Difference between revisions of "USS Helena"

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(Pros and cons: Edits)
(Added lots of pros and cons, added info about survivability and armor)
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== General info ==
 
== General info ==
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
 
=== 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.''
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Armor on Helena is pretty strong for a light cruiser, as it can definitely hold out against large caliber HE shells. One should remember that Brooklyn class cruisers often times could survive a torpedo hit, so if you have enough crew, you can easily tank one or even two torpedoes. Your main concern while playing Helena should be high caliber AP shells, as they can wreck your ship in no time, especially if they are coming from fast reloading guns like American 5"/38 or if they are shot at you by a ship with lots of guns like Suzuya.
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Turret face armor is 165 mm, side, rear and top armor are 76 mm, 76 mm, and 51 mm thick respectively, and mantlets are 100 mm of RHA. Barbettes are 152 mm of rolled cemented armor. Secondaries are protected only by 32 mm of antifragmentation armor, so expect them to be knocked out as soon as any high caliber shell hits them.
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Bow ammo magazines are protected by 51 mm of antifrag armor on the top and sides, and 127 mm of antifragmentation armor in the front. They are also hidden deep below the waterline and behind fuel tanks, which makes them a very difficult target. Aft shells and charges are protected from the top and rear by the same armor as bow magazines, but since there are no fuel tanks, they get 120 mm rolled cemented armor as side armor. Rear of the bow ammo stowage and front of the aft ammo stowage are protected by 95 mm of rolled cemented armor. Ammo elevators are protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armor.
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Bridge is protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armor on the sides and 57 mm of the same armor on the top.
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Thanks to unit system (engines and boilers are alternating inside the hull) it's very hard to disable propulsion on the ship, even with a torpedo.
  
 
=== Mobility ===
 
=== Mobility ===
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=== Pros and cons ===
 
=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''
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'''Pros:'''
  
'''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
 
* 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
 +
* Extensive use of antifragmentation armor, rendering Helena as almost HE-"proof"
 +
* Best citadel armor out of all light cruiser in the game
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* One of the highest fire rates out of all light cruisers (10 rpm)
 +
* It's very hard to disable all of the engines with one torpedo hit, thanks to unit system of machinery (transmission and engines are alternated inside the ship)
 +
* Highest ammo count out of all cruisers
 +
* Shells and charges are hidden below waterline, are protected by loads of antifragmentation armor, rolled cemented armor and fuel, making it very hard to one hit kill Helena
 +
* Second thickest turret face in the game (only Chapayev and Sverdlov have thicker turret armor)
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* Second best AA in game in terms of amount of guns, best AA in game in terms of ammo and flexibility (out of all light cruiser that is)
 +
* Mobility is comparable to other ships (except top tier Japanese and Italian cruisers)
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* Bridge is protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armor
 +
* One of the highest crew counts in the game
  
 
'''Cons:'''
 
'''Cons:'''
 +
 +
* Citadel and ammoracks are well armored, but other parts of the ship are protected by only 16 mm of antifragmentation armor
 +
* There are some shells hidden inside barbettes, so unlucky hit may cause heavy fires or even one hit kill a ship
 +
* Auxiliary turrets have their first stage ammo stowages unprotected, so unlucky hit may caus heavy fires
 +
* Second worst 152 mm penetration in game (but it's still enough to kill any vessel)
 +
* Turret No. 3 can shoot only when retreating or when showing broadside
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*
 
*
  
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== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 
''Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
 
''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;''
 
* ''reference to the series of the ship;''
 
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''
 
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''
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== External links ==
 
== External links ==
 
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
 
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
 +
 
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
 
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
 
* ''encyclopedia page on the ship;''
 
* ''encyclopedia page on the ship;''

Revision as of 10:23, 3 July 2020

Rank VI USSR | Premium | Golden Eagles
Su-25K Pack
USS Helena
us_cruiser_brooklyn_class_helena.png
USS Helena
AB RB SB
6.0 6.0 6.0
Purchase:8 020 Specs-Card-Eagle.png
Show in game

Description

GarageImage USS Helena.jpg


The Brooklyn-class, USS Helena (CL-50), 1943 is a premium rank IV American cruiser with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.93 "Shark Attack".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armor on Helena is pretty strong for a light cruiser, as it can definitely hold out against large caliber HE shells. One should remember that Brooklyn class cruisers often times could survive a torpedo hit, so if you have enough crew, you can easily tank one or even two torpedoes. Your main concern while playing Helena should be high caliber AP shells, as they can wreck your ship in no time, especially if they are coming from fast reloading guns like American 5"/38 or if they are shot at you by a ship with lots of guns like Suzuya.

Turret face armor is 165 mm, side, rear and top armor are 76 mm, 76 mm, and 51 mm thick respectively, and mantlets are 100 mm of RHA. Barbettes are 152 mm of rolled cemented armor. Secondaries are protected only by 32 mm of antifragmentation armor, so expect them to be knocked out as soon as any high caliber shell hits them.

Bow ammo magazines are protected by 51 mm of antifrag armor on the top and sides, and 127 mm of antifragmentation armor in the front. They are also hidden deep below the waterline and behind fuel tanks, which makes them a very difficult target. Aft shells and charges are protected from the top and rear by the same armor as bow magazines, but since there are no fuel tanks, they get 120 mm rolled cemented armor as side armor. Rear of the bow ammo stowage and front of the aft ammo stowage are protected by 95 mm of rolled cemented armor. Ammo elevators are protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armor.

Bridge is protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armor on the sides and 57 mm of the same armor on the top.

Thanks to unit system (engines and boilers are alternating inside the hull) it's very hard to disable propulsion on the ship, even with a torpedo.

Mobility

Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.

Armament

Primary armament

Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: {main|Weapon name (calibre)}. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.

Secondary armament

Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.

Anti-aircraft armament

An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

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
  • Extensive use of antifragmentation armor, rendering Helena as almost HE-"proof"
  • Best citadel armor out of all light cruiser in the game
  • One of the highest fire rates out of all light cruisers (10 rpm)
  • It's very hard to disable all of the engines with one torpedo hit, thanks to unit system of machinery (transmission and engines are alternated inside the ship)
  • Highest ammo count out of all cruisers
  • Shells and charges are hidden below waterline, are protected by loads of antifragmentation armor, rolled cemented armor and fuel, making it very hard to one hit kill Helena
  • Second thickest turret face in the game (only Chapayev and Sverdlov have thicker turret armor)
  • Second best AA in game in terms of amount of guns, best AA in game in terms of ammo and flexibility (out of all light cruiser that is)
  • Mobility is comparable to other ships (except top tier Japanese and Italian cruisers)
  • Bridge is protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armor
  • One of the highest crew counts in the game

Cons:

  • Citadel and ammoracks are well armored, but other parts of the ship are protected by only 16 mm of antifragmentation armor
  • There are some shells hidden inside barbettes, so unlucky hit may cause heavy fires or even one hit kill a ship
  • Auxiliary turrets have their first stage ammo stowages unprotected, so unlucky hit may caus heavy fires
  • Second worst 152 mm penetration in game (but it's still enough to kill any vessel)
  • Turret No. 3 can shoot only when retreating or when showing broadside

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • encyclopedia page on the ship;
  • other literature.


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

USA premium ships
Motor torpedo boats  PT-3 · PT-109 · PT-174 · Thunderbolt (PT-556) · PT-658 · PT-811
Motor gun boats  LCM(6) Zippo · USS Douglas · USS Flagstaff
Sub-chasers  Carmi (PC-466)
Destroyers  USS Welborn C. Wood · USS Wilkinson · USS Bennion · USS Cowell · USS Davis · USS Moffett · USS Phelps · USS Frank Knox
Light cruisers  USS Detroit · USS Helena
Heavy cruisers  USS Des Moines
Battleships  USS Arkansas