Chikuma II Golden

14.0

Cruiser | Japan | Tier IX

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Special

Chikuma II Golden — Japanese Tier IX cruiser.

A Tone-class heavy cruiser, this warship represents an advancement from the Mogami class. Notably, all four main battery turrets are situated on the ship's bow, a distinctive feature of this series. Designed for extended-range reconnaissance, escort duties, and supporting aircraft carrier formations, this warship boasts an augmented cruising range and carries an onboard air group. Throughout World War II, the cruiser took part in most major operations conducted by the Japanese Navy. In October 1944, Chikuma was sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Modules

	Hit Points	Plating (mm)	Belt Armor (mm)	Rudder Shift Time (Seconds)	Turning Circle (Meters)	Surface Concealment (Kilometers)	Aerial Concealment (Kilometers)
Chikuma II Golden	38,900	mm	mm	10 sec.	780 m.	11.73 km.	7.16 km.

	Main Turrets	Reload Time	180° Turn Time	Maximum Dispersion	Maximum Range
203 mm/50 3rd Year Type No.2 in a Model E turret	4x2	16 sec.	30 sec.	132 m.	15.67 km.

	Torpedo Launchers	Reload Time (Seconds)	Range (Kilometers)	Maximum Damage	Speed (Knots)	Detectability (Kilometers)
610 mm Triple	4x3	105 sec.	15 km.	23,767	60 knts.	1.7 km.

	Hitpoints	Speed (Knots)	Size of Squadron (Size of attacking flight)	Aircraft on Deck	Preparation Time (Seconds)	Detectability (Kilometers)
Aichi M6A2 Seiran	1,950	135 knts.	2 (2)	4	120 sec.	7.5 km.

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning: The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

IX Chikuma II Golden is a sister ship to VIII Tone, and the second ship to represent her class of hybrid heavy cruisers. She boasts an impressive array of weaponry: eight heavy cruiser guns, twelve torpedo tubes, and a squadron of torpedo bombers. Historically, Chikuma II Golden is unique. Unlike most hybrid ships, she was purpose-built to have both aircraft facilities and offensive capabilities. She is nearly identical to her sister ship, with the most notable difference being a more lethal torpedo bomber attack force and better torpedo angles.

Main Battery

Like Tone, Chikuma II Golden is not renowned for her firepower. Her eight 203 mm guns reload at an anemic 16 seconds base. Fortunately, her high-explosive shells have a fairly high fire chance that makes the reload feel somewhat tolerable, and she can use her fire-starting potential to force enemy vessels to use their Damage Control Party  consumable early. She lacks a turret compared to most of her Japanese cruiser peers, but stands out for having all four of them mounted in the bow. They boast surprisingly good firing angles and she only needs to show a small amount of broadside to fire all of her guns. Captains should avoid engaging targets directly bow-on, as this will limit the amount of firepower that she can bring to bear on a target. Highly accurate and hard-hitting, these guns are able to deal with destroyers and any cruisers that expose their sides. All but her forward-most turret can rotate 360 degrees, though this does come at the expense of slow turret traverse for a Tier IX cruiser.

Torpedoes

Chikuma II Golden has a fairly heavy torpedo armament for a cruiser: two triple-tube launchers on each side for a potential of 12 torpedoes in the water at any given time. At 60 knots and with a 1.7 km detection range, they are 2 knots slower and 100 meters less stealthy than those found on Tone. However, each torpedo has a significantly higher damage potential of 23,767 and a 15 km range. The reload is slower at 105 seconds, but equipping Torpedo Tubes Modification 2 can help alleviate this. Although the launchers are mounted towards the aft of the ship, their firing angles are surprisingly good because the torpedoes can turn once launched. This is a significant advantage over Tone, which must turn completely broadside in order to launch her torpedoes. Overall, what the torpedoes lack in speed, stealth, and reload, they more than make up for in sheer hitting power.

Torpedo Bombers

Chikuma II Golden is a hybrid ship with the ability to launch her own player-controlled aircraft. She carries M6A2 floatplanes, each armed with one torpedo. Her torpedo bombers only take two minutes base to prepare, making them a far more dependable source of damage throughout the course of a battle. They’re also stealthy by aircraft standards, at only 7.5 km base. Launched in a flight of two and utilizing rocket boosters, these planes initially fly at a high speed before slowing to a more moderate 135 knot cruising speed. When attacking, both planes engage the target for a total of two torpedoes in the water at once. These are much faster than Tone’s aerial torpedoes at 50 knots, deal over 7000 damage, and have a range of 6 km. Their only downside is the staggering 671 meter arming distance, providing plenty of space and time for the enemy to maneuver out of the way.

Secondary Battery

Amusingly, Chikuma II Golden has the unique distinction of the lowest secondary battery damage per minute of all Tier IX cruisers. The HE shells are capable of penetrating the 21 mm plating on destroyers or causing chip damage to submarines, but little else. Just because she has secondaries is not justification to run a secondary build. Realistically, they might as well not exist.

Survivability

Chikuma II Golden features 25 mm bow and stern armor, with 27 mm plating covering the vast majority of the remainder of the ship. Like her sister ship, her citadel sits lower in the water, making it more difficult to hit. Furthermore, her citadel has a turtleback armor scheme that further protects it from some armor-piercing rounds. Chikuma II Golden has four charges of the Repair Party  consumable, but unlike the standard cruiser version that only heals back a maximum of 10% citadel damage taken, she can heal up to 33%. This makes her far more resilient to armor-piercing damage and assists in preserving her 38,900 hitpoints. Her 13% torpedo damage reduction is slightly below average for a Tier IX cruiser and won’t do much to mitigate torpedo damage, especially when it would only take two of her own ship-launched torpedoes to sink herself. As always, it’s best to avoid taking damage in the first place.

Fortunately, her 11.7 km base surface detection range is one of the best among Tier IX cruisers, allowing her to disengage when necessary. It can be further reduced to 9.5 km with all of the appropriate commander skills and upgrades (see below).

Maneuverability

A base top speed of 35.5 knots means Chikuma II Golden is fast for a Tier IX cruiser. She is more than capable of outrunning what she cannot outfight, so captains must know when and how to break contact when the battle is not in their favor. She has an average turning radius of 780 meters but excellent rudder shift of only 10 seconds base.

Consumables

Chikuma II Golden has a standard Damage Control Party  consumable, which will be imperative to her longevity in the match. She also gets a choice between the long-range German variant of Hydroacoustic Search  or Defensive AA Fire  consumable; the former is recommended to spot enemy ships and torpedoes. Although she has the ability to launch her own aircraft, she lacks both a Catapult Fighter and Spotting Aircraft. Instead, she features three charges of the Smoke Generator  consumable to help her break contact when threatened. Lastly, she has four charges of the Repair Party  consumable to keep her in the fight longer.

Anti-Aircraft Defenses

Overall, Chikuma II Golden’s AAA is one of the poorest at Tier IX. Her long-range damage-per-second is abysmal, the medium-range aura is nonexistent, and the short-range aura has a mere 2.5 km range that renders it mostly useless. Captains are strongly advised not to rely on her AAA at all and must actively maneuver to mitigate damage from air attacks.

ASW

Chikuma II Golden has standard Tier IX plane-dropped depth charges. They feature a 7 km range and 30 second reload. She gets two flights that drop one depth charge each, dealing a maximum 4200 damage over a blast radius of 375 m.

Battle Performance

Like Tone and most Japanese cruisers, Chikuma II Golden is a second-line ship. She performs best by maximizing the potential damage of her torpedo armament and aircraft, supplemented by her main battery guns. A full torpedo build is both viable and entertaining, allowing her to deal big damage numbers within a short time period. It is imperative that captains not forget the value in having player-controlled aircraft to spot enemies and provide valuable intelligence data for their team. Her torpedo bombers are best used to attack low health, less maneuverable vessels in order to secure kills. Chikuma II Golden should stay approximately 10 to 15 kilometers from the nearest enemies to maximize her diverse platform of weaponry. Her armor scheme and turret firing angles mean that she performs best when kiting her enemies. Her main battery guns can be used to set fires, forcing the enemy to use their Damage Control Party 

so that any torpedo hits may cause flooding, or vice versa.

Pros:

Heavy torpedo armament
Player-controlled seaplanes with torpedoes
Can provide invaluable spotting with her planes
High top speed
Low detection radius
Four charges of Repair Party  by default

Cons:

Poor armor and low hitpoint pool
Poor torpedo damage reduction
Low DPM and only eight guns
Poor AAA

Research

As a premium ship, Chikuma II Golden has no module upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades are:

Slot 1: Torpedo Tubes Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection
Slot 3: Torpedo Tubes Modification 2
Slot 4: Propulsion Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: Torpedo Tubes Modification 2 ()

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack				Defense
1	Grease the Gears +15% main battery traverse speed. ★★	Swift Fish +5% torpedo speed. ★★★	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except: Damage Control Party  Repair Party .	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type. ★	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning of a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5km. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver - slowly - while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★★
2	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire. +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance fired at submarines. ★	Fill the Tubes -10% torpedo tubes reload time. ★★★	Consumables Enhancements +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search, Surveillance Radar, Smoke Generator, & Engine Boost. ★★★	Eye in the Sky Spotting Aircraft: • +2 charges • -50% cooldown time.	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★	Focus Fire Training In an active priority AA sector: • +1.5% (to 5%) immediate damage. • +25% continuous damage. • +1 flak burst per salvo. −10% aircraft preparation time. −15% reload time of Airstrike armament..
3	Heavy HE and SAP Shells +10% HE and SAP shell damage. +15% ship detectability guns 149mm and up. ★	Pack a Punch +15% torpedo damage. +20% secondary battery range.. ★★★	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Heavy AP Shells +5% damage for AP shells 190mm and larger.	Superintendent +1 charge to all consumables. ★★★	Survivability Expert +450 HP per ship tier. ★★
4	Top Grade Gunner -10% reload time of secondary batteries If enemy ship is spotted within detectability range, -8% reload time of main battery. ★★★	Outnumbered If there are fewer allies than visible enemies within the ship's base main caliber firing range: +8% ship speed -10% main battery dispersion.	Radio Location Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.. ★★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells Base fire chance reduced by half.	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	AAA & ASW Expert +25% continuous AA and flak damage. +15% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −50% ship consumables reload time..
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Chikuma II Golden equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Hydroacoustic Search  – 3 charges or 3 charges Defensive AA Fire  – 3 charges
Slot 3: Smoke Generator  – 3 charges
Slot 4: Repair Party  – 4 charges

Torpedo Bombers:

Slot 1: Engine Cooling  – 2 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Chikuma II Golden comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Charlie Kilo +5% ship HP; +2.5% squadron HP.	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. ★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. ★★	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★★★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator . ★★	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire . ★★

Ships of Japan

Destroyers	II Tachibana • II Umikaze • II Tachibana Lima • III Wakatake • IV Isokaze • V Minekaze • V Fūjin • V Kamikaze • V Kamikaze R • V Mutsuki • VI [[Ship:Mutsuki (< 01.12.2016)\|Mutsuki (< 01.12.2016)]] • VI Fubuki • VI Hatsuharu • VI Shinonome B • VI Shinonome • VII [[Ship:Hatsuharu (< 01.12.2016)\|Hatsuharu (< 01.12.2016)]] • VII Akatsuki • VII Shiratsuyu • VII Yūdachi • VIII [[Ship:Fubuki (< 01.12.2016)\|Fubuki (< 01.12.2016)]] • VIII Akizuki • VIII Kagerō • VIII Asashio • VIII HSF Harekaze II • VIII Asashio B • VIII HSF Harekaze • VIII AL Yukikaze • IX [[Ship:Kagerō (< 01.12.2016)\|Kagerō (< 01.12.2016)]] • IX Yūgumo • IX Kitakaze • IX Minegumo • IX STAR Kitakaze • X Shimakaze • X Harugumo • X Hayate • X AL Shimakaze • X [[Ship:[Shimakaze]\|[Shimakaze]]] • ★ Yamagiri
Cruisers	I Hashidate • II Chikuma • III Tenryū • III Katori • IV Yūbari • IV Kuma • IV Iwaki Alpha • V Furutaka • V Agano • V Yahagi • VI Aoba • VI Gokase • VII Myōkō • VII Omono • VII Tokachi • VII Maya • VII ARP Myōkō • VII ARP Ashigara • VII ARP Haguro • VII Southern Dragon • VII Eastern Dragon • VII ARP Nachi • VIII Mogami • VIII Tone • VIII Atago • VIII Shimanto • VIII Atago B • VIII ARP Takao • VIII ARP Maya • VIII Tone 2 • VIII Tone 3 • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • IX Chikuma II Golden • IX BA Takahashi • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami • X Yari • X Zaō CLR • X [[Ship:[Zaō]\|[Zaō]]]
Battleships	II Mikasa • III Kawachi • IV Myōgi • IV Ishizuchi • V Kongō • V ARP Kongō • V ARP Kirishima • V ARP Haruna • V ARP Hiei • V HSF Hiei • VI Fusō • VI Mutsu • VI Ise • VI Ise 2 • VI Ise 3 • VII Nagato • VII Ashitaka • VII Hyūga • VIII Amagi • VIII Yumihari • VIII Kii • VIII Ignis Purgatio • VIII Ragnarok • IX Izumo • IX Adatara • IX Musashi • IX Hizen • IX Iwami • IX Daisen • IX Tsurugi • IX Iwami B • X Yamato • X Bungo • X Shikishima • X ARP Yamato • X [[Ship:[Yamato]\|[Yamato]]] • ★ Satsuma
Aircraft Carriers	IV [[Ship:Hōshō (< 23.01.2019)\|Hōshō (< 23.01.2019)]] • IV Hōshō • V [[Ship:Zuihō (< 23.01.2019)\|Zuihō (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI [[Ship:Ryūjō (< 23.01.2019)\|Ryūjō (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI Ryūjō • VII [[Ship:Hiryū (< 23.01.2019)\|Hiryū (< 23.01.2019)]] • VII [[Ship:Kaga (< 23.01.2019)\|Kaga (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII [[Ship:Shōkaku (< 23.01.2019)\|Shōkaku (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Shōkaku • VIII Kaga • VIII Kaga B • IX [[Ship:Taihō (< 23.01.2019)\|Taihō (< 23.01.2019)]] • X [[Ship:Hakuryū (< 23.01.2019)\|Hakuryū (< 23.01.2019)]] • X Hakuryū • X Shinano • X [[Ship:[Hakuryū]\|[Hakuryū]]] • ★ Sekiryu

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U.S.S.R.	I Orlan • II Diana • II Diana Lima • II Novik • III Aurora • III Bogatyr • III Oleg • III Varyag • III AL Avrora • IV Svietlana • V Murmansk • V [[Ship:Kirov (< 10.06.2020)\|Kirov (< 10.06.2020)]] • V Kotovsky • V Krasny Krym • V Mikoyan • V Kirov • VI Budyonny • VI Molotov • VI Admiral Makarov • VII Shchors • VII Lazo • VII Lazo B • VIII Chapayev • VIII Tallinn • VIII Mikhail Kutuzov • VIII Ochakov • VIII Pyotr Bagration • VIII Bagration • VIII Dmitry Pozharsky • IX Dmitri Donskoi • IX Riga • IX Kronshtadt • IX Kozma Minin • X Moskva • X Alexander Nevsky • X Petropavlovsk • X Stalingrad • X Smolensk B • X Smolensk • X Sevastopol • X Komissar • X [[Ship:[Moskva]\|[Moskva]]] • X Vladimir Monomakh • X Petrozavodsk • ★ Novosibirsk
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Japan	I Hashidate • II Chikuma • III Tenryū • III Katori • IV Yūbari • IV Kuma • IV Iwaki Alpha • V Furutaka • V Agano • V Yahagi • VI Aoba • VI Gokase • VII Myōkō • VII Omono • VII Tokachi • VII Maya • VII ARP Myōkō • VII ARP Ashigara • VII ARP Haguro • VII Southern Dragon • VII Eastern Dragon • VII ARP Nachi • VIII Mogami • VIII Tone • VIII Atago • VIII Shimanto • VIII Atago B • VIII ARP Takao • VIII ARP Maya • VIII Tone 2 • VIII Tone 3 • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • IX Chikuma II Golden • IX BA Takahashi • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami • X Yari • X Zaō CLR • X [[Ship:[Zaō]\|[Zaō]]]
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