Fletcher

12.8

Destroyer | U.S.A. | Tier IX

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IX

12,850,000

Fletcher — American Tier IX destroyer.

The outbreak of World War II led to the abolition of restrictions on the construction of new ships, and the U.S. Navy set out to design destroyers with increased displacement, which allowed for strengthening the AA and ASW defenses. Immediately after entering service, USS Fletcher joined patrol operations at Guadalcanal. The destroyer participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal and the Battle of Tassafaronga. Later, the ship escorted convoys and covered landing operations, including landings in the Philippines, Bataan, and Corregidor. During World War II, the ship was awarded 15 battle stars.

Four of the class are preserved as military museum ships: USS Cassin Young in Boston, Massachusetts; USS Kidd in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; USS The Sullivans in Buffalo, New York; and HNS Velos (ex-USS Charrette) in Athens, Greece.

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 ()
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.30 mod.0 mount	18	5.3	103	1,800	5	2,100		0	1,050,000

	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 ()
Fletcher (A)	13,900	13	20	5		9/3/5	2			0	1,400,000
Fletcher (B)	17,100	13	20	5		7/5	2			36,000	3,250,000

	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	0.5	122	7.2	16,633	55	9.2		0	1,470,000
Mk16 mod. 1	0.6	106	7.2	19,033	66	10.5		34,500	2,400,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk9 mod. 1		0		0	880,000
Mk9 mod. 2		0		22,500	1,850,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 60,000 hp	36.5		0	1,100,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5
Slot 6

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning. The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
For a graphic summary of ships Tiers VIII thru XI see LittleWhiteMouse's "Actual AA DPS".

Fletcher-class ships were workhorses of the United States Navy during World War II, and their legacy transfers well into World of Warships. Fletcher herself is, without question, the most flexible destroyer in the game. She can be tailored — via Commander Skills and Upgrades — to be a torpedo boat with good guns, or to be a murderous gunboat with above average torpedoes. She is also one of a handful of destroyers in the game with decent anti-aircraft armament in her top configuration.

Fletcher retains the same main battery as Benson. As with Benson, the ballistics of her guns make landing shells reliably on destroyers beyond 7 or 8 km problematic, but in close-quarters combat their sheer rate of fire will overwhelm most other destroyers. The primary upgrade, however, are to her torpedoes. They are faster-reloading and longer-ranged than the stock torpedoes carried over from Benson, and have the highest damage in the line. Most importantly, they gain a massive speed boost of 11 knots, putting them at just 1 knot below comparable Japanese torpedoes. The torpedoes are also still very stealthy, making them a massive threat to not only battleships but cruisers and other destroyers as well.

At Tier IX, Fletcher gains access to Upgrade Slot 6, allowing her captain to tailor her to a torpedo-centric build or a gun-centric build with relative ease.

There are only a handful of categories where Fletcher does not improve upon Benson, and they are relatively minor things (such as aerial detection radius). Without Defensive AA Fire 

equipped she's still vulnerable to enemy planes, and she's noticeably slower than Benson as well. Still, she's a significant upgrade from Tier VIII and a true joy to play — so much so that many players simply stop playing the line at Fletcher and never move on to Gearing.

Pros:

Excellent concealment.
Punishing main battery reload speed; Fletcher is capable of putting a lot of shells on target in a short amount of time.
Very fast turret rotation speed.
Fast and stealthy torpedoes deal more damage and reload faster than even Tier X Gearing.
Can equip the Defensive AA Fire  consumable.

Cons:

Fragile; engaging Russian and French destroyers at mid-range and beyond is inadvisable, and Fletcher remains vulnerable to cruisers of all tiers she will face.
As good as her torpedoes are, Yūgumo’s are still faster and pack more punch per hit.
Slower than Benson.
Upgraded torpedo range is still 6km shorter than Gearing’s.
While her anti-aircraft suite is a fair bit better than most destroyers, it will struggle to shoot down high tier planes.

Research

Availability of researchable upgrades for Fletcher is as follows:

Hull: Upgrade to Hull (B) for additional health, a stouter AA suite, and improved rudder shift time. Research of this module unlocks progression to Gearing.
Torpedoes: Not only do the Mk16 mod.1 torpedoes hit harder and travel faster and farther, but they reload more quickly.
Gun Fire Control System: Upgrade to Mk9 mod. 2 for an extra 10% range on the main battery.

Fletcher is likely to spend most of her time in close-combat with enemy destroyers, making Hull (B) the best upgrade to invest in first (for the extra hit points). The Mk16 mod. 1 torpedo upgrade should come next, as it is a drastic upgrade to her torpedo armament. The Fire Control System upgrade should be saved for last or skipped entirely.

Optimal Configuration

Fletcher is a highly flexible destroyer capable of being tailored in a variety of different ways. Most captains, however, will choose to focus on improving one of her main armaments to the maximum extent possible.

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Fletcher are:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection *
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1 *
Slot 4: Propulsion Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: See below.

Upgrade recommendations for Slots 1, 4, and 5 are fairly easy to make. Some captains will opt to embrace their role as an anti-aircraft escort and install AA Guns Modification 1 into Slot 3 and/or Defensive AA Fire Modification 1 into Slot 2. Ultimately, however, the upgrade chosen for Slot 6 — and the corresponding commander skills — will separate one Fletcher from another.

Torpedo Build: – Opt for Torpedo Tubes Modification 2 in Slot 6 to lower her torpedo reload time, for the Mark 16 launchers, to only 90 seconds. With commander skill Fill the Tubes, that drops to a scant 81 seconds. Given how hard her torpedoes hit and how fast they travel, this configuration can give even the vaunted Japanese destroyers a run for their money in the torpedo damage category.

Main Battery (Maximum Rate of Fire) Build: – Another solid choice for Fletcher in Slot 6 is Main Battery Modification 3 that drops the reload time of her main battery guns to 2.9 seconds (from a base of 3.3 seconds). (With such a fast turret traverse, the penalty is not significant.) Combined with Level 4 commander skill Fearless Brawler, when the ship is detected — as it will be in a knife fight — reload drops to 2.6 seconds.

Main Battery (Maximum Range) Build: – Some captains prefer to maximize the range of Fletcher’s main battery with Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 in the final upgrade slot. While this pushes her main battery range out to 15.0 km (with the Mk9 GFCS module), their ballistics make landing shells reliably on all but the slowest, largest ships at such range difficult.

The historical maximum firing range of the 5-inch/38 caliber guns aboard Fletcher was approximately 16.0 km. Captains opting for a max range build should equip either Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 OR take the Advanced Firing Training commander skill. Ordinarily these two would stack to give Fletcher’s guns a range approaching 18.0 km; however, the historical max range of her guns is correctly capped in-game and cannot be pushed past 16.3 km.

Commander Skills

Regardless of other choices, Fletcher commanders are strongly encouraged invest in Preventative Maintenance, Last Stand at Level 2, Survivability Expert at Level 3, and Concealment Expert at Level 4. Where points go after that depends on the chosen build.

For a Torpedo Build, Fill the Tubes at Level 3; for a Main Battery Build Main Battery & AA Specialist — and possibly Pyrotechnician. Captains concerned about enemy aircraft should invest in Main Battery & AA Specialist with November Echo Setteseven () signal flags.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack				Defense
1	Grease the Gears +15% main battery traverse speed.	Liquidator +30% chance (multiplicative) of causing flooding. ★★	Consumables Specialist -10% cooldown time of: Main Battery Reload Booster , Torpedo Reload Booster , Spotting Aircraft , Catapult Fighter , & Defensive AA Fire . ★	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type.	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. ★★★
2	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire. +15% to the damage-inflicting area of HE shells fired at submarines. ★	Swift Fish +5% torpedo speed. ★	Consumables Enhancements +10% action time of: Hydroacoustic Search , Surveillance Radar , Smoke Generator , & Engine Boost .	Extra-Heavy Ammunition +7.5% main battery AP shell damage. +10% damage from depth charges.	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies aiming at you with main battery. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver - slowly - while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★★★
3	Main Battery & AA Specialist -5% main battery reload time. +10% continuous AA damage. ★★	Fill the Tubes -10% torpedo tubes reload time. ★★	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells Base fire chance reduced by half.	Superintendent +1 charge to all consumables. ★	Survivability Expert +350 HP per ship tier. ★★★
4	Main Battery & AA Expert +20% main battery range. +15% flak damage. ★	Swift in Silence So long as the ship remains undetected: +8% ship speed +5% main battery reload time. ★★	Radio Location Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.. ★★	Fearless Brawler +1 flak burst per salvo. -10% main battery reload when ship is spotted.	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	Dazzle For 15 seconds after you are detected: +20% dispersion of enemy shells fired at you. ★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Fletcher can equip the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Smoke Generator 
Slot 3: Engine Boost  or Defensive AA Fire

Even if her captain doesn't sink any commander skill points or upgrades into improving her anti-aircraft suite, Defensive AA Fire  is recommended over Engine Boost  due to the threat that enemy aircraft pose.

Signals

Captains who have opted for a Torpedo Build Fletcher will want to equip a Juliet Whiskey Unaone () signal in order to maximize potential damage from torpedo hits. Throwing on a Sierra Mike () signal is an excellent way to help make up for the loss of speed from Benson. November Foxtrot () and Juliet Charlie () are also highly recommended. Main Battery Build Fletcher captains should also consider Victor Lima () and India X-Ray () to maximize the fire chance of her main battery shells.

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

A Fletcher succumbs to its wounds during the Succession League tournament.

Historical Info

References

The_Potato_Smasher's review on the NA forum.
USS Fletcher (DD-445) - Wikipedia
Fletcher-class destroyer - Wikipedia

Ship Change Log

See here for links to Update notes.

Added to the game from the very beginning (alpha version) as a Tier VIII destroyer.
Update 0.2.2.5:
- Moved to Tier IX.
Update 0.5.1:
- Torpedo parameters were changed (speed / reload time / range / damage):
  - Torpedoes Mark 14 mod. 3 (52 / 94 / 8.2 / 14500) replaced with Mark 15 mod. 3 (55 / 122 / 9.2 / 16633).
- Main battery reload time was reduced from 4.5 to 3.34 s.
Update 0.5.3:
- Credits earnings were increased +5%.
- Added permanent camouflage Type 16 - Fletcher.
Update 0.5.3.2:
- The Type 13 camouflage was renamed Type 16.
Update 0.5.7:
- The armored model of the hull was refined.
Update 0.6.3:
- Fixed minor visual bugs at low and medium settings.
Update 0.6.5:
- Improved the appearance of Tier IX ships with the use of a special technology for drawing thin elements (mainly rigging).
Update 0.6.6:
- Fixed errors in the armor thickness of decks. The values are change to be 19 mm.
Update 0.6.12:
- Detectability when firing main guns in smoke changed to 2.75 km.
Update 0.6.13:
- The efficiency of the Defensive Fire consumable was increased. Now it increases the power of the aura by four times (instead of three).
- Fire extinguishing time now 30 s instead of 60 s.
- Hull A: superstructure durability decreased by 100 hitpoints. The change does not affect the HP of the ship in any way.
- The survivability of air defense weapons was tested and brought to a single standard. The change affects 40mm guns.
Update 0.7.7:
- For 127mm AP / SC Mk38 armor-piercing shells, the detonation time of the fuse was reduced from 0.03 to 0.01 s.
Update 0.9.4:
- Defensive fire consumable now available on all hulls.
Update 0.9.6:
- The bonus to the permanent AA aura damage by the Defensive AA Fire consumable was increased from +50% to +75%.
- The value of the in-game turning circle radius was changed to 560 m to correct prior discrepancy.
Update 0.9.7:
- The bonus to the permanent AA aura damage of the Defensive AA Fire consumable was increased from +75% to +100%.
Update 0.10.3:
- The stock hull was replaced with a new one, created on the basis of the researchable hull with a modified air defense composition.
Update 0.11.5
- Ship's 3D model changed, resulting in:
  - 0.02 m increase in draught.
  - 0.1 m decrease in hull height.
  - 0.1 m decrease in total length.
  - 0.16 m decrease in waterline hull width.
  - 0.1 m decrease in maximum hull width.
- Aiming sector of the second torpedo launcher decreased by 4 degrees on each side.
- The conning tower is now included in the superstructure plating and has the same armor thickness of 13 mm.
- The amount of HP in the bow of Hull A decreased from 1,800 to 1,600.
- The amount of HP in superstructures of Hull A increased from 1,000 to 1,200.
- The Defensive AA Fire consumable added to the slot alongside Engine Boost on Hull A.
- The amount of HP in the bow of Hull B decreased from 2,200 to 2,000.
- The amount of HP in superstructures of Hull B increased from 1,300 to 1,500.
Update 0.11.6:
- Minor improvements to the models and textures of the ship.
- Fixed the model of the ship with the Gold Bug permanent camouflage mounted.
Update 0.11.7:
- Fixed the geometry and textures of the ship.
- Fixed the geometry and textures of the Gold Bug permanent camouflage.

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 • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • ★ 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 Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • 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 • ★ 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 • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • ★ Maine
Aircraft Carriers	IV Langley • VI Ranger • VIII Lexington • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • X Essex • ★ United States

Destroyers

Japan	II Tachibana • II Umikaze • II Tachibana Lima • III Wakatake • IV Isokaze • V Minekaze • V Fūjin • V Kamikaze • V Kamikaze R • V Mutsuki • VI Fubuki • VI Hatsuharu • VI Shinonome B • VI Shinonome • VII Akatsuki • VII Shiratsuyu • VII Yūdachi • VIII Akizuki • VIII Kagerō • VIII Asashio • VIII HSF Harekaze II • VIII Asashio B • VIII HSF Harekaze • VIII AL Yukikaze • IX Yūgumo • IX Kitakaze • IX STAR Kitakaze • X Shimakaze • X Harugumo • X Hayate • ★ Yamagiri
U.S.A.	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 • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • ★ Joshua Humphreys
U.K.	II Medea • III Valkyrie • III Campbeltown • IV Wakeful • V Acasta • VI Icarus • VI Gallant • VII Jervis • VIII Lightning • VIII Cossack • VIII Cossack B • IX Jutland • IX Somme • X Daring • X Druid
France	II Enseigne Gabolde • III Fusilier • IV Bourrasque • V Jaguar • V Siroco • VI Guépard • VI Aigle • VII Vauquelin • VIII Le Fantasque • VIII Le Terrible • IX Mogador • X Kléber • X Marceau • X Kléber CLR
U.S.S.R.	II Storozhevoi • III Derzki • IV Izyaslav • V Gremyashchy • V Podvoisky • V Okhotnik • VI Gnevny • VII Minsk • VII Leningrad • VII Tashkent '39 • VIII Ognevoi • VIII Kiev • IX Udaloi • IX Tashkent • IX Neustrashimy • X Khabarovsk • X Grozovoi • X Delny • ★ Zorkiy
Germany	II V-25 • III G-101 • IV V-170 • V T-22 • VI Ernst Gaede • VI T-61 • VI Karl von Schönberg • VII Leberecht Maass • VII Z-31 • VII Z-39 • VIII Z-23 • VIII Gustav-Julius Maerker • VIII Z-35 • IX Z-46 • IX Felix Schultz • IX Z-44 • IX ZF-6 • X Z-52 • X Elbing • X Z-42
Pan-Asia	II Longjiang • III Phra Ruang • IV Shenyang • V Jianwei • VI Fushun • VI Anshan • VII Gadjah Mada • VIII Hsienyang • VIII Siliwangi • VIII Loyang • VIII Fenyang • VIII Loyang B • VIII Ship Smasha • IX Chung Mu • X Yueyang • X Lüshun • ★ Kunming
Europe	II Tátra • III Romulus • IV Klas Horn • V Visby • V Muavenet • VI Västerås • VI Stord • VII Skåne • VII Grom • VII Błyskawica • VIII Öland • VIII Split • VIII Orkan • IX Östergötland • IX Lambros Katsonis • IX Velos • IX Friesland • IX Jäger • X Halland • X Gdańsk • X Småland • X Ragnar • ★ Dalarna
Italy	II Curtatone • III Nazario Sauro • IV Turbine • V Maestrale • VI Aviere • VI Leone • VII Luca Tarigo • VII FR25 • VIII Vittorio Cuniberti • IX Adriatico • IX Paolo Emilio • X Attilio Regolo
Netherlands	IX Groningen • X Tromp
Commonwealth	III Vampire • VII Haida • VII Huron • X Vampire II
Spain	X Álvaro de Bazán
Pan-America	VI Juruá

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