Caledon Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Caledon is a Tier II British AP-only cruiser with strong AP DPM (120,833): she carries no HE shells at all, so every salvo is AP into broadsides or wasted. The hull is fragile, so the kit is fragile-spammer chasing soft targets and dodging in open water rather than trading punches. She also packs the super-heal, but the kit is offense first, sustain second. Standout traits: best turret traverse rate in T2 CAs (10) and best AP always-pen window in T2 CAs (65°).

Positioning

Sit under 10 km on a flank that gives you firing arcs into rotated cruisers and exposed BB broadsides. The hull is fragile; ration trades to ones that pay AP citadels back, and lean on speed and consumables to dodge focus when it comes. Open water is fine when the closest threat is far enough that the salvo timing favors you.

Potato Avoidance

Firing AP into thin destroyers or unangled bows

Without HE the wrong target nets over-pens or shatters; pick broadside cruisers and BB sides only, and route around situations where the only shot is into a bow. AP discipline is the kit.

Signature Traits

Wide always-pen zone

65.0° AP min ricochet angle, best of T2 CAs. Larger impact-angle window where shells always penetrate.

Late auto-bounce

80.0° AP guaranteed ricochet angle, best of T2 CAs. Auto-bounce kicks in later than peers'.

Thick stern plate

25.0 mm stern, best of T2 CAs.

Heavy armor

152.0 mm max plate, top decile of T2 CAs.

Quick-fuse AP

0.0 s AP fuse timer, bottom decile of T2 CAs. Detonates earlier in the plate; trades belt-citadels for reliable damage against thin targets (cruiser-on-cruiser specialty).

Thin deck

6.0 mm armor deck, bottom quartile of T2 CAs. Plunging fire and HE eat through.

Acquisition

How to get Caledon

Caledon is available in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 13,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 2,600 credits.

Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram

U.K. Tech Tree

Caledon sits in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.

8 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.K. lines.

U.K.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Battleship Split

Carrier

Tier VRenownPBSB547 Tier VIIVanguardPBSB508 Tier VIIIDrakePBSC209 Tier VIIIDuncanPBSB209 Tier VIIAlbemarlePBSC208 Tier VIIHawkePBSB208 Tier VISurreyPBSC207 Tier VIRookePBSB207 Tier VDevonshirePBSC206 Tier IVHawkinsPBSC205 Tier IVTigerPBSB205 Tier IIIHermesPBSA204 Tier VIIITemerairePBSB112 Tier ★DaringPBSD110 Tier ★MinotaurPBSC110 Tier ★ConquerorPBSB110 Tier VIIIJutlandPBSD109 Tier VIIINeptunePBSC109 Tier VIILightningPBSD108 Tier VIIEdinburghPBSC108 Tier VIIImplacablePBSA108 Tier VIJervisPBSD107 Tier VIFijiPBSC107 Tier VIKing George VPBSB107 Tier VIcarusPBSD106 Tier VLeanderPBSC106 Tier VQueen ElizabethPBSB106 Tier VFuriousPBSA106 Tier IVAcastaPBSD105 Tier IVEmeraldPBSC105 Tier IVIron DukePBSB105 Tier IIIWakefulPBSD104 Tier IIIDanaePBSC104 Tier IIIOrionPBSB104 Tier IIValkyriePBSD103 Tier IICaledonPBSC103 Tier IWeymouthPBSC102

Builds Beta

AL Belfast, AL Cheshire, and AL Neptune are useful British cruiser commander directions. Inspirations usually support accuracy, reload, concealment, agility, or survivability so the ship can keep influencing fights without giving up easy citadels.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Belfast AL Cheshire AL Neptune

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Cohort position

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Where Caledon sits among Tier II CAs (19 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 arming threshold12 mm (1/18) BestAP ricochet start65° (1/18) BestAP auto-bounce angle80° (1/18) BestStern armor25 mm (1 of 7 tied) Top 25%Max speed29 kt (5/19) Top 25%Stealth profile8.59 km / 5.15 km (5/19 / 5/19) Top 25%Rudder shift7.3 s (5/19) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio6.2 × (5/19) Top 25%Engine power40,000 hp (5/19) Top 25%Turn-speed retention75.5 hp/m (5/19) Top 25%Displacement5,278 t (5/19) Top 25%Power-to-weight7.58 hp/t (4/19) Top 25%Torpedo damage10,000 (2/5) Top 25%Torpedo reload41 s (2/5) Top 25%Max armor152 mm (3/19) Bottom 25%Hit points19,000 HP (17/19) WorstNo secondaries (8 of 19 in cohort) WorstAP fuse timer0 s (18/18) WorstTorpedo range6 km (1 of 2 tied) WorstBow armor10 mm (1 of 8 tied) WorstDeck armor6 mm (1 of 3 tied)

See 15 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Caledon -- 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.

Main battery caliber152 mm(7/19) Main battery range11.16 km(11/19) Main battery reload7.2 s(7/19) Sigma2(9/19) AP shell damage2,900(7/18) AP DPM120,833(11/18) Main dispersion103 m(9/19) AP velocity853 m/s(6/18) Acceleration8.6 s(14/19) AA DPS65(6/19) AA range3 km(8/19) AA threat125(6/13) Torpedo speed53 kt(4/5) Citadel belt76 mm(7/19) NormRepair charges2(2 of 3 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 18 peers

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chart More tools in the WoWS Legends Data Lab

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

Repair 2

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 17,500 → 19,000

Displacement5,278 t

Armor range6–152 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 10, 13, 16, 25, 38, 57, 76, 152 mm

Armor material/layer entries41

Fire resistanceInitial: 0% → 3.3%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction0%

Magazine HP

ƒ

The 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.

9,500

Steering gear HP

ƒ

Durability 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.

5,700

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 152 mm/45 PXIII*

Mounts / barrels5 mounts / 5 barrels

Reload time8 s

Firing range (base)10.1 km

Firing range (top fire control)11.2 km

Turret traverse10 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

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Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.

2

Max Horiz Disp

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Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (10149/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 103 m

103 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 103 × 0.6 = 61.8 m

61.8 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 103 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 32.9 m

32.9 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 61.8 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 19.8 m

19.8 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.

18 s

Base shells/min

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5 broadside guns x 60 / 8 s base reload = 37.5.

37.5

HE shells

HE penetration

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floor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.

25 mm

AP shells

AP Damage2,900

AP Velocity853 m/s

Min Ricochet65 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet80 deg

Fuse Timer0.004 s

Fuse Threshold12 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

10 mm

AP Pen Close

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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 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 853^1.38 = 236.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

236.6 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14 km), where the shell has slowed to 260.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 260.9^1.38 = 46.1 mm.

46.1 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

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2,900 AP damage x 5 broadside guns = 14,500.

14,500

Base AP DPM

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14,500 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8 s base reload = 108,750.

108,750

AP AOE Radius

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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.

10

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Mk II*

Launchers / tubes4 launchers × 2 tubes = 8 tubes

Reload time41 s

Projectile speed53 kt

Range6 km

Maximum simulated damage9,100 (est.)

Alpha damage27,300

Torpedo detectability1.1 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming164 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

36,400

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 4 → 6

Close-range AA DPS

ƒ

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (3×3.5×0.9) + (13×3.5×0.9) + (5×3.5×0.85) = 65. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.

65

Maximum AA range

ƒ

Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.

3 km

76.2 mm/45 HA Mk IV2×1 76mm

40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. QF Mk II2×1 40mm

7.7 mm Maxim machine gun Mk I (upgraded hull only)2×1 8mm

DPS3

Range3 km

DPSInitial: 11 → 13

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

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Far 3 + Medium 13 = 16

16

DPS5

Range1 km

Total DPS in Aura

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Far 3 + Medium 13 + Near 5 = 21

21

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 40,000 hp

Engine power40,000 hp

Maximum speed29 kt

Turning circle radius530 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold27 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio6.2× slow

Concealment

Detectability by sea8.59 km

Detectability by air5.15 km

Smoke firing penalty3.72 km

Detect after firing main guns8.59 km

Detect Fire Sea10.59 km

Detect Fire Air8.15 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active

Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% 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.

HullUpgrade

Hit points17,500 → 19,000
Rudder shift10.2 → 7.3 s
AA mounts4 → 6
Close-range AA DPS14 → 21

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range10,149 → 11163.9 m

See all derived stats

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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)2

Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.

Max Horiz Disp103 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (10149/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 103 m

Max Vert Disp61.8 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 103 × 0.6 = 61.8 m

Med Horiz Disp32.9 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 103 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 32.9 m

Med Vert Disp19.8 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 61.8 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 19.8 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close236.6 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 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 853^1.38 = 236.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far46.1 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14 km), where the shell has slowed to 260.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 260.9^1.38 = 46.1 mm.

HE penetration25 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius10

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 alpha5

All 5 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time18 s

180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.

AP full-salvo alpha14,500

2,900 AP damage x 5 broadside guns = 14,500.

Base AP DPM108,750

14,500 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8 s base reload = 108,750.

Base shells/min37.5

5 broadside guns x 60 / 8 s base reload = 37.5.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.1 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time8 s

detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Torpedo speed53 kt

Travel time to max range43.5 s

range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Tube count8

4 launchers x 2 tubes.

Per-side salvo4 torpedoes

tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).

Full-salvo damage72,800

tube count x per-torpedo simulated damage (all torpedoes hitting).

Per-side salvo damage36,400

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS65

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (3×3.5×0.9) + (13×3.5×0.9) + (5×3.5×0.85) = 65. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.

Maximum AA range3 km

Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.

AA threat index125

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 range1 km

Armor

Hull HP 17,500 → 19,000 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
Bow	10 mm primary (range 6–152 mm)	2,600 (14% of HP)	Overmatched by 150mm+ (Celebes, Königsberg)Angle bounces 127mm10 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	25 mm primary (range 13–25 mm)	14,300 (75% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IIIAngle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	25 mm primary (range 6–38 mm)	1,700 (9% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IIIAngle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	76 mm primary (range 6–76 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen ×0.10 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 (×0.10 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Superstructure	6 mm	1,400 (7% 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 HP	9,500 magazine HP	Magazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HP	Per-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.
AA mount (76 mm mount)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	200 per-mount HP	Destroyed at 0 HP	Per-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 HP	5,700 module HP	Incapacitated at 0 HP	When 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.

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Caledon

Caledon Community Stats