Baltimore
| Tier VII | Type: Cruiser | |
| Preceded by | Succeeded by |
| New Orleans | Buffalo Des Moines |
| Cost | 18 000 000 |
| Variants | AL Baltimore, Celtic |
| XP Required | 210 000 |
| Hitpoints42 400 |
| Armor6 - 203 |
| Torpedo Damage Reduction4 % |
| 203mm Mk153x3 |
| Firing Range15.5 km |
| Reload Time12 s |
| 180 Turn Time30 s |
| HE Maximum Damage3000 |
| HE Fire Chance14 % |
| HE Penetration34 mm |
| AP Maximum Damage5300 |
| Sigma1.9 |
| 127mm Mk326x2 |
| Firing Range5 km |
| Reload Time6 s |
| HE Maximum Damage1800 |
| HE Fire Chance5 % |
| HE Penetration21 mm |
| 20mm Oerlikon Mk423x1 |
| DPS83 |
| Range2 km |
| 40mm Bofors Mk212x4 |
| DPS191 |
| Range3.5 km |
| 127mm Mk326x2 |
| DPS91 |
| Range5 km |
| Maximum Speed32.5 kn |
| Turning Circle Radius730 m |
| Rudder Shift Time7.8 s |
| Detectability by Sea12.6 km |
| Detectability by Air7.6 km |
| Detectability while firing in smoke7.2 km |
Modules
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Hit Points | Min Armor (mm) | Max Armor (mm) | Torpedo Damage Reduction (%) | Main Battery Turrets | Rudder Shift (s) | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | 36 600 | 6 | 203 | 4 | 3x3 | 10.2 | 0 |
| Hull B | 42 400 | 6 | 203 | 4 | 3x3 | 7.8 | 3 600 000 |
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Turret Arrangement | Reload Time (s) | 180° Turn Time (s) | Max HE Damage | HE Fire Chance (%) | Max AP Damage | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 203mm Mk15 | 3x3 | 14 | 30 | 2800 | 14 | 4600 | 0 |
| 203mm Mk15 | 3x3 | 12 | 30 | 3000 | 14 | 5300 | 450 000 |
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Firing Range Increase (%) | Main Battery Firing Range | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | 0 % | 14 km | 0 |
| Targeting System Mk7 mod. 2 | 10 % | 15.5 km | 450 000 |
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Maximum Speed |
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| Stock | 32.5 kn |
Modifications
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| SLOT 2 |
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| SLOT 3 |
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| SLOT 4 |
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Consumables
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| Accelerates repairs to damage modules, firefighting efforts and recovery from flooding. |
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| Increases the range of guaranteed acquisition of enemy ships and torpedoes, including those within smoke screens. |
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| Significantly increases the range of guaranteed acquisition of enemy ships, including those within a smoke screen. |
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| Partially restores the ship's HP by repairing light damage. |
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| Increases the efficiency of AA fire. |
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| Follows the ship and automatically attacks enemy aircraft. |
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Player Opinion
Pros:
- Best in class AP penetration combined with reasonable damage and fire rate makes it a threat to all ships she faces
- Belt armor is capable of bouncing battleship volleys, only if properly angled
Cons:
- Whilst the belt armor is strong, the bow and stern armor can be easily penetrated by battleship AP
- Low HE alpha compared to IJN counterparts making HE a less consistent choice
- Average concealment values combined with the threat it possesses, makes Baltimore a priority target
Performance
Baltimore is a sheer force to be reckoned with. The 3x3 203mm guns come with special AP shells that has increased penetration over sharper angles, these guns can deliver huge amounts of damage to broadside battleships, the damage is comparable to top tier battleship salvos. HE shells, may lack HE alpha that of IJN cruisers still have a decent fire chance, but AP shells are more consistent.
Slow shell velocity makes for floaty arcs, out in the open this is a disadvantage but can be quickly converted to an advantage by using islands to lob shells over, minimizing concealment and maximizing firepower.
Survivability of the ship is a mixed bag, the belt armor is capable of bouncing shells of battleship caliber, though stray shells can easily overmatch your bow dealing massive penetration damage, positioning is vital, using island cover to hit the enemy and only coming out when the threat is diminished. Baltimore is the only tech tree ship in game equipped with surveillance radar, which can easily deny enemy caps and help your team advance.
Equipped with the right upgrades and skills it is easy to mistake a firing Baltimore for a battleship, the AP shells will quickly destroy enemy battleships and cruisers, when targeted Baltimore is an easy target to send back to port. Target selection, careful positioning and team support is vital to lead the fight when playing the Baltimore.
Changes
- Rudder-shift time lowered by 10% for both hulls.
- Bow and aft plating increased from 25 mm to 27 mm to prevent being overmatched by shells of calibers up to 381 mm. This will allow the ship to bounce those shells from some angles.
- Repair Party cooldown time reduced (from 80 s to 60 s) and her HP now restores 20% faster.
- Main battery turret traverse speed increased from 6°/s to 7°/s
- Main battery accuracy improved by about 6%
- For Hull B, HE shell maximum damage increased from 2800 to 3000
- For Hull B, AP shell maximum damage increased from 5000 to 5300; shell velocity increased from 762 m/s to 782 m/s
Double the Fun, Double the Trouble
- Main battery reload time decreased from 12 s to 11 s
History
USS Baltimore (CA-68) was an American heavy cruiser, the first of her class, and the first cruiser designed by the US Navy without the limitations of the Washington and London Naval Treaty. The work on the class started after the war broke out in Europe, and were based on the experience gained with the New Orleans class cruiser as well as on the heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45), which embodying the transition from treaty era ships to World War II ships. The Baltimore class packed a good artillery and a decent speed without sacrificing armour, in opposition to the treaty era ships. Fourteen ships were built, more than any other class of heavy cruiser, and three more were built on a slightly different design, being known as the Oregon City class (represented in-game by the premium ship Rochester). They served in the US Navy until the 70’ under different refits (some of them becoming the firsts guided missiles cruisers in the world), the last one, USS Chicago (CA-136) being sold for scrap in 1991 after 10 years in reserve.
She received 9 battle stars during world war two for her service in the pacific.
Commissioned in 1943, she did her shakedown trial on the Atlantic coast of the United States before being transferred to the Pacific. Assigned to Task Force 52, she took part in the support of the invasion of Makin Islands and to the screening of the US escort carriers deployed in the operation. After the securing of Makin Islands, Baltimore was assigned with three New Orleans class cruisers to escort carriers for raiding operations leading to the sinking of six Japanese vessels. During the Japanese counterattack, she took part in the defence of USS Lexington (CV-16) and USS Yorktown (CV-10). Returning to Pearl Harbor, Baltimore was deployed again in the Marshall Islands in early 1944. She was assigned to USS Saratoga (CV-3) airgroup, alongside two smaller escort carriers, and took action multiple times in the preparative operations for the invasions of Kwajalein and Majuro. After the success of the invasion, Baltimore stayed with Saratoga (CV-3), contributing to the anti-air defence of the Task Group. During the assault on Satawan, one of her floatplanes provided reconnaissance support to the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55). Once the operation was over, she resumed the screening of her Task Group while the planes attacked Guam and Rota first, then Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima. Returning to the US, Baltimore embarked the US president Franklin D. Roosevelt and brought him to Pearl Harbor, then to Alaska. Heading to the west coast for repair, she returned to Pearl Harbor for exercises. The day of the Armistice, she left the Hawaiian water to the Western Carolines, and in late 1944, she joined the Task Group 38.1 alongside multiple carriers and the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61). The Task Group encountered the Cobra Typhoon, doing severe damage to most of the vessels in the formation. Both her planes were destroyed, two of her motor boats were lost, some 40mm and 20mm were heavily damaged and her deck plates were damaged as well. Returning to Ulithi for repair, in early 1945, USS Baltimore was already back in service and resumed the screening of carrier groups during the different assaults on the Japanese mains islands until Okinawa. After the success of the invasion, she took another typhoon destroying (again) her floatplanes and damaging her bow. She returned to Pearl Harbor for repair, and remained there until the end of the war in mid-1945.
After WWII, USS Baltimore took part in the return of US Soldier home in Operation Magic Carpet, and was one of the ships of the Japan occupation fleet until she was decommissioned and put into reserve in 1947. In 1951 she returned to service in the Mediterranean fleet, and represented the US Navy in 1953 at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, until 1955 when she was reassigned to the Pacific fleet. Returning home in 1956, Baltimore was put again into reserve, and later sold for scrap in 1972.
North Korea claims to have sunk the ship in 1950, during the Korean war. However, USS Baltimore was never deployed in this conflict, being in reserve at the moment of the battle, that saw USS Juneau (CL-119) and two Royal Navy ships defending themself against multiple motorboats without any major damages. Furthermore, USS Baltimore was deployed in the far east only in 1955, two years after the end of the conflict.
In World of Warships Legends, USS Baltimore is represented in her WWII configuration. However, her stock hull is equipped with twin 40mm Bofor guns, where the class were equipped with quad 40mm Bofor mount already fitted. Some of the members of the class were fitted with twin 40mm Bofor to reinforce the AA capacity of the ship, but this configuration isn’t in game.
Source :
Gallery
Legends Ship Map 