![]() The experience gained in Wichita, herself a modified Brooklyn-class would eventually lead to the Baltimore, and finally, the Des Moines-class heavy cruisers.Īll seven ships of the Brooklyn-class, along with St. The Cleveland-class soon followed, opting for less main caliber guns in exchange for heavier dual-purpose and anti-aircraft armament, and then the one-off heavy cruiser, Wichita. Other minor differences include changes to the superstructure and layout of machinery. The most notable difference being the inclusion of 4 x twin 127 mm/38 caliber dual-purpose guns the first mounted on any US warship. Louis-class featured a few modifications over the members of the Brooklyn-class. The first of these successors was the St. The success of the seven Brooklyn-class cruisers inspired and laid the foundations for all subsequent US cruiser designs, both heavy and light. ![]() Thus, the fifteen 6 inch-gun Brooklyn-class light cruisers were born. Other desired elements of the design included a high speed and armament to match that of the Japanese Mogami-class, which were armed with fifteen 155 mm guns. Like many ship designs of allied nations during the 1930's, the Brooklyn's were limited in tonnage by the demands set in place by the London Naval Treaty for the Brooklyn-class, this meant a max standard displacement of 10,000 tons. Louis-class light cruisers, were born as a result of the US Navy requiring more heavily armed and armored light cruisers to replace the aging Omaha-class cruisers. On April 11 2018, her wreck was discovered in the Solomon Islands by Paul Allen's research ship R/V Petrel. In March 1945, for actions in October and November 1942, and in her final engagement on July 5, 1943, Helena became the first US Navy ship to be awarded the Navy Unit Commendation Medal. light cruisers to be sunk during the war. She was sunk by three surface-fired torpedoes at the battle of Kula Gulf in 1943. Completed shortly before World War II, she was damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor and was at the center of three significant battles during the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific War. ![]() Louis-class light cruiser of the United States Navy. USS Helena (CL 50) Anchored in President Roads, Boston, Massachusetts, 15 June 1940. That being said, captains need to be acutely aware of her weaknesses to make her work well. Combined with her massive firepower potential, Helena makes for a great support cruiser. Like other American light cruisers, Helena possesses a variety of consumables to to help her team, such as Hydroacoustic Search and Defensive AA Fire. When she can engage with all guns, her HE firepower is immense, often resulting in several thousand-damage salvos on all types of targets (with the Inertia Fuse for HE Shells skill). Her short range, even when the upgraded module is equipped, is a definite hindrance to her performance, and captains should be aware of when to close the distance to engage targets. Her lofty shell arcs prevent effective engagement at range, but allow her to remain behind hard cover while firing. Despite having 15 guns, captains should be aware of when it is appropriate to utilize all her full firepower, or to play it safe and remain angled to incoming fire.Ĭaptains who are familiar with the guns of the preceding ships to Helena (whether the current Dallas or the old Tier VI Cleveland) will be right at home handling Helena’s guns. Helena’s armor is less than optimal, so proper angling and shell dodging should be used to mitigate damage. ![]() Just like her American cruiser brethren, Helena’s play style relies on keeping her out of the sights of the enemy, whether through concealment or hard cover. ![]() Helena is quite unique compared to other American light cruisers, as she posses 15 guns in a turret setup that captains used to playing Japanese cruisers will recognize easily. 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". ![]()
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