Dido
133 mm/50 QF Mk.I on a Mk.II mount5 х 2 pcs. |
Rate of Fire7.06 shots/min. |
Reload Time8.5 sec. |
Rotation Speed10 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time18 sec. |
Firing Range14.1 km. |
Maximum Dispersion130 m. |
HE Shell133 mm HE Mk IC |
Maximum HE Shell Damage1,900 |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 % |
Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m./s. |
HE Shell Weight36.3 kg. |
AP Shell133 mm AP Mk IC |
Maximum AP Shell Damage2,550 |
Initial AP Shell Velocity792 m./s. |
AP Shell Weight36.3 kg. |
533 mm TR Mk IV2 х 3 pcs. |
Rate of Fire0.83 shots/min. |
Reload Time72 sec. |
Rotation Speed25 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time7.2 sec. |
Torpedo533 mm Mk IX* |
Maximum Damage15,867 |
Torpedo Speed61 knot |
Torpedo Range8.01 km. |
133 mm/50 QF Mk.I on a Mk.II mount5 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second40.5 |
. . . Firing Range4.5 km. |
20 mm Oerlikon Mk.II on a Mk.V mount4 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second24.4 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
40 mm/39 Vickers QF Mk.VIII on a Mk.VII mount2 х 4 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second28 |
. . . Firing Range2.49 km. |
20 mm Oerlikon Mk.I on a Mk.IIIA mount1 х 1 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second3.6 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
20 mm Oerlikon Mk.I on a Mk.IIA mount2 х 1 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second7.2 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
Maximum Speed32.3 knot |
Turning Circle Radius580 m. |
Rudder Shift Time6.5 sec. |
Surface Detectability Range10.22 km. |
Air Detectability Range5.78 km. |
Dido — British special premium Tier VI cruiser.
After the signing of the London Treaty, a discussion started about small naval cruisers. In 1936, a project featuring five rapid-firing 134 mm twin mounts was presented. HMS Dido, the lead ship of the series, entered service in September 1940. At the beginning of World War II, she escorted convoys in the Atlantic and then relocated to the Mediterranean. The cruiser participated in the second battle in the Gulf of Sirte in 1942, in the landings in Sicily in 1943, and served off the south coast of France in 1944. In 1945, she escorted Arctic convoys and supported strikes off the coast of Norway.
Dido was first available during the Gibraltar Pillars event during Update 0.11.1. on 16 Feb 2022.
Modules
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 () | ||
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Dido | 23,600 | 10 | 89 | 5 | 3/4/2/5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
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 () | ||
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533 mm Mk IX | 0.8 | 72 | 7.2 | 15,866 | 61 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Compatible Upgrades
Slot 1 |
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Slot 2 |
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Slot 3 |
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Slot 4 |
Player Opinion
Performance
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.
The Ship
Dido is a Tier VI premium British cruiser with a large battery of small caliber guns. She shares a hull with the Pan-Asian Rahmat which means the two ships have many similar handling traits, but they have different weapons and consumables. Dido mounts a standard cruiser Damage Control Party as well as Defensive AA Fire and Short-Burst Smoke Generator . Her Damage Control Party is active for 5 seconds with a 60 second cool down. Her Defensive AA Fire has 3 charges which provide a 50% increase to her continuous AA damage and a 300% increase to damage from flak bursts. This remains active for 40 seconds, with an 80 second cool down. Her smoke screen is notable as she carries the same short burst smoke as most British destroyers. The smoke screen will disperse after only 35 seconds, making it difficult to use for cover when shooting, but comes with 5 charges as standard and has a shorter reload time of 80 seconds.
Dido has an excellent concealment, as low as 9.1 km with the Concealment Expert skill. This allows players to reach advantageous positions or retreat with relative ease. She has a tight turning circle of 580m and a quick rudder shift of 6.5 seconds which enable players to dodge incoming fire. However, she is held back somewhat by a fairly low top speed of 32.3 knots. While this is not the lowest in her tier, she lacks access to the engine boost consumable which would allow her to keep pace with the faster cruisers at Tier VI. Finally, Dido has the improved engine acceleration common to British light cruisers which means she can reach her top speed more quickly than most other cruisers.
Armor and Survivability
Dido has thin armor, her 13mm bow and stern plating cannot be relied on to protect her. HE rounds of all sizes will penetrate her armor and heavy cruiser AP rounds can overmatch it. Her citadel extends above the waterline and is protected by only 89mm of armor making her vulnerable to citadel damage if players show broadside. Her thin armor combines with the smallest hit pool of Tier VI cruisers to make her extremely fragile and she cannot afford to take damage. Unlike the tech tree British cruisers, Dido also lacks access to the Repair Party consumable, emphasising the vulnerability of her small health pool.
Armament
Dido mounts a main battery of ten 133mm guns in five twin turrets with a firing range of 14.1km. Although her range is relatively short when compared to many Tier VI cruisers, it is farther than any other smoke equipped cruiser at her tier can fire. An 8.5 second reload is somewhat slow for their caliber, equal to some 152mm cruisers, and with her smaller shell size this results in a lower than expected DPM. The small caliber also means that her AP penetration is among the worst for cruisers at Tier VI. At longer ranges, players will find that their AP rounds will struggle to damage all but the thinnest armor on targets. Because of this, players will heavily rely on her HE shells for most of the time. Her HE rounds have a standard penetration of 22mm which is sufficient to directly damage most cruisers in her matchmaking spread, but players will need to aim for the superstructure on battleships. The small size of her guns means that her HE shell damage lags behind almost all Tier VI cruisers and has one of the lowest base fires per minute at 5.6. Although her individual shells do not cause the same damage as larger weapons, the weight of her main battery means that Dido can potentially match the damage caused by many 152mm armed ships on an individual salvo basis when using HE rounds.
Dido has good firing arcs when facing forward, apart from her “Y” turret. When combined with the 360° rotation on her rear turrets and one of the fastest turret traverse rates, this enables her to easily change direction and keep her guns on target. Her rearward firing arcs are more restricted which makes shooting while kiting away harder, her front turrets lack the full rotation of the rear weapons which makes changing aim more difficult. Adding to the limitations of her main battery, Dido shares the standard cruiser dispersion formula. Her guns should not be relied on for accurate firing at long ranges.
Dido mounts two triple torpedo launchers, carrying the same torpedoes as Tier VIII Lightning, with the ability to single fire her torpedoes or fire them in a spread. The torpedoes are powerful weapons, among the hardest hitting in tier with a potential damage per torpedo of almost 16,000 and able to destroy most cruisers in her matchmaking spread with a full salvo. An 8km range is good, although Dido is unable to launch her torpedoes from stealth unless using smoke or island cover. If she is able to fully utilise them, Dido has one of the highest potential torpedo DPM totals in her tier due to their high damage and fast 72 second reload time. But her small launcher size means she lacks the ability to destroy enemy battleships with one salvo.
Anti-Aircraft
Dido has a strong long range AA battery, almost able to match that of Dallas although with a slightly shorter range. Her flak battery puts out two bursts per salvo and causes some of the highest damage per cloud for a Tier VI cruiser. In contrast to her long range defenses, she has a poor short and medium range AA battery so she cannot reliably defend herself against same tier carrier attacks.
Anti-Submarine Weapons
Dido launches a five depth charge pattern from her stern, with each charge causing up to 5,000 damage on a direct hit. She is able to have up to two sets ready to drop with a 40 second reload time for each. Her lack of Hydroacoustic Search means that hunting for submerged submarines is difficult without support from friendly ships.
Battle Performance
Dido blurs the lines between cruiser and destroyer gameplay. Her agility, stealth and short burst smoke means she will feel like a large destroyer but with the larger gun count of a cruiser. She also has the fragility of a destroyer with the larger target size and citadel vulnerability of a cruiser.
Her low detection radius can be used to reach positions where players will be able to support friendly destroyers, although Dido lacks access to Hydroacoustic Search which limits her ability to hunt destroyers by herself. When fighting larger ships, players should use her stealth to reach covered positions where a combination of islands and smoke can be used to keep safe as long as possible. Her small health pool, thin armor and restricted rearward firing arcs mean that she is poorly suited to open water engagements. If players find themselves in such a fight then Dido's agility and smoke screen may help her to disengage - if she survives long enough to use them. Against targets which are already damaged, cover and smoke can be used to move into torpedo range where her powerful torpedoes can be brought into the battle. However, players should always bear in mind that the small size of her torpedo salvo means full health battleships will survive these attacks and Dido is likely to find herself close to a battleship and end up sunk herself.Pros:
- Rear turrets are able to rotate 360°
- Highly agile for a cruiser
- Low detection range
- Smoke screen consumable
Cons:
- Fragile with a small HP pool
- Low main battery DPM
- Overall weak AA defenses
- Short burst smoke dissipates quickly
- Small caliber guns
- No Hydroacoustic Search consumable
Research
Optimal Configuration
Upgrades
The recommended upgrades are:
- Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
- Slot 2: Engine Room Protection
- Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1 or Main Battery Modification 2
- Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 1
Commander Skills
Recommended Commander Skills | ||||||
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Cost (points) |
Attack | Defense | ||||
1 |
★★ |
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★★ |
2 |
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★★ |
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3 |
★★★ |
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★★★ |
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★★ |
4 |
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★ |
★★ |
★★★ |
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Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful |
Consumables
Dido equips the following consumables:
- Slot 1: Damage Control Party
- Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire – 3 charges
- Slot 3: Short-Burst Smoke Generator – 5 charges
Camouflage
As a premium ship, Dido comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.
Signals
Recommended Signal Flags | |||||
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Combat | |||||
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★★ |
★★ |
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★★★ |
★★★ |
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★★ |
★★ |
Gallery
Historical Info
Historical Gallery
Video
References
Ship Change Log
See here for links to Update notes.
- Available for testing by supertesters in the game starting from Update 0.10.11.
Testing Changes
- DevBlog 243:
- Preliminary characteristics.
- DevBlog 257:
- Main battery reload time increased from 6 to 6.5 s.
- DevBlog 264:
- Main battery reload time increased from 6.5 to 8.5 sec.
- DevBlog 269:
- Base detectability range by sea increased from 9.54 to 10.54 km. Other detectability ranges increased accordingly, except detectability range by air, which remained equal to her AA firing range.
- DevBlog 275:
- Short-Burst Smoke Generator consumable:
- Smoke screen dispersion time decreased from 40 to 35 s.
- Cooldown time increased from 70 to 80 s.
- Short-Burst Smoke Generator consumable:
- Update 0.11.1:
- First available for 70 Mediterranean Tokens during the Gibraltar Pillars event.
- Update 0.11.3:
- Minor fixes to geometry and textures of the ship.