The USS Newport News is a Vietnam War-era heavy cruiser that was introduced into War Thunder during the 2022 Winter Fest event in her 1972 refit. In this article, we will cover how the vessel can be obtained, her auto-loading 8-inch guns, impressive long-range anti-air capabilities aided by radars, decent mobility, and troubled survivability. Finally, we will explore the vessel’s usage in battles, as well as a few features that are present on the ship but not implemented in the game. The Newport News was the last all-gun heavy cruiser to serve in any navy, making her an interesting addition to any player’s collection.
Obtaining the vessel
The ship was available during the 2022 Winter Fest event, which ran from 20 December 2022 to 9 January 2023. Players were required to collect eight stars, each awarded for 40,000 mission points — a fairly high requirement at the time. Earning a ninth star rewarded players with an event camouflage, Deforming Camouflage (pictured above). A tenth star allowed the vessel to become tradeable on the Market (note that the Market is not accessible to console players).
She has not returned for any events since. However, in theory, it can occasionally be obtained through loot boxes released by Gaijin.
To provide some context on loot box probabilities: the 2024 Snow Globes have an approximate 0.4% chance of awarding any vehicle (out of the 44 available within the 2024 Snow Globes).
To achieve >90% chance of obtaining any vehicle, you would need to open approximately 475 loot boxes, at a total cost of 28,500,000 SL. Since some boxes reward SL (with an average recovery rate of about 21.6%), you would effectively need to start with 22,353,000 SL.
To have a greater than 90% chance of specifically obtaining the USS Newport News (assuming all vehicles have an equal probability), you would need to open approximately 25,300 loot boxes, at a total cost of 1,518,000,000 SL.
ℹ️ “>90%” still means there is a 10% chance of not achieving the desired outcome.
ℹ️ The drop rates for vehicles, SL recovery percentages, and the chance of obtaining the USS Newport News specifically are estimates based on a sample size of 500, collected and calculated by Sauce_B055.
Finally, it can be obtained on the Market for GJN (the Market’s currency, where 1 GJN is equivalent to €1. The currency can also be earned by selling items on the Market).
Primary guns
The Newport News, like the rest of the Des Moines class, is defined by its main guns, the auto-loading 8-inch/55 Mark 16 (203 mm). This is the most advanced model of American 8-inch guns and the first to feature full auto-loading capabilities. This innovation grants it an incredible rate of fire, reaching up to 10 rounds per minute. To put this into perspective, here is how it beats some of the direct equivalents from other nations:
Gun | Sample Vessel | Sustained RoF (Aced) | Pen @ 0° @ 1km Filler TNT eq. Shell type | HE Filler TNT eq. |
---|---|---|---|---|
8 inch/55 Mark 16 | USS Newport News | 10 | 392 mm 2.2 kg APCBC | 9.5 kg |
8 inch/50 Mark VIII | HMS Kent | 5 | 275 mm 5.2 kg SAPCBC | 10 kg |
20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 | Admiral Hipper | 5 | 422 mm 2.6 kg APCBC | 8.9 kg |
203 mm/50 model 1924 | Colbert | 5 | 151 mm 8.9 kg SAPBC | 9.1 kg |
203 mm/53 Ansaldo mod.1927 | Zara | 3.8 | 391 mm 3.2 kg APHEBC | 7.5 kg |
This gives the USS Newport News a unique capability to deliver a staggering amount of firepower to its targets, making it relatively easy to secure the top position on the match scoreboard.
At your disposal, you have the following types of shells:
- Mk. 14 Common — 111 mm @ 0° @ 1km, 4.84 kg TNT eq. — default shell — this should be your go-to choice against destroyers or lightly armoured cruisers. While relatively weak for a SAP shell, it is far superior to AP against such targets.
- Mk. 21 APCBC — 392 mm @ 0° @ 1km, 2.21 kg TNT eq. — Tier I mod — Your AP shells, ideal for engaging heavily armoured targets. With over 300 mm of penetration at distances exceeding 5,000 metres, they can penetrate all cruisers and, under optimal conditions, even some battleships. However, they are inefficient against soft targets due to their limited explosive filler.
- Mk. 25 HC — 61 mm @ 0° @ 1km, 9.46 kg TNT eq. — Tier II mod — an excellent high-explosive shell, featuring a large explosive filler and a good muzzle velocity. Like other HE shells on heavy cruisers, it is best used against coastal vessels or for setting fires on battleships.
- Mk. 17 SP Common — 131 mm @ 0° @ 1km, 4.61 kg TNT eq. — Tier IV mod — An alternative to the Mk. 14 Common, trading an 18% increase in penetration for a 5% reduction in explosive filler. In my opinion, this trade-off isn’t worth it. Targets penetrable with the Mk. 17 can also be penetrated with the Mk. 14, which delivers slightly more damage. The edge cases where the Mk. 17 outperforms the Mk. 14 are too rare to justify its use.
Anti-air and secondary capabilities
Anti-air setup of the USS Newport News is quite unusual. It boasts exceptional firepower at long range, but its effectiveness diminishes progressively at closer distances. The core of its anti-aircraft defence lies in the HE-VT shells, particularly those fired by the 5-inch (127 mm) dual-purpose turrets. These shells are a pure overkill, more than enough to destroy any aerial target caught in the explosion.
Supplementary AA is provided by two twin 3-inch (76 mm) cannons on each side of the vessel. The have a pretty wide arcs of fire and, much like the 5-inch, fire HE-VTs. Overall, this armament gives her a very good ability to defend herself against aerial and coastal threats, though a more agile targets, such as B7A2 have a fighting chance of getting through the AI gunners and dropping bombs on your vessel.
In terms of other capabilities, the ship lacks hydroplanes and torpedoes, making it a purely gun-centric vessel that relies on allies to handle less common combat scenarios.
An important highlight of the ship are its Search and Tracking radars, which include the following:
- SK-2 — search radar located on the front mast.
- AN-SPS-8A — search radar on top of the aft mast
- AN-SPS-6 — search radar on aft mast
- Mk.8 — rectangular tracking radars on the forward and aft towers.
- Mk.25 — dish-shaped tracking radars on four large fire directors for the 8-inch and 5-inch guns.
Having so many radars provides only one important advantage: that’s redundancy. As long as at least one radar of each type remains functional, the corresponding capabilities remain operational.
Radars are effectively used only for intercepting enemy airplanes. With a bit of luck and by manually controlling the secondary weapons (default: [Alt] + [2]), it is possible to snipe radar-locked aircraft at ranges exceeding 5 km, long before they pose any real threat to the ship.
Mobility
The Newport News has mobility that is typical for a US heavy cruiser. It is capable of keeping pace with the USS Alaska but lags significantly behind the Japanese, French, or Italian heavy cruisers in terms of speed and manoeuvrability.
The ship is powered by 4 engines, 4 transmissions, and 4 propellers, providing a high degree of redundancy. This allows it to maintain a combat-effective speed even if the citadel is breached, reducing the need for constant repairs after being hit by enemy broadsides.
Survivability
USS Newport News can be described as huge.
This has significant consequences for the ship’s survivability. Its large silhouette makes it an easy and enticing target for enemy battleships, as it is often indistinguishable from a battleship at range and appears relatively easy to hit. As a result, it tends to attract the attention of all enemy vessels. Moreover, being marked as a heavy cruiser makes it a primary focus for ships armed with large-calibre main guns.
The ship’s large magazines, located beneath turrets A, B, and the three 5-inch secondary batteries directly behind them, are particularly vulnerable. Ammo racking is the most frequent cause of destruction for the Newport News, making it essentially a glass cannon.
Usage in Battles
The vessel can best be described as a glass cannon.
On one hand, it is capable of dealing an incredible amount of damage, particularly when engaging multiple soft targets. Its Common
(SAP)
shells are highly effective at destroying destroyers, often simply by the sheer volume of fire breaking into their internal compartments. Against light and heavy cruisers, more tactical consideration is required, but they can still take significant damage in a relatively short period.
If you receive the Daily Task Cannoneer (25,000 damage to Naval Targets), the USS Newport News is one of the easiest vessels to use to complete it.
On the other hand, the Newport News is highly vulnerable. It can be detonated by a single broadside from a battleship, and it is likely to lose a one-on-one exchange of fire with other cruisers if their shells strike its magazines.
Overall, it’s a high-risk, high-reward vessel.
What isn’t implemented?
Surface-search radars
As of the Storm Warning update, surface-search radars are not implemented in the game. In real life, these radars allowed her for the detection, ranging, and tracking of enemy vessels, as well as mapping the coast. This made it possible to engage targets obscured by weather or smoke and to navigate between islands in difficult weather conditions.
Electronics Counter Measures
On the topic of electronics, all vessels in the Des Moines class were equipped with an ECM suite, specifically the AN/SLR-2, paired with the AS-570/SLR antenna. In the US Military’s Joint Electronics Type Designation System, “AS” refers to “Antenna” and “SLR” stands for “(S) Surface Vessel (L) Countermeasure (R) Passive Receiver”. As the name suggests, the system allowed the detection of radio signal sources (e.g., radars or radio communications), determination of their direction, and identification of the probable type of transmitter. It functioned similarly to the Radar Warning Receivers (RWR) found on aircraft.
The ECM suite was removed from the Des Moines class during the 1970s as it became outdated. However, the in-game USS Newport News retains the system’s antenna. I could not find definitive sources confirming or denying the presence of this system on the Newport News in 1972.
Zuni Chaffroc system
On both flanks of the main funnel, the Newport News is equipped with single-mount Zuni Chaffroc launchers. Each launcher holds four Zuni rockets, with warheads containing 126 million silicon-coated aluminium dipoles of varying lengths. These dipoles correspond to specific radio wavelengths, creating an effective chaff cloud capable of distracting early radar-guided anti-ship missiles. However, the chaff rocket did not produce any visual smoke cover. With the absence of ships armed with radar-homing missiles in the game, Chaffrocs would be useless gameplay-wise (Kormoran missiles of the Tornado MFG are not present in any of the naval modes).
The USS Newport News received two Mk 28 Chaffroc launchers in 1970 during a regular overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The system was never used in combat.
Interestingly, the PG 02 features a more advanced version of this system, the Mk 36 SRBOC.
Helicopter landing pad
Although the Newport News has a landing platform, it did not carry its own helicopters. Instead, helicopters could visit the vessel, enabling faster and easier embarkation and disembarkation of command personnel, evacuation of wounded crew (as occurred following the Turret 2 explosion in late 1972), and other specialised uses.
The Newport News was visited by helicopters such as the Sikorsky HRS-3, Kaman UH-2B Seasprite, and Westland Whirlwind HAS.7. During the Vietnam War, it also utilised Gyrodyne QH-50 helicopter drones for spotting. These could fly up to 25 kilometres inland and transmit TV signal back to the mothership, significantly increasing targeting accuracy while reducing the risk of friendly fire.
Behind the landing pad is a folded stern crane with a large antenna on top. Originally intended for handling hydroplanes, the crane was instead used to manage boats, as the vessel never received catapults for hydroplane operations. Beneath the crane lies a hangar adapted to service aerial targets such as the KD2R Quail, KDB-1, and Ryan Firebee, which were used for gunnery training.
Discone-cage antenna
The large, Christmas tree-like structure on the bow of the vessel is a discone-cage antenna used for long-range communication. It consists of two integrated antennas, high-band and medium-band. System required significant clear space around it to function effectively, without interference. Due to this constrain, the design has since been retired from modern vessels, although one operational example remains on the museum ship USS Missouri, where it serves as a ham radio station with the callsign KH6BB.
40 mm saluting gun
On the port and starboard sides of the superstructure, just behind the B-turret, there are two 40 mm saluting guns. These guns fire blank rounds, ensuring no accidental damage to infrastructure or friendly vessels. They produce a large, visible flash and a cloud of smoke, ensuring the salute is clearly noticeable during the daytime. These guns are fired by pulling a lever on the left side of the breech and remain in operation to this day, both on active combat vessels and in naval museums or memorials.
External links
- [Wikipedia] USS Newport News (CA-148)
- [USS Newport News.com] Fighting Forces
- [Rebellion Research] The Eastern Offensive by Admiral Sam Cox
- [Wikimedia Commons] Aboard USS Newport News (CA-148)
- [Navy Radio] Shipboard Communication Antenna Systems
- [Internet Archive] CA-139 USS Salem Booklet of General Plans (1949)
- [USS Newport News.com] 1970 (mounting of the Chaffroc Mk. 28)
- [Internet Archive] NAVPERS 10185-A Gunner’s Mate G 3 & 2 Rate Training Manual 1970 Edition (Chaffroc operations manual, possibly Mk. 27)