Supertest: German Tier VIII Destroyer Gustav Julius Maerker

The Gustav Julius Maerker (that we won’t nickname using the family name of a current German political figure) is based on the Type 1937J destroyer, a design of ocean-going destroyers from the Kriegsmarine.

These destroyers were meant to be used as escort ships, being able to defend and attack convoys. However, the design couldn’t achieve the required range and speed to fulfill its purpose without having to give up firepower. As such, no ship was ever ordered and the design was abandoned.

In World of Warships, we are getting the Type 1937J with a little change to the planned armament. Instead of having a dual purpose 105 mm twin turret, she gets more AA mounts.

Currently, the concept of the alternative branch of German destroyers implies the following features:

• Accurate 150 mm guns
• Powerful AP shells with good damage, penetration capability, and improved ricochet angles. HE shells, on the contrary, deal moderate damage per minute.
• Availability of the Hydroaccoustic Search and, starting from Tier VIII, the Defensive AA Fire consumable. However, the new destroyers do not have a Smoke Generator.
• Great armor for the class.
• Torpedoes with good reload time and decent speed, but average damage and range.

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
Gustav Julius Maerker (A Hull)	Propulsion: 90 360 hp	ZKS Typ 8 Mod. 1	150 mm/55 Tbts KC/36 on a Tbts LC/36	G7 Steinbutt
Gustav Julius Maerker (B Hull)		ZKS Typ 8 Mod. 2

Stock Ship

General Characteristics

Main Battery

5 x 1 150 mm/55 Tbts KC/36 on a Tbts LC/36 mount
Maximum Firing Range	10.850 km
Reloading Time	6.5 s
180 Degree Turn Time	22.5 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	33°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	44°
Sigma	2.00 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	53 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 150 mm Spr.Gr. Ausf. B
Alpha Damage	2 200 HP
Damage	780 HP
Penetration capacity	38 mm
Explosion size	0.57
Fire chance	12 %
Projectile Speed	835 m/s
Air Drag	0.25
Projectile Mass	51 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 150 mm P.Spr.Gr. Ausf. B
Alpha Damage	3 700 HP
Projectile Speed	835 m/s
Projectile Mass	51
Projectile Krupp	1 933
Projectile Detonator	0.025s
Detonator Threshold	25 mm
Ricochet Angles	60° – 67.5°

Torpedo Armament

Anti-air Armament

Consumables

Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Damage Control Party Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 40 s	Hydroacoustic Search Number of charges: 3 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 120 s Torpedo spotting range: 3.0 km Ship spotting range: 4.0 km	Defensive AA Fire Number of charges: 3 Work time: 40 s Cooldown: 80 s Continuous Damage: +50% Damage from shell explosions: +300%

Fully Upgraded Ship

General Characteristics

Main Battery

5 x 1 150 mm/55 Tbts KC/36 on a Tbts LC/36 mount
Maximum Firing Range	11.935 km
Reloading Time	6.5 s
180 Degree Turn Time	22.5 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	33°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	44°
Sigma	2.00 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	57 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 150 mm Spr.Gr. Ausf. B
Alpha Damage	2 200 HP
Damage	780 HP
Penetration capacity	38 mm
Explosion size	0.57
Fire chance	12 %
Projectile Speed	835 m/s
Air Drag	0.25
Projectile Mass	51 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 150 mm P.Spr.Gr. Ausf. B
Alpha Damage	3 700 HP
Projectile Speed	835 m/s
Projectile Mass	51
Projectile Krupp	1 933
Projectile Detonator	0.025s
Detonator Threshold	25 mm
Ricochet Angles	60° – 67.5°

Torpedo Armament

Anti-air Armament

Consumables

Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Damage Control Party Work time: 5 s Cooldown: 40 s	Hydroacoustic Search Number of charges: 3 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 120 s Torpedo spotting range: 3.0 km Ship spotting range: 4.0 km	Defensive AA Fire Number of charges: 3 Work time: 40 s Cooldown: 80 s Continuous Damage: +50% Damage from shell explosions: +300%

The Armor

So… strangely, compared to the Z-31, the Gustav loses armor. As you can see, only the sides of the middle section are 25 mm thick.

Personal Opinion

Well for a tier VIII it’s… decent-ish. She has a truckload of HP but again, we are looking at a destroyer with no smoke, only going at 36 knots and with a cruiser-like turning radius.

It’s also at this point that the sub-branch starts getting Defensive AA but with a low/average base DPS and absolutely no flak… what is even the point of having that consumable? Even tier VI Carriers will literally not give a crap about it.

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Yuzorah

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