

Additionally, because of how flat her stern is designed in comparison to the other Tier X heavy cruisers, this makes her extremely susceptible to enemy battleship AP shells being able to penetrate her citadel through her stern. With her 30mm midsection(same as zao and hindenburg), it makes her vulnerable to bb shells of 431mm and above, also, the bow is 27mm, which is vulnerable to 406mm guns and above. However, while she can turn well, the speed loss on turning is massive enough to make her an easy target for any other ship with their guns loaded and ready.

With a standard cruiser speed of 33 kts and fast base rudder shift time of 8.6 seconds, Des Moines can evade incoming shells and torpedoes relatively well. While Des Moines has impressive firepower and AA, her maneuverability is mediocre and her armor is okay at best. However, she is extremely fragile: her thin armor makes her susceptible to penetration from most Tier IX and Tier X battleships at all ranges. She also can whittle down battleships quickly and, with her impressive AA suite, wipe out carrier strike squadrons with ease. A very noticeable trait on Des Moines is her absurd rate of fire for a heavy cruiser, with each turret reloading at 5.5 seconds, making her extremely deadly to destroyers within radar range and other cruisers. It is no surprise that due to her being the last all-gun cruiser made, she has all the lessons learned from her cruiser predecessors in the Second World War incorporated in her design. Only a handful of high tier cruisers are known to have absurd firing rates: Smolensk, Neptune, Minotaur, Plymouth, Seattle, Worcester, Austin, Salem, Colbert, and this heavy cruiser.

The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.įor a graphic summary of ships Tiers VIII thru XI see LittleWhiteMouse's "Actual AA DPS".
