World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Colorado

Beta
Long-range battleshipMax-range AP sniper: trade from open water and bow-tank between salvos.
Playstyle
  • Sit 14-17 km from the brawl line and exploit the range advantage
  • Avoid: Leading the push alone
Key characteristics
16 km gun rangeSpotter planeSlow
Community Data

Colorado Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Colorado is a Tier VI American all-rounder battleship with 406mm guns at 16.5 km: she has no single dominant kit trait but is competent across the board. The role flexes by team comp - mid-range AP anchor by default, brawl support when the team commits, sniper when the line sits back. Versatility is the value, not specialization. Standout traits: best torpedo belt percent in T6 BBs (37) and best DCP duration in T6 BBs (20 s).

Positioning

Sit 14-17 km from the brawl line and exploit the range advantage. You do not need to push into peer fire to land damage; rotate one or two map cells back if a flank starts to collapse.

Potato Avoidance

Leading the push alone

A battleship caught broadside by two same-tier guns at mid range loses more HP than any single salvo trades back, so rotate with the team or hold your angle instead of charging in first.

Signature Traits

Strong torpedo belt

37.0% torpedo damage reduction, best of T6 BBs.

Long DCP window

20.0 s Damage Control duration, best of T6 BBs. Stays fire / flood immune longer per activation.

Heavy magazine armor

114.0 mm magazine protection, best of T6 BBs. Detonation-resistant.

Heavy armor

406.0 mm max plate, top decile of T6 BBs.

Underpowered engine

28900.0 hp engine, bottom decile of T6 BBs. Less headroom for re-accelerating from a stop and holding speed through turns.

Sluggish for the tonnage

0.7 hp per ton, bottom decile of T6 BBs. Engine struggles to overcome the hull's mass, so the ship bleeds speed harder than peers in sustained turns.

Acquisition

How to get Colorado

Colorado is available in the Standard U.S. Battleships branch of the U.S. Tech Tree for 9,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 1,800,000 credits.

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

Colorado sits in the Standard U.S. Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S. tree.

The standard-style U.S. Tech Tree battleships are focused on providing excellent firepower and well-protected citadels. However, their low speed and specific armor schemes can leave them exposed to sustained high-explosive fire.
Advantages
Reliable firepower, Protected citadels
Disadvantages
Slow, Vulnerable to HE shells and bombs

Builds Beta

Build for main-battery reload, shell grouping, survivability, and range/positioning support. Courageous Shelling-style accuracy/reload synergy fits the role.

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Examples to consider Courageous Shelling

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Cohort position

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Where Colorado sits among Tier VI BBs (27 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.

Top 10%Acceleration7.2 s (2/27) Top 10%Max armor406 mm (3/27) Top 25%Main battery range16.46 km (5/27) Top 25%AP shell damage12,400 (5/27) Top 25%Repair heal rate0.66 %/s (7/27) Bottom 25%Stealth profile14.79 km / 11.83 km (23/27 / 23/27) Bottom 25%Rudder shift21 s (24/27) Bottom 25%Secondary HE pen21 mm (22/26) Bottom 25%AP arming threshold68 mm (22/27) Bottom 25%AA range4.2 km (25/27) Bottom 10%Turn-speed retention45.2 hp/m (26/27) WorstMax speed21 kt (1 of 2 tied) WorstEngine power28,900 hp (27/27) WorstPower-to-weight0.7 hp/t (27/27) WorstNo torpedoes (22 of 27 in cohort)
See 29 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Colorado -- 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 points59,300 HP(15/27) Traverse-to-turn ratio4.14 ×(13/27) Main battery caliber406 mm(8/27) Main battery reload27 s(16/27) Sigma1.9(10/27) HE shell damage5,700(11/27) HE fire chance36%(9/27) Fires per minute6.4(15/27) HE DPM101,333(17/27) AP DPM220,444(15/27) Main dispersion209.7 m(15/27) Secondary DPM (per side)173,143(20/27) HE alpha1,800(20/26) Secondary fire chance9%(10/26) AP velocity768 m/s(19/27) HE velocity803 m/s(17/27) Displacement41,140 t(14/27) Secondary range5 km(15/27) AA DPS469(8/27) AA threat1,390(9/27) Repair charges3(13/27) Citadel belt343 mm(9/26) Bow armor26 mm(11/26) Stern armor26 mm(11/26) Deck armor102 mm(14/26) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(18 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(24 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(24 of 27 tied at this value)

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

Repair 3Fighter
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 49,000 → 59,300
Displacement41,140 t
Armor range6–406 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 16, 19, 26, 38, 40, 76, 85, 89, 102, 114, 120, 152, 160, 203, 320, 343, 406 mm
Armor material/layer entries61
Fire resistanceInitial: 26.6% → 30%
Fire duration60 s
Torp Reduction37%
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.
29,700
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.
17,800
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 406 mm/45 Mk1
Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels
Reload time30 s
Firing range (base)15 km
Firing range (top fire control)16.5 km
Turret traverse4 °/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 = (14965/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 209.7 m
209.7 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 209.7 × 0.6 = 125.8 m
125.8 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 209.7 × 0.331 (σ=1.9) = 69.5 m
69.5 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 125.8 × 0.331 (σ=1.9) = 41.7 m
41.7 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.
45 s
Base shells/min
ƒ8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.
16
HE shells
HE Damage5,700
HE Velocity803 m/s
Fire Chance36%
HE penetration
ƒ68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
68 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ5,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 45,600.
45,600
Base HE DPM
ƒ45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 91,200.
91,200
Base fires/min
ƒ8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 36% fire chance = 5.76.
5.76
AP shells
AP Damage12,400
AP Velocity768 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold68 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
28 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 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 768^1.38 = 787.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
787.7 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (20.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 481.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 481.1^1.38 = 413.1 mm.
413.1 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ12,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 99,200.
99,200
Base AP DPM
ƒ99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,400.
198,400
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.
150
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 44 → 48
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (81×3.5×0.75) + (80×3.5×0.7) + (23×3.5×0.75) = 469. 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.
469
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
4.2 km
40 mm Bofors Mk1 (upgraded hull only)3×2 40mm
40 mm Bofors Mk2 (upgraded hull only)8×4 40mm
20 mm Oerlikon Mk4Initial: 38×1 → 37×1 20mm
28 mm Mk2 mod. 2 (stock hull only)6×4 28mm
127 mm Mk19 mod. 6 (DP)8×1 127mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 23 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
23
Range4.2 km
Medium aura
DPS81
Range3.5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 23 + Medium 81 = 104
104
Near aura
DPSInitial: 91 → 80
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 23 + Medium 81 + Near 80 = 184
184
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts18 → 16
Firing range5.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
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
127 mm Mk19 mod. 6 (×8)
Caliber127 mm
Reload time4.5 s
HE Damage1,800
Muzzle Velocity657 m/s
Fire Chance9%
Armor Pen21 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Show 1 more gun family
127 mm Mk7 (×10)
Caliber127 mm
Reload time7 s
HE Damage1,800
Muzzle Velocity960 m/s
Fire Chance6%
Armor Pen21 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 28,900 hp
Engine power28,900 hp
Maximum speed21 kt
Turning circle radius640 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio4.1× drags
Concealment
Detectability by sea14.79 km
Detectability by air11.83 km
Smoke firing penalty14.28 km
Detect after firing main guns14.79 km
Detect Fire Sea16.79 km
Detect Fire Air14.83 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 20 s active
Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.66% heal per second · 18.5% of max HP total heal
Choose one
Catapult Fighter3 charges · 60 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size
Observation Seaplane3 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · +10% main-battery range bonus
Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% damage boost · +50% reload boost
Module options (2)

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

HullUpgrade
  • Hit points49,000 → 59,300
  • Rudder shift27.1 → 21 s
  • AA mounts44 → 48
  • Close-range AA DPS114 → 161
  • Maximum AA range3.1 → 3.5 km
  • Turret traverse4 → 8 °/s
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range14,965 → 16461.5 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 Disp209.7 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14965/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 209.7 m
Max Vert Disp125.8 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 209.7 × 0.6 = 125.8 m
Med Horiz Disp69.5 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 209.7 × 0.331 (σ=1.9) = 69.5 m
Med Vert Disp41.7 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 125.8 × 0.331 (σ=1.9) = 41.7 m
Dispersion familyUS/UK BB Disp.
2.5% overall improvement compared to EU BB Disp.
AP Pen Close787.7 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 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 768^1.38 = 787.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far413.1 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (20.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 481.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 481.1^1.38 = 413.1 mm.
HE penetration68 mm
68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch28 mm
floor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius150
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 alpha8
All 8 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time45 s
180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.
HE full-salvo alpha45,600
5,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 45,600.
AP full-salvo alpha99,200
12,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 99,200.
Base HE DPM91,200
45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 91,200.
Base AP DPM198,400
99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,400.
Base shells/min16
8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.
Base fires/min5.76
8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 36% fire chance = 5.76.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS469
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (81×3.5×0.75) + (80×3.5×0.7) + (23×3.5×0.75) = 469. 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 range4.2 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index1390
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)173,143
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: 8×1 127 mm (4/side) × 60/4.5 × 1800 = 96,000 + 10×1 127 mm (5/side) × 60/7 × 1800 = 77,143. 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 chance9%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 9% 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 49,00059,300 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
Bow26 mm primary (range 26–40 mm)2,400 (4% of HP)
Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern, Richelieu)Angle 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)16 mm primary (range 16–343 mm)44,500 (75% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Graf Spee, Scharnhorst)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern26 mm primary (range 6–203 mm)1,700 (3% of HP)
Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm26 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel343 mm primary (range 26–343 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).
Superstructure16 mm primary (range 16–406 mm)1,200 (2% 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 HP29,700 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.
Engine (module, research)engine coefficient (unconfirmed)-0.115 research estimateLargest on BB/BC; zero on destroyersEngine durability isn't a per-ship HP field in the binary. This small negative coefficient is non-zero only on battleships, battlecruisers, and the heaviest cruisers, and is exactly zero on every destroyer, so it scales with hull displacement rather than any commander skill. Most likely an engine drag or power term in the same family as the decoded deceleration fields; exact meaning unconfirmed in the current decoder.
Rudder (module)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP17,800 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.
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Colorado 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.