Gearing
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.38 mount3 х 2 pcs. |
Rate of Fire20 shots/min. |
Reload Time3 sec. |
Rotation Speed25 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time7.2 sec. |
Firing Range11.12 km. |
Maximum Dispersion98 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 Fire0.58 shots/min. |
Reload Time103 sec. |
Rotation Speed25 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time7.2 sec. |
TorpedoMk16 mod. 1 |
Maximum Damage19,033 |
Torpedo Speed66 knot |
Torpedo Range10.5 km. |
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.38 mount3 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second45.3 |
. . . Firing Range5.01 km. |
40 mm/56 Bofors on a Mk.1 mount2 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second22.6 |
. . . Firing Range3.51 km. |
20 mm Oerlikon on a Mk.4 mount12 х 1 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second43.2 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
40 mm/56 Bofors on a Mk.2 mount2 х 4 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second31.8 |
. . . Firing Range3.51 km. |
Maximum Speed36 knot |
Turning Circle Radius640 m. |
Rudder Shift Time3.3 sec. |
Surface Detectability Range7.56 km. |
Air Detectability Range3.41 km. |
Gearing — American Tier X destroyer.
Developed from the Fletcher class, Gearing was the largest destroyer built by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The ship was superior in firepower to all foreign counterparts, owing to new dual-purpose twin mounts with a very high rate of fire. Numerous automatic AA guns ensured a respective level of efficiency for her AA defenses.
Five of the class are preserved as military museum ships: USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. in Fall River, Massachusetts; ROKS Jeon Ju (ex-USS Rogers) in Dangjin, South Korea; ROCS Te Yang (ex-USS Sarsfield) in Tainan City, Taiwan; TCG Gayret (ex-USS Eversole) in Izmit, Turkey; and USS Orleck in Jacksonville, Florida.
Modules
Compatible Upgrades
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Slot 2 | ![]() |
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Slot 3 | ![]() |
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Slot 4 | ![]() |
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Slot 5 | ![]() |
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Slot 6 | ![]() |
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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".
As the Tier X American destroyer, Gearing represents the ultimate embodiment of the jack-of-all-trades destroyer in World of Warships.
Like all American destroyers, the primary focus is her main battery guns. Gearing is built around the same style of dual barrel 127mm turrets that form the main battery of Atlanta and Flint, as well as the secondary batteries of North Carolina, Iowa, and Montana. Gearing packs three such turrets, with a stock reload speed of 3.0 seconds. Although she cannot out-trade dedicated gunboats, Gearing’s main battery DPM affords her a powerful self-defense and deterrent against other destroyers, in addition to a tool for farming battleships that push into Gearing’s (albeit limited) range. American captains can expect the same limited range and long shell flight times that are the characteristic of other ships of the nation.
Gearing has a choice of torpedoes. Captains who are comfortable using Fletcher;s Mark 16 mod. 1 torpedoes can continue to do so, while the Mark 17's are the among the longest-legged fish in the game, clocking in at a 16.5 km range. Captains are unlikely to land many hits at that distance, but it gives Gearing the ability to threaten enemy ships from well beyond the range of her main battery. The Mark 17's are equally as difficult for opposing ships to spot as the Mark 16's, despite doing slightly less damage and sporting a longer reload. Gearing’s access to Upgrade Slot 6 gives her the same choice Fletcher has between a couple of Main Battery Builds or a Torpedo Build when customizing her upgrades and commander skills.
Like Fletcher, Gearing can equip the Defensive AA Fire consumable, which helps shore up the traditional destroyer weakness to enemy air strikes. Unfortunately, she shares this slot with her Engine Boost
, meaning that captains wishing to build for anti-aircraft capability will have to consider relegating her to her unimpressive base top speed. Her anti-aircraft suite is otherwise unremarkable. Veteran American destroyer captains will also notice that Gearing handles differently than Benson and Fletcher; she's slightly slower to respond to rudder commands and has a noticeably larger turning radius. This makes her more challenging to handle in tight quarters or when dodging torpedoes. Captains should allow for some adjustment time in learning how Gearing handles differently before intentionally putting her into situations where precision handling is expected.
One notable curiosity about her armor scheme: Gearing sports an area of 21mm armor around her midsection, up from the 19 mm typical of destroyers of her tier. This is sufficient to shatter enemy high-explosive shells lower than 126mm in caliber. However, given that most of the destroyers Gearing will face will penetrate 21mm with their high-explosive, this plating no longer affords Gearing meaningful protection against destroyer HE. The combination of this plating as well as the wide beam of the ship also allows most destroyer-caliber main battery armor-piercing ammunition to arm within the ship as opposed to clean over=penetrations.
Despite having below average top speed for her tier, Gearing can adapt to changing battlefield situations in ways capable of making captains of other destroyers jealous.Pros:
- Gearing's midsection belt is 21mm thick, enough to shatter HE shells of 120mm and lower calibers
- Excellent main battery rate of fire and traverse speed
- Excellent torpedo range with the Mark 17 torpedoes (16.5km)
- Fairly good AA defenses for a destroyer
- Like preceding USN destroyers, Gearing has access to the Defensive AA Fire
consumable
- Decent concealment
- Combined with all relevant upgrades, the ship's unique upgrade makes Gearing one of the stealthiest Tier 10 destroyers
Cons:
- The thicker midsection makes Gearing more vulnerable to AP full penetrations
- Shortest main battery range among Tier 10 destroyers (even shorter than Fletcher!
- Poor shell velocity, very high shell arcs and low HE fire chance
- The Mark 17 torpedoes have a longer reload, lower damage, and lower flooding chance than the stock torpedoes
- Must give up Engine Boost
to equip Defensive AA Fire
- Gearing is fairly sluggish compared to other USN destroyers
Research
Availability of researchable upgrades for Gearing is as follows:
- Torpedoes: The Mk17 torpedoes reload much slower and don't hit quite as hard, but travel significantly farther and are just as hard to detect as the Mk16 mod 1's.
Optimal Configuration
Similar to Benson and Fletcher, Gearing can be tailored to maximize either her torpedo armament or main battery guns. Most players will opt to maximize the damage output of her main battery given that this is already her strongest armament.
Upgrades
The recommended upgrades for Gearing are fairly obvious choices, and largely self-explanatory:
- 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.
Slot 3 offers either Aiming Systems Modification 1 or Torpedo Tubes Modification 1
, none of them are bad choices. Torpedo Tubes Modification 1 in this slot will help counteract some of the negative effects of equipping Torpedo Tubes Modification 2
in Slot 6.
Slot 5 offers the default option of Concealment System Modification 1, while players who sink the time into obtaining Gearing’s unique upgrade, Improved Hull Concealment (), may opt to install it as well. It offers greater concealment bonuses than Concealment System Modification 1
, but also decreases the reload speed of main guns, shifting the ship more towards the usage of stealth and torpedoes. It does not exclude the relevant choice in Slot 6 though, so the negative effects can be offset by the upgrade chosen for that slot.
The upgrade chosen for Slot 6 will largely determine how Gearing plays.
Main Battery (Maximum Rate of Fire) Build: One popular build for Gearing captains is to stack buffs to her main battery rate of fire. From an upgrade perspective, this means plugging Main Battery Modification 3 into the final upgrade slot; when paired with Level 3 commander skill Basic Firing Training, it drops her reload speed to a mind-numbing 2.4 seconds.
Torpedo Build: A less popular — but no less potent — Gearing build is to buff her torpedo reload time by stacking Torpedo Tubes Modification 2 in Slot 6 with the Level 3 commander skill Torpedo Armament Expertise. Combined, these upgrades significantly improve Gearing’s torpedo reload time.
Commander Skills
The following information is provided for players who wish to create a permanent captain for the ship. Those players who are retraining captains or using the ship to gain extra experience for a captain should consult the page relevant to the ship to which the captain will be assigned.
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Cost (points) |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful |
Consumables
Gearing can equip the following consumables:
- Slot 1: Damage Control Party
- Slot 2: Smoke Generator
- Slot 3: Engine Boost
or Defensive AA Fire
Defensive AA Fire is not recommended over Engine Boost
due to the ship's mediocre AA.
Camouflage
Gearing can mount any expendable camo. Players who wish to spend doubloons can equip her with Type 20 permanent camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, halves her service cost, increases her credit earnings, and increases the amount of experience she earns.
Signals
Captains who have opted for a Torpedo Build Gearing will want to equip a Juliet Whiskey Unaone () signal in order to maximize potential damage from torpedo hits. Throwing on a Sierra Mike (
) is an excellent way to help make up for her slow top speed. November Foxtrot (
) and Juliet Charlie (
) are also highly recommended, if available. Main Battery Build Gearing captains should also consider Victor Lima (
) and India X-Ray (
) signals to increase the fire chance of her main battery shells.
Recommended Signal Flags ![]() | |||||
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Economic | |||||
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Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful |
Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.
Gallery
Historical Info
Historical Gallery
References
External Links