Supertest: U.S. Tier VIII Battleship Kansas

The Kansas, starting the sub-branch of U.S. battleships is based on the planned South-Dakota-class from 1920.

The South Dakota-class was the first class of battleships built under the Naval Act of 1916. With this new law, the Navy was finally receiving proper funding from the Congress, allowing them to up their game compared to the previous classes of standard battleships. The previous classes of 2 to 3 units all had fairly similar characteristics to allow them to operate as a fleet. These limitations were putting the U.S. Navy at risk to be left behind in the global arms race as the potential enemies all had faster battleships, giving them the advantage of being able to withdraw when needed or alternatively, to block the U.S. battleship from retreating.

With the South Dakota, since they finally had the funds for it, the design was more than 10 000 tons heavier than the previous Colorado-class. This allowed for bigger engines that would push the speed to 23 knots as well as better protection and a main battery that would consist of no less than 12 406 mm guns in 4 triple turrets. The guns were also meant to be 50 caliber instead of Colorado’s 45 caliber which would give them a longer range and better punching power. This firepower was well above what any other nation could present at the time.

Sadly, with the arrival of the Washington Naval Treaty, limiting the displacement of battleships to 35 000 tons, all 6 ships had to be scrapped.

In World of Warships, we are getting a weird World War 2 modernized version of the South Dakota. Unlike the next ship, it doesn’t seem to be a full rebuild like, for example, on the California as the superstructure still presents old elements of the initial design like the funnels.

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
Kansas (A)	Propulsion: 68 000 hp	Mk8 mod. 1	406 mm/45 Mk.7 in a turret
Kansas (B)		Mk8 mod. 2

Characteristics

Stock Ship

GeneralMain BatterySecondariesAir DefenseConsumables

Tier	VIII
Health	61 300 HP
Torpedo damage reduction	40 %
Displacement	42 870 tons
Main Armament
Maximum Firing Range	20.600 km
406 mm/45 Mk.7 in a turret	4 x 3 406 mm
Secondary Armament
Maximum Firing Range	5.000 km
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount	8 x 2 127 mm
Maximum speed	23 knots
Turning Circle Radius	700 m
Rudder Shift Time	22.1 s
Surface Detectability	16.560 km
Air Detectability	13.460 km
Detectability After Firing Main Guns in Smoke	16.01 km

4 x 3 406 mm/45 Mk.7 in a turret
Maximum Firing Range	20.600 km
Reloading Time	40.0 s
180 Degree Turn Time	45.0 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	36°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	34°
Sigma	1.70 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	266 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 406 mm HE/HC Mk13
Alpha Damage	5 700 HP
Damage	4 620 HP
Penetration capacity	68 mm
Explosion size	2.46
Fire chance	36 %
Projectile Speed	803 m/s
Air Drag	0.346
Projectile Mass	861.8 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 406 mm AP Mk5
Alpha Damage	12 400 HP
Chance to Cause Fire	-0.5 %
Projectile Speed	823 m/s
Air Drag	0.336
Projectile Mass	1 016 kg
Projectile Krupp	2 636
Projectile Detonator	0.033 s
Detonator threshold	68 mm

8 x 2 127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount
Maximum Firing Range	5.000 km
Reloading Time	6 s
Sigma	1.00 sigma
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 127 mm HE Mk32
Alpha Damage	1 800 HP
Damage	380 HP
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

8 x 2 127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount
Sector range	0.1 km – 5.8 km
Hit chance	75 %
Sector’s damage	42
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	147
Flak clouds number	6
Flak cloud damage	1 540
12 x 2 40 mm Bofors on a Mk.1 mount
Sector range	0.1 km – 3.5 km
Hit chance	75 %
Sector’s damage	67
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	235
23 x 1 20 mm Oerlikon on a Mk.10 mount
Sector range	0.1 km – 2.0 km
Hit chance	70 %
Sector’s damage	49
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	172

Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Damage Control Party Work time: 20 s Cooldown: 80 s	Repair Party Number of charges: 4 Work time: 28 s Cooldown: 80 s HP regeneration speed: +0.66%/s	Spotting Aircraft Number of charges: 4 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 240 s Bonus: +20% maximum firing range
		Fighter Number of charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 90 s Patrol radius: 3.0 km Number of planes in the squadron: 3

Fully Upgraded Ship

GeneralMain BatterySecondariesAir DefenseConsumables

Tier	VIII
Health	67 000 HP
Torpedo damage reduction	40 %
Displacement	47 530 tons
Main Armament
Maximum Firing Range	22.660 km
406 mm/45 Mk.7 in a turret	4 x 3 406 mm
Secondary Armament
Maximum Firing Range	5.000 km
127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount	8 x 2 127 mm
Maximum speed	23 knots
Turning Circle Radius	700 m
Rudder Shift Time	15.7 s
Surface Detectability	16.560 km
Air Detectability	13.460 km
Detectability After Firing Main Guns in Smoke	16.01 km

4 x 3 406 mm/45 Mk.7 in a turret
Maximum Firing Range	22.660 km
Reloading Time	40.0 s
180 Degree Turn Time	45.0 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	36°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	34°
Sigma	1.70 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	287 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 406 mm HE/HC Mk13
Alpha Damage	5 700 HP
Damage	4 620 HP
Penetration capacity	68 mm
Explosion size	2.46
Fire chance	36 %
Projectile Speed	803 m/s
Air Drag	0.346
Projectile Mass	861.8 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 406 mm AP Mk5
Alpha Damage	12 400 HP
Chance to Cause Fire	-0.5 %
Projectile Speed	823 m/s
Air Drag	0.336
Projectile Mass	1 016 kg
Projectile Krupp	2 636
Projectile Detonator	0.033 s
Detonator threshold	68 mm

8 x 2 127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount
Maximum Firing Range	5.000 km
Reloading Time	6 s
Sigma	1.00 sigma
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 127 mm HE Mk32
Alpha Damage	1 800 HP
Damage	380 HP
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

8 x 2 127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount
Sector range	0.1 km – 5.8 km
Hit chance	75 %
Sector’s damage	42
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	147
Flak clouds number	6
Flak cloud damage	1 540
12 x 4 40 mm Bofors on a Mk.2 mount
Sector range	0.1 km – 3.5 km
Hit chance	75 %
Sector’s damage	91
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	319
23 x 2 20 mm Oerlikon on a Mk.20 mount
Sector range	0.1 km – 2.0 km
Hit chance	70 %
Sector’s damage	80
Sector’s damage frequency	0.29 s
Sector’s damage per second	280

Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Damage Control Party Work time: 20 s Cooldown: 80 s	Repair Party Number of charges: 4 Work time: 28 s Cooldown: 80 s HP regeneration speed: +0.66%/s	Spotting Aircraft Number of charges: 4 Work time: 100 s Cooldown: 240 s Bonus: +20% maximum firing range
		Fighter Number of charges: 3 Work time: 60 s Cooldown: 90 s Patrol radius: 3.0 km Number of planes in the squadron: 3

The Armor

With outdated designs come outdated armor schemes. The Kansas presents the same armor scheme as the low tier U.S battleships such as the New Mexico or the Colorado. She has a spaced armor, an underwater citadel and a MASSIVE torpedo bulge.

The downside is pretty significant though. This ship is entirely covered with 32 mm of armor.

The bow section

The bow is almost entirely covered with 32 mm of armor except for a tiny bit of her 273 mm extended belt.
As you can see, a large part of it is covered by the torpedo bulge so it will suck a bit of the damage from HE shells.

Behind her torpedo bulge and below the waterline, she has a 273 mm thick extended belt with a bulkhead inside the bow that connects both sides.

For the protection of the middle section, the upper casemate is 25 mm thick, and right under it, there is a 343 mm bulkhead. The citadel athwartship is 38 mm thick but considering the position, there is very little chance to ever reach it.

The middle section

The middle section is entirely covered with 32 mm of armor. In a similar way to the California for example, the sides of the Kansas are for a large part covered by the torpedo bulge so it will at least limit a bit the damage she will take.

For the internal main belt, the upper part is 343 mm thick and the lower underwater part is 274 mm thick.

The citadel sides, under the waterline, are 86 mm thick. This ship will be VERY hard to citadel. I’m even tempted to say that it’s the return of the old British battleships that you almost couldn’t citadel at all.

When it comes to horizontal protection… it’s one of these days where I wish you could have an alternative to the filtering of the plating by thickness on gamemodels3D…

Basically, there is the 32 mm weather deck, then another 32 mm internal deck, then the 89 mm armored deck and finally, the 32 mm citadel deck. Considering the number of layers and the depth of the citadel, I would say that this ship is protected nicely against AP bombs. The bombs will most likely detonate before reaching the citadel.

The stern section

The stern is entirely covered by 32 mm of armor. Unlike what we could find on the bow, only a small part of the stern is covered by the torpedo bulge.

Inside her stern, the Kansas has a nice armored deck with the biggest part being 152 mm thick and the sloped sides are 241 mm thick. It is quite deep underwater and will protect the weaker part of the citadel athwartship.

For the protection of the middle section, it’s basically the same as the one at the front with one exception, the 343 mm bulkhead also covers the top of the citadel athwartship which is above the armored deck and as such, exposed to AP shells that might penetrate the stern.

The superstructure

The superstructure is covered with 19 mm of armor, except for the secondary turrets that are protected by 54 mm of armor. This superstructure is very large so a nice damage pinata for small caliber guns.

The turrets

The turret face is 457 mm thick and sloped at 40° while the sides and back are 230 mm thick and finally, the roof is 152 mm thick.

For the barbette, it’s protected by 343 mm of armor for the upper part and only by 76 mm of armor for the lower part.

Personal Opinion

Well… I’m having some California PTSD right now…

The Kansas is taking the design of the California (minus the AA power because she has worse anti-air than the other U.S. tier VIII battleships) but is somewhat improving it.

You are still stuck with the horrible speed, weak armor against HE and an even longer reload (in fact, the longest main battery reload of the game) but at least this time, the ship gets a broadside of 12 406 mm guns. The problem with that horrible reload, coupled with a 1.7 sigma is that the ship, in the end, has pretty much worse firepower than the other U.S. battleships at this tier, especially since she is using the same guns as those of the Colorado.

As of right now, I just don’t see how that design can work. Not with that speed that blocks you from taking any sort of aggressive position, not with these guns and not with such light armor.

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Yuzorah

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