Marblehead

13.11

Cruiser | U.S.A. | Tier V

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

12345678910

V

Special

Marblehead — American special premium Tier V cruiser.

USS Marblehead, an Omaha-class cruiser, met the start of World War II as part of the Asiatic Fleet. In the Battle of Makassar Strait, Marblehead's rudders took damage and became jammed. Steering by working the engines at varying speeds only, the cruiser managed to escape. She made her way to South Africa and then embarked on a journey to Brooklyn. From 1942 to 1944, the ship served in the South Atlantic, and during the summer of 1944, she escorted convoys. Later, she moved to Europe, where she took part in the landings in southern France.

Marblehead was originally released as a gift ship with decorative camouflage. It was given away in August 2015 at the PAX 2015 convention, and as a reward for a contest on the NA forums.

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 Mk.12 on a Mk.16 mount/Mk.13 mount/Mk.13 casemate mount	9	24	128	2,200	12	3,100		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 ()
Marblehead	27,000	10	76	8/2		4	2			0	0

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	Torpedo Tubes Reload Time (sec)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Damage (HP)	Torpedo Speed (knot)	Torpedo Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk9 mod. 1	1.6	38	7.2	6,233	49	8.2		0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk5 mod. 1		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 90,000 hp	34		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3

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.

The Ship

Marblehead is a sister ship to the tech tree cruiser Omaha and retains the same basic hull. Compared to her sister, she gains a slightly improved reload and longer range torpedoes at the cost of worse concealment, weaker torpedoes, and reduced main battery range.

Marblehead has a tight 600 meter turning circle and a fairly quick 6.4 second rudder shift, making her maneuverable and helping her avoid incoming attacks. Her 34 knot top speed is fairly typical for a Tier V cruiser, placing her firmly in the middle of the pack. Unfortunately, her concealment is rather poor at 13.2 km. This can be reduced to 11.8 km with the Concealment Expert skill, but Marblehead is unlikely to sneak up on anything smaller than a battleship.

Marblehead mounts a standard cruiser Damage Control Party  which is active for 5 seconds with a 60 second cool down between uses. She also carries a Hydroacoustic Search  and Catapult Fighter . Her Hydroacoustic Search is active for 100 seconds with a 120 second cool down between uses and has 3 uses as standard. When it is active, Marblehead will detect enemy ships at 4 km, torpedoes at 3 km, and fully submerged submarines at 2 km. Her Fighter launches a pair of aircraft that will circle around the ship for 60 seconds, providing emotional support to the player. Occasionally, they will intercept an attack and shoot down two attacking aircraft.

Survivability

Even for a Tier V cruiser, Marblehead has a reputation for easily exploding. Her citadel is a large and tempting target as it rises a considerable distance above the waterline. Shells aimed between her funnels are likely to hit the citadel, which is protected by a rather thin 76 mm of armor. A broadside Marblehead is likely to attract a lot of incoming fire.

Most of her plating is 13 mm thick, which means anything larger than light cruiser guns can overmatch her armor. Marblehead can receive citadel hits from almost any angle. Her plating will also be penetrated by all HE shells. Her health pool is good for a Tier V cruiser, but her weak armor and large citadel considerably reduce the benefits of this. Under sustained fire, Marblehead is likely to melt away — or explode — leading to a rapid return to port. With no way to recover lost health or easily disengage from combat, any mistakes can be costly.

Armament

Marblehead mounts the same main battery as Omaha, but with a much shorter range of 13.9 km. This is one of the shortest gun ranges at her tier, and the ships with shorter ranges have access to smokescreens to provide a degree of safety. Marblehead has an improved reload to compensate, giving her more DPM than Omaha, but reaching a position to safely use this can be challenging.

Marblehead can be a good fire starter, able to set up to 13 fires per minute in ideal circumstances. 25 mm of HE penetration means that her shells will penetrate the decks or superstructures of most ships, even when downtiered. Her AP is somewhat disappointing; above 10 km Marblehead can struggle to penetrate broadside cruisers.

Marblehead’s torpedoes are a change from those of Omaha; most notably, she only has a single triple launcher on each side. Her torpedoes have an improved range of 8.2 km, still too short to be used safely, but players will only need to be within almost certain death range to use them. The extended range comes at the cost of speed and striking power. They travel at a pedestrian 49 knots, the crew could almost throw these weapons as quickly. Her torpedoes will do little more than tickle an opponent with their poor damage and terrible flood chance. Any concerted effort to use these weapons will result in a feeling of disappointment. Even a rapid 38 second reload cannot salvage these weapons, and a Marblehead within 8 km of an enemy is frequently a sunk Marblehead.

Anti-Aircraft

Most of Marblehead’s anti-air deterrent comes from her fighters. Her AA guns are better than those of Agincourt, but not by much. Her AA DPS is the lowest of any Tier V cruiser and worse than many destroyers. A slight positive is that all her guns reach out to 3.5 km, but even the extra range won’t help shoot down planes. The best AA defense might be hanging around near an Agincourt or Viribus Unitis and hoping the larger ship is a more interesting target with its even worse AA.

Anti-Submarine

Marblehead carries an ASW airstrike with a 5 km range, potentially allowing her to engage submarines with a degree of safety. The airstrike has a 20 second reload between attacks, limiting the amount of damage that players can cause to a submarine. Her Hydroacoustic Search can aid in submarine hunting, but the short range means that players will need to know where to start hunting.

Battle Performance

Marblehead faces the same survival issues as Omaha, coupled with an even shorter main battery range. Although her DPM is better than her sister, reaching a position to utilize the better reload can be a challenge. While most Tier V cruisers will struggle when downtiered, this is particularly true with Marblehead, where her lack of range and concealment will combine to leave her feeling limited.

Engaging targets from open water will put Marblehead firmly within easy range of enemy ships and will result in a swift and unpleasant return to port. Players should utilize island cover and friendly smoke whenever possible to shield themselves from return fire and engage the enemy. If players can reach a position of relative safety, then they can use her rapid reload and large gun battery to set fires and harrass large targets.

Pros:

Good main battery DPM
Good fire starting potential
Decent maneuverability
It has a free camo

Cons:

Large, exposed citadel
Short gun range
Weak torpedoes
Terrible AA defense

Research

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

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 keeps the guns active and firing.
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection helps keep the engines and steering working.
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1 improves accuracy and generates more main battery hits on enemies.

Commander Skills

Any captain built for a US light cruiser will work for Marblehead and provide a useful commander. Her torpedoes are not worth building into, so the lack of torpedo skills on higher tier US cruiser commanders is not a drawback here. Marblehead ideally needs a 10 point commander with Concealment Expert as a minimum starting point. Playing without this skill can be a painful experience given her short range.

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

Marblehead equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Hydroacoustic Search 
Slot 3: Catapult Fighter

Camouflage

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

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Charlie Kilo +5% ship HP; +2.5% squadron HP.	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. ★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding.	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 . ★

Gallery

Premium Ship
Type 9 Marblehead Camo

References

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 Tennessee • 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

Cruisers

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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 [[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
Europe	I Gryf • VI Elli • X Svea
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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 • X Ravenna • ★ Piemonte
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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 • X Incheon
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Marblehead

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Compatible Upgrades