Nazario Sauro

12.2

Destroyer | Italy | Tier III

Tech Tree Position

stock

top

Battle Levels

12345678910

III

250,000

Nazario Sauro — Italian Tier III destroyer.

A series of destroyers that stood apart from their predecessors by carrying more powerful armament comprising 120 mm guns and 533 mm torpedo tubes.

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 ()
120 mm/45 Vickers-Terni Model 1924 on a Model 1926 mount	9.2	18	61	1,700	5			0	24,000

	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 ()
Nazario Sauro (A)	8,900	6	10	2		1/2	2			0	36,000
Nazario Sauro (B)	10,300	6	10	2		1/2	2			900	105,000

	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 ()
533 mm Si 270 K	0.7	85	7.2	7,333	51	8		0	24,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
SDT 3 mod.1		0		0	24,000
SDT 3 mod.2		0		600	70,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 36,000 hp	35		0	24,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2

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".

Tier III destroyer Nazario Sauro continues the defining characteristics of Italian destroyers — Semi-Armor Piercing (SAP) main battery shells with an unusually short main battery gun range, full-speed smokescreen, and high speed but poor concealment and agility. While most destroyers tend to focus on torpedo power, gunboating larger ships, or a hybrid of the two, Nazario Sauro is a destroyer assassin. She excels at ambushing (or charging down) enemy destroyers, killing or crippling them before fading back into the shadows.

Armament

For players familiar with other destroyer lines and low tier destroyers, Nazario Sauro main battery presents some interesting surprises. She carries four 120mm guns in two twin turrets, with decent traverse and reload speeds. While her rear turret can’t rotate 360° like Curtatone’s, Nazario Sauro's have excellent firing angles in both directions. Her HE shells have a high average damage but lowest-in-tier fire chance, but her SAP shells stand out. As with other SAP shells, they are less effective against sharply angled targets, but have increased armor penetration and damage compared to same-caliber HE shells and feature improved ricochet angles. Due to its consistent damage and increased penetration, Nazario Sauro should use her SAP whenever possible. Although it can’t set fires or penetrate multiple layers of armor, it excels at chewing through destroyers and cruisers, and can reliably damage the thinner extremities and superstructure of battleships.

Another noticeable difference is her short range — Nazario Sauro has the shortest main battery range among Tier III destroyers. For a gun-focused destroyer, this can be both a blessing and a curse. It forces her to get close to enemy cruisers and battleships where she is more vulnerable to return fire, but it also makes it easier to go undetected. Once she hunts down and kills her destroyer target, the shorter gun range makes it less likely other ships will be close enough to keep her spotted.

Nazario Sauro carries two triple torpedo launchers. Although their 8km range is tied for longest in tier, her torpedo reload is by far the worst, more than 20 seconds longer than the next slowest. Like those found on the Italian cruisers, her torpedoes have decent range but a slow top speed. They can be effective at area denial or when kiting, as their slow speed can catch an unsuspecting enemy ship off guard. But that same slow speed and corresponding long reaction time make them less effective against agile ships. Her torpedo damage is also below average, requiring multiple hits to significantly damage larger targets, and even a full ‘broadside’ may not be enough to kill a healthy battleship. Unlike most destroyers, Nazario Sauro's torpedoes are secondary damage sources.

Consumables

Nazario Sauro's consumable suite is unusual for a destroyer. In addition to the standard Damage Control Party , she mounts the Exhaust Smoke Generator  and Emergency Engine Power  consumables. All tech tree Italian destroyers share the same consumable suite, varying only in the number of charges and consumable action times.

The Exhaust Smoke Generator conceals the ship even at full speed. It can be used offensively, allowing her to farm spotted enemies without being detected or smoke torpedo rush a battleship (the “Yolo Emilio” method), or defensively, to conceal herself and disengage if she gets focused.

Her Emergency Engine Power is unique at low tiers. Unlike the typical engine boost that provides a small boost over a long time, Emergency Engine Power provides a much larger boost in speed but with a shorter action time. It’s most useful for charging directly at an enemy, or running away quickly if she’s getting focused.

Maneuverability

Unlike most of the Italian tech tree destroyers, Nazario Sauro's agility is comparable to her destroyer counterparts. Her 35 knot top speed is one of the best at Tier III, and her turning circle is average unlike Curtatone’s. However, her rudder shift is still on the slower side. Nazario Sauro's Emergency Engine Power consumable can briefly make her the fastest in her tier, but the short duration and longer cooldown limits its impact compared to the normal Engine Boost.

Survivability

Nazario Sauro has one of the largest health pools for her tier, even beating or equaling a few Tier IV destroyers. She can outlast her opponent in destroyer vs. destroyer engagements, and retain enough health to still be effective in the next.

Like almost all other low tier destroyers, Nazario Sauro lacks anything resembling armor. She’s coated in 6mm plating from bow to stern, offering zero protection against HE and all but the smallest destroyer-caliber AP when sharply angled. Larger caliber AP will often overpenetrate due to her thin armor and small size, but a well-placed HE salvo can send her back to port.

Further boosting her survivability, Nazario Sauro is surprisingly stealthy for an Italian destroyer. Although only average for her tier, she can outspot a few Tier III destroyers and most Tier IVs, but all Tier IIs will still outspot her. She can use her smokescreen to conceal herself when necessary, and use islands for ambushes or to block line of sight. But as map size increases, her lower detection allows her to be more aggressive when playing in the open.

Anti-aircraft

Although shorter ranged, Nazario Sauro's anti-aircraft defenses are respectable for her tier. She lacks the extended reach of some Tier III and IV destroyers, but both her short and mid-range defenses deal more continuous damage than most. She might not completely deter strikes from Tier IV carriers, but she can make herself a less attractive target. However, she only has three AA mounts, so a single well-placed HE salvo can eliminate most or all of her defenses.

Battle performance

Nazario Sauro is a destroyer built around eliminating other destroyers. Her average concealment and high top speed allow her to ambush or chase down enemy destroyers, and her HE and SAP will quickly chew through its health. Once her flank is cleared of destroyers, she can hunt down destroyers on the other flank or stay to cap and farm cruisers and battleships.

Her short range can be an issue against cruisers and battleships, but her guns and torpedoes are still a threat and her smokescreen offers some protection by concealing her position. Her torpedoes may be usable, but her main guns are still her primary weapon. She may not be the most agile destroyer on the map, but makes up for it with her high speed and offensive capabilities. When played to her fullest potential, she may be a destroyer’s worst nightmare come true.

Pros:

Large HP pool
Excellent main battery ballistics
SAP shells are highly effective against thinly armored targets
High damage per minute from both her HE and SAP shells
Long range torpedoes
Above average AA defenses
High top speed
Has access to the Exhaust Smoke Generator and Emergency Engine Power consumables

Cons:

Does not have access to AP shells
Terrible fire chance
Short main battery range
Very long torpedo reload
Low torpedo damage
Average at best rudder shift
Cannot outrun her smokescreen deployment

Research

Researchable upgrades for Nazario Sauro:

Hull: Upgrade to Hull (B) for improved survivability and maneuverability. Research of this module unlocks progression to Turbine.
Gun Fire Control System: Upgrade to SDT 3 mod.2 for an extra 10% range on the main battery.

Due to her limited gun range, unlocking the Gun Fire Control System is mandatory. Unlocking the hull upgrade should take priority, but Nazario Sauro needs all the range she can get.

Optimal Configuration

Nazario Sauro is a destroyer assassin, best suited for ambushing and eliminating enemy destroyers and then going undetected. As such, players should focus on improving her main battery potential and her survivability.

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades are:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection or Engine Boost Modification 1 (special)

Commander Skills

Unique commander Luigi Sansonetti feels particularly comfortable in this ship, thanks to his Far Reach talent that provides an additional range boost after destroying an enemy ship.

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

Nazario Sauro equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Exhaust Smoke Generator  - 3 charges
Slot 3: Emergency Engine Power  - 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 +15% 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 Italy

Destroyers	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
Cruisers	I Eritrea • II Nino Bixio • III Taranto • IV Alberto di Giussano • V Raimondo Montecuccoli • V Genova • VI Trento • VI Duca d'Aosta • VII Zara • VII Duca degli Abruzzi • VII Gorizia • VIII Amalfi • IX Brindisi • X Venezia • X Napoli • X Napoli B
Battleships	IV Dante Alighieri • V Conte di Cavour • V Giulio Cesare • VI Andrea Doria • VII Francesco Caracciolo • VIII Vittorio Veneto • VIII Roma • VIII AL Littorio • IX Lepanto • IX Marco Polo • IX Giuseppe Verdi • X Cristoforo Colombo
Aircraft Carriers	VIII Aquila

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.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 • X Daring • X Druid
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 Black • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • ★ Joshua Humphreys
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 • ★ Kunming
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
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 • X Halland • X Gdańsk • X Småland • X Ragnar • ★ Dalarna
U.S.S.R.	II Storozhevoi • III Derzki • IV Izyaslav • V Gremyashchy • V Podvoisky • V Okhotnik • VI Gnevny • VII Minsk • VII Leningrad • VII Tashkent '41 • VIII Ognevoi • VIII Kiev • IX Udaloi • IX Tashkent • IX Neustrashimy • X Khabarovsk • X Grozovoi • X Delny • ★ 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
Netherlands	IX Groningen • X Tromp
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
Commonwealth	III Vampire • VII Haida • VII Huron • X Vampire II
Spain	X Álvaro de Bazán
Pan-America	VI Juruá

Games

Navigation

Tools

Nazario Sauro

Modules

Compatible Upgrades