagger their attacks to take advantage of enemies who burn their damage control party to put ‘permanent’ floods or fires on them. Captains should be careful of the autopilot mode. It is well known that sometimes the autopilot has a mind of its own.

Pros:

Large health pool for the tier.
Good reload for the weight of her broadside.
Has access to attack aircraft.
Can provide invaluable spotting.

Cons:

Flight deck does not saturate, allowing for consistent damage for the enemy.
Sluggish rudder shift time and large turning circle.
Has neither the Catapult Fighters of many large surface ships, nor the CAP Fighters of aircraft carriers.
Large, ungainly profile makes her an easy target to hit.

Research

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

Optimal Configuration

The default recommendation is for a standard USN battleship build.

Upgrades

Recommended upgrades:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1 
Slot 3: Artillery Plotting Room Modification 1 or Main Battery Modification 2
Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2 or Steering Gears Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: Artillery Plotting Room Modification 2 or Main Battery Modification 3

Commander Skills

Favor fire prevention/mitigation and concealment. She has little need of Attack skills.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense
1	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type. ★★	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance when firing at submarines.	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except: Damage Control Party , Repair Party . ★★	Emergency Repair Specialist -3% cooldown time of Damage Control Party  and Repair Party . ★★	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning about a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5 km.	Preventive Maintenance −30% chance of main armament, engines, steering becoming incapacitated +15% to HP of secondary and AA guns. ★★
2	Grease the Gears +20% main turret traverse speed. ★★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells. Base fire chance reduced by half.	Brisk So long as the ship remains undetected: +10% ship speed. ★	Vigilance +25% detection range of enemy torpedoes +7% damage reduction of Torpedo Protection System. .	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★	AAA & ASW Expert +15% continuous AAA and flak damage . +10% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −40% ship consumables reload time.. ★★
3	Super-Heavy AP Shells +7.5% AP shell damage −10% fire and flood damage received +25% fire and flood duration.	Long-Range Secondary Battery Shells +20% secondary battery firing range.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Basics of Survivability -15% repair, fire, and flooding duration. ★★	Improved Repair Party Readiness −0.8% reload time of Repair Party each time your ship receives potential damage equal to 100% of the ship's base HP. After receiving 2M HP potential damage: +1 charge of Repair Party .. ★★	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.. ★★
4	Furious 1st fire / flood −10% Main battery reload time 2nd etc. (up to 5), each −5% Main battery reload time ★	Manual Secondary Battery Aiming −10% secondary battery reload time. −10% secondary battery dispersion. When firing at a manually selected target: dispersion gradually improves from -25% to -50%.	Close Quarters Combat -10% reload time of main battery if an enemy ship is spotted within secondary range.	Emergency Repair Expert Damage Control Party  and Repair Party : +1 charge (each). +10% action time . ★★★	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	Fire Prevention Expert -10% risk of fire. Three fires maximum. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Kearsarge equips:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Repair Party  - 4 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Kearsarge 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

↑ At release in October 2021 the flight deck is considered an Auxiliary Room (19mm), not Superstructure. The large area below it and above the main deck is considered Superstructure (19mm).
↑ Kearsarge uses the standard dispersion formula for American battleships.

Ships of U.S.A.

Destroyers	II Sampson • II Smith • III Wickes • IV Clemson • V Nicholas • V Hill • VI Farragut • VI Monaghan • VII Mahan • VII Sims • VII Sims B • VIII Benson • VIII Kidd • IX Fletcher • IX Benham • IX Halford • IX Black B • IX Black • IX Johnston • IX Frank Friday • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • X [[Ship:[Gearing]\|[Gearing]]] • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Cruisers	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI [[Ship:Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)\|Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)]] • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII [[Ship:Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)\|Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)]] • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII [[Ship:New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)\|New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)]] • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX [[Ship:Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)\|Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)]] • 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 • ★ Jacksonville • ★ Annapolis
Battleships	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VII Colorado 2 • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • VIII Volunteer State • VIII North Carolina 2 • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • IX Iowa 2 • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • X BA Montana • X [[Ship:[Montana]\|[Montana]]] • X Montana 2 • X Utah • ★ Maine
Aircraft Carriers	IV [[Ship:Langley (< 23.01.2019)\|Langley (< 23.01.2019)]] • IV Langley • V [[Ship:Bogue (< 23.01.2019)\|Bogue (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI [[Ship:Independence (< 23.01.2019)\|Independence (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VII [[Ship:Ranger (< 23.01.2019)\|Ranger (< 23.01.2019)]] • VII [[Ship:Saipan (< 23.01.2019)\|Saipan (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII [[Ship:Lexington (< 23.01.2019)\|Lexington (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII [[Ship:Enterprise (< 23.01.2019)\|Enterprise (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • VIII AL Hornet • IX [[Ship:Essex (< 23.01.2019)\|Essex (< 23.01.2019)]] • X [[Ship:Midway (< 23.01.2019)\|Midway (< 23.01.2019)]] • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • X [[Ship:[Midway]\|[Midway]]] • ★ United States

Battleships

Netherlands
U.S.A.	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VII Colorado 2 • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • VIII Volunteer State • VIII North Carolina 2 • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • IX Iowa 2 • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • X BA Montana • X [[Ship:[Montana]\|[Montana]]] • X Montana 2 • X Utah • ★ Maine
Europe	V Viribus Unitis • IX Karl XIV Johan
Germany	III Nassau • III Von der Tann • III König Albert • IV Kaiser • IV Moltke • V König • V Derfflinger • VI Bayern • VI Mackensen • VI Prinz Eitel Friedrich • VII Gneisenau • VII Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst • VII AL Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst B • VII Scharnhorst '43 • VIII Tirpitz • VIII Bismarck • VIII Zieten • VIII Odin • VIII Brandenburg • VIII Anhalt • VIII Brandenburg B • VIII Tirpitz B • VIII BA Tirpitz • IX Friedrich der Grosse • IX Prinz Rupprecht • IX Pommern • IX Pommern B • IX Prinz Sigismund • X Grosser Kurfürst • X Schlieffen • X Preussen • X Mecklenburg • X [[Ship:[Grosser Kurfürst]\|[Grosser Kurfürst]]] • ★ Hannover
U.S.S.R.	III Knyaz Suvorov • IV Imperator Nikolai I • IV Gangut • V Pyotr Velikiy • V Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya • VI Izmail • VI Novorossiysk • VII Sinop • VII Poltava • VIII Vladivostok • VIII Lenin • VIII Borodino • VIII V. I. Lenin • IX Sovetsky Soyuz • IX Navarin • IX AL Sov. Rossiya • X Kremlin • X Slava • ★ Admiral Ushakov
Italy	IV Dante Alighieri • V Conte di Cavour • V Giulio Cesare • VI Andrea Doria • VII Francesco Caracciolo • VIII Vittorio Veneto • VIII Roma • VIII AL Littorio • IX Lepanto • IX Marco Polo • IX Giuseppe Verdi • X Cristoforo Colombo • X Ruggiero di Lauria • X Sicilia • X Amerigo Vespucci
Pan-America	V Rio de Janeiro • VIII Ipiranga • VIII Atlântico • IX Los Andes • X Libertad • X Comodoro
Japan	II Mikasa • III Kawachi • IV Myōgi • IV Ishizuchi • V Kongō • V ARP Kongō • V ARP Kirishima • V ARP Haruna • V ARP Hiei • V HSF Hiei • VI Fusō • VI Mutsu • VI Ise • VI Ise 2 • VI Ise 3 • VII Nagato • VII Ashitaka • VII Hyūga • VIII Amagi • VIII Yumihari • VIII Kii • VIII Ignis Purgatio • VIII Ragnarok • IX Izumo • IX Adatara • IX Musashi • IX Hizen • IX Iwami • IX Daisen • IX Tsurugi • IX Iwami B • X Yamato • X Bungo • X Shikishima • X ARP Yamato • X [[Ship:[Yamato]\|[Yamato]]] • ★ Satsuma
U.K.	III Bellerophon • III Indefatigable • III Dreadnought • IV Orion • IV Queen Mary • V Iron Duke • V Tiger • V Agincourt • VI Warspite • VI Queen Elizabeth • VI Renown • VI Repulse • VI Repulse B • VII King George V • VII Rooke • VII Hood • VII Nelson • VII Duke of York • VII Collingwood • VII Renown '44 • VII Rodney • VIII Monarch • VIII Hawke • VIII Vanguard • IX Lion • IX Duncan • IX Marlborough • IX Scarlet Thunder • X Conqueror • X St. Vincent • X Thunderer • X Incomparable • X Cumberland • X [[Ship:[Conqueror]\|[Conqueror]]] • ★ Devastation
France	III Turenne • IV Courbet • V Bretagne • VI Normandie • VI Dunkerque • VI Dunkerque B • VII Lyon • VII Strasbourg • VIII Richelieu • VIII Gascogne • VIII Champagne • VIII Flandre • VIII Picardie • VIII [[Ship:[Richelieu]\|[Richelieu]]] • IX Alsace • IX Jean Bart • IX Jean Bart B • X République • X Bourgogne • ★ Patrie
Pan-Asia	IX Bajie • IX Wujing • IX Sun Yat-Sen • IX Louchuan • IX Xuan Wu
Spain	IX Victoria
Commonwealth	VII Yukon

[1] At release in October 2021 the flight deck is considered an Auxiliary Room (19mm), not Superstructure. The large area below it and above the main deck is considered Superstructure (19mm).

[2] Kearsarge uses the standard dispersion formula for American battleships.

[1]

[2]

Games

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Kearsarge

Modules

Compatible Upgrades