Dresden

13.9

Dresden

Cruiser | Germany | Tier II

Tech Tree Position

stock

 top

General

Research price100 exp

Purchase price67,300

Hit Points15,800

Main Battery

105 mm/40 SK C/04 on an MPL C/04 mount10 х 1 pcs.

Rate of Fire12 shots/min.

Reload Time5 sec.

Rotation Speed10 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time18 sec.

Firing Range9.92 km.

Maximum Dispersion108 m.

HE Shell105 mm Spr.Gr. L/3.85

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,200

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell4 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity710 m./s.

HE Shell Weight17.5 kg.

AP Shell105 mm P.Spr.Gr.

Maximum AP Shell Damage2,300

Initial AP Shell Velocity710 m./s.

AP Shell Weight17.4 kg.

AA Defense

7.92 mm MG 08 machine gun4 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second6.8

. . . Firing Range0.99 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed25 knot

Turning Circle Radius420 m.

Rudder Shift Time6.9 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range9.26 km.

Air Detectability Range3.62 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

13.9

Dresden

Cruiser | Germany | Tier II

Tech Tree Position

stock

 top

General

Research price100 exp

Purchase price67,300

Hit Points17,100

Main Battery

105 mm/40 SK C/04 on an MPL C/04 mount12 х 1 pcs.

Rate of Fire12 shots/min.

Reload Time5 sec.

Rotation Speed10 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time18 sec.

Firing Range10.91 km.

Maximum Dispersion108 m.

HE Shell105 mm Spr.Gr. L/3.85

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,200

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell4 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity710 m./s.

HE Shell Weight17.5 kg.

AP Shell105 mm P.Spr.Gr.

Maximum AP Shell Damage2,300

Initial AP Shell Velocity710 m./s.

AP Shell Weight17.4 kg.

AA Defense

7.92 mm MG 08 machine gun4 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second6.8

. . . Firing Range0.99 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed25 knot

Turning Circle Radius420 m.

Rudder Shift Time4.9 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range9.26 km.

Air Detectability Range3.62 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

II

67,300

Dresden — German Tier II cruiser.

After building small ships equipped with steam engines, Germany began producing warships featuring turbines. During World War I, SMS Dresden, the lead ship of the new class, saw action in the Battle of Coronel as part of von Spee's squadron and in the Battle of the Falkland Islands, where she was the only German warship to escape destruction. Dresden raided the South Atlantic and Pacific until she was intercepted by British cruisers. In the battle that followed, the ship was scuttled, and the crew escaped to be interned in Chile for the duration of the war.

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 ()
105 mm/40 SK C/04 on an MPL C/04 mount	12	18	108	1,200	4	2,300		0	8,000

	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 ()
Dresden (A)	15,800	6	100	10		4				0	12,500
Dresden (B)	17,100	6	100	12		4				360	38,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
FKS Typ 2 Mod. 1		0		0	6,000
FKS Typ 2 Mod. 2		0		230	25,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 18,800 hp	25		0	3,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1

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.

The German cruiser line truly begins here at Tier II with Dresden. Along with Tier III's Kolberg, she is something of an anomaly in the overall context of the branch in that both ships will spend most of their time firing high-explosive shells at enemy cruisers and destroyers.

This ship, and her successor Kolberg, are well known for being an oddity in the German cruiser branch. While all German tech tree cruisers from Tier 7 and up are heavy cruisers, Dresden Kolberg barely qualify as light cruisers. In fact, they are more like gunboat destroyers. While she does have guns so small that higher-tier German ships use (a variant) of them as flak guns, Dresden can spew out an endless machine-gun stream of shells. That said, she can't do any damage whatsoever. Her AP shells are light and slow, with bad firing arcs, meaning they are worthless. Her HE shells are very bad, as is characteristic of German HE shells. With their 1/4 penetration values, Dresden will need to target destroyers or the superstructure of other ships to deal direct damage, with very few exceptions. However, HE shells still start fires, even if they don't penetrate. Additionally, since she will be meeting low-tier players who have poor DCP discipline, (excluding the seal-clubbers) she can burn everything to a crisp - except destroyers, who die so fast they don't have time to catch fire. She has low survivability, and poor maneuverability, but her speed is usable. She has horrible firing range and arcs, but accuracy doesn't matter when the whole map is raining shells.

Overall, Dresden is an oddity - something you will only find at low tiers. She is a small, fragile, protected cruiser, with bad maneuverability and usable speed. However, with a stupid number of guns (comparable to the Tier 3 St. Louis or Bogatyr) and a machine-gun rate of fire (each gun capable of outputting 15 rounds per minute) she can melt destroyers and burn anything larger to a well-done steak. Play her to her strengths and she is still average or below-average, but a ton of fun to use, and a great hinderance to enemies, which will vastly help your team. And winning battles gets you out of her faster. Very few players will spend more than a few battles in Dresden, which makes it easy to only see a part of what she truly is - a fragile machine-gun firing mostly worthless bullets. Destroyers stand no chance against her, but most everything else is a serious threat, given her poor penetration values, poor survivability, maneuverability, and fire chances. Stay with allies, so you can be continuously firing without having to weather retaliation.

Pros:

• Even bad, small HE shells can start fires - a swarm of bees will kill a bear.
• Most barrels of any Tier II cruiser; roughly comparable to Tier III's Bogatyr or St. Louis.
• On the fast side for Tier II cruiser.
• Given her ROF and gun count, she can machine-gun everything
• Destroyers die so fast they don't have time to catch fire.

Cons:

• Shortest firing range of all Tier II cruisers found in the regular tech tree.
• HE shells do extremely small amounts of damage and AP is practically worthless.
• Large turning radius for a ship her size makes dodging torpedoes a challenge.
• High shell arc.
• When dealing with same-tier or higher-tier ships (other than destroyers) she is restricted to firing at the superstructure or waiting for DoT effects to take their toll.

Research

Availability of researchable upgrades for Dresden is as follows:

• Hull: Upgrade to Hull (B) for more health, faster rudder shift time, and more main battery guns.
• Gun Fire Control System: Upgrade to FKS Typ 2 Mod. 2 for an extra 10% range on the main battery.
• Propulsion: There is no propulsion module upgrade, but access to the beginning of the German destroyer branch (V-25) stems from here.

Hull (B) is the top upgrade priority; not only does it increase Dresden’s health pool, but she gains one more barrel in each broadside. Pick up the Fire Control System range upgrade second.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Dresden are as follows:

• Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 *

Dresden only has access to Upgrade Slot 1. Given the bare handful of games most captains will spend in her this is a fairly minor upgrade; either Main Armaments Modification 1 or Magazine Modification 1 are recommended.

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

Dresden can equip the following consumables:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party 

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation. ★	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. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.	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 .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

Historical Info

SMS Dresden, 1908

Construction

Builder: Blohm & Voss Shipbuilding; Hamburg, Germany

Laid down: 1906

Launched: 5 October 1907

Commissioned: 14 November 1908

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Specifications

3,664 tons displacement, standard

117.9m length

13.5m beam

5.5m draft

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Machinery

12 boilers, 4 turbines

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Performance

24 knots at 15,000 shaft horsepower

3,600 nautical miles at 14 knots

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Armor

Decks: 20-30m

Gunshields: 50mm

Conning tower: 100mm

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Armament

Main

Ten (10x1) 105mm gun

Secondary

Ten (10x1) 52mm guns

Torpedoes

Two (2x1) 457mm submerged torpedo tubes

The light cruiser Dresden passes through the Kiel Canal, 1910.

History

Design

Laid down in at the Blohm and Voss yards in Hamburg in 1906, SMS Dresden was launched on 5 October 1907 and commissioned into the German High Seas Fleet in November 1908. She was one of five large cruisers ordered following the passage of one of the amendments to Alfred von Tirpitz’s original fleet plans drafted in 1898. Armed with ten (10) 105mm guns, she and her sister ship Emden had a twofold role in the High Seas Fleet: to serve as advance scouts and escorts when sailing with friendly capital ships, or to act against enemy commercial shipping when operating independently.

Service

By early 1914, Dresden found herself operating in the Caribbean Sea, representing German interests in the area. The Mexican governments of the era were fairly unstable, and she spent much of her time occupied with assisting friendly-flagged vessels in Mexican ports or ferrying German citizens out of the country. In mid-July she transported the recently deposed Mexican president to Jamaica, where the British had granted him asylum. She was scheduled to return to Germany for refit and overhaul, but upon arriving in Jamaica learned of the mounting tensions in Europe that culminated with the Austrian declaration of war against Serbia on 28 July.

Three days later, Dresden was advised that war was imminent and ordered to operate independently, raiding enemy commerce where possible. She turned southward and made for the Brazilian and Argentinian coasts. She had limited success as a merchant raider — largely due to a dearth of targets — and in September received orders to round Cape Horn and link up with the German East Asia Squadron under the command of Vizeadmiral Maximilian von Spee. Dresden complied, rendezvousing with von Spee off Easter Island in October 1914. Dresden saw action in two battles against the Royal Navy under von Spee’s command, emerging victorious at the Battle of Coronel in November, but her squadron fared worse during the Battle of the Falkland Islands the following month: Dresden was the only German ship to escape destruction.

She evaded the British fleet for the remainder of the local summer, continuing to raid enemy shipping while nearly a dozen Royal Navy units hunted for her. She put in at an island off the Chilean coast for coaling and repairs in mid-March 1915, where Fregattenkapitän Fritz Lüdecke — low on coal and spare parts for his boilers — made the decision to intern his ship and crew in Chile for the remainder of hostilities. Unfortunately for Lüdecke, Dresden was discovered by a force of British cruisers the following morning. Whether she was sunk by enemy action or scuttled by her crew is a matter of some debate, but whatever occurred, 15 March 1915 marked the end of Dresden’s participation in World War I.

Today, the remains of SMS Dresden lie in 70 meters of water near Robinson Crusoe Island, 400 miles west of Valparaiso, Chile. In 2006, the ship’s bell was recovered by a team of Chilean and German divers. The Republic of Chile restored it, and subsequently presented it to Germany in November 2008 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship’s commissioning. It is on display at the Museum of the German Armed Forces in Dresden, Germany.

Historical Gallery

• 

  Line-drawing of the Dresden class.

• 

  Dresden visiting New York City in October 1909.

• 

  Dresden, Victoria Louise, and Hertha during the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in 1909.

• 

  Dresden at anchor, probably before the war.

• 

  Dresden, flying a white flag in the moments prior to sinking, 15 March 1915.

References

1. SMS Dresden (1907) - Wikipedia
2. Dresden-class cruiser - Wikipedia

Ship Change Log

See here for links to Update notes.

• Available for testing by supertesters in the game starting from Update 0.4.0.4.
• Update 0.5.0:
  • The "Secondary armament modification 1" module was removed.
• Introduced into the game as a researchable ship in Update 0.5.0.3.
• Update 0.5.1:
  • AP shells armor penetration was increased.
• Update 0.5.2:
  • Experience earnings increased +7%.
  • Credit earnings increased +6%.
• Update 0.5.8:
  • The hull armored model was refined.
• Update 0.5.16:
  • The position of the side lights on the bow of the ship was corrected.
• Update 0.6.3:
  • Base firing range increased from 8,110 to 9,920 m.
• Update 0.6.9:
  • Improved appearance with the use of a special technology for improved rendering of thin elements (rigging).
• Update 0.6.12:
  • Detectability when firing main guns in smoke changed to 3.4 km.
• Update 0.6.13:
  • Fire extinguishing time now 30 s instead of 60 s.
• Update 0.7.6:
  • The turning circle radius displayed in port was changed from 580 m to 420 m.
• Update 0.7.9:
  • Main battery reload time increased from 4.0 to 5.0 s.
• Update 0.10.9:
  • Ship flag was changed to Kaiserliche Marine flag for historical reasons.
• Update 12.5:
  • The penetration of HE shells fired by 105 mm main battery guns has been increased from 18 to 26 mm.

Ships of Germany

Cruisers