Des Moines

Des Moines

 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
 Categoy: 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.

Survivability Stats

SURVIVBILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Hitpoints	50 600	-
• Armor (mm)	6 - 203	-
• Torpedo Damage Reduction (%)	19	-

Maneuverability

MANEUVERABILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Maximum Speed (kn)	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 Stats

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	2550	-
• HE Fire Chance (%)	14	-
• HE Penetration (mm)	34	-
• AP Maximum Damage	4500	-
• 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	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	2550	14	4500

	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%	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 - Des Moines

Damage Control Party

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

Duration: 5s Reload time: 60s 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

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 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

Surveillance Radar

Significantly increases the range of guaranteed acquisition of enemy ships, including those 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

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