Dresden

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-->{{WoWs_Ship|Promo=<!-- in case of gift or promo ship write conditions to get it. -->

|Anno=<!-- you can write below short description for the ship. it will replace default once. -->
A typical German protected cruiser of the early 20th century. ''Dresden'' could serve as a scout or raider, or cover a ship squadron from enemy destroyers. She boasted a high speed for her time and very good protection. Compared with the majority of enemy cruisers, she was fitted with numerous yet less efficient guns.

|Performance=<!-- write text about performance in battles below -->
The German cruiser line begins here at Tier II with ''Dresden''.  Along with Tier III's ''[[Kolberg]]'', she is something of an anomaly in the overall context of the branch in that both ships will spend most of their time firing high-explosive shells at enemy cruisers and destroyers.  

Given that her main battery is comprised exclusively of 105mm guns, ''Dresden'' will frequently spew out dozens and dozens of shells for minimal damage.  Her guns are effective against enemy destroyers, but that effectiveness falls off quickly against cruisers and battleships.  Her armor piercing shells lack adequate velocity and power to penetrate anything but other lightly-armored cruisers, and even then only at point-blank ranges (5.0 km or less).  The arc on ''Dresden''’s shells is fairly high; landing hits at maximum range will require a significant amount of lead, and AP damage at such ranges will be low or non-existent.  Smart captains can use ''Dresden''’s shell arc to her advantage, however, by using islands as cover and firing over them.

Most players won't spend but a few games in ''Dresden'', which makes her faults and weaknesses easy to overlook.  Overall, she is a fragile ship with relatively weak guns that excels at eliminating enemy destroyers but struggles against most anything else.  

|Pros=<!-- write list of positive points below. use * as in ordinary wiki-list. -->
* High rate of fire for her main battery guns.
* Most barrels of any Tier II cruiser; roughly comparable to Tier III's ''[[Bogatyr]]'' or ''[[St. Louis]]''.
* On the fast side for Tier II cruiser.
* Good rudder shift time.

|Cons=<!-- write list of negative points below. use * as in ordinary wiki-list. -->
* Shortest firing range of all Tier II cruisers found in the regular tech tree.
* HE shells do extremely small amounts of damage and AP is practically worthless.
* Large turning radius for a ship her size makes dodging torpedoes a challenge.
* High shell arc.

|Research=<!-- write text about priority sequence of research below -->
Hull (B) is the top upgrade priority; not only does it increase ''Dresden''’s health pool, but she gains one more barrel in each broadside.  Pick up the Fire Control System range upgrade second.  

|OptimalConfiguration=<!-- write some general text about selection of optimal configuration below (optional)-->

|Upgrades=<!-- write text about best upgrades below -->
''Dresden'' only has access to [[Ship:Upgrades#Tier_I.2B_Equipment_.28Slot_1.29|Upgrade Slot 1]].  Given the bare handful of games most captains will spend in her this is a fairly minor upgrade; either Main Armaments Modification 1 or Magazine Modification 1 recommended.

|CommanderSkills=<!-- write text about best set of Commander Skills below -->

{{Commander Skills
| Priority Target = 3
| Preventative Maintenance = 1
| Expert Loader = 
| Aircraft Servicing Expert = 
| Direction Center for Catapult Aircraft = 
| Dogfighting Expert = 
| Incoming Fire Alert = 1
| Evasive Maneuver = 

| High Alert = 2
| Jack of All Trades = 1
| Expert Marksman = 1
| Torpedo Acceleration = 
| Smoke Screen Expert = 
| Expert Rear Gunner = 
| Adrenaline Rush = 3
| Last Stand = 2

| Basics of Survivability = 1
| Survivability Expert = 2
| Torpedo Armament Expertise = 
| Emergency Takeoff = 
| Basic Firing Training = 3
| Superintendent = 
| Demolition Expert = 2
| Vigilance = 2

| Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament = 
| Fire Prevention = 1
| Inertia Fuse for HE Shells = 2
| Air Supremacy = 
| Advanced Firing Training = 3
| Manual Fire Control for AA Armament = 
| Radio Position Finding = 1
| Concealment Expert = 3
}}

|Consumables=<!-- write text about selection of Consumables below -->

|Camouflage=<!-- write text about useful camouflage below -->
[[Ship:Camouflage#Standard 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.

|Signals=<!-- write text about best set of signals below -->

{{Signal Flags
| Hotel Yankee = 
| Juliet Charlie = 1
| November Foxtrot = 
| Zulu = 
| Juliet Yankee Bissotwo = 
| India Delta = 

| India Yankee = 
| November Echo Setteseven = 
| Zulu Hotel = 2
| India Bravo Terrathree = 
| Sierra Mike = 3
| Victor Lima = 2

| Mike Yankee Soxisix = 
| Papa Papa = 
| India X-Ray = 2
| Equal Speed Charlie London = 3
| Juliet Whiskey Unaone = 
| Dragon Flag = 2
}}


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|History=<!-- write text below -->
<div class="thumb tright">
{{AnnoWiki|content=<h3>Construction</h3>
:Blohm & Voss Shipbuilding; Hamburg, Germany
:Laid down: 1906
:Launched: 5 October 1907
:Commissioned: 14 November 1908
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===Specifications===
:3,664 tons displacement, standard
:117.9m length
:13.5m beam
:5.5m draft
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====Machinery====
:12 boilers, 4 turbines
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====Performance====
:24 knots at 15,000 shaft horsepower
:3,600 nautical miles at 14 knots
----
====Armor====
:Decks: 20-30m
:Gunshields: 50mm
:Conning tower: 100mm
----
====Armament====
=====Main=====
:Ten (10x1) 105mm gun
=====Secondary=====
:Ten (10x1) 52mm guns
=====Torpedoes=====
:Two (2x1) 457mm submerged torpedo tubes
}}</div>
[[File:SMS_Dresden_German_Cruiser.jpg|500px]]
===History===
====Design====
Laid down in at the Blohm and Voss yards in Hamburg in 1906, SMS ''Dresden'' was launched on 5 October 1907 and commissioned into the German High Seas Fleet in November 1908.  She was one of five large cruisers ordered following the passage of one of the amendments to Alfred von Tirpitz’s original fleet plans drafted in 1898.  Armed with ten (10) 105mm guns, she and her sister ship ''[[Emden]]'' had a twofold role in the High Seas Fleet: to serve as advance scouts and escorts when sailing with friendly capital ships, or to act against enemy commercial shipping when operating independently.  

====Service====
By early 1914, ''Dresden'' found herself operating in the Caribbean Sea, representing German interests in the area.  The Mexican governments of the era were fairly unstable, and she spent much of her time occupied with assisting friendly-flagged vessels in Mexican ports or ferrying German citizens out of the country.  In mid-July she transported the recently deposed Mexican president to Jamaica, where the British had granted him asylum.  She was scheduled to return to Germany for refit and overhaul, but upon arriving in Jamaica learned of the mounting tensions in Europe that culminated with the Austrian declaration of war against Serbia on 28 July.  

Three days later, ''Dresden'' was advised that war was imminent and ordered to operate independently, raiding enemy commerce where possible.  She turned southward and made for the Brazilian and Argentinian coasts.  She had limited success as a merchant raider — largely due to a dearth of targets — and in September received orders to round Cape Horn and link up with the German East Asia Squadron under the command of ''Vizeadmiral'' Maximilian von Spee.  ''Dresden'' complied, rendezvousing with von Spee off Easter Island in October 1914.  ''Dresden'' saw action in two battles against the Royal Navy under von Spee’s command, emerging victorious at the Battle of Coronel in November, but her squadron fared worse during the Battle of the Falkland Islands the following month: ''Dresden'' was the only German ship to escape destruction.

She evaded the British fleet for the remainder of the local summer, continuing to raid enemy shipping while nearly a dozen Royal Navy units hunted for her.  She put in at an island off the Chilean coast for coaling and repairs in mid-March 1915, where ''Fregattenkapitän'' Fritz Lüdecke — low on coal and spare parts for his boilers — made the decision to intern his ship and crew in Chile for the remainder of hostilities.  Unfortunately for Lüdecke, ''Dresden'' was discovered by a force of British cruisers the following morning.  Whether she was sunk by enemy action or scuttled by her crew is a matter of some debate, but whatever occurred, 15 March 1915 marked the end of ''Dresden''’s participation in World War I.

Today, the remains of SMS ''Dresden'' lie in 70 meters of water near Robinson Crusoe Island, 400 miles west of Valparaiso, Chile.  In 2006, the ship’s bell was recovered by a team of Chilean and German divers.  The Republic of Chile restored it, and subsequently presented it to Germany in November 2008 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship’s commissioning.  It is on display at the [https://www.mhmbw.de/starteng Museum of the German Armed Forces] in Dresden, Germany.

|HistoricalGallery=<!-- write below list of files without tags. description (if necessary) for each should be separated with template {{!}} --><gallery>
File:Проект корабля типа «Дрезден».jpeg|Line-drawing of the ''Dresden'' class.
File:SMS Dresden 1909 LOC det 4a16116.jpg|''Dresden'' visiting New York City in October 1909.
File:SMS Dresden German Cruiser LOC 04281.jpg|''Dresden'', ''Victoria Louise'', and ''Hertha'' during the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in 1909.
File:Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-30, Kleiner Kreuzer "SMS Dresden I".jpg|''Dresden'' at anchor, probably before the war.
File:SMS Dresden before scuttling.jpg|''Dresden'', flying a white flag in the moments prior to sinking, 15 March 1915.

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