World of Warships Supertest: Japanese Tier VIII Cruiser Shimanto

Historical background

So… here is the part of the Japanese light cruisers line where it gets awkward. Shimanto, just like the next ships are completely fake with her being specifically an upscaled version of the Mogami-class.

You might be wondering why I called her and the others “awkward”. Well, the reason is simple, the guns that Wargaming decided to use. They are using a late-war land-based anti-aircraft gun developed and used by the Imperial Japanese Army. More specifically, the “Type 5 15 cm AA gun”. While only two of these were produced before the end of the war, the only time they were put in action near Kugayama, they proved to be effective anti-aircraft weapons, shooting down two B-29 Superfortress bombers and forcing the Americans to avoid the area.
The problem is that… well it’s a weapon from the army and as some of you may know, the Japanese army and navy hated each other with passion. They communicated as little as possible with one another or just completely refused to cooperate. As for how this 150 mm gun might have landed in the hands of the navy, one of the potential scenarios would be that a navy spy got the plans from an army facility but even then, you would have the challenge to turn a land-based artillery equipment into a ship-based one.

Ship’s preview

Ship’s camouflages

For the classic reminder, this is a ship in testing, anything can change so don’t look at her like she would already be released.

Modules

Hull	Engine	Gun Fire Control System	Main battery	Torpedoes
Shimanto (A)	Propulsion: 152 000 HP	‎Type8 mod. 1	150 mm/60 5th Year Type in a triple turret	Type 93
Shimanto (B)		‎Type8 mod. 2

Stock Ship

General Characteristics

Main Armament

5 x 3 150 mm/60 5th Year Type in a triple turret All turrets except n°1 can rotate at 360°
Maximum Firing Range	17.000 km
Reloading Time	14.0 s
180 Degree Turn Time	6.0 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	39°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	33°
Sigma	2.0 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	150 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 150 mm HE Type 0
Alpha Damage	2 500
Penetration capacity	30 mm
Explosion size	0.52
Fire chance	10 %
Projectile Speed	930 m/s
Air Drag	0.278
Projectile Mass	41.0 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 150 mm AP Type 0
Alpha Damage	2 850
Projectile Speed	930 m/s
Air Drag	0.278
Projectile Mass	41.0 kg
Projectile Krupp	2 400
Projectile Detonator	0.025 s
Detonator threshold	25 mm
Ricochet Angles	45° – 60°

Secondary Armament

4 x 2 100 mm/65 Type 98 on a twin mount
Maximum Firing Range	6.600 km
Reloading Time	2.86 s
Sigma	1.0 sigma
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 100 mm HE Type98
Alpha Damage	1 700
HE penetration	30 mm
Explosion Size	0.28
Chance to Cause Fire	6 %
Projectile Speed	1 000 m/s
Air Drag	0.331
Projectile Mass	13.0 kg

Torpedo Armament

4 x 3 610 mm Triple Type93 Torpedoes can be fired beyond their normal firing angles
Reloading Time	120 s
Maximum Distance	15.000 km
Optimal firing angles at the front	84°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	38°
Damage	23 767
Flooding Chance	406%
Speed	57 knots
Surface Detectability	1.7 km

Anti-air Armament

Consumables

Consumables
Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Damage Control Party Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s	Defensive AA Fire Number of charges: 3 Work time: 40 s Cooldown: 80 s Continuous Damage: +50% Damage from shell explosions: +300%	Fighter Number of charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 90 s Number of planes in a squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 3.0 km
	Hydroacoustic Search Number of charges: 3 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 120 s Torpedo spotting range: 3.5 km Ship spotting range: 5.0 km

Fully Upgraded Ship

General Characteristics

Main Armament

5 x 3 150 mm/60 5th Year Type in a triple turret All turrets except n°1 can rotate at 360°
Maximum Firing Range	18.700 km
Reloading Time	14.0 s
180 Degree Turn Time	6.0 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	39°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	33°
Sigma	2.0 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	162 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 150 mm HE Type 0
Alpha Damage	2 500
Penetration capacity	30 mm
Explosion size	0.52
Fire chance	10 %
Projectile Speed	930 m/s
Air Drag	0.278
Projectile Mass	41.0 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 150 mm AP Type 0
Alpha Damage	2 850
Projectile Speed	930 m/s
Air Drag	0.278
Projectile Mass	41.0 kg
Projectile Krupp	2 400
Projectile Detonator	0.025 s
Detonator threshold	25 mm
Ricochet Angles	45° – 60°

Secondary Armament

4 x 2 100 mm/65 Type 98 on a twin mount
Maximum Firing Range	6.600 km
Reloading Time	2.86 s
Sigma	1.0 sigma
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 100 mm HE Type98
Alpha Damage	1 700
HE penetration	30 mm
Explosion Size	0.28
Chance to Cause Fire	6 %
Projectile Speed	1 000 m/s
Air Drag	0.331
Projectile Mass	13.0 kg

Torpedo Armament

4 x 3 610 mm Triple Type93 Torpedoes can be fired beyond their normal firing angles
Reloading Time	120 s
Maximum Distance	15.000 km
Optimal firing angles at the front	84°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	38°
Damage	23 767
Flooding Chance	406%
Speed	57 knots
Surface Detectability	1.7 km

Anti-air Armament

Consumables

Consumables
Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Damage Control Party Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s	Defensive AA Fire Number of charges: 3 Work time: 40 s Cooldown: 80 s Continuous Damage: +50% Damage from shell explosions: +300%	Fighter Number of charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 90 s Number of planes in a squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 3.0 km
	Hydroacoustic Search Number of charges: 3 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 120 s Torpedo spotting range: 3.5 km Ship spotting range: 5.0 km

The Armor

External armor protection:

Front and rear armor protection of the middle section:

Citadel armor protection:

Personal Opinion

As of right now, I’m not particularly impressed by Shimanto. While she has a great firing range and volume of fire, the ballistics of her shells will make it hard to hit targets at long range. Another problem is that while she has a lot of guns, because of the long reload, the DPM is one of the worst among tier VIII light cruisers. Chapayev, Mainz, Bayard, or Mogami for example have a far better damage output.

The torpedoes of Shimanto are also quite deceptive with their high damage and flooding chance but at the same time, horrible speed and fairly bad concealment.

As a last nail in the coffin, the ship is huge for a light cruiser while having poor armor protection.

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