Fletcher
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.30 mod.0 mount5 х 1 pcs. |
Rate of Fire17.96 shots/min. |
Reload Time3.34 sec. |
Rotation Speed34 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time5.29 sec. |
Firing Range11.77 km. |
Maximum Dispersion103 m. |
HE Shell127 mm HE Mk32 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage1,800 |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 % |
Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m./s. |
HE Shell Weight24.5 kg. |
AP Shell127 mm AP/SC Mk38 |
Maximum AP Shell Damage2,100 |
Initial AP Shell Velocity792 m./s. |
AP Shell Weight25 kg. |
533 mm Mk152 х 5 pcs. |
Rate of Fire0.49 shots/min. |
Reload Time122 sec. |
Rotation Speed25 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time7.2 sec. |
TorpedoMk15 mod. 3 |
Maximum Damage16,633 |
Torpedo Speed55 knot |
Torpedo Range9.15 km. |
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.30 mod.0 mount5 х 1 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second53.5 |
. . . Firing Range5.01 km. |
40 mm/56 Bofors on a Mk.1 mount3 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second33.9 |
. . . Firing Range3.51 km. |
20 mm Oerlikon on a Mk.4 mount9 х 1 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second32.4 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
Maximum Speed36.5 knot |
Turning Circle Radius560 m. |
Rudder Shift Time4.5 sec. |
Surface Detectability Range7.16 km. |
Air Detectability Range3.24 km. |
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
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
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.
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.
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 | |||||
![]() ★★★ |
![]()
|
![]()
|
![]() ★ |
![]() ★★ |
![]() ★★ |
![]() ★★ |
![]()
|
![]() ★★ |
![]() ★★★ |
![]() ★★★ |
![]()
|
![]()
|
![]()
|
Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.
Gallery
Historical Info
Historical Gallery
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.
- Torpedo parameters were changed (speed / reload time / range / damage):
- 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.
- Ship's 3D model changed, resulting in:
- 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.