Großer Kurfürst
406 mm/52 Drh C/34 on a Drh LC/34 mount4 х 3 pcs. |
Rate of Fire2.07 shots/min. |
Reload Time29 sec. |
Rotation Speed4.5 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time40 sec. |
Firing Range20.61 km. |
Maximum Dispersion266 m. |
HE Shell406 mm Spr.Gr. L/4.4 Kz. |
Maximum HE Shell Damage4,800 |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell38 % |
Initial HE Shell Velocity810 m./s. |
HE Shell Weight1030 kg. |
AP Shell406 mm P.Spr.Gr. L/4.4 |
Maximum AP Shell Damage12,700 |
Initial AP Shell Velocity810 m./s. |
AP Shell Weight1030 kg. |
128 mm/61 KM40 in a turret10 х 2 pcs. |
Firing Range8.3 km. |
Rate of Fire15 shots/min. |
Reload Time4 sec. |
HE Shell128 mm Spr.Gr. Kz. |
Maximum HE Shell Damage1,500 |
Initial HE Shell Velocity900 m./s. |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 % |
150 mm/55 SK C/28 on a Dop. L. C/34 mount4 х 2 pcs. |
Firing Range8.3 km. |
Rate of Fire8 shots/min. |
Reload Time7.5 sec. |
HE Shell150 mm Spr.Gr. L/4.5 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage1,700 |
Initial HE Shell Velocity875 m./s. |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 % |
128 mm/61 KM40 in a turret10 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second124 |
. . . Firing Range5.19 km. |
20 mm/65 C/38 on a Flak 35 Vierling L/38 mount4 х 4 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second24 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
55 mm/77 Gerät 58 on a twin mount8 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second195.2 |
. . . Firing Range3.99 km. |
20 mm/65 C/38 on a Flak 35 Vierling L/38 mount6 х 4 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second38.4 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
Maximum Speed30 knot |
Turning Circle Radius1 050 m. |
Rudder Shift Time19.4 sec. |
Surface Detectability Range17.63 km. |
Air Detectability Range14.93 km. |
Grosser Kurfürst — German special premium Tier X battleship.
The experience gained from battleships at the beginning of World War II prompted a revision of the ships under construction. It was necessary to improve the horizontal armor while maintaining the draft at 11.5 m for operations in the shallow waters of the North Sea. The new design incorporated a triple bottom and an increased quantity of watertight compartments to enhance protection against underwater explosions. The main armament was upgraded to feature twelve 420 mm guns. It was planned to lay down ships with the new design in 1942, but the construction needs of the Navy reoriented toward submarines, and new battleships were no longer laid down.
Modules
Compatible Upgrades
Slot 1 |
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Slot 2 |
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Slot 3 |
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Slot 4 |
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Slot 5 |
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Slot 6 |
Player Opinion
Performance
Sharing the name with one of the Kaiser's sister ships, Großer Kurfürst (translation: Great Elector from the title of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg as he was called "The Great Elector") is the newcomer to the tier X battleship scene. Shortened to "GK" or simply the "Kurfurst", she will live up to her name as "the great elector" as she breaks the long standing stalemate of Yamato and Montana by simply entering into the fray. Subtlety is not this battleship's forte because she is detected from quite a fair distance, the furthest of all 3 of the Tier X battleships.
Due to her size she possesses an effective array of secondaries along with two pairs of guns -- the same caliber as her predecessor Friedriche der Große -- but with triple mounts with the same AB-XY configuration. Even Montana, who shares the same triple mount turret style and layout, will respect her for her heavy broadside, while the responsive turret traverse (already the best Battleship traverse at Tier X) can be made even faster with upgrades. Even more she can surpass the US battleship through barrel diameter (but still only doing the same 13500 dmg as the Montana and Iowa) with her last gun upgrade being 420mm barrels still mounted in four triple turrets while still retaining the excellent traverse speed. In addition her bustling secondary batteries ensure that any enemy getting close enough for the guns to unload will be constantly whittled down, dealing heavy damage over time or outright destroying low health ships that get too close.
Her AA is fairly typical of other German battleships, with an adequate long range punch that sadly does not follow through as planes come closer to the ship herself. Planes that make it past the long range armament will have no trouble hitting her due to her large size and abysmal turning circle. Her armor is also typical of German Battleship design, with a turtleback armor scheme that will make citadeling her at close range near impossible. Her deck armor is also quite substantial at 50mm along the center meaning that long range plunging fire from low caliber guns will have difficulty penetrating her. With her large hit point pool (the most in the game at 105k) she will be able to weather a large amount of armor piercing rounds and keep on fighting. As per standard for German battleships starting from Bismarck, the Kurfurst is equipped with the hydroacoustic search radar to help detect incoming threats such as torpedoes and destroyers attempting to get close or vessels hiding in smoke screens.
However, despite her impressive offensive and defensive assets, much of it is a double edged sword, helping and harming depending on the situation. Both of her guns are rather inaccurate at long range, becoming deadly only once they pass the mid range for Battleships of ~11km. Her 406mm guns have a better reload rate than those found on the Montana (28 seconds compared to 30 seconds), but lack the Montana's superheavy AP shells which hampers her penetration at range while also lowering her damage (12700 compared to 13500). Her 420mm guns are not large enough to overmatch the 32mm bow armor most battleships have at Tier X (unlike the Yamato), and while you will finally be able to match the Montana's damage per shot they increase her reload time to 32 seconds per salvo. Additionally her armor is not unbreakable as it may seem. At long ranges her deck armor is still not sufficient to stop plunging fire from other battleships from penetrating, meaning her citadel is relatively easy to penetrate at a considerable distance. Also the armor belt is actually the thinnest overall, topping at 380mm compared to the Montana's 409mm and the Yamato's 410mm. While she will almost never take citadel damage her massive size and weak armor belt means she will take higher-than-average normal ap damage to compensate; the trade off is that unlike the Yamato and Montana the Großer Kurfürst can heal back 50% of the damage she takes from exposing too much broadside compared to the 10% of damage healed for the other battleships when they take citadel damage; at close range the trade off is well worth it when the Großer Kurfürst takes a 10k-30k salvo while other battleships are destroyed in a single salvo into their citadels.
Finally, her size also betrays her as she is remarkably easy to hit and has THE largest turn radius out of all the tier X battleships at over a kilometer. While her rudder shift time is lower than either Montana or Yamato she is so long that she takes a while to actually begin responding to turns. Even with the Hydro Acoustic Search, expect to sustain heavy damage when torpedoes are inevitably being sent at her if she is not already responding. Fire and flooding are also a concern, since they deal damage based on a percentage of maximum hit points, causing her massive health pool to work against her when volley's of HE start fires and torpedoes cause flooding.
When you go out in the Kurfurst, expect to sustain a load of heavy damage from all sources as you are large and easily visible from range, because you can do the same to the enemy fleet if allowed to close the distance. Play to her strengths: she is not a sniping battleship, and belongs up close and personal where her peers have difficulty countering her armor scheme, large secondary battery, the rapid traverse of her guns.
Pros:
- Like the Montana she possesses a heavy broadside than is capable of destroying ships in one volley
- Fast at 30 knots
- Extremely good turret traverse of 40 seconds before captain skills or upgrades
- Very large secondary battery with range starting at 7.5km
- Bow is heavily sloped, only a lucky Yamato shell can penetrate it
- Unrivaled health pool
- Has the German Hydroacoustic search
- Extremely durable; can endure severe damage to either close the gap or to get away to heal
- Ergonomics is similar to dreadnoughts; the closer she gets, the more dangerous she becomes
- Citadel is turtlebacked and is also located under the waterline, making it extremely hard to hit at close range
- Decent anti-aircraft suite that can kill anything below tier X but her AA is bubbled in a sense leaving her vunerable to payloads making target.
- Very good shell velocity.
Cons:
- Very tempting target due to her being the biggest ship in the game; any decently accurate strike such as dive bombers or cruisers can reliably hit her
- AA guns are easily destroyed under sustained fire.
- Lowest range out of her peers at 20.61km
- 420mm guns have a reload of 32 seconds, it is tolerable. But that extra 2 seconds could be costly.
- Decent rudder shift is marred by poor turning circle and long response time.
- Bow and stern deck armor is only 32mm
- Huge superstructure allows for massive HE damage
- Very prone to be set on fire. CAs will shell you with without impunity.
- Turrets are poorly sloped so can be disabled by large caliber shells at close range. Yamatos with frequently cause jams with their HE.
Research
Optimal Configuration
Upgrades
Owing to her superb array of anti-air power and secondary batteries, players looking to maximize her secondary battery or anti-air power should mount Auxiliary Armaments Modification 1, Secondary Battery Modification 2 or AA Guns Modification 2, and Secondary Battery Modification 3 or AA Guns Modification 3.
Players looking to maximize her main battery potential should equip Main Armaments Modification 1 (to prevent any potential incapacitation of the main batteries), Main Battery Modification 2 (for faster turret traverse, as she already has very good reload time) or Aiming Systems Modification 1 (for decreased dispersion), and Main Battery Modification 3 (for faster reload) or Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 (due to her anemic range [20 km] for a tier X battleship).
For the other upgrades, it's recommended to mount Damage Control System Modification 1 (her propulsion and steering gears are very well protected, and she is a very large target), Damage Control System Modification 2 (for lower fire and flooding durations to lower damage taken) or Steering Gears Modification 2 (for better rudder shift), and Target Acquisition System Modification 1 (Concealment System Modification 1 will not help much due to her large detectability).
Commander Skills
Recommended Commander Skills | ||||||||
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Cost (points) |
Endurance | Attack | Support | Versatility | ||||
1 |
★★ |
★★ |
★ |
|
|
|
★ |
|
2 |
★ |
★★ |
★★★ |
|
|
|
★ |
|
3 |
★★ |
★ |
|
|
★★ |
★★★ |
★ |
★★ |
4 |
★★★ |
★★★ |
★ |
|
★★★ |
|
★ |
★★ |
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Meh Χ - Not recommended |
Consumables
As a tier X German battleship, Großer Kurfürst has access to the following consumables and their premium versions: Damage Control Party, Spotting Aircraft, Catapult Fighter, and Hydroacoustic Search.
Camouflage
Type 1, 2, or 5 camouflage can be equipped for credits; Types 2 or 5 are recommended at a minimum to reduce the accuracy of incoming shells.
Players who wish to spend doubloons can equip Großer Kurfürst with Type 20 camouflage that lowers her detection radius and the cost for her post-battle service, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, and increases the amount of experience and credits she earns.
Signals
As a Tier X battleship, it is recommended to mount the following signals on Großer Kurfürst: Equal Speed Charlie London, Zulu Hotel, Dragon Flag (all for faster captain training), India Bravo Terrathree (to further reduce service costs if you so wish), India Delta (to recover more HP, as she is very susceptible to fire damage), India Yankee (to reduce fire damage taken), Zulu (if you wish to take more credits), Mike Yankee Soxisix (for better secondaries), and November Foxtrot (for faster cooldowns on the abilities).Gallery
Großer Kurfürst, after emptying her main barrels, supported by a fellow Großer Kurfürst and Prinz Eugen.
Großer Kurfürst and a friendly Baltimore provide long-range artillery support, while moving closer to the front lines.
Großer Kurfürst spearheads the push, the friendly Baltimore in tow, her starboard secondaries already ripping into an enemy ship.
Historical Info
Historical Gallery
References
https://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_16-52_skc34.php