Supertest: U.S. Tier IX Premium Cruiser Tulsa

Historical background

In May 1943, the U.S. Bureau of Ordnance proposed a new 203 mm rapid-firing gun. It was designed to be mounted in twin or triple mounts with the former being what would become the main battery of the Des Moines-class cruisers.

At the same time, the Bureau wanted these new guns to be incorporated on existing U.S. cruiser hulls. The triple turrets would have been far too complex to mount on existing hulls because of the much larger cylindric barbette that was required. However, it would have been feasible for the twin turret version and it was considered that the barbettes and roller paths of the previous slow-firing 203 mm could be used.

In the end, the project never became a reality. However, if it ever came to be, the Tulsa, the 8th ship of the Oregon City-class of heavy cruisers, could have been a potential candidate.

In World of Warships, Tulsa isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel and presents the classic characteristics of a high-tier U.S. cruiser with the exception that, compared to the rest, she only gets a 9 km Surveillance Radar.

Ship’s preview

Ship’s commemorative flag

Camouflage

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
Tulsa	Propulsion: 120 000 HP	‎Mk9 mod. 1	203 mm/55 RF Mk.16 in a turret

General Characteristics

Main Armament

3 x 2 203 mm/55 RF Mk.16 in a turret
Maximum Firing Range	14.860 km
Reloading Time	5.5 s
180 Degree Turn Time	30.0 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	30°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	25°
Sigma	2.05 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	136 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 203 mm HE/HC Mk25
Alpha Damage	2 800
Damage	1 220
Penetration capacity	34 mm
Explosion size	0.86
Fire chance	14 %
Projectile Speed	823 m/s
Air Drag	0.333
Projectile Mass	118 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 203 mm AP Mk21
Alpha Damage	5 000
Projectile Speed	762 m/s
Air Drag	0.356
Projectile Mass	152 kg
Projectile Krupp	2 919
Projectile Detonator	0.033 s
Detonator threshold	34 mm
Ricochet Angles	60° – 67.5°

Secondary Armament

6 x 2 127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount
Maximum Firing Range	6.950 km
Reloading Time	6.0 s
Sigma	1.0 sigma
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 127 mm HE Mk32
Alpha Damage	1 800
Damage	380
HE penetration	21 mm
Explosion Size	0.38
Chance to Cause Fire	5 %
Projectile Speed	792 m/s
Air Drag	0.347
Projectile Mass	24.5 kg

Anti-air Armament

Consumables

Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 4
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%	Surveillance Radar Number of charges: 3 Work time: 35 s Cooldown: 120 s Ship spotting range: 9.0 km	Repair Party Number of charges: 3 Work time: 28 s Cooldown: 80 s HP regeneration: 0.5%/s Casemate damage regeneration: 50% Citadel damage regeneration: 30%
	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:

Turrets armor protection:

Personal Opinion

Soooo… who needs a tier IX Des Moines?

On paper, the Tulsa definitely looks scary, even with just two-thirds of Des Moines’ firepower.

For reference, her theoretical DPM on the HE is 183 273 and for the AP, 327 273.
Buffalo only has 168 000 DPM on the HE and 300 000 DPM on the AP. Of course, Buffalo is more focused on delivering big salvo thanks to the high alpha damage but it still gives you an idea of how much damage Tulsa can pump out while “only” having 6 guns.

She also gets great concealment with the minimum surface detecting range being at 9.47 km.

Everything isn’t all nice and shiny though. Tulsa has 2 non-neglectable downsides. First and foremost, her lack of range with only 14.860 km. For a high-tier cruiser, it starts being a bit too short and running the range upgrade might be something to consider.

Also, the ship is quite squishy and with a below-average HP pool so mistakes in positioning and engagement choices will be punished hard.

As a final downside (kinda), unlike Des Moines, Tulsa doesn’t get that sweet unique upgrade that allows her to accelerate ultra fast.

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Yuzorah

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