Baltimore

13.3

Cruiser | U.S.A. | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

stock

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Battle Levels

12345678910

VIII

8,900,000

Baltimore — American Tier VIII cruiser.

With the beginning of World War II, restrictions on building heavy cruisers were lifted. A new ship was based on USS Wichita, but it was decided to go for a more substantial change in the design, strengthening the anti-aircraft armament. USS Baltimore took part in fire support and covering missions in support of such operations as the Kwajalein invasion, the raid on Truk, the Eniwetok seizure, and the Mariana and Palau Islands attacks. She fought in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and participated in the invasion of Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

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 ()
203 mm/55 Mk.15 in a turret	6	30	132	2,800	14	5,000		0	730,000

	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 ()
Baltimore (A)	36,600	6	203	3	6	23/12/6				0	1,000,000
Baltimore (B)	42,400	6	203	3	6	23/12/6				28,000	2,100,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk8 mod. 1		0		0	550,000
Mk8 mod. 2		0		15,000	1,200,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 120,000 hp	32.5		0	620,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Baltimore can be a difficult cruiser to play well, especially at first, but becomes a powerful playmaker in the right hands.

The stock grind is nothing short of punishing. Unupgraded, she has worse guns than a stock (!) New Orleans, and the increased armor and hit points have a difficult time offsetting her larger size and stock maneuverability. Happily, her upgrades more than solve these problems.

The upgraded guns are the most noticeable, in more than one respect. The upgraded guns offer a 50% increase in rate of fire over the stock guns, or 20% over an upgraded New Orleans (36% if the rate of fire upgrade is taken in the new upgrade slot)---very welcome, especially when trying to sink enemy destroyers within the window of her Surveillance Radar . In addition, the upgraded guns come with the famed "super-heavy" AP shells. While quite slow, and thus requiring extra lead, their penetration and damage will crush enemy cruisers from even significant angles. Unless the range upgrade is taken over the rate of fire upgrade in the new upgrade slot, Baltimore's range leaves something to be desired, especially considering her sedate shell velocity and the long-range environment typically found in high-tier games. Effectively deploying her firepower without being shot to pieces requires the utmost care in positioning... or a very skilled hand on the throttle and rudder.

The upgraded hull offers a solid boost in hit points over New Orleans. Combined with a quite thick belt for a cruiser (152 mm), thicker plating, and most critically, access to Repair Party , this makes her a more durable ship even with the larger size and the decrease in manueverability. She is still a cruiser, however, and care must still be taken to not give the enemy an easy shot at her broadside. She has the same relatively slow speed as New Orleans, and her concealment does become worse, but is still more than competitive at 9.7 km with a full stealth build.

New Orleans's AA suite is solid. Baltimore's is outright fearsome. With over half again as much long-range and fully twice the mid-range DPS as her predecessor, most carriers will not even dare to approach.

Pros:

Very powerful AA suite if built for the anti-aircraft role
Long-duration US radar
Excellent armor piercing shell penetration thanks to US Super Heavy shells
Very maneuverable
Very good concealment

Cons:

Average high explosive performance
Slow AP shells hard to lead at long ranges
Short main battery range if range module is not taken
Punishing stock grind
Radar has shorter detection range than Russian cruiser
25mm bow armor can be overmatched by Battleships

Research

Unfortunately, both range and rate of fire are massive problems for a stock Baltimore. If you can tolerate the short range, get the upgraded guns first (requires going through B hull first); otherwise, you can start with the rangefinder module.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Baltimore are as follows:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 keeps her guns active and firing.
Slot 2: Steering Gears Modification 1 keeps her rudder available for dodging incoming shells. Alternatively, if the captain has access to the Surveillance Radar Modification 1 it can be equipped in this slot for improved radar uptime.
Slot 3: AA Guns Modification 2 () improves her AA coverage. If carriers are not deemed a threat, Aiming Systems Modification 1 improves her accuracy.
Slot 4: Propulsion Modification 1 () increases her acceleration, and Steering Gears Modification 2 improves her rudder shift. The choice depends on the captain's preferred method of avoiding incoming fire.
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1  reduces her surface detectablilty.
Slot 6: Captains can opt for a rate of fire build with Main Battery Modification 3 improving her reload to 8.8s. Or opt for a range build with Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 increasing her range to 18.4km, though aiming becomes difficult at that range.

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★★★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines. ★★	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched. ★	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time.	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire. ★★	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes.
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable. ★	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables. ★★	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm. ★★★	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range.	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen.	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated.
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding. ★	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier. ★	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes.	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage.	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns. ★★	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship. ★★★	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target. ★★★	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes. ★★
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of shells from secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three. ★	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +30% to the armor penetration capacity of HE shells. -1% chance of fire on target caused by shells <=139mm. -3% chance of fire on target caused by shells >139mm.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +5% attack aircraft aiming speed. +5% torpedo bomber aiming speed. +10% dive bomber aiming speed.	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% damage/sec. within the explosion radius of shells fired from long-range AA defenses. ★★★	Massive AA Fire Instantaneous Damage +100%. Priority AA sector cooldown +50%.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken. ★★	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Meh Χ - Not recommended

Gallery

Historical Info

Ships of U.S.A.

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Compatible Upgrades