Kansas

13.3

Battleship | U.S.A. | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

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Battle Levels

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VIII

11,000,000

Kansas — American Tier VIII battleship.

This battleship design was used as the basis for constructing of a number of warships after World War I. She was similar to the Colorado class in many aspects, being, in fact, an enhanced version of her with more powerful armament. This warship was the crown of the developmental process of "standard" battleships in the U.S. Navy.

Kansas was first made available in Early Access with Update 0.9.9. With Update 0.9.10 in late October 2020, she and her successors became permanent tech tree ships.

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 ()
406 mm/45 Mk.7 in a turret	1.5	45	266	5,700	36	11,800		0	800,000

	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 ()
Kansas (A)	61,300	19	457	4	8	23/12/8				0	1,200,000
Kansas (B)	67,000	19	457	4	8	23/12/8				45,000	3,900,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk8 mod. 1		0		0	800,000
Mk8 mod. 2		0		30,000	2,600,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 68,000 hp	23		0	800,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

After Tier VII Colorado, the USN battleship tree splits into a "fast" branch and a "slow" branch. Kansas is the Tier VIII ship in the slow branch.

Prior to the rise of aircraft carriers in the mid-1930's, the US Navy accepted the trade-off of speed for firepower, cruising range, and, to a lesser extent, protection in a common set of requirements for battleship design. These were the USN "Standards", represented in-game up through Colorado. The fast battleship branch — North Carolina-, South Dakota-, Iowa-, and Montana-classes — models the change in these requirements so that battleships could operate in fleet with speedy carriers. (These designs were made possible by improved propulsion system efficiency and by de-prioritizing armor protection.) The slow battleship branch models how USN battleship designs might have progressed without the requirement to operate in fleet with carriers. They are the un-built USN Standards.

Kansas inherits her (slow) speed and good citadel protection from her Standard predecessors while adding major improvements in firepower and torpedo protection. She mounts in four triple turrets twelve (16") 406mm/45 Mark 7 rifles with a 40 second (!) base reload time. She does not carry SHS AP but throws a lighter 920kg AP shell, allowing a higher muzzle velocity with more comfortable aiming and good short- and mid-range penetration at the cost of maximum range and long-range penetration. She has slightly better maximum dispersion, but lower sigma, meaning her salvos will scatter a bit more within the smaller area.

Despite her tremendous alpha strike, Kansas is not a brawler. She mounts the standard (5") 127mm/38 Mark 32 secondary turrets with 5km range, just two fewer of them. A secondary build is not advisable.

In their stock hulls, Kansas boasts considerably more health points (HP) than the faster North Carolina: 61,200 vs. 53,700. That gap almost closes in the top hulls. The whole fast battleship branch sports 0.66%/second repair party performance; Kansas` repair parties heal at 0.5%/sec like most other battleships. Kansas` has much better torpedo protection at 40% vs 19% with a bulge that extends well fore and aft. She will need it.

Kansas appears to have superior armor protection against large caliber guns with a thicker main belt system and heavy side belts that extent forward and aft to protect her transverse bulkheads when angled, along with a thicker transverse bulkhead and three armor decks above her citadel. Her turret front plates are a massive 457mm thick, but all other parts of her turret armor are thinner than N.Carolina. (Interestingly, an armored conning tower does not appear in her Armor Layout display.) How well her main armor system actually works, however, will depend on the situation. Like many of her peers, she is susceptible to concentrated light to medium caliber fire.

She carries fewer AA mounts, making her AA defense about 10% weaker than N.Carolina. She does launch one more catapult fighter.

Her maneuverability is worse then her counterpart, with a tighter turning radius but slower rudder shift. Where she really loses out is in the amount of speed retained in a turn: turning slows her way down. She's already slow — maneuvering makes her slower. Consider the Torpedo Lookout System upgrade and the Vigilance skill, or just resolve to eat torpedoes, particularly the low-damage aerial variety.

Kansas is a large ship, with a base detectability range of 16.6km — nearly a full kilometer farther than N.Carolina, though better than the behemoths at higher tiers.

Initially controversial, the long 40 second reload time is reported to be less noticeable in actual use. The elephant in the room is whether Kansas` extra firepower offsets her slow speed, made even more obvious by the fast ships and large maps that she will face at Tier VII and above. Those who dislike the USN Standards for the play style demanded by their lack of speed will not be dissuaded by Kansas. Those who are accustomed to the Standards will find her quite powerful, and an interesting contrast to her 'fast' counterpart.

Pros:

Heavy broadside of twelve (12) 406mm main guns
Excellent main battery range
Tight turn radius for a battleship
The citadel is located below the waterline, and is hard to hit
Good torpedo damage reduction, torpedo bulges cover most of the ship's sides
Good AA suite, bolstered by the Defensive AA Fire  consumable

Cons:

The slowest Tier 8 battleship, with a base speed of 23 knots
Very slow reload speed of 40 seconds
Low sigma (1.5) and mediocre AP penetration at range
Extensively covered in 32mm plating, vulnerable to HE spam and large caliber AP overmatch, making her rather squishy.
Lacks the improved Repair Party  found on other tech tree American battleships
Most of Kansas` AA defenses are open mounts, and can be easily destroyed with HE
Despite her underwater citadel, Kansas can take massive amounts of normal penetration damage when showing a full broadside

Research

Availability of researchable upgrades for Kansas is as follows:

Upgrade to Hull (B) for 5700 more HP, more AA mounts, and a faster rudder shift. Research of this module unlocks progression to Minnesota.
Upgrade to the Mk.8 mod 2 Gun Fire Control System for an extra 10% range on her already-good main battery range.

Optimal Configuration

Nothing can be done to improve Kansas` basic characteristics. She is slow, has a slow reload, and weak secondaries. Her build should bolster her protection and augment her strengths.

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Kansas are as follows:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire Modification 1 if available or Damage Control System Modification 1 
Slot 3: Main Battery Modification 2
Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2 *
Slot 5: Torpedo Lookout System or Concealment System Modification 1  *

In Slot 3, Artillery Plotting Room Modification 1 is usually the choice, but with her low sigma, faster turret traverse is preferred to make her more effective against targets of opportunity.

Depending on the captain's command style, Slot 4 is pretty much captain's choice.

In Slot 5, Concealment is a wise choice, but slow as she is, better use may be made of increased torpedo detection 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. Χ	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters. ★	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. Χ	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. Χ
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. Χ	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen. Χ	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed. Χ	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. Χ	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage. Χ	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 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 +25% to the armor penetration of HE shells. -50% to base chance of fire caused by HE shells.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +7.5% attack aircraft and torpedo bomber aiming speed. +15% dive bomber aiming speed. Χ	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% AA flak burst damage.	Massive AA Fire +100% instantaneous damage. No boost to continuous damage in a reinforced sector. Shorter effective cooldown.	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

Consumables

Kansas can equip the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Repair Party 
Slot 3: Defensive AA Fire 
Slot 4: Catapult Fighter  or Spotting Aircraft

Again, building to extend maximum range is questionable given Kansas` dispersion. Better to bolster her AA.

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 can, for 3000 doubloons equip Kansas with Type 18 permanent camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, reduces her repair costs, and increases the amount of experience she earns.

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 +10% 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

Ships of U.S.A.

Destroyers	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 Halford • IX Black B • IX Black • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Cruisers	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Annapolis
Battleships	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • ★ Maine
Aircraft Carriers	IV Langley • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • ★ United States

Battleships

Japan	II Mikasa • III Kawachi • IV Myōgi • IV Ishizuchi • V Kongō • V ARP Kongō • V ARP Kirishima • V ARP Haruna • V ARP Hiei • V HSF Hiei • VI Fusō • VI Mutsu • VI Ise • VII Nagato • VII Ashitaka • VII Hyūga • VIII Amagi • VIII Yumihari • VIII Kii • VIII Ignis Purgatio • VIII Ragnarok • IX Izumo • IX Adatara • IX Musashi • IX Hizen • IX Iwami • IX Daisen • IX Tsurugi • IX Iwami B • X Yamato • X Bungo • X Shikishima • X ARP Yamato • ★ Satsuma
U.K.	III Bellerophon • III Indefatigable • III Dreadnought • IV Orion • IV Queen Mary • V Iron Duke • V Tiger • V Agincourt • VI Warspite • VI Queen Elizabeth • VI Renown • VI Repulse • VI Repulse B • VII King George V • VII Rooke • VII Hood • VII Nelson • VII Duke of York • VII Collingwood • VII Renown '44 • VII Duke of Bronte • VIII Monarch • VIII Hawke • VIII Vanguard • IX Lion • IX Duncan • IX Marlborough • IX Scarlet Thunder • X Conqueror • X St. Vincent • X Thunderer • X Incomparable • ★ Devastation
France	III Turenne • IV Courbet • V Bretagne • VI Normandie • VI Dunkerque • VI Dunkerque B • VII Lyon • VII Strasbourg • VIII Richelieu • VIII Gascogne • VIII Champagne • VIII Flandre • VIII Picardie • IX Alsace • IX Jean Bart • IX Jean Bart B • X République • X Bourgogne • ★ Patrie
U.S.S.R.	III Knyaz Suvorov • IV Imperator Nikolai I • IV Gangut • V Pyotr Velikiy • V Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya • VI Izmail • VI Novorossiysk • VII Sinop • VII Poltava • VIII Vladivostok • VIII Lenin • VIII Borodino • IX Sovetsky Soyuz • IX Navarin • IX AL Sov. Rossiya • X Kremlin • X Slava • ★ Admiral Ushakov
U.S.A.	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • ★ Maine
Germany	III Nassau • III Von der Tann • III König Albert • IV Kaiser • IV Moltke • V König • V Derfflinger • VI Bayern • VI Mackensen • VI Prinz Eitel Friedrich • VII Gneisenau • VII Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst • VII AL Prinz Heinrich • VII Scharnhorst B • VII Scharnhorst '43 • VIII Tirpitz • VIII Bismarck • VIII Zieten • VIII Odin • VIII Brandenburg • VIII Anhalt • VIII Brandenburg B • VIII Tirpitz B • IX Friedrich der Grosse • IX Prinz Rupprecht • IX Pommern • IX Pommern B • X Grosser Kurfürst • X Schlieffen • X Preussen • X Mecklenburg • ★ Hannover
Pan-Asia	IX Bajie • IX Wujing • IX Sun Yat-Sen • IX Louchuan
Spain	IX Victoria
Europe	V Viribus Unitis • IX Karl XIV Johan
Netherlands
Italy	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 • X Ruggiero di Lauria • X Sicilia
Commonwealth	VII Yukon
Pan-America	V Rio de Janeiro • VIII Atlântico

Games

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Kansas

Modules

Compatible Upgrades