Alaska B

Alaska B

 Alaska B — American • Legendary Tier • Cruiser.

An instance of a special type of ship, somewhere between a cruiser and a battleship. Officially classified as a "large cruiser", she was armed with 305 mm guns, had a high speed, and powerful AA defenses. On the other hand, she had relatively weak protection for her size.

 Navy: USN
 Ship: American
 Nation: United States
 Categoy: Premium

 Tier: Legendary
 Class: Cruiser
 Cost: (Special)

 Entered Service: 1944
 Ships in Series: 3
 Variants: Alaska

Ship Traits

Big and Flammable: Fires set on this ship last longer due to her large size and high caliber guns.

Tough: Above average base HP rating.

Superior AP Damage: Above average AP shell damage.

Survivability Stats

SURVIVBILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Hitpoints	60 800	-
• Armor (mm)	16 - 330	-
• Torpedo Damage Reduction (%)	13	-

Maneuverability

MANEUVERABILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Maximum Speed (kn)	33	-
• Turning Circle Radius (m)	850	-
• Rudder Shift Time (sec)	13	-

Concealment

CONCEALMENT	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Detectability by Sea (km)	13.3	-
• Detectability by Air (km)	8	-
• Detectability while firing in smoke (km)	10.2	-

Main Artillery Stats

MAIN BATTERY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Main Artillery Name	305mm Mk8	-
• Main Artillery Arrangement	3x3	-
• Firing Range (km)	16.1	-
• Reload Time (sec)	20	-
• 180° Turn Time (sec)	30	-
• HE Maximum Damage	4300	-
• HE Fire Chance (%)	27	-
• HE Penetration (mm)	51	-
• AP Maximum Damage	8900	-
• Sigma	2.05	-

Secondary Artillery Stats

SECONDARY ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	127mm Mk32	-
• Arrangement	6x2	-
• Firing Range (km)	5	-
• Reload Time (sec)	6	-
• HE Maximum Damage	1800	-
• HE Fire Chance (%)	5	-
• HE Penetration (mm)	21	-

Anti-Aircraft Artillery Stats

AA ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	20mm Oerlikon Mk4	-
• Arrangement	34x1	-
• DPS	122	-
• Range (km)	2	-
AA ARMAMENT 2	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	40mm Bofors Mk2	-
• Arrangement	14x4	-
• DPS	223	-
• Range (km)	3.5	-
AA ARMAMENT 3	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	127mm Mk32	-
• Arrangement	6x2	-
• DPS	91	-
• Range (km)	5	-

Modules, Modifications & Consumables

Modules

Cruiser - Alaska B

	Hit Points	Min Armor (mm)	Max Armor (mm)	Torpedo Damage Reduction (%)	Main Battery Turrets	Rudder Shift (s)
Stock	60 800	16	330	13	3x3	13

	Turret Arrangement	Reload Time (s)	180° Turn Time (s)	Max HE Damage	HE Fire Chance (%)	Max AP Damage
305mm Mk8	3x3	20	30	4300	27	8900

	Main Battery Firing Range
Stock	16.1 km

	Maximum Speed
Stock	33 kn

Modifications

Cruiser - Alaska B

SLOT 1	Main Battery Mod 2 Main Battery traverse speed +20%	Aiming Systems Mod 1 Dispersion of Main Battery -7% Torpedo tubes traverse speed +20% Secondary Battery firing range +5% Dispersion of secondary battery -5%	Secondary Battery Mod 2 Secondary Battery firing range +20% Dispersion of Secondary Battery -20%	AA Guns Mod 2 AA guns firing range +20%
SLOT 2	Damage Control System Mod 2 Fire duration -15% Flood duration -15%	Steering Gears Mod 2 Rudder shift time -20%	Propulsion Mod 2 Time taken to reach full power when accelerating -50%
SLOT 3	Concealment System Mod 1 Detectability range -10% Incoming fire dispersion +5%	Target Acquisition System Mod 1 Spotting Range +20% Torpedo visibility range +20% Range of Guaranteed Acquisition of ships +50%	Steering Gears Mod 3 Rudder shift time -40% Steering gear repair time -80%
SLOT 4	Main Battery Mod 3 Main battery reload time -10% Main battery traverse speed -15%	Secondary Battery Mod 3 Secondary battery reload time -20%	Gun Fire Control System Mod 2 Dispersion of Main Battery -3% Range of main guns +5%	AA Guns Mod 3 Average AA damage +25%

Consumables

Cruiser - Alaska B

Damage Control Party

Accelerates repairs to damage modules, firefighting efforts and recovery from flooding.

Duration: 5s Reload time: 55s The number of consumables is unlimited

Sonar

Increases the range of guaranteed acquisition of enemy ships and torpedoes, including those within smoke screens.

Detection of torpedoes: 3.4km Detection of ships: 4.9km Duration: 100s Reload time: 180s Number of consumables: 2

Surveillance Radar

Significantly increases the range of guaranteed acquisition of enemy ships, including those within a smoke screen.

Range: 9km Duration: 30s Reload time: 180s Number of consumables: 2

Repair Party

Partially restores the ship's HP by repairing light damage.

HP per second: +438 Duration: 28s Reload time: 50s Number of consumables: 3

Defensive AA Fire

Increases the efficiency of AA fire.

Average AA damage: +200% Duration: 40s Reload time: 150s Number of consumables: 2

Catapult Fighter

Follows the ship and automatically attacks enemy aircraft.

Duration: 100s Reload time: 80s Number of consumables: 4

Community Contributions

Player Opinion

Cruiser - Alaska B

Pros:

• Large 305mm main battery armament.
• Alaska’s large HP pool, decent concealment, and sturdy armor allow her freedom in positioning and the ability to withstand fire from equivalent tier cruisers.
• Strong AA suite can protect her from most enemy aircraft and are hard to destroy.
• Excellent accuracy and the same improved AP angles found in same tier US cruisers on her main battery armament reinforces her role of a cruiser-killer.
• Guns are powerful enough to citadel some battleships at medium and close range.

Cons:

• Increased fire duration and vulnerability to multiple fires when under HE spam compared to other cruisers.
• Large size and more sluggish maneuverability makes her an easier target for both enemy shells and torpedoes.
• Her large size also makes her an easy target to hit, even when actively maneuvering.
• Armor is not thick enough to let her tank battleship fire and HE spam in open combat. Alaska B can tank fire from many battleships if angled, but battleships with 460 mm guns or more can still overmatch her bow and stern plating.
• While she has Surveillance Radar, her long gun reload time of 20 seconds means that players will need to fire accurately and try and get help from teammates when fighting destroyers.

Performance

History

Cruiser - Alaska B

USS Alaska (CB-1) was the first and namesake of her class of “large cruisers.” Her design was a compromise to create a fast cruiser that carried a larger main armament compared to existing heavy cruisers within the US Navy. She would be equipped with 9 of the 305mm L/50 Mk8 guns in three triple turrets. She would also be given 12 of the 5”/38-caliber dual-purpose guns (127mm). Her AA suite would consist of 56 Bofors 40mm L/60 guns and 34 Oerlikon 20mm guns. ALong with her armament she would give a power plant similar to the ones used on the Essex class of aircraft carriers making her top speed ideal for operating with the fast aircraft carriers.

She was laid down on December 17, 1941, in Camden, New Jersey by the NEw York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched on August 15, 1943, and commissioned into the US Navy on June 17, 1944.

After completing her shakedown cruises she would be sent to the Pacific theater where she was tasked with TF 58 (Task Force 58) to screen aircraft carriers. On February 10, 1945, she would take part in airstrikes on Tokyo. On February 19, 1945, she joined Task Group 58.4 to screen the aircraft carriers launching strikes on Iwo Jima until the fleet returned to Ulithi for supplies.

She would then take part in the battle of Okinawa screening the aircraft carriers where during the operation her gunners would claim two Japanese planes shot down. On March 20, 1945, she assisted in escorting the damaged carrier Franklin back to port before rejoining the fleet once more to continue operations at Okinawa where she would conduct her first bombardment with her main and secondary guns along with shooting down four more planes. She would serve in this role until June 9, 1945, when she would steam to Ulithi for maintenance.

On July 13, 1945, she was assigned to TF 95 (Task Force 95) conducting operations off the coast of China meeting limited success. She would serve here until the end of the war. After the war she would take part in Operation Magic Carpet to help bring allied service members back home and would be put into reserve on February 2 1946, with her being decommissioned on February 17, 1947. In 1958 the Bureau of Ships would conduct a feasibility study to convert the Alaska and Guam into guided missile cruisers, but the project was deemed too costly.

She was stricken from the naval register on June 1, 1960, and she would be sold for scrap on June 30, 1960.

Alaska earned three battle stars during her time in service.

Reference:

• Alaska III (CB-1). (n.d.). https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/alaska-iii.html

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