Chikugo
Contents
Description
The Chikugo-class, Chikugo (DE-215) is a rank IV Japanese frigate
with a battle rating of 3.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".
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
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.
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Armament
Primary armament
Chikugo carries two 3 inch Mk.33 automatic cannons in twin installation. The turret is placed at the front of the ship and can effectively cover the front and sides of your vessel, but is unable to react to enemies from the rear. HE shells can take care of unarmoured targets especially motor boats which can be destroyed within a few shots. For armoured targets and destroyers you can choose AP shells but you still have to keep in mind that it is a 76 mm multi-purpose cannon. HE-VT shells are good for use in AA roles.
Secondary armament
40 mm Bofors in twin installation is very capable weapon placed on back of Chikugo so it have natural blind spot in front of ship. This means that you can't completely rely on AI as anti-aircraft armament nor its help with naval targets. If you ignore that, its powerful weapon that can shoot down aircrafts within seconds and can be used as backup against motorboats that are trying to sneak up on you from behind.
Torpedo armament
Two torpedo launchers each able to release three torpedoes are installed on each side of the ship. This means only three torpedoes can be released to each side. They have mediocre 7.3 km range but excellent speed of 91 km/h (one of the best in-game). They are pretty small and don't have much explosive compared to other torpedoes at this rank but will give hard time to any ship they hit.
Additional armament
Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes.
If there is no additional armament, remove this section.
Usage in battles
Chikugo uses the destroyer spawn but don't be fooled, it can't compete with the firepower of other destroyers at long range. The best way to stay alive is to focus on motor boats and sub-chasers and avoid any contact with destroyers even if it takes more time to get there. Then it's best to stay little back and use the excellent mid-range capabilities of your main armament. If you ever have to encounter destroyers, it should be at close range and you should give them everything you have, meaning main cannon with AP or HE shells, secondary Bofors with AP belt, and torpedoes. Try to hit lethal parts like cannons or ammunition with AP shells or you can try to get rid of his crew with HE shells.
On the other hand, the main gun can load high explosive shells with time variable fuse, when combined with functional radar and secondary armament you will be a nightmare to every pilot.
Modules
| Tier | Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Dry-Docking | Tool Set | 76 mm APHE | 40 mm HE clips | ||
| II | Rudder Replacement | Fire Protection System | Smokescreen | 76 mm HE-VT | 40 mm AP clips | Auxiliary Armament Targeting |
| III | Propeller Replacement | Shrapnel Protection | Ventilation | Improved Rangefinder | Primary Armament Targeting | |
| IV | Engine Maintenance | New Pumps | Ammo Wetting | |||
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Radar
- Able to equip AP and HE-VT shells
- Secondary armament is capable against all kind of targets
Cons:
- High repair cost for its abilities
- Only destroyer spawn although its most effective against other subchasers
- Not able to release all torpedoes to one side
- Aiming with secondary armament can be difficult due to convergence of bridge and weapon
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.
| Japan frigates | |
|---|---|
| IJN | |
| Escort | IJN Syonan |
| JMSDF | |
| Destroyer Escort | JDS Akebono · JDS Ikazuchi · JDS Isuzu · JDS Chikugo |
| Destroyer | JDS Ayanami |
