Supertest: German Tier VI Aircraft Carrier Weser
9 min readThe Weser was initially planned as the fourth ship of the Admiral Hipper-class and was named Seidlitz. By May 1942, the Seidlitz was already 95% complete even though her construction was slowed down due to the U-boats becoming a higher priority.
In June, even though the ship was almost ready, Hitler ordered that all work on her be stopped and that she had to be converted into an aircraft carrier. The process of stipping her upper works lasted 6 months and the only remaining superstructure was her funnel. It’s also at this point that she was renamed Weser.
Due to constant bombing raids, the ship was moved from Bremen to Konigsberg. The problem was that in Konigsberg, there was nothing to continue the work on the ship so she remained there, unfinished until March 1944.
The ship was transferred to Kiel where she could be finally completed, however, there was no longer any need for an aircraft carrier now that all the Germans capital ships were either crippled or sunk.
The Weser was finally towed back to Konigsberg were she was scuttled in July 1945.
In World of Warships, the Weser appears as she would have been completed as a carrier. She becomes the 5th Admiral Hipper-class (and variation) in the game after Admiral Hipper herself, Prinz Eugen, Mainz and Tallinn.
Just like the rest of the German carriers, we have no idea about the penetration capacity of the AP bombs and rockets and the secondaries have the standard dispersion formula.
As of now, the German Aircraft carriers concept offers the following peculiarities:
Airplanes have comparatively high cruise speed, but their HP pool is below average;
Attack aircraft use armor-piercing rockets. These rockets can deal high damage by hitting an enemy ship’s citadel, but they allow a familiar counterplay: when they hit at an acute angle, they can ricochet or simply not penetrate the armor. Rockets fired at broadsided destroyers –with their thin armor– will result in overpenetrations that deal 10% of the maximum damage. Armor-piercing rockets can also ricochet against destroyers’ end armor when the ship is bow-in to the planes. Therefore, a player’s reaction against such rockets should be similar to the actions one would take against armor-piercing shells.
Bombers use armor-piercing bombs. Unlike the Japanese bombers, German ones dive immediately, without the prior altitude gain. Their drop zone is shaped like an elongated ellipse, and aiming it during an attack may be difficult. These bombs will be most effective against slower opponents.
The final shape of torpedo bomber’s launching cone is similar to that of Japanese and American torpedo bombers. The torpedoes have a range of 6 km.
As usual, I will cover both the stock and the fully upgraded versions of the ship. Remember, everything that you will see here is, of course, a work in progress.
Hull | Engine | Torpedo bomber | Dive Bomber | Attack Aircraft |
Weser (A) |
Propulsion: 132 000 HP |  Ar 95b |  Ar 81 |  Ar 197 |
Weser (B) | Do 22 | Hs 123 | Bf 109E |
A Hull
| Tier | VI |
| Health | 40 800 HP |
| Displacement | 17 139 tons |
| Aircraft on deck | |
| Attack Aircrafts | 12 |
| Torpedo Bombers | 9 |
| Dive Bombers | 12 |
| Secondary Armament | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 5.00 km |
| 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | 5 x 2 105 mm |
| Anti Air Defense | |
| 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | 5 x 2 105 mm |
| 37 mm Flakzwilling 30 | 7 x 2 37 mm |
| 20 mm Flakzwilling 38 | 10 x 2 20 mm |
| Maximum speed | 32 knots |
| Turning Circle Radius | 930 m |
| Rudder Shift Time | 14.9 s |
| Surface Detectability | 12.06 km |
| Air Detectability | 9.48 km |
Attack aircraft – Ar 197 | |
| Tier | V |
| Hit points per plane | 1 150 |
| Cruise speed | 132 kt |
| Maximum speed | 172 kt |
| Engine boost time | 5 s |
| Engine boost reload time | 10 s |
| Size of attacking flight | 2 |
| Aircraft per squadron | 8 |
| Rocket type | RZ-73 |
| Rocket caliber | 73 mm |
| Rockets per plane | 4 |
| Maximum rocket damage | 1 600 |
| Projectile speed | 500 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.35 |
| Projectile mass | 10 kg |
| Projectile Krupp | 2 400 |
| Projectile detonator | 0.022 s |
| Detonator threshold | 25 mm |
| Detectability range | 10.0 km |
| Aircraft restoration time | 48 s |
| Aircraft on deck | 12 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Engine Cooling  Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 80 s | Patrol fighter  Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 10 s Aircraft per squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 2.5 km |
Torpedo bomber – Ar 95b | |
| Tier | V |
| Hit points per plane | 1 370 |
| Cruise speed | 120 kt |
| Maximum speed | 160 kt |
| Engine boost time | 20 s |
| Engine boost reload time | 40 s |
| Size of attacking flight | 2 |
| Aircraft per squadron | 6 |
| Torpedo type | F5 |
| Torpedoes per plane | 1 |
| Maximum torpedo damage | 5 800 |
| Maximum torpedo range | 6.0 km |
| Torpedo speed | 25 knots |
| Torpedo arming distance | 402 m |
| Flooding chance | 50% |
| Detectability range | 10.0 km |
| Aircraft restoration time | 74 s |
| Aircraft on deck | 9 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Engine Cooling Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 80 s | Patrol fighter Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 10 s Aircraft per squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 2.5 km |
Dive bomber – Ar 81 | |
| Tier | V |
| Hit points per plane | 1 220 |
| Cruise speed | 116 kt |
| Maximum speed | 156 kt |
| Engine boost time | 20 s |
| Engine boost reload time | 40 s |
| Size of attacking flight | 2 |
| Aircraft per squadron | 8 |
| Bomb type | SC 250 |
| Bomb caliber | 406 mm |
| Bomb per plane | 1 |
| Maximum bomb damage | 5 200 |
| Projectile speed | 460 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.35 |
| Projectile mass | 440 kg |
| Projectile Krupp | 2 750 |
| Projectile detonator | 0.025 s |
| Detonator Threshold | 20 |
| Aircraft restoration time | 57 s |
| Aircraft on deck | 12 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Engine Cooling Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 80 s | Patrol fighter Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 10 s Aircraft per squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 2.5 km |
| 5 x 2 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 5.000 km |
| Reloading Time | 3.35 s |
| Sigma | 1.00 sigma |
| Shells | |
| Type of Projectile | HE – 105 mm Spr.Gr. Kz. |
| Alpha Damage | 1 200 HP |
| Damage | 330 HP |
| HE penetration | 26 mm |
| Explosion Size | 0.31 |
| Chance to Cause Fire | 5 % |
| Projectile Speed | 900 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.33 |
| Projectile Mass | 15.1 kg |
| 5 x 2 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 5.2 km |
| Hit chance | 100 % |
| Sector’s damage | 31 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 109 |
| Flak clouds number | 4 |
| Flak cloud damage | 1 260 |
| 7 x 2 37 mm Flakzwilling 30 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 3.5 km |
| Hit chance | 100 % |
| Sector’s damage | 11 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 39 |
| 10 x 2 20 mm Flakzwilling 38 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 2.0 km |
| Hit chance | 100 % |
| Sector’s damage | 29 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 102 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Damage Control Party  Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 90 s | Fighter  Number of charges: 4 Work time: 600 s Cooldown: 40 s Patrol Radius: 3.0 km Planes in a squadron: 4 |
B Hull
| Tier | VI |
| Health | 41 000 HP |
| Displacement | 17 750 tons |
| Aircraft on deck | |
| Attack Aircrafts | 12 |
| Torpedo Bombers | 12 |
| Dive Bombers | 12 |
| Secondary Armament | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 5.00 km |
| 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | 5 x 2 105 mm |
| Anti Air Defense | |
| 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | 5 x 2 105 mm |
| 37 mm Flak LM/42 | 7 x 2 37 mm |
| 20 mm Flakvierling 38 | 10 x 4 20 mm |
| Maximum speed | 32 knots |
| Turning Circle Radius | 930 m |
| Rudder Shift Time | 10.6 s |
| Surface Detectability | 12.06 km |
| Air Detectability | 9.48 km |
| Attack aircraft – Bf 109E | |
| Tier | VI |
| Hit points per plane | 1 210 |
| Cruise speed | 150 kt |
| Maximum speed | 190 kt |
| Engine boost time | 5 s |
| Engine boost reload time | 10 s |
| Size of attacking flight | 2 |
| Aircraft per squadron | 8 |
| Rocket type | RZ-73 |
| Rocket caliber | 73 mm |
| Rockets per plane | 4 |
| Maximum rocket damage | 1 600 |
| Projectile speed | 500 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.35 |
| Projectile mass | 10 kg |
| Projectile Krupp | 2 400 |
| Projectile detonator | 0.022 s |
| Detonator threshold | 25 mm |
| Detectability range | 10.0 km |
| Aircraft restoration time | 58 s |
| Aircraft on deck | 12 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Engine Cooling Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 80 s | Patrol fighter Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 10 s Aircraft per squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 2.5 km |
| Torpedo bomber – Do 22 | |
| Tier | VI |
| Hit points per plane | 1 440 |
| Cruise speed | 123 kt |
| Maximum speed | 163 kt |
| Engine boost time | 20 s |
| Engine boost reload time | 40 s |
| Size of attacking flight | 2 |
| Aircraft per squadron | 8 |
| Torpedo type | F5B |
| Torpedoes per plane | 1 |
| Maximum torpedo damage | 6 600 |
| Maximum torpedo range | 6.0 km |
| Torpedo speed | 25 knots |
| Torpedo arming distance | 504 m |
| Flooding chance | 57% |
| Detectability range | 10.0 km |
| Aircraft restoration time | 73 s |
| Aircraft on deck | 12 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Engine Cooling Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 80 s | Patrol fighter Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 10 s Aircraft per squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 2.5 km |
| Dive bomber – Hs 123 | |
| Tier | VI |
| Hit points per plane | 1 290 |
| Cruise speed | 140 kt |
| Maximum speed | 180 kt |
| Engine boost time | 20 s |
| Engine boost reload time | 40 s |
| Size of attacking flight | 2 |
| Aircraft per squadron | 8 |
| Bomb type | SC 500 |
| Bomb caliber | 406 mm |
| Bomb per plane | 1 |
| Maximum bomb damage | 5 200 |
| Projectile speed | 460 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.35 |
| Projectile mass | 440 kg |
| Projectile Krupp | 2 750 |
| Projectile detonator | 0.025 s |
| Detonator Threshold | 20 |
| Aircraft restoration time | 68 s |
| Aircraft on deck | 12 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Engine Cooling Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 80 s | Patrol fighter Number of Charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 10 s Aircraft per squadron: 3 Patrol radius: 2.5 km |
| 5 x 2 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | |
| Maximum Firing Range | 5.000 km |
| Reloading Time | 3.35 s |
| Sigma | 1.00 sigma |
| Shells | |
| Type of Projectile | HE – 105 mm Spr.Gr. Kz. |
| Alpha Damage | 1 200 HP |
| Damage | 330 HP |
| HE penetration | 26 mm |
| Explosion Size | 0.31 |
| Chance to Cause Fire | 5 % |
| Projectile Speed | 900 m/s |
| Air Drag | 0.33 |
| Projectile Mass | 15.1 kg |
| 5 x 2 105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 5.2 km |
| Hit chance | 100 % |
| Sector’s damage | 31 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 109 |
| Flak clouds number | 4 |
| Flak cloud damage | 1 260 |
| 7 x 2 37 mm Flak LM/42 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 3.5 km |
| Hit chance | 100 % |
| Sector’s damage | 39 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 137 |
| 10 x 4 20 mm Flakvierling 38 | |
| Sector range | 0.1 km – 2.0 km |
| Hit chance | 100 % |
| Sector’s damage | 41 |
| Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
| Sector’s damage per second | 144 |
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Damage Control Party Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 90 s | Fighter Number of charges: 4 Work time: 600 s Cooldown: 40 s Patrol Radius: 3.0 km Planes in a squadron: 4 |
The armor
Since the Weser is a converted heavy cruiser, her armor is surprisingly tough for a tier VI carrier. In fact, she is the most heavily protected carrier at this tier and by far.
As usual, the armor view is mirrored for CVs so it’s normal that the superstructure is on the port side here.
The bow section
The bow is covered with the classic 19 mm armor at tier VI (with the only exception being Ryujo) except for the 40 mm extended belt that is common on all Admiral Hipper-class ships.
Inside the bow, there is a 20 mm armored deck. It is actually relevant for 4 ships. If a Graf Spee, HSF Graf Spee, Scharnhorst or Scharnhorst Black shoot at you with AP, they will be able to overmatch the bow but the shells will bounce on that armored deck.
For the internal protection of the middle section, the casemate and lower part of the citadel are 25 mm thick. In the middle, the upper part of the citadel and the bulkheads around it are 80 mm thick.
The middle section
For the Hipper-class hull itself, the torpedo bulge is 19 mm thick. Just above, the is a 25 mm upper belt. What used to be the hull’s weather deck is 30 mm thick.
For the upper part of the hull, the casemate is 19 mm thick and the flight deck is 21 mm thick.
Behind the torpedo bulge, there is the 80 mm thick main belt. Since it’s a Hipper hull, it is, of course, followed by a turtleback that protects the 20 mm citadel side armor.
This turtleback, as well as the citadel deck, is 30 mm thick and has a slope ranging from 46° to 58°.
I will need to check when we will receive the ship for testing but the Weser definitely seems to be vulnerable against AP bombs. The 21 mm flight deck isn’t thick enough to allow some bombs to arm and the 30 mm flight deck plus 30 mm citadel deck are certainly not strong enough to block the AP bombs on their way down the ship.
The stern section
The stern is protected by 19 mm of armor except for the 70 mm extended belt.
Inside the stern, there is a 30 mm armored deck that entirely covers the citadel’s athwartship.
For the internal protection of the middle section, the casemate and lower part of the citadel are 25 mm thick. In the middle, the upper part of the citadel and the bulkheads around it are 80 mm thick.
The superstructure
The superstructure is 10 mm thick and is trying to compete with Fuso’s pagoda.
Personal opinion
While Rhein looked promising at tier IV, I’m not really convinced by Weser at tier VI. The torpedoes will definitely be more difficult to land since ships at this tier are much faster and the arming distance is quite huge for such low speed. The small rockets also don’t seem very strong.
The bombs in compensation seem to have a very good penetration power judging by the speed, Krupp and mass so they might be able to compensate. It will all depend on their drop pattern.
Easter-eggs
Nothing crazy to see here except the Nazi Germany’s eagle inside the superstructure of the ship.
About Author
Weser entire island is basically her original heavy cruiser hull superstructure taken down, strip all the covering plate around the tower mast and move on to carrier, yeah is funny looking.
Fuso: Finally a worthy opponent! Our battle is going to be legendary!!!!
Or
Fuso: Oh? You are approaching me? Instead of running away, you are approaching me, the Fuso-sama?
Weser: I can’t compare my tower to yours without getting closer.
Fuso: Hooo… Then come as close as you like!
Weser: ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA
Fuso: MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA
I’d love to set a camera to record what happens in the top of that tower in rough seas. I bet it would be absolutely hilarious.