World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Baltimore

Beta
Radar support cruiserLight caps and smoke-firing DDs; farm from cover.
Playstyle
  • Hold 12-15 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to break sightline when focus shifts
  • Avoid: Using radar like a destroyer hunter rather than a position tool
Key characteristics
Strong secondaries (5 km)Strong AARadar (10 km)Defensive AASoft superstructure
Community Data

Baltimore Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Baltimore is a Tier VII American cruiser built around the super-heal: each Repair Party charge returns dramatically more HP than a standard heal, so her durability comes from sustain rather than armor. Surveillance Radar (10 km, 30 s active) is the cap-control consumable on top, so she sets fights as well as winning them. AA (543 AA DPS at 5 km, +100% Defensive AA flak burst) is heavy enough to make her the team's air-defense anchor on top of the lead role; CV strikes route around her, not through. Standout traits: best AP always-pen window in T7 CAs (60°).

Positioning

Hold 12-15 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to break sightline when focus shifts. Push the radar forward only once the destroyer fight is yours; burning the drop to fish for a lone DD kill leaves the next push with no answer to smoke or vision.

Potato Avoidance

Using radar like a destroyer hunter rather than a position…

The consumable's value is locking down a cap your team can take, not stealing a single salvo on a lone DD. Burn it early to fish for a kill and the next push has no answer to smoke or vision.

Signature Traits

Surveillance Radar

10 km range, 30 s duration. Detects all enemy ships within a fixed radius regardless of line-of-sight. Controls caps and punishes smoke-firing DDs.

Wide always-pen zone

60.0° AP min ricochet angle, best of T7 CAs. Larger impact-angle window where shells always penetrate.

Top-tier AA

543.0 AA DPS, top decile of T7 CAs (median 373.5).

Heavy citadel belt

160.0 mm citadel belt, top decile of T7 CAs. Citadels through angle are rare.

Radar cruiser

Radar consumable. Controls caps and reveals smoke-firing DDs without spotting risk.

Soft superstructure

6.0 mm superstructure, bottom quartile of T7 CAs. HE farms harder.

Acquisition

How to get Baltimore

Baltimore is available in the Bombarding Heavy Cruisers branch of the U.S. Tech Tree for 18,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 3,600,000 credits.

Show U.S.A. tech-tree branch diagram
U.S. Tech Tree

Baltimore sits in the Bombarding Heavy Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S. tree.

U.S. heavy cruisers are well suited to bombarding enemy ships with powerful, super-heavy armor-piercing shells and high-explosive shells, but they lack torpedoes entirely. Starting from Tier VII, they bring Radar and Sonar together to the battle to detect hidden enemy warships.
Advantages
Improved AP shells, Long-duration Radar starting at Tier VII
Disadvantages
Low-velocity shells, Poor protection

Builds Beta

Build for AP performance, reload, radar utility, concealment, and survivability.

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Cohort position

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Where Baltimore sits among Tier VII CAs (46 ships). Notable standouts are shown first; the rest of the cohort-ranked stats are in the expand below. Acquisition variants (Black Friday, Founders Edition) are counted once with their base ship, not as separate peers.

BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 20 tied) BestAP ricochet start60° (1 of 10 tied) Top 10%AA DPS543 (3/46) Top 25%Rudder shift9.2 s (9/46) Top 25%Main dispersion130 m (8/46) Top 25%HE alpha1,800 (9/40) Top 25%Acceleration9.2 s (7/46) Top 25%AP auto-bounce angle67.5° (9/46) Top 25%AA threat1,824 (7/46) Top 25%Max armor160 mm (12/46) Top 25%Citadel belt160 mm (7/45) Top 25%Bow armor27 mm (11/45) Bottom 25%Sigma1.9 (42/46) Bottom 25%Deck armor38 mm (39/44) WorstSecondary fire chance5% (1 of 19 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (13 of 46 in cohort)
See 29 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Baltimore -- here's where she sits on every other ranked stat in the cohort. Stats tagged NORM are tied across more than half the cohort, so the value is the cohort default rather than a standout.

Hit points42,400 HP(15/46) Max speed32.5 kt(33/46) Concealment12.64 km(25/46) Air detection7.58 km(25/46) Traverse-to-turn ratio5.33 ×(32/46) Main battery caliber203 mm(16/46) Main battery range15.47 km(29/46) Main battery reload11.7 s(31/46) HE shell damage2,800(19/41) HE fire chance14%(18/41) Fires per minute6.46(29/41) HE DPM129,231(29/41) AP shell damage4,600(19/46) AP DPM212,308(35/46) Secondary DPM (per side)108,000(27/40) Secondary HE pen21 mm(13/40) AP velocity853 m/s(26/46) HE velocity823 m/s(31/41) AP arming threshold34 mm(31/46) Engine power120,000 hp(25/45) Turn-speed retention164.4 hp/m(19/45) Displacement17,344 t(31/46) Power-to-weight6.92 hp/t(27/45) AA range5 km(23/46) Repair heal rate0.6 %/s(18/45) Stern armor27 mm(21/45) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(37 of 40 tied at this value) NormSecondary range5 km(36 of 40 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(40 of 45 tied at this value)

All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.

Radar 10 kmSonar 4.93 kmRepair 2Def-AAFighter
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 36,600 → 42,400
Displacement17,344 t
Armor range6–160 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 13, 27, 38, 40, 51, 65, 76, 102, 127, 140, 152, 160 mm
Armor material/layer entries58
Fire resistanceInitial: 33.3% → 36.6%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction4%
Magazine HP
ƒThe magazine is the module a detonation comes from. Penetrating hits to it raise the detonation chance from 1% toward 30% as its HP is worn down, so a larger magazine pool rides out citadel hits longer before a detonation becomes likely.
21,200
Steering gear HP
ƒDurability of the steering gears. As this pool drops, hits are likelier to jam the rudder; unlike most modules the steering can be knocked out and repaired but is never permanently destroyed.
12,700
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 203 mm/55 Mk15
Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 9 barrels
Reload time13 s
Firing range (base)14.1 km
Firing range (top fire control)15.5 km
Turret traverse7 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
1.9
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14063/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 130 m
130 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 130 × 0.6 = 78 m
78 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 130 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 43.1 m
43.1 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 78 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 25.9 m
25.9 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.
25.7 s
Base shells/min
ƒ9 broadside guns x 60 / 13 s base reload = 41.5.
41.5
HE shells
HE Damage2,800 → 3,000
HE Velocity823 m/s
Fire Chance14%
HE penetration
ƒ34 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
34 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ3,000 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 27,000.
27,000
Base HE DPM
ƒ27,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13 s base reload = 124,615.
124,615
Installed HE DPM
ƒ27,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.7 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 138,462.
138,462
Base fires/min
ƒ9 HE shells x 60 / 13 s reload x 14% fire chance = 5.82.
5.82
AP shells
AP Damage4,600 → 5,300
AP Velocity853 m/s → 782 m/s
Min Ricochet60 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet67.5 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold34 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
14 mm
AP Pen Close
ƒCanonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: 1e-7 × Krupp × mass^0.69 × caliber_m^-1.07 × v0^1.38 = 1e-7 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 782^1.38 = 506.2 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
506.2 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (19.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 360 m/s: 1e-7 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 360^1.38 = 173.5 mm.
173.5 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ5,300 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 47,700.
47,700
Base AP DPM
ƒ47,700 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13 s base reload = 220,154.
220,154
Installed AP DPM
ƒ47,700 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.7 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 244,615.
244,615
AP AOE Radius
ƒAP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.
45
AA Defense
AA mount points35
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Decoded AirDefense aura max range is 3.5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.
5 km
40 mm Bofors Mk2Initial: 40 mm Bofors Mk1 (12×2) → 40 mm Bofors Mk2 (12×4)
20 mm Oerlikon Mk423×1 20mm
127 mm Mk32 (DP)6×2 127mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 31 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
31
Range5 km
Medium aura
DPSInitial: 69 → 94
Range3.5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 31 + Medium 94 = 125
125
Near aura
DPSInitial: 50 → 49
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 31 + Medium 94 + Near 49 = 174
174
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts6
Firing range5.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
Caliber127 mm
Reload time6 s
HE Damage1,800
Muzzle Velocity792 m/s
Fire Chance5%
Armor Pen21 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Secondary dispersion type
ƒMax dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.
Standard
Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km
ƒ5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.
315 m
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 120,000 hp
Engine power120,000 hp
Maximum speed32.5 kt
Turning circle radius730 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio5.3× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea12.64 km
Detectability by air7.58 km
Smoke firing penalty7.21 km
Detect after firing main guns12.64 km
Detect Fire Sea14.64 km
Detect Fire Air10.58 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Choose one
Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 96 s active · 4.93 km ship detect · 3.47 km torpedo detect
Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost
Choose one
Surveillance Radar2 charges · 180 s reload · 30 s active · 10 km radar range
Catapult Fighter4 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size
Repair Party2 charges · 60 s reload · 28 s active · 0.6% heal per second · 16.8% of max HP total heal
Module options (2)

Stats above use the fully-upgraded modules. These are the research-tree alternatives; trade-offs are flagged.

HullTrade-off
  • Hit points36,600 → 42,400
  • Rudder shift11.9 → 9.2 s
  • Close-range AA DPS119 → 143
  • Turret traverse7 → 6 °/s
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range14,063 → 15469.3 m

See all derived stats

Show

Numbers the spec table cannot show directly: alpha-strike math, DPM, dispersion, AP penetration. Click the formula chip on any row to reveal how it is calculated.

Main battery formulas

Shell Grouping (σ)1.9
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp130 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14063/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 130 m
Max Vert Disp78 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 130 × 0.6 = 78 m
Med Horiz Disp43.1 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 130 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 43.1 m
Med Vert Disp25.9 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 78 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 25.9 m
Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.
Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.
AP Pen Close506.2 mm
Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: 1e-7 × Krupp × mass^0.69 × caliber_m^-1.07 × v0^1.38 = 1e-7 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 782^1.38 = 506.2 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far173.5 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 360 m/s: 1e-7 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 360^1.38 = 173.5 mm.
HE penetration34 mm
34 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch14 mm
floor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius45
AP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.
Broadside guns used for alpha9
All 9 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time25.7 s
180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.
HE full-salvo alpha27,000
3,000 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 27,000.
AP full-salvo alpha47,700
5,300 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 47,700.
Base HE DPM124,615
27,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13 s base reload = 124,615.
Base AP DPM220,154
47,700 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13 s base reload = 220,154.
Installed HE DPM138,462
27,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.7 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 138,462.
Installed AP DPM244,615
47,700 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.7 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 244,615.
Base shells/min41.5
9 broadside guns x 60 / 13 s base reload = 41.5.
Installed shells/min46.2
9 broadside guns x 60 / 11.7 s installed Artillery reload = 46.2.
Base fires/min5.82
9 HE shells x 60 / 13 s reload x 14% fire chance = 5.82.
Installed fires/min6.46
9 HE shells x 60 / 11.7 s installed reload x 14% fire chance = 6.46.

AA defense

AA DPS at max range98
Only families that reach 5 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 127mm 6x2 -> 98 DPS @ 5 km; 40mm 12x4 -> 296 DPS @ 3.5 km; 20mm 21x1 -> 149 DPS @ 2 km.
Maximum AA range5 km
Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Decoded AirDefense aura max range is 3.5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.
AA DPS layered by range98 DPS @ 5 km, 394 DPS @ 3.5 km, 543 DPS @ 2 km
Cumulative AA DPS at each family range threshold. Inner ranges stack the outer families, so a target closing the distance hits stronger AA bubbles as it crosses each band.
AA DPS at point-blank543
Sum of every family's average DPS, achievable only inside the closest-range family (2 km).
AA threat index1824
SUM over AA auras of (aura DPS x aura range km). A plane crossing the AA bubble is exposed to each aura for a time proportional to that aura's range, so long-reach DPS is worth more than the same DPS in a short bubble. Units: DPS*km; used to rank overall AA threat across the cohort.
Near aura range2 km

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary dispersion typeStandard
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.
Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km315 m
5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)108,000
Sum across all secondary families of (per-side barrels × 60 / reload_s × alpha), where per-side barrels = mounts × barrels-per-mount / 2 (the guns that bear on one broadside target). Per-family: 6×2 127 mm (6/side) × 60/6 × 1800 = 108,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha1800
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 127 mm family.
Max HE fire chance5%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 5% from the 127 mm family.
Max HE pen21 mm
Maximum HE armor penetration across secondary HE families (caliber × 1/6 for most nations; 1/4 for German/UK BBs). Shells whose pen falls under a plate's armor thickness shatter for 0 hull damage though fire chance still applies. Best on this ship: 21 mm from the 127 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 36,60042,400 with hull upgrade, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds. HP caps are the exact in-game values, not estimated.

Section Plates HP cap Threats Tactic
Bow27 mm primary (range 27–40 mm)1,600 (4% of HP)
Overmatched by 406mm+ (Colorado, Sinop)Angle bounces 380mm27 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)27 mm primary (range 27–152 mm)31,800 (75% of HP)
Overmatched by 406mm+ (Colorado, Sinop)Angle bounces 380mm27 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern27 mm primary (range 6–102 mm)2,900 (7% of HP)
Overmatched by 406mm+ (Colorado, Sinop)Angle bounces 380mm27 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel160 mm primary (range 6–160 mm)≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)
Citadel pen ×0.33 damageOver-pen: ×0.10 damage
Effectively no cap; citadel pool sits at ~165k HP on every ship. Damage is gated by pen/over-pen multipliers instead (×0.33 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Superstructure6 mm primary (range 6–38 mm)1,600 (4% of HP)
Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage
Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage. HE-spam target, and the section saturates fast (often only a few thousand HP).
Turret (module, per magazine)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP21,200 magazine HPMagazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HPPer-turret powder-magazine HP. Detonation chance scales from 1% (no mag damage) to 30% (full mag damage); this range is the in-game value. Detonation can't roll while the ship is above ~75% HP (the standard detonation-protection threshold, not a per-ship stat). Smaller magazines saturate to the 30% ceiling faster.
Secondary mount (127 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP800 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-mount HP for the heaviest secondary on this ship. A mount destroyed at 0 HP is out for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. Smaller (lighter-caliber) secondaries typically share the same HP value.
AA mount (40 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP200 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-mount HP for the heaviest AA on this ship. An AA mount destroyed at 0 HP stops shooting down planes for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. HE shells specifically target AA mounts since the small-caliber HP pool falls fast.
Rudder (module)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP12,700 module HPIncapacitated at 0 HPWhen module HP reaches 0 the rudder locks at its current angle until DCP repairs it. Repair via Damage Control Party.

Saturation cap = HP a section can absorb before further damage to it is reduced (the "bow-tank" effect). Citadel pool is ~165k on every ship (effectively no cap); damage is gated by pen/over-pen multipliers instead. Superstructure saturates fast but HE always pens regardless of the plate thickness. Rudder (and other module HPs) are a separate pool from ship HP: damaging a module doesn't drain ship HP. Incapacitated modules like the rudder and engine are restored by DCP, but secondary and AA mounts destroyed at 0 HP stay out for the rest of the battle.

Shell ballistics chart

AP penetration, impact velocity, flight time and impact angle vs range. Click to load the interactive chart.

Balance History

Balance updates affecting Baltimore. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×4Main Battery ×4
2021-05-13

May Update: Things Are Heating Up!

  • Main battery turret traverse speed increased from 6°/s to 7°/s.
  • Main battery accuracy improved by about 6%.
  • For Hull B, HE shell maximum damage increased from 2,800 to 3,000.
  • For Hull B, AP shell maximum damage increased from 5,000 to 5,300; shell velocity increased from 762 m/s to 782 m/s.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Baltimore can equip, from in-game data.

Primary official WG sources

Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.