Saipan

Revision as of 18:11, 5 June 2016

13.3

Aircraft Carrier | U.S.A. | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

12345678910

VIII

Special

Saipan — American special premium Tier VIII aircraft сarrier.

In 1943, Admiral King demanded that two light aircraft carriers be built per year to compensate for anticipated losses. The first two ships were to enter service in December 1945. The new ships were to be based on the hull of the Baltimore-class heavy cruiser. Only two ships were built—no new ones were ordered due to the war ending. Initially, USS Saipan, which was deemed too small to accommodate jets, was utilized for naval cadet training, training maneuvers, and patrol and diplomatic missions.

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 ()
Saipan	47,900	6	152			15/10/5				0	0

	Speed (knot)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_MED_DAMAGE (HP/min)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_AMMO_AMOUNT	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
F8F Bearcat	176			1,660		0	0

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
BTD Destroyer	6,467	131	2,040		0	0

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
BTD Destroyer		131	2,150		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 120,000 hp	33		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

The Saipan is a bit of an anomaly in the USN carrier line, defying the all-or-nothing loadout concept of USN carriers to have both anti-air and anti-surface capabilities. In addition, she has uncharacteristically small squadron sizes of 3 for her fighters and torpedo bombers (but 8 planes for her dive bombers) - but that is to balance the fact that, at tier 7, she carries the stock aircraft of the tier 10 USN carrier, the Midway! As such, her strike squadrons can practically outrun almost any fighter squadrons they encounter, and her fighters can quickly pounce on any aircraft they see. Moreover, the high speeds of her strike aircraft minimise the time spent on the approach and pull back, lowering their chances of getting shot down by enemy ships' AA (their high durability helps too). While her hangar capacity of 48 might seem rather lacklustre, it's not a major issue except for the dive bombers due to their large squadron size.

It is generally recommended to use the torpedo bomber loadout as opposed to the dive bomber loadout. While having 1000-pound bombs one tier earlier in a large squadron of 8 is amazing (when all hit), dive bombing is still very much RNG-based - torpedo bombing is still the way to go for more reliable results. Furthermore, the Saipan is the only USN carrier to have the converging torpedo pattern for its manual drop - combined with fast aircraft, it's fairly easy to hit all 6 torpedoes on battleships and even snipe destroyers. Losing one squadron of planes is no big deal with the torpedo bomber loadout; their small squadron sizes means that you can repeatedly re-form destroyed squadrons without worrying too much about running out of planes like the Independence. Having one more squadron of fighters in the air with the dive bomber loadout does not make up for the loss in strike capability, and your fighters will still be overwhelmed by the larger squadrons of enemy fighters they encounter.

Pros:

Good speed allows her to quickly reposition or keep a distance from the enemy
Powerful AA
Blisteringly fast and powerful aircraft
Short aircraft servicing times (more likely due to the small number of planes in a squadron than anything else)
Both loadouts have anti-air and anti-surface capabilities
Fearsome dive bomber potential, with 8 aircraft in a squadron armed with 1000-pound bombs
Only US carrier to have more than 1 torpedo squadron
Has the IJN converging pattern for the torpedo squadrons' manual drop due to only having 3 planes instead of 6 in a squadron

Cons:

Like the Independence, she gets detected more easily from the air than from the surface
No secondary armament
Lousy rudder shift time
Unable to utilise both torpedo and dive bombers together in either loadouts
Fighters have low ammo count, hindering their ability to stay on the battlefield
Small squadron size means that fighters are easily overwhelmed
Torpedo squadrons only have 3 planes each, hindering their burst damage potential (like IJN carriers)
Despite having 8 planes in a squadron, the larger USN dispersion for the dive bombers still prevents them from doing reliable damage

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

Aircraft Carriers

Japan	IV Hōshō • VI Ryūjō • VIII Shōkaku • VIII Kaga • VIII Kaga B • X Hakuryū • ★ Sekiryu
U.K.	IV Hermes • VI Furious • VI Ark Royal • VIII Implacable • VIII Indomitable • VIII Colossus • X Audacious • X Malta • ★ Eagle
France	VI Béarn
U.S.S.R.	IV Komsomolets • VI Serov • VIII Pobeda • VIII Chkalov • VIII Chkalov B • X Admiral Nakhimov
U.S.A.	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
Germany	IV Rhein • VI Weser • VI Erich Loewenhardt • VIII August von Parseval • VIII Graf Zeppelin • VIII Graf Zeppelin B • X Manfred von Richthofen • X Max Immelmann
Pan-Asia	VIII Sanzang
Spain
Europe
Netherlands
Italy	VIII Aquila
Commonwealth
Pan-America

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |Performance=<!-- write text about performance in battles below -->
+The Saipan is a bit of an anomaly in the USN carrier line, defying the all-or-nothing loadout concept of USN carriers to have both anti-air and anti-surface capabilities. In addition, she has uncharacteristically small squadron sizes of 3 for her fighters and torpedo bombers (but 8 planes for her dive bombers) - but that is to balance the fact that, at tier 7, she carries the stock aircraft of the tier '''10''' USN carrier, the ''Midway!'' As such, her strike squadrons can practically outrun almost any fighter squadrons they encounter, and her fighters can quickly pounce on any aircraft they see. Moreover, the high speeds of her strike aircraft minimise the time spent on the approach and pull back, lowering their chances of getting shot down by enemy ships' AA (their high durability helps too). While her hangar capacity of 48 might seem rather lacklustre, it's not a major issue except for the dive bombers due to their large squadron size.
-|Research=<!-- write text about priority sequence of research below -->
+It is generally recommended to use the torpedo bomber loadout as opposed to the dive bomber loadout. While having 1000-pound bombs one tier earlier in a large squadron of 8 is amazing (when all hit), dive bombing is still very much RNG-based - torpedo bombing is still the way to go for more reliable results. Furthermore, the Saipan is the only USN carrier to have the converging torpedo pattern for its manual drop - combined with fast aircraft, it's fairly easy to hit all 6 torpedoes on battleships and even snipe destroyers. Losing one squadron of planes is no big deal with the torpedo bomber loadout; their small squadron sizes means that you can repeatedly re-form destroyed squadrons without worrying too much about running out of planes like the Independence. Having one more squadron of fighters in the air with the dive bomber loadout does not make up for the loss in strike capability, and your fighters will still be overwhelmed by the larger squadrons of enemy fighters they encounter.
 |Pros=<!-- write list of positive points below. use * as in ordinary wiki-list. -->
+* Good speed allows her to quickly reposition or keep a distance from the enemy
+* Powerful AA
+* Blisteringly fast and powerful aircraft
+* Short aircraft servicing times (more likely due to the small number of planes in a squadron than anything else)
+* Both loadouts have anti-air and anti-surface capabilities
+* Fearsome dive bomber potential, with 8 aircraft in a squadron armed with 1000-pound bombs
+* Only US carrier to have more than 1 torpedo squadron
+* Has the IJN converging pattern for the torpedo squadrons' manual drop due to only having 3 planes instead of 6 in a squadron
 |Cons=<!-- write list of negative points below. use * as in ordinary wiki-list. -->
+* Like the Independence, she gets detected more easily from the air than from the surface
+* No secondary armament
+* Lousy rudder shift time
+* Unable to utilise both torpedo and dive bombers together in either loadouts
+* Fighters have low ammo count, hindering their ability to stay on the battlefield
+* Small squadron size means that fighters are easily overwhelmed
+* Torpedo squadrons only have 3 planes each, hindering their burst damage potential (like IJN carriers)
+* Despite having 8 planes in a squadron, the larger USN dispersion for the dive bombers still prevents them from doing reliable damage
+|Research=<!-- write text about priority sequence of research below -->
-|Gallery=<!-- write below list of files without tags. description (if necessary) for each should be separated with template {{!}} --><gallery>
+|Gallery=<!-- write below list of files with description (if necessary) separated with | --><gallery>
 </gallery>|History=<!-- write text below -->
+The first USS Saipan (CVL-48) was a light aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class of carrier. She was later selected for conversion into a command ship in 1963–1964, but instead of becoming a command ship she was converted to the Major Communications Relay Ship Arlington (AGMR-2) in 1965.<br />
-|HistoricalGallery=<!-- write below list of files without tags. description (if necessary) for each should be separated with template {{!}} --><gallery>
+<br />
+Saipan was laid down on 10 July 1944 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, launched on 8 July 1945, sponsored by Mrs. John W. McCormack, and commissioned on 14 July 1946, Capt. John G. Crommelin in command.
+|HistoricalGallery=<!-- write below list of files with description (if necessary) separated with | --><gallery>
+File:USS Saipan (CVL-48) underway c1955.jpg|USS Saipan underway, c. 1956
+File:Saipan phantom.jpg|FH-1 Phantom of VF-17A on USS Saipan, May 1948.
+File:USS Arlington AGMR-2.jpg|USS Arlington (AGMR-2), 1967.
+File:Cadets touring Saipan 1956 A.JPG|Cadets touring USS Saipan, docked in Pensacola, Florida, 1956
+File:USS Saipan Cadets tour 1956 B Pensacola.JPG|USS Saipan (CVL-48), 1956
+File:USS Saipan 1956.jpg|Aviation Officer Candidate in pre-flight training aboard ship, 1956
 </gallery>|Video=<!-- put below video clips with using template VideoYT. You can use html-tags for formatting. -->

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Saipan

Revision as of 18:11, 5 June 2016

Modules

Compatible Upgrades