Constellation

13.11

Battleship | U.S.A. | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

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VIII

Special

Constellation — American special premium Tier VIII battleship.

In 1911, when information about the keel-laying of Japanese ships of the Kongō-class came to light, the leadership of the U.S. Navy realized the need to build a battlecruiser. When the construction process started, the Lexington-class battleships were the largest warships ever built in the United States. Their armament consisted of eight 406 mm/50-caliber guns housed in four twin-gun turrets. USS Constellation was laid down in August 1920. The construction order was canceled three years later following the outcome of the Washington Naval Conference.

Constellation was first released for sale on 02 July 2021.

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
406 mm/45 Mk.5 in a turret	2	36	194	5,700	36	12,400		0	0

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Constellation	63,300	19	457	4	10	30/16/12/10	2			0	0

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	Torpedo Tubes Reload Time (sec)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Damage (HP)	Torpedo Speed (knot)	Torpedo Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk15 mod. 3	0.6	98	7.2	16,633	55	9.2		0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk8 mod. 1		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 180,000 hp	33.3		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

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.

Background

At the turn of the century, capital ships were slow due to the enormous mass of guns and armor that they carried and the wide hull forms required to keep that mass afloat. Even as power plant efficiency improved, navies were considering the 'battlecruiser' — a capital ship with battleship armament that traded some armor mass for sleekness and speed.^[1] The high speed would give them more tactical options, including the ability to control engagements, while maintaining hitting power.

The U.S. Navy set out to build only one class of battlecruiser: the Lexington class. Six class ships were laid down. Four (including Constellation herself) were cancelled and scrapped on the ways in 1922 due to the Washington Naval Treaty, while two – Lexington and Saratoga – were converted to aircraft carriers that served with distinction in WWII. In World of Warships, Constellation has been completed and later modernized — a true battlecruiser.

Features

As a Lexington-class battlecruiser, Constellation sacrifices armor for speed. She is the second fastest Tier VIII battleship (without factoring in speed boost) at 33.3 knots, falling just behind Champagne at 34 knots. Her armor is light, with a 27mm bow and stern compared to the 32mm plating of the other US Tier VIII battleships. 27mm armor is overmatched by 406mm and larger shells, meaning that most battleships at Tier VIII and above can overmatch her bow and stern. Nonetheless, her casemate and deck armor is impressive at 57mm which gives her the ability to shatter high caliber 305mm HE shells as well as Italian 203mm SAP shells. Her armor belt is also the lightest of the Tier VIII US BBs at 178mm, far below the 305mm of North Carolina, the next lightest armored, making Constellation more easily penetrated by lightly armed ships such as heavy cruisers.

Constellation's main battery consists of eight (8) 406mm rifles^[2] in dual turrets arranged in a ABXY format. They have the same characteristics as Colorado, reloading in 30 seconds with an alpha strike of 99,200. However, Constellation's battery has an improved dispersion formula that makes her one of the most accurate Tier VIII battleships. Sigma is a healthy 1.90σ.^[3]

The ship's main battery has an odd quirk. There are superstructure and deck projections that interfere with the laying of her aft guns at low elevations, i.e. close ranges. Over about 10km they clear giving decent gun angles. Closer and the angle is limited to about 45°. Thus at close ranges, she must show considerable broadside to get all guns on target. (Note that while this affects bow-in orientations, it does not affect kiting.)

The secondary battery is standard for USN battleships with ten dual purpose mounts housing twenty (20) 5"/38 Mk.12s. With the Artillery Plotting Room Mod 1 upgrade and the Mike Yankee Soxisix signal, their range is 7.3km. Adding the Long-Range Secondary and CQC skills takes the range out to 8.7km with a 5.1 second reload.

The anti-aircraft suite is good, apparently modeling a late pre-war or early wartime refit.

Constellation the first USN battleship to be armed with torpedoes. She carries six (6) torpedoes arranged in triple tubes on either side of the ship's stern. They are the same torpedoes carried on Tier VIII destroyer Kidd with a range of 9.2km, base speed of 55 knots, and maximum damage of 16,633.

To set her apart even farther, she is one of the few battleships to sport radar. Further, she can mount both aircraft and radar consumables. The ability to mount both spotting aircraft and radar aids in play both at range and up close. The range of the radar is 10km, with an action time of 30 seconds, and a reload time of 120 seconds.

Game Play

Commanders of Constellation will find that playing on a flank and at medium to long ranges will be more successful, using her fast speed to set up cross fires or catch ships broadside. While having the same amount of health as Alabama at 63,300, Constellation is not as heavily armored and will lose more health from lighter armaments. To counter this, she should use her speed and 15.3 second base rudder shift to attempt to dodge incoming fire. While being equipped with radar and torpedoes, it is best to keep Constellation at range due to the poor turret angles up close. The radar and torpedoes should be used defensively or if the captain is pushing a flank with support of other ships, setting up ambushes, and in retreating maneuvers. If she does end up within 10km of an enemy ship, and provided the enemy ship is sailing towards her, the captain should use the torpedoes before the aft turrets to minimize the amount of side being shown for as long as possible.

Pros:

Good casemate armor for protection against HE and SAP hits.
Eight 16" rifles with excellent accuracy.
Armed with torpedoes with decent range and good aiming angles.
Access to the Surveillance Radar  consumable.
Second fastest battleship (ignoring speed boost) at the tier.

Cons:

Much more lightly armored than comparable battleships.
Mediocre torpedo protection.
Aft turret angles are poor at close range (inside ~10km).
Large profile and height out of the water make her a better target for enemy gunfire.
Lacks the improved Repair Party of the tech tree USN battleships.

Issues
9.2km torpedoes and 10km radar tempt her captains to play Constellation like a cruiser. She is not a cruiser.

Research

As a premium ship, Constellation has no module upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

There is no single optimum build for Constellation. Her guns can be optimized for close or long-range engagement, her utility consumables can be buffed, there is the ubiquitous survivability or 'tank' build, and secondary and AA builds are both reasonable.

Upgrades

The recommended basic upgrades are:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1 
Slot 3: Artillery Plotting Room Modification 1 for longer-range engagements
Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1

Alternatives:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party Modification 1 (special)
Slot 2: Surveillance Radar Modification 1 (special)
Slot 3: Main Battery Modification 2 for quicker reactions in closer-range engagements
Slot 3: Secondary Battery Modification 1 or AA Guns Modification 1 for specialized builds
Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 1 for increased agility
Slot 5: Torpedo Lookout System for closer-range engagements where concealment is not so important and torpedo soup more likely

Commander Skills

As with build themes, a wide variety of skills combination can be justified on this ship.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense
1	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type. ★	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance when firing at submarines.	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except: Damage Control Party , Repair Party . ★	Emergency Repair Specialist -3% cooldown time of Damage Control Party  and Repair Party . ★★	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning about a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5 km. ★★	Preventive Maintenance −30% chance of main armament, engines, steering becoming incapacitated +15% to HP of secondary and AA guns. ★
2	Grease the Gears +20% main turret traverse speed. ★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells. Base fire chance reduced by half.	Brisk So long as the ship remains undetected: +10% ship speed. ★★	Vigilance +25% detection range of enemy torpedoes +7% damage reduction of Torpedo Protection System. . ★	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★	AAA & ASW Expert +15% continuous AAA and flak damage . +10% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −40% ship consumables reload time.. ★
3	Super-Heavy AP Shells +7.5% AP shell damage −10% fire and flood damage received +25% fire and flood duration. ★★	Long-Range Secondary Battery Shells +20% secondary battery firing range. ★	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Basics of Survivability -15% repair, fire, and flooding duration. ★★	Improved Repair Party Readiness −0.8% reload time of Repair Party each time your ship receives potential damage equal to 100% of the ship's base HP. After receiving 2M HP potential damage: +1 charge of Repair Party .. ★	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.. ★
4	Furious 1st fire / flood −10% Main battery reload time 2nd etc. (up to 5), each −5% Main battery reload time ★★	Manual Secondary Battery Aiming −10% secondary battery reload time. −10% secondary battery dispersion. When firing at a manually selected target: dispersion gradually improves from -25% to -50%. ★	Close Quarters Combat -10% reload time of main battery if an enemy ship is spotted within secondary range. ★	Emergency Repair Expert Damage Control Party  and Repair Party : +1 charge (each). +10% action time . ★★★	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	Fire Prevention Expert -10% risk of fire. Three fires maximum. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Constellation can equip:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Repair Party 
Slot 3: Surveillance Radar  - 3 charges
Slot 4: Spotting Aircraft  - 4 charges or Catapult Fighter  - 3 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Constellation 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 .

Gallery

References

↑ This is particularly true for the U.S. and Royal Navies. In the Imperial German Navy the trend was to maintain armor and lighten armament.
↑ Although the US Navy designed and built 16"/50 Mark 2 guns expressly for the Lexington class battlecruisers, these are the 16"/45 Mk.5 guns from Colorado.
↑ Sigma is a measure of the tendency for shells to cluster toward the center of a salvo's dispersion area.

Ships of U.S.A.

Destroyers	II Sampson • II Smith • III Wickes • IV Clemson • V Nicholas • V Hill • VI Farragut • VI Monaghan • VII Mahan • VII Sims • VII Sims B • VIII Benson • VIII Kidd • IX Fletcher • IX Benham • IX Halford • IX Black B • IX Black • IX Johnston • IX Frank Friday • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • X [[Ship:[Gearing]\|[Gearing]]] • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Cruisers	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI [[Ship:Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)\|Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)]] • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII [[Ship:Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)\|Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)]] • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII [[Ship:New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)\|New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)]] • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX [[Ship:Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)\|Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)]] • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Jacksonville • ★ Annapolis
Battleships	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VII Colorado 2 • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII Tennessee • VIII North Carolina CLR • VIII Volunteer State • VIII North Carolina 2 • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • IX Iowa 2 • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • X BA Montana • X [[Ship:[Montana]\|[Montana]]] • X Montana 2 • X Utah • ★ Maine
Aircraft Carriers	IV [[Ship:Langley (< 23.01.2019)\|Langley (< 23.01.2019)]] • IV Langley • V [[Ship:Bogue (< 23.01.2019)\|Bogue (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI [[Ship:Independence (< 23.01.2019)\|Independence (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VII [[Ship:Ranger (< 23.01.2019)\|Ranger (< 23.01.2019)]] • VII [[Ship:Saipan (< 23.01.2019)\|Saipan (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII [[Ship:Lexington (< 23.01.2019)\|Lexington (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII [[Ship:Enterprise (< 23.01.2019)\|Enterprise (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • VIII AL Hornet • IX [[Ship:Essex (< 23.01.2019)\|Essex (< 23.01.2019)]] • X [[Ship:Midway (< 23.01.2019)\|Midway (< 23.01.2019)]] • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • X [[Ship:[Midway]\|[Midway]]] • ★ United States

Battleships

Netherlands
U.S.A.	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VII Colorado 2 • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII Tennessee • VIII North Carolina CLR • VIII Volunteer State • VIII North Carolina 2 • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • IX Iowa 2 • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • X BA Montana • X [[Ship:[Montana]\|[Montana]]] • X Montana 2 • X Utah • ★ Maine
Europe	V Viribus Unitis • VII Lugdunum • IX Karl XIV Johan • IX Niord
Germany	III Nassau • III Von der Tann • III König Albert • IV Kaiser • IV Moltke • V König • V Derfflinger • VI Bayern • VI Mackensen • VI Prinz Eitel Friedrich • VII Gneisenau • VII Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst • VII AL Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst B • VII Scharnhorst '43 • VIII Tirpitz • VIII Bismarck • VIII Zieten • VIII Odin • VIII Brandenburg • VIII Anhalt • VIII Brandenburg B • VIII Tirpitz B • VIII BA Tirpitz • IX Friedrich der Grosse • IX Prinz Rupprecht • IX Pommern • IX Pommern B • IX Prinz Sigismund • X Grosser Kurfürst • X Schlieffen • X Preussen • X Mecklenburg • X [[Ship:[Grosser Kurfürst]\|[Grosser Kurfürst]]] • ★ Hannover
U.S.S.R.	III Knyaz Suvorov • IV Imperator Nikolai I • IV Gangut • V Pyotr Velikiy • V Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya • VI Izmail • VI Novorossiysk • VII Sinop • VII Poltava • VIII Vladivostok • VIII Lenin • VIII Borodino • VIII V. I. Lenin • IX Sovetsky Soyuz • IX Navarin • IX AL Sov. Rossiya • X Kremlin • X Slava • ★ Admiral Ushakov
Italy	IV Dante Alighieri • V Conte di Cavour • V Giulio Cesare • VI Andrea Doria • VII Francesco Caracciolo • VIII Vittorio Veneto • VIII Roma • VIII AL Littorio • IX Lepanto • IX Marco Polo • IX Giuseppe Verdi • X Cristoforo Colombo • X Ruggiero di Lauria • X Sicilia • X Amerigo Vespucci
Pan-America	V Rio de Janeiro • VIII Ipiranga • VIII Atlântico • IX Los Andes • X Libertad • X Comodoro
Japan	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
U.K.	III Bellerophon • III Indefatigable • III Dreadnought • IV Orion • IV Queen Mary • V Iron Duke • V Tiger • V Agincourt • VI Warspite • VI Queen Elizabeth • VI Renown • VI Repulse • VI Repulse B • VII King George V • VII Rooke • VII Hood • VII Nelson • VII Duke of York • VII Collingwood • VII Renown '44 • VII Rodney • VIII Monarch • VIII Hawke • VIII Vanguard • IX Lion • IX Duncan • IX Marlborough • IX Scarlet Thunder • X Conqueror • X St. Vincent • X Thunderer • X Incomparable • X Cumberland • X [[Ship:[Conqueror]\|[Conqueror]]] • ★ Devastation
France	III Turenne • IV Courbet • V Bretagne • VI Normandie • VI Dunkerque • VI Dunkerque B • VII Lyon • VII Strasbourg • VIII Richelieu • VIII Gascogne • VIII Champagne • VIII Flandre • VIII Picardie • VIII [[Ship:[Richelieu]\|[Richelieu]]] • IX Alsace • IX Jean Bart • IX Jean Bart B • X République • X Bourgogne • ★ Patrie
Pan-Asia	VII Teng She • IX Bajie • IX Wujing • IX Sun Yat-Sen • IX Louchuan • IX Xuan Wu
Spain	IX Victoria
Commonwealth	VII Yukon

[1] This is particularly true for the U.S. and Royal Navies. In the Imperial German Navy the trend was to maintain armor and lighten armament.

[2] Although the US Navy designed and built 16"/50 Mark 2 guns expressly for the Lexington class battlecruisers, these are the 16"/45 Mk.5 guns from Colorado.

[3] Sigma is a measure of the tendency for shells to cluster toward the center of a salvo's dispersion area.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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Compatible Upgrades