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California is a Tier V American tank battleship (58,300 HP): top-decile hit points let her hold trades that drain peer BBs out faster than the shells they fire back. The kit is line-holder, not striker. She also packs the super-heal (0.5%/s, for 28 s, every 80 s, 3 charges): each Repair Party charge returns dramatically more HP than a standard heal, so her durability comes from sustain alongside the lead trait. AA (721 AA DPS at 5 km) 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 torpedo belt percent in T5 BBs (40) and best armor plate in T5 BBs (406 mm).
Anchor a flank at 12-15 km where the team can rotate behind you. The HP pool lets you absorb focus that drains peer BBs out, but absorbing focus without trading is just wasted HP; pick salvo targets that exploit the angle others avoid.
The HP pool is a tool for holding the angle while you reload, not a license to sit broadside; every salvo you skip is a salvo your team had to land instead.
40.0% torpedo damage reduction, best of T5 BBs.
20.0 s Damage Control duration, best of T5 BBs. Stays fire / flood immune longer per activation.
California is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Containers. Container chances are shown as the listed odds of receiving this exact ship, dividing grouped ship-pool odds across the resolved ships and including nested container paths when a crate can drop another crate.
Super V crate
4.166667%
One of the Tier V Premium ships
Event · Super V crate · 1 of 24 ships
Anniversary '21 USN crate
0.75%
V California
Event · Anniversary '21 USN crate
Chest of Rarities
0.5%
Tier V or VI Premium ship
Event · Chest of Rarities · 1 of 8 ships
Winter Big Crate '23
0.25%
Tier V Premium ship
Common · Winter Big Crate '23 · 1 of 2 ships
Mystic Lantern
0.2%
Tier V Premium ship
Event · Mystic Lantern · 1 of 25 ships
Piñata Chest
0.05%
Tier V or VI Premium ship
Event · Piñata Chest → Chest of Rarities · 1 of 8 ships
Mystic Box
0.012%
Tier V Premium ship
Event · Mystic Box · 1 of 25 ships
Want the full picture? Each container page charts the odds as you open more crates — including pity guaranteed-reward timers and, for Fleet Members, pack math personalized to your port.
Pair with a commander whose unique skill complements her main armament; check the build tool for current recommendations.
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Where California sits among Tier V BBs (25 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.
Not standouts for California -- 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.
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 20 s active
Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 8,162 HP (14% of max HP) total heal (per charge) 
Catapult Fighter3 charges · 80 s reload · 90 s active · 5 km patrol radius 
Observation Seaplane3 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · Tightens main-battery shell grouping
Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% grouping · -50% dispersionAll values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
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.
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: Horizontal scatter at a fixed 5 km, from the same verified dispersion model as the rows below - a knife-fight-range anchor comparable across ships.How wide your shells scatter at 10 km, from the same dispersion model as the max-range figure above. Picking a fixed range makes this number directly comparable from ship to ship: max-range dispersion makes a longer-range gun look worse even when it's tighter at any common range. The interactive Dispersion tab on the Charts card plots the full curve from 0 to max range.Horizontal scatter at a fixed 15 km, from the same verified dispersion model - the long-range anchor. Only shown when the ship's guns reach 15 km.Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: How tall the same scatter ellipse is at 10 km. Comparable from ship to ship for the same reason as the width value above.50%-hit horizontal radius: 50%-hit vertical radius: Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: . Matches the in-game spec card.Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.4 km), where the shell has slowed to 491.4 m/s: .AP penetration at a fixed 5 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.AP penetration at a fixed 10 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.AP penetration at a fixed 15 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.59 mm ≈ 356 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).floor(356 mm caliber / 14.3) = 24 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).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.All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.5,000 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 60,000.10,500 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 126,000.60,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 120,000.126,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 252,000.12 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 24.24 shells/min x 30% fire chance = 7.2.Only families that reach 5 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 127mm 8x2 -> 105 DPS @ 5 km; 40mm 14x4 -> 273 DPS @ 3.5 km; 20mm 41x2 -> 343 DPS @ 2 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.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.Sum of every family's average DPS, achievable only inside the closest-range family (2 km).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.Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.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: 8×2 127 mm (8/side) × 60/6 × 1800 = 144,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 127 mm family.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.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.Hull HP 58,300, 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.
Overmatched by 32+ guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.
Citadels come from a flat broadside at close range; held past ~30° of angle, AP shatters or bounces.
Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 23%, fires burn 60s. Range-by-range in the Compare tool →
| Section | Plates | HP cap | Threats | Tactic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 26 mm primary (range 26–40 mm) | 2,000 (3% of HP) | Overmatch not possible in its bracketAngle bounces 356mm26 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) | 343 mm primary (range 25–343 mm) | 43,700 (75% of HP) | No common caliber overmatches343 mm: no common HE pens | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 26 mm primary (range 26–203 mm) | 1,300 (2% of HP) | Overmatch not possible in its bracketAngle bounces 356mm26 mm: HE pens from 203mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 343 mm primary (range 19–343 mm) | ≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap) | Citadel pen: full damageOver-pen: ×0.10 damage | Effectively no cap; citadel pool sits at ~165k HP on every ship. An AP citadel penetration deals the shell's full damage, the biggest single hit available; only over-penetrations are damped, to ×0.10. |
| Superstructure | 16 mm primary (range 16–406 mm) | 3,600 (6% 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 | 29,200 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. |
| Secondary mount (127 mm mount) | separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP | 800 per-mount HP | Destroyed at 0 HP | Per-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 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 | 17,500 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.
Every custom exterior California can equip, from in-game data.
Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.