Des Moines
Revision as of 08:03, 29 December 2017 | Revision as of 01:01, 30 December 2017 | |||
Line 88: | Line 88: | |||
| Last Stand = | | Last Stand = | |||
? | | Survivability Expert = | + | | Survivability Expert = 1 | |
| Basics of Survivability = | | Basics of Survivability = | |||
| Torpedo Armament Expertise = | | Torpedo Armament Expertise = |
Revision as of 01:01, 30 December 2017
203 mm/55 RF Mk.16 in a turret3 х 3 pcs. |
Rate of Fire10.91 shots/min. |
Reload Time5.5 sec. |
Rotation Speed6 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time30 sec. |
Firing Range15.83 km. |
Maximum Dispersion142 m. |
HE Shell203 mm HE/HC Mk25 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage2,800 |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell14 % |
Initial HE Shell Velocity823 m./s. |
HE Shell Weight118 kg. |
AP Shell203 mm AP Mk21 |
Maximum AP Shell Damage5,000 |
Initial AP Shell Velocity762 m./s. |
AP Shell Weight152 kg. |
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount6 х 2 pcs. |
Firing Range7.3 km. |
Rate of Fire10 shots/min. |
Reload Time6 sec. |
HE Shell127 mm HE Mk32 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage1,800 |
Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m./s. |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 % |
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount6 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second90.6 |
. . . Firing Range5.01 km. |
76.2 mm/50 Mk.22 on a Mk.33 mount10 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second208 |
. . . Firing Range3.99 km. |
20 mm Oerlikon on a Mk.4 mount12 х 1 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second43.2 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
76.2 mm/50 Mk.22 on a Mk.33 mount2 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second41.6 |
. . . Firing Range3.99 km. |
Maximum Speed33 knot |
Turning Circle Radius770 m. |
Rudder Shift Time8.6 sec. |
Surface Detectability Range13.44 km. |
Air Detectability Range7.9 km. |
Des Moines — American Tier X cruiser.
The heavy cruisers designed during World War II became the epitome of their class, making them the most formidable and powerful U.S. heavy cruisers in history. After the development of a 152 mm automatic gun, the U.S. Navy High Command placed an order for a similar gun but with a caliber of 203 mm. New cruisers were to be equipped with triple-gun turrets featuring the aforementioned 203 mm guns and fitted with a thick armored deck for protection against aerial bomb attacks. USS Des Moines conducted various diplomatic and representative missions. She was also used for training cadets and in naval exercises.
Modules
Compatible Upgrades
Slot 1 |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Slot 2 |
|||||
Slot 3 |
|||||
Slot 4 |
|||||
Slot 5 |
|||||
Slot 6 |
Player Opinion
Performance
Only a handful of high tier cruisers are known to have absurd firing rates: the Neptune, Minotaur and this heavy cruiser. It is no surprise that due to her being the last all-gun cruiser made, she has all the lessons learned from her cruiser predecessors in the Second World War incorporated in her design. A very noticeable trait on Des Moines is her absurd rate of fire for a heavy cruiser with each turret loading rounds at 5.5 seconds which can quickly deal with destroyers, harm or outright destroy other cruisers with extreme fusillades of fire, force battleships to be wary of her as well as nervously check their hit points when they are subjected by her withering blows and frustrate carriers to no end due to her impressive AA suite which, with proper upgrades and skills, have their potency increase even further. With her ergonomics and good handling, one can say this heavy cruiser does it all; serving as both an AA and anti-ship screen, joining a cruiser squadron for rapid action as she can keep up thanks to her good speed and provide additional firepower, and functioning as a reasonable cruiser leader for a small destroyer group. In addition, her having radar equipped can be hazardous not only for destroyers, but also other ships that hide behind smoke screen, behind island cover, or under visual limitation within cyclone.
The cruiser's high shell arc and gun layout gives her a unique advantage that her cruiser colleagues at her tier lack and as such she is capable of sitting behind an island and using her high shell arc to lob shells over the island at distant targets with relative safety. One can also park the ship around the corner of an island while bow on to act as a deterrent to advancing enemy ships, while presenting a relatively small target profile. Exploiting this technique allows one to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Also, firing AP shells at bigger targets such as battleships can deal a surprising amount of damage in such a short time, however only do so when she is close enough to have the rounds deal maximum penetration or if the target is broadsiding.
Pros:
- Quick reload.
- Highest cruiser DPM in the game.
- Surprising AP shell potency; the cruiser can basically fire her AP shells even against a battleship when the situation calls for it.
- Very effective against destroyers and cruisers at close to medium range, can give battleships something to be wary of, and fend off aerial assaults.
- Fully upgraded AA can reach out to 7.2 km.
- The best cruiser AA in the game.
- Reasonably protected when bow on towards enemies, however battleships can still injure you greatly if their shells hit you with good accuracy.
- Gun layout and high shell arc allows one to sit behind an island and lob shells over it to harass far away enemies, while being partially covered by the island.
- High shell arc allows for consistent citadel hits on other cruisers from long range due to plunging fire.
- High shell arc also allows firing behind island cover.
- High rate of fire can made up her low fire chance, which can turn into one of the best HE spamming cruiser.
- Having radar with 9.9 km range and long activation time, in addition of high rate of fire means she is a destroyer nightmare.
Cons:
- Vulnerable to long-range HE spam.
- Main guns are very vulnerable when bow on towards your enemies.
- Slower shell velocity means arc is rather high which makes shells take a bit long to reach the target point.
- Quite large citadel.
- HE shells fire chance are not as good as Japanese/French/Russian cruiser, and did not have good penetration like German cruiser.
- Her AA advantage is not permanent, as these AA guns can be destroyed by enemy fire especially Royal Navy battleship HE.
- Her AA advantage is only useful when there is a carrier in the matchmaking, therefore her AA guns is practically useless if there is no carrier in game.
- Overly rely on terrain advantage such as island to hide her presence.
- Her radar have lower range than Russian cruiser radar with 11.7 km range.
Research
Optimal Configuration
Upgrades
The recommended upgrades for Des Moines are as follows:
- Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 keeps the guns active and firing.
- Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1 lessen the fire damage taken.
- Slot 3: See below.
- Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 2 allows for a faster rudder shift to dodge incoming fire.
- Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 stay concealed.
- Slot 6: See below.
Keep in mind that Des Moines can also be equipped with Surveillance Radar Modification 1 in the Slot 2 to extend her radar activation time up to 56s.
Commander Skills
Recommended Commander Skills | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cost (points) |
Endurance | Attack | Support | Versatility | ||||
1 |
★★★ |
★★ |
|
|
|
|
★ |
|
2 |
★ |
★★ |
★★★ |
|
|
|
★★★ |
|
3 |
|
★ |
|
|
★★ |
★★★ |
★★★ |
★ |
4 |
|
|
|
|
★★★ |
|
★ |
★★★ |
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Meh Χ - Not recommended |
Consumables
Des Moines can equip the following consumables:
- Slot 1: Damage Control Party
- Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire or Hydroacoustic Search
- Slot 3: Catapult Fighter , Spotting Aircraft , or Surveillance Radar
- Slot 4: Repair Party
As she is a high-tier cruiser, it is recommended to equip all consumables with the premium one, which can be bought with Credits or Doubloons.
Captain focusing Des Moines on AA build will equip Defensive AA Fire II () for the Slot 2, especially when divisioning with carrier. Although for solo playing, Hydroacoustic Search II () is more recommended if there is no carrier around.
Obviously, every Des Moines captain would use Surveillance Radar II () more than anything on the Slot 3.
Camouflage
Type 1, 2, or 5 camouflage can be equipped for Credits; Types 1 or 5 are recommended at a minimum to reduce detection range.
Gallery
Historical Info
Historical Gallery
Video