USS Cleveland

USS Cleveland

USS Pensacola

USS North Dakota

USS Cleveland

USS Pensacola

USS North Dakota

USA

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.0	6.0	6.0

Class:

Light cruiser

Research:125 000

Purchase:360 000

Show in game

Description

The Cleveland-class, USS Cleveland (CL-55), 1942 is a rank V American light cruiser with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".

General info

Survivability and armour

Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary armaments separately. Don't forget to mention the size of the crew, which plays an important role in fleet mechanics. Save tips on preserving survivability for the "Usage in battles" section. If necessary, use a graphical template to show the most well-protected or most vulnerable points in the armour.

Mobility

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	70	21
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	60	18

Armament

Primary armament

One of Cleveland's 6-inch triple turrets.

Cleveland carries a main armament of twelve 6"/47 Mk.16 guns in four triple turrets, two fore and two aft. As the standard main armament of American light cruisers, these guns are very effective anti-ship weapons. The guns are capable of firing at 10 rounds per minute (6-second reload), meaning that they have one of the highest fire rates for any 6 inch cannon (only the German triple 6-inch turrets fire faster at 12 rounds per minute). That means that you can output a crazy 120 six-inch shells per minute! The guns have good firing arcs and good ballistics as well for a gun of its size. However, they have a relatively slow turret traverse speed compared to its contemporaries.

The gun has access to four shell types - Mk.34 HC, Mk.35 AP, Mk. 34 HC with base fuse and Mk.34 HC-VT. Of these, the Mk. 35 AP is typically the best choice against armoured targets (i.e. heavy cruisers and battleships) as it is the only shell with good penetration values. The Mk.34 HC with base fuse could potentially be used against lighter-armoured cruisers, as it has superior penetration values compared to the original shell. Typically, one should take ~50% Mk.35 AP, ~40% Mk. 34 HC with base fuse, and ~10% Mk.34 HC-VT in case you want to attempt to shoot down aircraft with the main guns. The Mk.34 base fuse is superior to the original Mk.34 HC shell as it has better penetration values but retains the explosive mass.

Secondary armament

Cleveland is equipped with twelve 5"/38 (12.7 cm) Mark 12 guns mounted in six twin dual-purpose turrets. These guns are extremely effective against surface and air targets alike, and are capable of firing at an obscene 22 rounds per minute while using first-stage ammunition. The weapon also has a very good vertical and horizontal rotation speed, and is capable of engaging aircraft due to its high-angle capability (up to 85 degrees).

Cleveland gets access to the standard three shell types - Mk.34 AAC, Mk.46 Common SP, and Mk.31 AAVT. The SP is typically the best pick for heavier-armoured targets such as cruisers, while the AAC shell works better against unarmoured targets due to its large explosive filler. The Mk.31 AAVT is a great option for dealing with air targets due to its proximity fuse - a single direct hit should be enough to destroy an incoming bomber.

Anti-aircraft armament

Cleveland gets access to eight 40 mm Bofors guns in four twin mounts. These weapons are extremely potent anti-aircraft guns due to their accuracy and punching power. Though these weapons fire slower than the 20 mm Oerlikon or 12.7 mm AN-M2, they more than make up for it due to their hard-hitting 40 mm shells. These guns are capable of shredding aircraft and small boats from ranges of 2.5 km away, though effectiveness will drop off after that range due to the large bullet drop. The guns fire from 4-round clips that reload continuously, meaning that they are capable of continuous fire. However, note that they will eventually jam after firing too long.

Cleveland also gets access to 13 single 20 mm Oerlikon mounts. The 20 mm Oerlikon cannon was the standard light anti-aircraft gun for several nations, including the United States, and replaced the prior AN-M2 Browning machine gun. This weapon is an effective short-range AA gun, and has great firing angles. However, note that the weapon is rather ineffective at long ranges, as its 20 mm shells lose velocity pretty fast after ~1.5 km. As well, the guns fire from a drum magazine that will need to be reloaded. Because of the magazine design, the gun will not jam with continuous fire.

Usage in battles

USS Cleveland, being the multi role ship that she is, is quite versatile.

AA Boat: Cleveland's remarkable AA battery means she could easily devastate any plane that comes close to her, provided that your 5"/38 calibre guns have HE-VT ammo, otherwise aircraft could easily get into ordnance-dropping range.

Destroyer Hunter: Cleveland's primary armament of 12 x 6 inch guns allows her to get devastating salvos on her enemies, and with her base fuse ammunition she could easily sink an enemy DD with a couple salvos. Her secondary armament of 12 x 5 inch guns allows her to whittle down nearby DDs without you having to use your main guns.

Cruiser Killer: Cleveland's rapid fire main guns with excellent AP ammunition allow her to penetrate enemy light cruisers and some heavy cruiser's armour belts with ease, allowing her to slowly demolish their crew. While not as good at this as the USS Brooklyn (CL-40) or USS Helena (CL-50), she is still exceptional in this role.

Modules

Tier	Seakeeping	Unsinkability		Firepower
I	Dry-Docking	Tool Set		6 inch Mk.35 AP		Anti-Air Armament Targeting
II	Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	6 inch Mk.34 HC (base fuze)	5 inch SP Common Mk.46	Auxiliary Armament Targeting
III	Propeller Replacement	Shrapnel Protection	Ventilation	Improved Rangefinder	5 inch AAVT Mk.31	Primary Armament Targeting
IV	Engine Maintenance	New Pumps	Ammo Wetting	6 inch Mk.34 HC-VT

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 2 x triple-mount 6 inch and 2 x dual-mount 5 inch cannons can fire straight ahead, allowing decent firepower while only exposing a small silhouette towards the enemy
• Excellent armour
• Devastating AA suite

Cons:

• Does not carry any torpedoes
• Gets ammoracked easily when stock

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] USS Cleveland (CL-55): The Workhorse of the Navy

New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Gun Destroyers (DD)
Porter-class	USS Porter
Cruiser, Light (CL)
Cleveland-class	USS Cleveland
Fargo-class	USS Fargo
Worcester-class	USS Roanoke
Large Cruisers (CB)
Alaska-class	USS Alaska
Battleships (BB)
Wyoming-class	USS Arkansas

USA light cruisers
Omaha-class	USS Detroit · USS Raleigh · USS Trenton
Atlanta-class	USS Atlanta
Brooklyn-class	USS Brooklyn · USS Helena
Cleveland-class	USS Cleveland
Fargo-class	USS Fargo
Worcester-class	USS Roanoke