Gustav Julius Maerker

13.10

Destroyer | Germany | Tier VIII

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VIII

9,000,000

Gustav-Julius Maerker — German Tier VIII destroyer.

A large destroyer designed to act as an ocean-going raider or scout within a raider ship formation (Type 1937). The ship was developed in the late 1930s, and was to be equipped with powerful artillery.

Gustav-Julius Maerker was first available during Update 0.10.5 on 17th Jun 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 ()
150 mm/55 Tbts KC/36 on a Tbts LC/36 mount	9.8	22.5	56	1,800	12	3,700		0	900,000

	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 ()
Gustav-Julius Maerker (A)	20,400	6	25	5		8/4	2/1			0	1,350,000
Gustav-Julius Maerker (B)	22,300	6	25	5		8/4	2/1			33,000	2,100,000

	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 ()
G7 T1 Ausf. B	0.7	90	7.2	16,533	50	12		0	900,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
FKS Typ 8 Mod. 1		0		0	900,000
FKS Typ 8 Mod. 2		0		22,000	1,400,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 90,360 hp	36		0	900,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Gustav-Julius Maerker is a Tier VIII German destroyer armed with 150mm guns, and the point where the German alternative DD line truly branches off. In terms of pure size, the Maerker is absolutely massive, with a length and tonnage approaching that of a small light cruiser. This size defines the Maerker and the way she plays compared to her peers.

The Maerker's size makes her ungainly and hard to hide -- her detection of 7.76km is sixth-worst in tier, and her maneuverability is among the worst, with the worst turning radius at 760m and the second-worst rudder shift at 5.5s, only beating the Akizuki's concrete rudder by a tenth of a second. Dodging shots and lurking around the fringes of other ships' detection are not high on the Maerker's list. Her top speed of 36 knots is respectable but not outstanding compared to her destroyer competition, and while her anti-aircraft DPS is good at medium and short range, she lacks any long-range flak capability, restricting her actual AA range to 3.5km -- though as this is less than her air detectability at 4.36km, there is no reason to turn it off compared to other destroyers.

On the flip side, however, the Maerker's size gives her the largest health pool of any Tier 8 destroyer by far, with over 2000 points over the nearest competition and 8000 over her most fragile competitor in the Oland. The Maerker's side plating is also thick for a destroyer, allowing her to better resist enemy HE fire and out-muscle enemy destroyers. Furthermore, while her innate stealth is not great, the Maerker's Smoke Generator is better than that of her cousin Z-23, on par for the tier with the Japanese and Soviet smokescreens.

Maerker is the rare destroyer that wants to emphasize its AP, thanks to her six-inch guns. While her HE is the worst among destroyers in the entire tier both in single-salvo damage and sustained DPM, her AP is the best at a terrifying 18,000 damage per salvo, and its penetration is comparable to that of the British Edinburgh (though without Edinburgh's hair-trigger fuse time). Its slow rate of reload and glacial turret traverse does make using this difficult, but are offset by extremely high accuracy and a near best-in-tier shell speed that make landing what shots she gets off easier and more reliable.

This combination of factors allows her to use AP on destroyers with reasonable results. However, it also allows her to threaten enemy light cruisers, whose lightly armored citadels she can demolish in short order.

Finally, the Maerker's torpedo armament is difficult to use but potent if mastered. At 50 knots, her torpedoes are the slowest in the entire tier, even more than the Italians or the Kidd's. However, she carries eight of them in a Mahan-style split battery with one quad centerline launcher and two wing single launchers. In addition, her torpedo range of 12km is among the best in the tier, and the high damage of the individual torpedoes combined with a reasonable reload speed of 90 seconds means her overall fish DPS is very competitive. As such, the Maerker can keep up sustained torpedo fire from a distance, wheeling around or swerving to deliver follow-up shots from her split wing launchers.

As a result, the G.J. Maerker is an odd mid-point between destroyers and cruisers, suffering from not having the true strengths of either but being able to reasonably engage both. Her poor maneuverability, mediocre detectability, lack of Hydroacoustic Search, slow reload, and terrible HE shells makes engaging other destroyers at close quarters a bad idea; however, her high health pool, tough sides, and highly accurate guns mean she can hit them reliably while taking less damage from their return fire at range. Against cruisers, she lacks their health pool, armor, or DPS; however, she can outstealth them, outmaneuver them (at least in terms of rudder shift and acceleration), and pose a serious threat with her AP to their citadels while presenting none in return.

The Maerker is, on the whole, a standoffish ship, and one that struggles at traditional DD roles such as forward scouting and contesting caps. It wants time and distance to bring its strengths to bear; if given them, however, it can put out reliable and significant damage.

Pros:

Large health pool at tier VIII compared to other DDs
Tough side plating
AP shell have high damage
Improved AA armament
Torpedoes have long range
Smoke Generator’s smoke lasts longer than Z-23’s

Cons:

Lack of Hydroacoustic Search
Slow torpedoes
Near-worst maneuverability for tier
High detectability for tier
Horrible HE shells

Research

Researchable upgrades for Gustav-Julius Maerker is as follows:

Hull: Upgrade to Hull (B) for a larger health pool, improved maneuverability, and especially better AA. Research of this module unlocks progress toward IX Felix Schultz.
Gun Fire Control System: Upgrade to FKS Typ 8 Mod.2 for an extra 10% range on the main battery.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

Recommended upgrades for Gustav-Julius Maerker:

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  *

Because of the lack of hydro-acoustic search capability, and if primarily firing at range, a Torpedo Lookout System might prove more useful. Also consider Steering Gears Modification 2 .

Commander Skills

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 −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 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	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. * +8% ship speed.
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Gustav-Julius Maerker equips:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Smoke Generator  – 3 charges
Slot 3: Engine Boost  – 3 charges

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

References

Ships of Germany

Destroyers	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 • VII Z-32 • VII Z-33 • VII Z-34 • VII Z-38 • 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 • X Georg Hoffmann • X Lübeck
Cruisers	I Hermelin • II Dresden • II Emden • III Kolberg • IV Karlsruhe • V Königsberg • VI Nürnberg • VI Admiral Graf Spee • VI Leipzig • VI HSF Admiral Graf Spee • VII Yorck • VII München • VII Weimar • VIII Admiral Hipper • VIII Prinz Eugen • VIII Mainz • VIII Schill • VIII Mainz B • VIII Cross of Dorn • VIII Wiesbaden • IX Roon • IX Siegfried • IX Ägir • IX Admiral Schröder • IX Roon CLR • IX AL Ägir • X Hindenburg • X Hildebrand • X [[Ship:[Hindenburg]\|[Hindenburg]]] • ★ Clausewitz
Battleships	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
Aircraft Carriers	IV Rhein • VI Weser • VI Erich Loewenhardt • VIII August von Parseval • VIII [[Ship:Graf Zeppelin (< 23.01.2019)\|Graf Zeppelin (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Graf Zeppelin • VIII Graf Zeppelin B • X Manfred von Richthofen • X Werner Voss • X Max Immelmann • X Otto Lilienthal

Destroyers

Netherlands	IX Groningen • X Tromp
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 B • IX Black • IX Johnston • IX Frank Friday • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • X [[Ship:[Gearing]\|[Gearing]]] • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Europe	II Tátra • III Romulus • IV Klas Horn • V Visby • V Muavenet • VI Västerås • VI Stord • VII Skåne • VII Grom • VII Błyskawica • VII Stord '43 • 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 • X Södermanland • ★ Dalarna
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 • VII Z-32 • VII Z-33 • VII Z-34 • VII Z-38 • 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 • X Georg Hoffmann • X Lübeck
U.S.S.R.	II Storozhevoi • III Derzki • IV Izyaslav • V Gremyashchy • V [[Ship:Gnevny (< 06.03.2017)\|Gnevny (< 06.03.2017)]] • V Podvoisky • V Okhotnik • VI [[Ship:Ognevoi (< 06.03.2017)\|Ognevoi (< 06.03.2017)]] • VI Gnevny • VII [[Ship:Kiev (< 06.03.2017)\|Kiev (< 06.03.2017)]] • VII Minsk • VII Leningrad • VII Tashkent '39 • VIII [[Ship:Tashkent (< 06.03.2017)\|Tashkent (< 06.03.2017)]] • VIII Ognevoi • VIII Kiev • IX Udaloi • IX Tashkent • IX Neustrashimy • X Khabarovsk • X Grozovoi • X Delny • X [[Ship:[Grozovoi]\|[Grozovoi]]] • ★ Zorkiy
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
Pan-America	VI Juruá • X La Pampa
Japan	II Tachibana • II Umikaze • II Tachibana Lima • III Wakatake • IV Isokaze • V Minekaze • V Fūjin • V Kamikaze • V Kamikaze R • V Mutsuki • VI [[Ship:Mutsuki (< 01.12.2016)\|Mutsuki (< 01.12.2016)]] • VI Fubuki • VI Hatsuharu • VI Shinonome B • VI Shinonome • VII [[Ship:Hatsuharu (< 01.12.2016)\|Hatsuharu (< 01.12.2016)]] • VII Akatsuki • VII Shiratsuyu • VII Yūdachi • VIII [[Ship:Fubuki (< 01.12.2016)\|Fubuki (< 01.12.2016)]] • VIII Akizuki • VIII Kagerō • VIII Asashio • VIII HSF Harekaze II • VIII Asashio B • VIII HSF Harekaze • VIII AL Yukikaze • IX [[Ship:Kagerō (< 01.12.2016)\|Kagerō (< 01.12.2016)]] • IX Yūgumo • IX Kitakaze • IX Minegumo • IX STAR Kitakaze • X Shimakaze • X Harugumo • X Hayate • X AL Shimakaze • X [[Ship:[Shimakaze]\|[Shimakaze]]] • ★ Yamagiri
U.K.	II Medea • III Valkyrie • III Campbeltown • IV Wakeful • V Acasta • VI Icarus • VI Gallant • VII Jervis • VII Jupiter '42 • VIII Lightning • VIII Cossack • VIII Cossack B • IX Jutland • IX Somme • X Daring • X Druid
France	II Enseigne Gabolde • III Fusilier • IV Bourrasque • V L'Adroit • V Jaguar • V Siroco • VI Duchaffault • VI Guépard • VI Aigle • VII Le Hardi • VII Vauquelin • VIII L'Aventurier • VIII Le Fantasque • VIII Le Terrible • IX Orage • IX Mogador • X Cassard • X Kléber • X Marceau • X Kléber CLR
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 Zhu Que • VIII Ship Smasha • IX Chung Mu • X Yueyang • X Lüshun • ★ Kunming
Spain	X Álvaro de Bazán
Commonwealth	III Vampire • VII Haida • VII Huron • X Vampire II

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Gustav Julius Maerker

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Compatible Upgrades