Montcalm

13.11

Cruiser | France | Tier VI

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

12345678910

VI

5,500

Montcalm — French premium Tier VI cruiser.

The La Galissonniere-class was a class of six cruisers built for the French Navy during the interwar period. They were the last class of cruisers built for the French Navy before the onset of World War II. The design was a radical shift from the previous light cruiser design, Emile Bertin, and adopted a balanced design that offered adequate armor, armament, and speed on a hull of 7,500 tons displacement.

Montcalm was the second vessel of the class, laid down on November 15, 1933 and launched October 26, 1935. At the beginning of the war she was assigned to the Force de Raid where she performed Atlantic Patrols and Convoy Escort missions. She managed to avoid the Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir and the scuttling of the French Fleet at Toulon.

She had a relatively uneventful 1942 and 1943 aside from a refit that augmented her anti-aircraft armament and overhauled her engines. She would take part in Operations Neptune and Dragoon, supporting troops in the landings of Omaha beach and Southern France. She would spend the remainder of the war as a coastal bombardment vessel.

Montcalm was first released for sale on 29 May 2024.

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/55 Mle 1930 on an Mle 1930 mount	7	15	157	2,200	12	3,200		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 ()
Montcalm	27,300	6	105	3	4	16/6/4	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 ()
550 mm 23DT	1	60	7.2	14,833	60	6		0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
PCA n° 6 Mle 1		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 84,000 hp	31		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4

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

Montcalm is the sister ship to La Galissonnière, the Tier VI tech tree French cruiser. She shares many of her tech tree sister’s traits, but trades Engine Boost  for a long base firing range and a slightly shorter main battery reload.

Montcalm uses La Galissonnière’s B hull. Her hull is covered in 16 mm plating along the sides and ends, which can be overmatched by any battleship and even some cruisers that she meets. Her deck armor is 25 mm and can bounce battleship AP up to 356 mm at shallow angles but should not be relied upon to protect her. Her citadel extends from her first turret to her rear turret with a large portion extending above the waterline. Her main armor belt is 105 mm thick and her citadel deck is 38 mm thick. These are thick enough to bounce and block light cruiser shells from range, but she is vulnerable to AP from heavy cruisers and battleships. She can survive some hits, but trading with opposing cruisers shouldn’t be her first option for combat.

Montcalm has a 650 meter turning circle with a 7.7 second rudder shift. Her base concealment is 12.9 km and can be reduced to 11.6 km using Concealment Expert. Both her hitpoint pool and speed are underwhelming. Despite having the maneuverability and equipment of La Galissonnière’s B hull, she has the A hull’s 24,800 hitpoint pool. Her speed is low for Tier VI at 31 knots, and does not have access to a speed boost to offset this.

Armament

Montcalm carries nine 152 mm guns in three triple turrets in an AB-X turret layout, with a pair of superfiring turrets in the front and one in the rear. Her shells and ballistics are identical to those found on La Galissonnière, with fast shell velocity and decent range, along with a high fire chance. Her HE shells are what captains should be using the most, with their high alpha damage and fire chance. They can quickly deal large amounts of damage to thinly armored areas of enemy vessels. Her AP shells are less impressive but are still useful for catching broadside enemy cruisers off guard to deal heavy hits. Her turret handling is excellent, able to traverse 180 degrees in 15 seconds. Captains will have an easy time keeping her guns on target and won’t need to invest skill points or modules into turret traverse. A noticeable change to her over her sister is her extended main battery range of 18 km. This allows her to play farther back than almost any cruiser of her tier.

Montcalm has a pair of twin torpedo launchers, one on each side of the ship. They have high damage and decent range but are low in volume, only launching two torpedoes at a time. Their 9 km base range is decent for the tier. They have a quick reload at 60 seconds, making them more of a harassment weapon for area denial and hopefully hitting unsuspecting targets at range.

Consumables

Montcalm has access to Damage Control Party , Hydroacoustic Search  or Defensive AA Fire , and a Main Battery Reload Booster . Her Main Battery Reload Booster is the French cruiser standard, halving her reload time for 15 seconds. This provides a much needed boost in firepower, best used to maximize an opponent's moment of vulnerability. The reload reduction will allow her to fire two more salvoes in short order for the consumable duration, to catch an enemy cruiser broadside, an isolated destroyer, or a battleship that has recently used its damage control. Hydroacoustic Search and Defensive AA Fire are in the same slot, and in most cases she will want to take Hydroacoustic Search. Her Hydroacoustic Search is the standard one found on other Tier VI French cruisers.

Anti-Aircraft

Her anti-aircraft armament is capable of defending herself. Her short, mid, and long-range auras extend out to 1.5, 3.5, and 4.6 km respectively. Her short and medium range continuous damage is high, and opposing aircraft are likely to take a noticeable amount of damage when attacking her. Her long range aura is less impressive, with low continuous damage and only one flak cloud. If captains wish to take Defensive AA Fire  then it is best used when aircraft are within her medium range aura. Overall her anti-anticraft armament is sufficient to defend herself but should not be relied on to protect allied vessels.

Battle Performance

Montcalm operates like a longer ranged, more fragile, and more sluggish version of her tech tree sister. She struggles at short range due to her low speed and HP. While her armor is on par with her contemporaries, she does not have the HP to sustain a long firefight and her low speed makes it difficult to disengage. It is only recommended to come into close range with low HP opponents, preferably when they are isolated.

To make the most of her, Montcalm will need to be played at longer range or behind cover such as islands or smoke, where she will be able to make the most of her additional damage output. Her high fire chance and reduced reload make her a good choice as a fire and damage farmer. Her Main Battery Reload Booster is useful for taking advantage of an opponent in a bad situation. She will be able to fire an additional two salvos before it runs out, which can be used to finish off a low health opponent or light a fire after an opponent has used their damage control.

Overall Montcalm struggles with less utility and flexibility than her sister, and will need to be played conservatively to have the greatest impact in battle. At close range she can easily be sent back to port after a disadvantageous firefight, but she has options to fight at much longer ranges with high damage guns.

Pros:

High HE alpha and fire chance for their caliber.
Long range main battery with good shell ballistics.
9 km torpedo range.
Decent anti-aircraft capabilities when used for self defense.
Main Battery Reload Booster  giving her a momentary boost in firepower.

Cons:

Large above-water citadel and thin hull plating.
Low HP compared to other Tier VI cruisers.
Light torpedo armament, only two tubes per side
Sluggish maneuverability at 31 knots.

Research

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

Optimal Configuration

Montcalm should be tailored toward improving her firepower first. The bulk of her effectiveness will come for her main battery. If a captain wishes, secondary priority can go towards improving her low survivability.

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades are:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
Slot 4: Propulsion Modification 1 or Steering Gears 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

Montcalm equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire  – 3 charges or Hydroacoustic Search  – 3 charges
Slot 3: Main Battery Reload Booster  – 4 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Montcalm 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

References

Ships of France

Destroyers	II Enseigne Gabolde • III Fusilier • IV Bourrasque • V L'Adroit • V Jaguar • V Siroco • VI Duchaffault • VI Guépard • VI Aigle • VII Le Hardi • VII Vauquelin • VIII L'Aventurier • VIII Le Fantasque • VIII Le Terrible • IX Orage • IX Mogador • X Cassard • X Kléber • X Marceau • X Kléber CLR
Cruisers	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 • VI [[Ship:[La Galissonnière]\|[La Galissonnière]]] • 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 • X Brennus • ★ Condé
Battleships	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
Aircraft Carriers	VI Béarn

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
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 • IX AL Ägir • X Hindenburg • X Hildebrand • X [[Ship:[Hindenburg]\|[Hindenburg]]] • ★ Clausewitz
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 [[Ship:Kirov (< 10.06.2020)\|Kirov (< 10.06.2020)]] • 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 Bagration • VIII Dmitry Pozharsky • IX Dmitri Donskoi • IX Riga • IX Kronshtadt • IX Kozma Minin • X Moskva • X Alexander Nevsky • X Petropavlovsk • X Stalingrad • X Smolensk B • X Smolensk • X Sevastopol • X Komissar • X [[Ship:[Moskva]\|[Moskva]]] • X Vladimir Monomakh • X Petrozavodsk • ★ Novosibirsk
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
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
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 • VIII Tone 2 • VIII Tone 3 • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • IX Chikuma II Golden • IX BA Takahashi • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami • X Yari • X Zaō CLR • X [[Ship:[Zaō]\|[Zaō]]]
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 • VI [[Ship:[La Galissonnière]\|[La Galissonnière]]] • 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 • X Brennus • ★ Condé
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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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

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Compatible Upgrades