Buffalo

Ship Overview

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 Buffalo — American • Tech Tree • Tier VIII • Cruiser.

This heavy cruiser design appeared soon after the development of cruiser Baltimore was completed and was her direct successor (Project CA-B). The increased water displacement allowed engineers to significantly reinforce the ship's armor protection and armament. The number of main guns was augmented to a total of 12 overall.

 Navy: USN
 Ship: American
 Nation: United States
 Category: Tech Tree

 Tier: VIII
 Class: Cruiser
 XP: 300 000

 Year of Design: 1940
 Predecessor: Baltimore
 Successors: Des Moines

━━ Ship Traits ━━

Sticky Shot: Reduced ricochet change - greater chance of penetrating enemy ship armor at sharper angles.

Powerful AA Defenses: Above-average AA gun firepower.

Sluggish Shot: Difficult to aim at long distances, but the trajectory allows for effective fire from cover.

Ship Stats

Survivability

SURVIVBILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Hitpoints	42 500	47 800
• Armor (mm)	6 - 229	-
• Torpedo damage reduction (%)	19	19

Maneuverability

MANEUVERABILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Maximum speed (kt)	33	33
• Turning circle radius (m)	800	800
• Rudder-shift time (sec)	15.7	11.2

Concealment

CONCEALMENT	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Detectability by sea (km)	13	-
• Detectability by air (km)	7.8	-
• Detectability while firing in smoke (km)	7.5	-

Main Artillery

MAIN BATTERY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Main artillery name	203mm Mk15	203mm Mk15
• Main artillery arrangement	4x3	4x3
• Firing range (km)	14.1	15.6
• Reload time (sec)	11.5	10
• 180° turn time (sec)	30	25.7
• HE maximum damage	2800	2800
• HE fire chance (%)	14	14
• HE penetration (mm)	34	34
• AP maximum damage	5000	5000
• Sigma	2.05	-

Secondary Artillery

SECONDARY ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	127mm Mk32	127mm Mk32
• Arrangement	6x2	6x2
• Firing range (km)	5	5
• Reload time (sec)	6	6
• HE maximum damage	1800	1800
• HE fire chance (%)	5	5
• HE penetration (mm)	21	21

Anti-Aircraft Artillery

AA ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	20mm Oerlikon Mk4	20mm Oerlikon Mk20
• Arrangement	16x1	16x2
• DPS	58	98
• Range (km)	2	2
AA ARMAMENT 2	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	40mm Bofors Mk1	40mm Bofors Mk1
• Arrangement	11x2	4x2
• DPS	124	45
• Range (km)	3.5	3.5
AA ARMAMENT 3	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	40mm Bofors Mk2	40mm Bofors Mk2
• Arrangement	4x4	11x4
• DPS	64	175
• Range (km)	3.5	3.5
AA ARMAMENT 4	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	127mm Mk32	127mm Mk32
• Arrangement	6x2	6x2
• DPS	91	91
• Range (km)	5	5

Modules, Modifications & Consumables

Modules

Cruiser - Buffalo

	Hit Points	Min Armor (mm)	Max Armor (mm)	Torpedo Damage Reduction (%)	Main Battery Turrets	Rudder Shift (s)	Purchase Price
Stock	42 500	6	229	19	4x3	15.7	0
Hull B	47 800	6	229	19	4x3	11.2	5 000 000

	Turret Arrangement	Reload Time (s)	180° Turn Time (s)	Max HE Damage	HE Fire Chance (%)	Max AP Damage	Purchase Price
203mm Mk15	4x3	11.5	30	2800	14	5000	0
203mm Mk15	4x3	10	25.7	2800	14	5000	625 000

	Firing Range Increase (%)	Main Battery Firing Range	Purchase Price
Stock	0 %	14.1 km	0
Targeting System Mk9 mod. 2	10 %	15.6 km	625 000

	Maximum Speed
Stock	33 kn

Modifications

Cruiser - Buffalo

SLOT 1	Main Battery Mod 2 Main battery traverse speed +20% Torpedo launchers traverse speed +20%	Aiming Systems Mod 1 Main battery dispersion -7% Secondary battery firing range +5% Secondary battery dispersion -5%	Secondary Battery Mod 2 Secondary battery firing range +20% Secondary battery dispersion -20%	AA Guns Mod 2 AA guns firing range +20%
SLOT 2	Damage Control System Mod 2 Damage Control Party duration +20% Fire duration -15% Flood duration -15%	Steering Gears Mod 2 Rudder-shift time -25%	Propulsion Mod 2 Time taken to reach full power when accelerating -50%
SLOT 3	Chromium Plated Barrels Main battery dispersion -5%	Concealment System Mod 1 Detectability range -10% Incoming fire dispersion +5%	Target Acquisition System Mod 1 Spotting range +20% Torpedo acquisition range +20% RGA 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 Main battery dispersion -3% Main battery range +5%	AA Guns Mod 3 Cooldown time for all consumables -10% Average AA damage per second +25%

Consumables

Cruiser - Buffalo

Damage Control Party

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

Duration: 5s Cooldown time: 60s The number of consumables is unlimited

Sonar

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

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

Radar

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

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

Repair Party

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

HP per second: +238 Duration: 28s Cooldown time: 80s Number of consumables: 2

Defensive AA Fire

Increases the efficiency of AA fire.

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

Catapult Fighter

Follows the ship and automatically attacks enemy aircraft.

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

Observation Seaplane

Temporarily tightens main battery shell grouping.

Main battery shell grouping: +10% Duration: 30s Cooldown time: 200s Number of consumables: 4

Community Contributions

Player Opinion

Cruiser - Buffalo

Pros:

• Boasts superior firepower to most of her contemporaries.
• Excellent all-around survivability for a cruiser.
• Powerful AA suite, as is standard with American ships.​

Cons:

• Large size makes her an easier target.
• Relatively sluggish compared to its predecessor and contemporaries, with a larger turning circle and significantly longer rudder shift time when stock.

Performance

History

Cruiser - Buffalo

Buffalo is based on a US Navy proposal for a 8-inch cruiser study - Scheme CA-B dated from 1940, and was a continuation of the precedent design of the Baltimore class. CA-B was heavier than her prototype, displacing 17 000 standard tons (ship at maximum capacity for war, but without water or oil) in contrast to Baltimore 14 700 standard tons. Accordingly, her main battery was enhanced by the addition of a fourth turret at the stern, creating a heavy broadside of 12 guns and by a ticker armor belt of 190mm (according to Wargaming historical article about CA-B) compared to Baltimore’s 150mm. The ship was planned to be able to reach 33 knots, the same speed as her prototype, and it would have allowed her to take part in the escort of the fast carrier of the Essex Class deployed at the time in the US Navy. It’s interesting to note that her aviation facility is amidships, in a similar fashion than the New Orleans class, Pensacola Class and Portland class (represented in-game by the premium ship Indianapolis). The project wasn’t continued and the commission of the large cruiser of the Alaska Class, scaled up Baltimore to fit 305mm guns, totally erased the need for these units as they were as fast, more armored and with a bigger armament.

In World of Warships Legends, the ship is named after the city of Buffalo, following the US Navy tradition of naming cruisers after the capital city of states.

As she was never built, both hull AA suits are fictional. Hull A present her in a “as build” configuration, but it’s impossible to know if she would have looked like this since the preliminary drawing didn’t take AA armament into account. Hull B show her in a “modernized” AA suit, in a similar fashion most US vessels were refitted to counter aerial menace.

Sources:

• Photo # S-511-25, https://www.shipscribe.com/styles/S-511/images/s-file/s511-25c.htm
• Heavy Cruiser Buffalo (Project CA-B) : World of Warships Paper Ship, https://worldofwarships.com/en/news/history/paper-ships-buffalo/

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