Des Moines

Ship Overview

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 Des Moines — American • Legendary Tier • Cruiser.

One of the best heavy cruisers in the world. The ship was designed using the experience gained in World War II, resulting in excellent protection and very powerful AA armament. The key distinctive feature of cruisers of this type was auto-loading main guns that had a very high rate of fire.

Des Moines was released as a Bureau project reward on April 11th, 2022.

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

 Tier: Legendary
 Class: Cruiser
 Cost: (Research Bureau)

 Entered Service: 1948
 Ships in Series: 4
 Predecessor: Buffalo

━━ Ship Traits ━━

Reloader: Above average main battery reload time.

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	50 600	-
• Armor (mm)	6 - 203	-
• Torpedo damage reduction (%)	19	-

Maneuverability

MANEUVERABILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Maximum speed (kt)	33	-
• Turning circle radius (m)	770	-
• Rudder-shift time (sec)	8.6	-

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 Mk16	-
• Main artillery arrangement	3x3	-
• Firing range (km)	15.5	-
• Reload time (sec)	6	-
• 180° turn time (sec)	30	-
• HE maximum damage	2750	-
• HE fire chance (%)	14	-
• HE penetration (mm)	34	-
• AP maximum damage	4750	-
• Sigma	2.05	-

Secondary Artillery

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

AA ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	20mm Oerlikon Mk4	-
• Arrangement	12x1	-
• DPS	43	-
• Range (km)	2	-
AA ARMAMENT 2	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	76.2mm Mk33	-
• Arrangement	12x2	-
• DPS	335	-
• Range (km)	5	-
AA ARMAMENT 3	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	127mm Mk32	-
• Arrangement	6x2	-
• DPS	91	-
• Range (km)	5	-

Modules, Modifications & Consumables

Modules

Cruiser - Des Moines

	Hit Points	Min Armor (mm)	Max Armor (mm)	Torpedo Damage Reduction (%)	Main Battery Turrets	Rudder Shift (s)
Stock	50 600	6	203	19	3x3	8.6

	Turret Arrangement	Reload Time (s)	180° Turn Time (s)	Max HE Damage	HE Fire Chance (%)	Max AP Damage
203mm Mk16	3x3	6	30	2750	14	4750

	Main Battery Firing Range
Stock	15.5 km

	Maximum Speed
Stock	33 kn

Modifications

Cruiser - Des Moines

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 - Des Moines

Damage Control Party

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

Duration: 5s Reload 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 Reload time: 180s Number of consumables: 2

Catapult Fighter

Follows the ship and automatically attacks enemy aircraft.

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

Repair Party

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

HP per second: +253 Duration: 28s Reload time: 80s Number of consumables: 2

Defensive AA Fire

Increases the efficiency of AA fire.

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

Observation Seaplane

Temporarily tightens main battery shell grouping.

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

Radar

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

Range: 9.9km Duration: 30s Reload time: 180s Number of consumables: 2

Community Contributions

Player Opinion

Cruiser - Des Moines

Pros:

• An insane rate of fire for such heavy guns.
• High shell arcs make firing over islands easier.
• AP SHS (super-heavy shells) can retain pen and with American Heavy Cruiser ricochet angles (60-67.5) and can tear up almost everything, especially in close quarter engagements.

  27mm armor protects against 15-inch guns; citadel is protected by a thick 152mm belt and a 127mm transverse bulkhead, allowing her to tank many battleships if sufficiently angled.

• Very good Surveillance Radar characteristics

Cons:

• High shell arcs make hitting targets at range tricky.
• No torpedoes.
• Citadel is above water and easy to hit when showing broadside, and all 406mm or larger guns can overmatch her armor.
• Anti-aircraft armament easily destroyed and rendered useless against aerial attacks.
• Mediocre agility.

Performance

(link)

How It's Done: Des Moines

Changes

Cruiser - Des Moines

In the Shadow of Leaves

• Main battery reload time increased from 5.5 s to 6 s
• HE shell damage reduced from 2800 to 2550
• AP shell damage reduced from 5000 to 4500
• Surveillance Radar consumable duration decreased from 40 s to 30 s

Into Black Waters

• Main battery AP shell damage increased from 4500 to 4750
• Main battery HE shell damage increased from 2550 to 2750

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