Supertest: French Tier VI Destroyer Guépard
6 min readLadies and Gentlemen, let’s have a look together at the tier VI French destroyer Guépard (Cheetah in English) that you can pronounce Ge (like in “get”) – Pard (with the d being silent. Don’t you dare to tell me that French is weird, in English you aren’t pronouncing a K that is literally at the beginning of a word, you know.)
The Guépard-class of French destroyer was laid down in 1927 and commissioned in 1930. The ships served during World War 2 but were all lost during the conflict.
The Guépard herself served under the Vichy France’s navy after France surrendered in 1940. On 27 November 1942, she would be scuttled alongside 76 other ships in the port of Toulon to block the German forces from capturing them (thank you for nothing François Darlan).
Anyway… In World of Warships, the Guépard is the first destroyer of the line to carry the Main Battery Reload Booster consumable which will give her during gunfights the access to short bursts of damage that can change the outcome of the fight. She also gets access to a 3 minutes base duration engine boost compared to Aigle with only 2 minutes.
However, for both Vauquelin and her, the HE shell’s damage value is way too low (1400 of alpha damage) compared to the other 139 mm guns so I assume that it’s supposed to be 1900 or even 2000.
First of all, the French are artillery destroyers with Engine Boost, giving + 20% to the speed and Main Battery Reload consumable, accelerating the reload of the main caliber guns by 50%. When fighting in them, it is necessary to properly use the advantage in speed and the ability over a short period of time to significantly increase firepower. They have good armor-piercing shells, which at high tiers can cause damage directly to the citadel of light cruisers from a distance of 8–10 km and heavy cruisers from a distance of 6–7 km. An inconsiderate cruiser, presenting broadside, can become an easy target!
A nice addition will be torpedoes with an average range of 8 km, but an impressive speed of 75 knots.
The main difference is the lack of the seemingly standard and basic consumable for destroyers, Smoke Generator. But, given the fact that the destroyer at tier X can achieve speeds of up to 55 knots, this deficiency can be partly compensated for with skillful maneuvering and speed changes. In addition, the hit points of the French destroyers are allocated in the same manner as the test destroyer L’effronté (Le Terrible). This system allows destroyers to live longer under intense enemy fire.
To sum up, we can say that this new concept of destroyers is more suited to those who prefer speed and an artillery heavy style of play, and for the successful implementation of all their strengths, commanders will need to develop two skills: competent positioning and a “Hit and Run” style of combat.
Hull | Engine | Gun Fire Control System | Main battery | Torpedoes |
Guépard (A) |
Propulsion: 64 000 hp |
PCA n° 6 Mle 1 |
139 mm/40 Mle 1923 |
550 mm 23DT |
Guépard (B) |  PCA n° 6 Mle 2 |
| Tier | VI |
| Health | 14 200 HP |
| Main Armament | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 11.860 km |
| 139 mm/40 Mle 1923 | 5 x 1 139 mm |
| Torpedo Armament | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 9.000 km |
| 550 mm tube lance-torpilles | 2 x 3 550 mm |
| Maximum speed | 36 kt |
| Turning Circle Radius | 680 m |
| Rudder Shift Time | 5.7 s |
| Surface Detectability | 7.74 km |
| Air Detectability | 3.57 km |
| Detectability After Firing Main Gus in Smoke | 3.1 km |
| 5 x 1 139 mm/40 Mle 1923 | |
| Reloading Time | 4.8 s |
| 180 Degree Turn Time | 27.7 s |
| Optimal front firing angle | 41° |
| Optimal rear firing angle | 42° |
| Sigma | 2.00 sigma |
| Maximum Dispersion | 113 m |
| Shells | |
| Type of Projectile | HE |
| Alpha Damage | 1 400 HP |
| Damage | 305 HP |
| HE penetration | 22 mm |
| Explosion Size | 0.49 |
| Chance to Cause Fire | 9 % |
| Projectile Speed | 700 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.300 |
| Projectile Mass | 40.2 |
| Projectile Krupp | 360 |
| Type of Projectile | AP |
| Alpha Damage | 2 600 HP |
| Chance to Cause Fire | -0.5 % |
| Projectile Speed | 700 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.300 |
| Projectile Mass | 40.4 |
| Projectile Krupp | 2 124 |
| Projectile Detonator | 0.025 s |
| 2 x 3 550 mm tube lance-torpilles | |
| Reloading Time | 90 s |
| Maximum Distance | 9.0 km |
| Optimal front firing angle | 48° |
| Optimal rear firing angle | 60° |
| Damage | 14 833 |
| Speed | 60 kt |
| Surface Detectability | 1.3 km |
| 4 x 1 37 mm/50 CAS Mle 1925 | |
| Sector range | 0.9 km – 3.0 km |
| Hit chance | 90 % |
| Sector’s damage | 60 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 3.94 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 15 |
| Flak clouds number | 1 |
| Flak cloud damage | 350 |
| 4 x 1 13.2 mm/76 Mle 1929 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 0.9 km |
| Hit chance | 85 % |
| Sector’s damage | 80 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 1.89 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 42 |
| Sector reinforcement | |
| Sector reinforcement bonus | +50% |
| Sector reinforcement time | 5 s |
| Sector reinforcement shift time | 5 s |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
 Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s |  Number of charges: 3 Work Time: 15 s Cooldown: 150 s Boost: -50% Main battery reload time |  Number of charges: 2 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 180 s Boost: +20% maximum speed |
 Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 40 s |  Number of charges: 4 Work Time: 15 s Cooldown: 100 s Boost: -50% Main battery reload time |  Number of charges: 3 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 120 s Boost: +20% maximum speed |
| Tier | VI |
| Health | 17 200 HP |
| Main Armament | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 13.046 km |
| 139 mm/40 Mle 1923 | 5 x 1 139 mm |
| Torpedo Armament | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 9.000 km |
| 550 mm tube lance-torpilles | 2 x 3 550 mm |
| Maximum speed | 36 kt |
| Turning Circle Radius | 680 m |
| Rudder Shift Time | 4.1 s |
| Surface Detectability | 7.74 km |
| Air Detectability | 3.57 km |
| Detectability After Firing Main Gus in Smoke | 3.1 km |
| 5 x 1 139 mm/40 Mle 1923 | |
| Reloading Time | 4.8 s |
| 180 Degree Turn Time | 27.7 s |
| Optimal front firing angle | 41° |
| Optimal rear firing angle | 42° |
| Sigma | 2.00 sigma |
| Maximum Dispersion | 113 m |
| Shells | |
| Type of Projectile | HE |
| Alpha Damage | 1 400 HP |
| Damage | 305 HP |
| HE penetration | 22 mm |
| Explosion Size | 0.49 |
| Chance to Cause Fire | 9 % |
| Projectile Speed | 700 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.300 |
| Projectile Mass | 40.2 |
| Projectile Krupp | 360 |
| Type of Projectile | AP |
| Alpha Damage | 2 600 HP |
| Chance to Cause Fire | -0.5 % |
| Projectile Speed | 700 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.300 |
| Projectile Mass | 40.4 |
| Projectile Krupp | 2 124 |
| Projectile Detonator | 0.025 s |
| 2 x 3 550 mm tube lance-torpilles | |
| Reloading Time | 90 s |
| Maximum Distance | 9.0 km |
| Optimal front firing angle | 48° |
| Optimal rear firing angle | 60° |
| Damage | 14 833 |
| Speed | 60 kt |
| Surface Detectability | 1.3 km |
| 4 x 2 37 mm/50 Mle 1933 | |
| Sector range | 0.9 km – 3.0 km |
| Hit chance | 90 % |
| Sector’s damage | 80 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 3.90 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 21 |
| Flak clouds number | 1 |
| Flak cloud damage | 350 |
| 2 x 2 13.2 mm/76 CAD Mle 1929 2 x 1 13.2 mm/76 Mle 1929 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 0.9 km |
| Hit chance | 85 % |
| Sector’s damage | 80 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 1.65 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 18 |
| Sector reinforcement | |
| Sector reinforcement bonus | +50% |
| Sector reinforcement time | 5 s |
| Sector reinforcement shift time | 5 s |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 60 s | Number of charges: 3 Work Time: 15 s Cooldown: 150 s Boost: -50% Main battery reload time | Number of charges: 2 Work time: 180 s Cooldown: 180 s Boost: +20% maximum speed |
Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 40 s | Number of charges: 4 Work Time: 15 s Cooldown: 100 s Boost: -50% Main battery reload time | Number of charges: 3 Work time: 180 s Cooldown: 120 s Boost: +20% maximum speed |
The armor
The hull of the Guépard is protected by 16 mm of armor, the superstructure by 10 mm and the gun casemates by 6 mm.
Personal opinion on the ship
The ship is relatively similar to the Aigle that we already have in the game. She has more HP and sets the record of the highest HP pool of all destroyers at tier VI. The gun power is also very impressive with a relatively short reload, the reload booster and (logically once they correct that HE damage value) strong alpha.
Her torpedo striking power is still pretty strong but other lines are starting to catch up for the range and damage.
In terms of speed, she will be doing pretty well tied up with Aigle. However, since it is a big destroyer, her concealment is the worst at this tier. Then again, the ship isn’t really meant to be stealthy and with her gun power, it’s understandable.
Overall, I’m kinda interested to see hwo she will be doing.
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Big *** ship… I wonder if the French destroyer having 139mm guns inspired the Germans to install 150mm’s on their own…