USS Pittsburgh
Contents
Description
The Baltimore-class, USS Pittsburgh (CA-72), 1953 is a rank V American heavy cruiser with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Direct Hit".
General info
Survivability and armour
The Pittsburgh is the final heavy cruiser in the US tech tree, and it has all the power the justify its lofty position. Covered from bow to stern in anti-fragmentation armor, it is incredibly resistant to the rain of high-explosive shells commonly encountered in battle. It further improves on the protection of the New Orleans, with the thicker turret sides making it much less likely for the turrets to be disabled. The barbette armor is also improved.
The greatest improvements lie in the thicker armored belt and new, fully enclosed 5"/38 twin mounts, the former of which renders its machinery spaces virtually impenetrable by enemy cruisers and the latter making them much more difficult to be disabled and set on fire than the treaty heavy cruisers that came before it.
| Armour | Front | Side | Rear | Deck/Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Caliber Turret | 203 mm | 82.55 mm (front, cheeks)
38.1 mm (rear) |
38.1 mm | 76.2 mm |
| Auxiliary Caliber Turret | 19.05 mm | 19.05 mm | 19.05 mm | 19.05 mm |
| Forward Magazine | 140 mm | 76 mm (upper)
102 mm (lower) |
28.575 mm (upper)
63.5 mm (lower) | |
| Citadel | 152 mm | 152 mm (upper)
102 mm (lower) |
152 mm | 28.575 mm (upper)
63.5 mm (lower) |
| After Magazine | 76 mm (upper)
50.8 mm (lower) |
127 mm | 28.575 mm (upper)
63.5 mm (lower) | |
| Bridge | 165 mm | 50.8 mm | 139.7 mm | 50.8 mm |
| Barbette | 160 mm | |||
Additional Notes: Both magazines and the citadel are protected by fuel tanks.
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.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 71 | 29 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 61 | 25 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
USS Pittsburgh, being a WW2 US cruiser, shoots super-heavy AP shells out of her 203 mm guns. These shells are heavier than others, weighing over 150 kg. Most other nations' shells weigh usually 110 kg. This gives them a longer flight time, but a steeper angle. The idea was that, at long ranges, the shells would penetrate battleship's decks from above instead of hitting the much thicker side armour. In spite of this, they still have more than enough penetration inside of 8 km to cleave through the belt, magazine, and barbette armor of even the most well-protected cruiser at 5.7 and above, allowing the Pittsburgh to quickly disarm and dispatch enemy cruisers in but a few well-aimed salvos.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| Mk.14 Common | Common | 110 | 98 | 80 | 66 | 56 | 43 |
| Mk.21 APCBC | APCBC | 390 | 348 | 289 | 243 | 207 | 165 |
| Mk.25 HC | HE | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 |
| Mk.17 SP Common | SP Common | 131 | 116 | 95 | 79 | 66 | 50 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| Mk.14 Common | Common | 823 | 117.9 | 0.035 | 9 | 4.84 | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| Mk.21 APCBC | APCBC | 762 | 151.9 | 0.035 | 9 | 2.21 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| Mk.25 HC | HE | 823 | 117.9 | 0 | 0.1 | 9.5 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| Mk.17 SP Common | SP Common | 823 | 117.9 | 0.035 | 9 | 4.61 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
Secondary armament
The secondary armament on the USS Pittsburgh are six dual-purpose, dual-mounted 127 mm turrets, weapons that a majority of other Bluewater ships use and so players are quite familiar in their operation at this stage. These turrets are the USS Pittsburgh's first line of defence against PT boats and aircraft.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| AAC Mk.34 | HE | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| AAVT Mk.31 | HE-VT | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| SP Common Mk.46 | SP Common | 150 | 125 | 93 | 71 | 56 | 45 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| AAC Mk.34 | HE | 792 | 25 | 0 | 0.1 | 3,220 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| SP Common Mk.46 | SP Common | 792 | 25 | 0.01 | 6 | 906.5 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| Proximity-fused shell details | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||||
| AAVT Mk.31 | HE-VT | 792 | 25 | 0 | 0.1 | 457 | 23 | 3,220 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Anti-aircraft armament
USS Pittsburgh carries ten 3 inch Mk.33 automatic cannons in twin installation. As part of her AAA, the gun fires HE-VT shells in her default configuration and has no other ammo options. The gun has a rate of fire of 50 rpm and overheats in 35 seconds. Unlike the 40 mm Bofors, the 3-inch gun mount has no shield or surrounding parapet to defend against shrapnel; the side mounts can only rotate 180° so they can't shoot over the superstructure and cover another broadside, whereas the Bofors can rotate 360°. Overall, Pittsburgh's AA barrage is quite sparse, and she is completely exposed to air raid after all AA guns are overheated.
On the bright side, the AI gunners that man them can target larger opponents such as destroyers and cruisers, although the effect that this has on the Pittsburgh's damage output is minimal.
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
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".
Pros:
- Anti-fragmentation armour can help protect against cruiser-caliber HE shells
- Well-armoured hull increase its survivability
- Decent mobility
- Great overall firepower, with an access to super-heavy AP shell and large number of dual-purposes cannons
- Huge numbers of proximity fuse AA battery provide formidable anti-air defense
Cons:
- Dreadful stock grind thanks to its terrible default SAP shell
- No torpedo armaments
- Main magazine sits far above the waterline, can be detonated with a well-placed shot
- No scout planes, unlike her sister ship
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
- Skins
See also
External links
| Bethlehem Steel Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Gun Destroyers (DD) | |
| Porter-class | USS Phelps · USS Moffett |
| Fletcher-class | USS Cowell |
| Destroyer Leaders (DL) | |
| Mitscher-class | USS Wilkinson |
| Cruiser, Light (CL) | |
| Omaha-class | USS Raleigh · USS Detroit |
| Heavy Cruisers (CA) | |
| Northampton-class | USS Northampton |
| Portland-class | USS Portland |
| Baltimore-class | USS Baltimore · USS Pittsburgh |
| Des Moines-class | USS Des Moines |
| USA heavy cruisers | |
|---|---|
| Pensacola-class | USS Pensacola |
| Northampton-class | USS Northampton |
| Portland-class | USS Portland |
| New Orleans-class | USS New Orleans |
| Baltimore-class | USS Baltimore · USS Pittsburgh |
| Des Moines-class | USS Des Moines · USS Newport News |
