GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Gouden Leeuw
World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Gouden Leeuw

Beta
The Netherlands · Tier ★ · Cruiser
Airstrike cruiserStrike from cover with airstrikes; screen the fleet and zone with planes.
Playstyle
  • Hold 14-17 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to shadow back into, and bow toward the…
  • Avoid: Launching airstrikes at maneuvering targets
Key characteristics
SonarDefensive AASlow acceleration
Community Data

Gouden Leeuw Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Gouden Leeuw is the Legendary Dutch airstrike cruiser. The alt-armament fires a bomber line instead of torpedoes, so her damage profile is main battery up front plus airstrike pressure on distant caps. Sonar (5.6 km on ships and 3.9 km on torpedoes, 100 s active, 180 s reload, long uptime) lights up DDs and torpedoes inside its bubble, which lets her contest the cap edge without taking the spotting cycle. Standout traits: best Repair Party charges in Legendary CAs (3).

Positioning

Hold 14-17 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to shadow back into, and bow toward the closest BB. The heavy bow plate lets you hold the angle against same-tier guns, which is the protection the citadel needs; the hull does not tank battleship volleys broadside even if it can absorb them bow-on. The big guns reach for full AP citadels at that distance.

Potato Avoidance

Launching airstrikes at maneuvering targets

The squadron's travel time is long enough that a healthy DD or cruiser with engine boost simply turns out of the cone. Reserve strikes for capping destroyers, island-huggers, and anyone already tying up with a teammate.

Signature Traits

Airstrike alt-armament

Right-trigger fires a bomber line in place of torpedoes. Rewards behind-cover positioning with the cap in range.

Extra heal charges

3.0 Repair Party charges, best of Legendary CAs. More total HP available across a match.

Thick deck armor

150.0 mm armor deck, best of Legendary CAs. Eats plunging fire and HE that peers don't.

Heavy citadel belt

250.0 mm citadel belt, top decile of Legendary CAs. Citadels through angle are rare.

Long-range sonar

5.56 km Sonar ship-detection range, top decile of Legendary CAs. Lights DDs and torpedoes inside the bubble.

Slow acceleration

~11.2 s to max forward speed, bottom decile of Legendary CAs. Sluggish rebuild after a turn or stop. (Acceleration decode is validated in-game but not yet confirmed across every ship.)

Acquisition

How to get Gouden Leeuw

Gouden Leeuw is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.

Builds Beta

Karel Doorman as primary (Bird's Eye View, Sea Wings, Iron Feathers cover airstrike range, cruise speed, and plane HP). Pair with Cornelis van der Windt (Flame Storm trait: airstrike bomb burning chance) for more fire starts, or Johan Furstner (Minister of the Navy trait: fire damage on shells and bombs) for heavier DoT layered on the 283 mm HE pressure.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship Karel Doorman

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Cohort position

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Where Gouden Leeuw sits among Legendary CAs (21 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.

BestRepair charges3 (1 of 6 tied) BestDeck armor150 mm (1 of 4 tied) Top 10%Citadel belt250 mm (2/21) Top 25%Stealth profile12.4 km / 7.44 km (6/21 / 5/21) Top 25%Main battery range16 km (6/21) Top 25%AA threat2,484 (5/21) Top 25%Max armor250 mm (6/21) Bottom 25%Fires per minute8 (17/20) Bottom 25%Main dispersion182.4 m (18/21) Bottom 25%Acceleration11.2 s (19/21) WorstNo torpedoes (8 of 21 in cohort) WorstRepair heal rate0.5 %/s (1 of 10 tied)
See 32 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Gouden Leeuw -- 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 points51,900 HP(11/21) Max speed33.5 kt(13/21) Rudder shift16.5 s(15/21) Traverse-to-turn ratio5.76 ×(10/21) Main battery caliber283 mm(7/21) Main battery reload13.5 s(12/21) Sigma2.05(13/21) HE shell damage3,900(7/20) HE fire chance20%(8/20) HE DPM156,000(14/20) AP shell damage7,600(7/21) AP DPM304,000(13/21) Secondary DPM (per side)204,000(5/14) HE alpha1,700(8/13) Secondary fire chance7%(5/13) Secondary HE pen20 mm(9/13) AP velocity890 m/s(8/21) HE velocity890 m/s(7/20) AP arming threshold47 mm(16/21) Engine power156,000 hp(11/21) Turn-speed retention197.5 hp/m(9/21) Displacement27,600 t(15/21) Power-to-weight5.65 hp/t(16/21) AA DPS636(7/21) AA range5.2 km(9/21) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(11 of 14 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(11 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(14 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(14 of 21 tied at this value) NormSecondary range5 km(11 of 14 tied at this value) NormBow armor25 mm(14 of 21 tied at this value) NormStern armor25 mm(13 of 21 tied at this value)

Stats & specs

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

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

Sonar 5.56 kmRepair 3Def-AA
Survivability
Hit Points51,900
Displacement27,600 t
Armor range16–250 mm
Plate armor thicknesses16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 80, 100, 150, 163, 200, 225, 250 mm
Armor material/layer entries57
Fire resistance40%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction19%
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.
26,000
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.
15,600
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 283 mm/54.5
Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 9 barrels
Reload time15 s
Firing range16 km
Turret traverse7.2 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
2.05
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (16000/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 182.4 m
182.4 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 182.4 × 0.6 = 109.4 m
109.4 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 182.4 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 57.2 m
57.2 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 109.4 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 34.3 m
34.3 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 7.2 deg/s traverse speed = 25 s.
25 s
Base shells/min
ƒ9 broadside guns x 60 / 15 s base reload = 36.
36
HE shells
HE Damage3,900
HE Velocity890 m/s
Fire Chance20%
HE penetration
ƒ47 mm ≈ 283 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
47 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ3,900 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 35,100.
35,100
Base HE DPM
ƒ35,100 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15 s base reload = 140,400.
140,400
Installed HE DPM
ƒ35,100 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 156,000.
156,000
Base fires/min
ƒ9 HE shells x 60 / 15 s reload x 20% fire chance = 7.2.
7.2
AP shells
AP Damage7,600
AP Velocity890 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold47 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(283 mm caliber / 14.3) = 19 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
19 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 × 2562 × 330^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 890^1.38 = 635.5 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
635.5 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (20 km), where the shell has slowed to 491.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 2562 × 330^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 491.9^1.38 = 280.4 mm.
280.4 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ7,600 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 68,400.
68,400
Base AP DPM
ƒ68,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15 s base reload = 273,600.
273,600
Installed AP DPM
ƒ68,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 304,000.
304,000
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
✈
Squadrons
Airstrike
Plane HP2,200
Plane max speed180 kn
Planes per strike4
OrdnanceHE bomb, 6,500 dmg
Fire chance39%
Bomb penetration37 mm
Bomb velocity300 m/s
Strike reload30 s
Launch arc-124° to 124°
AA Defense
AA mount points12
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (154×3.5×0.9) + (48×3.5×0.9) = 636. 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.
636
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
5.2 km
40 mm/70 SAK-40/L70-35012×1 40mm
120 mm/50 Model 1942 (DP)6×2 120mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 48 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
48
Range5.2 km
Medium aura
DPS154
Range3.5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 48 + Medium 154 = 202
202
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts6
Firing range5.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
Caliber120 mm
Reload time3 s
HE Damage1,700
Muzzle Velocity850 m/s
Fire Chance7%
Armor Pen20 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: 156,000 hp
Engine power156,000 hp
Maximum speed33.5 kt
Turning circle radius790 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio5.8× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea12.4 km
Detectability by air7.44 km
Smoke firing penalty8.9 km
Detect after firing main guns12.4 km
Detect Fire Sea14.4 km
Detect Fire Air10.44 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
✦
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 100 s active · 5.56 km ship detect · 3.89 km torpedo detect
Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost
Repair Party3 charges · 40 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal
Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade
  • Turret traverse7.2 → 8 °/s

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)2.05
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp182.4 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (16000/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 182.4 m
Max Vert Disp109.4 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 182.4 × 0.6 = 109.4 m
Med Horiz Disp57.2 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 182.4 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 57.2 m
Med Vert Disp34.3 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 109.4 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 34.3 m
Dispersion familyBC Disp.
Battlecruiser dispersion. The standard mid-tier reference family that Georgia, Stalingrad, and Siegfried are compared against.
AP Pen Close635.5 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 × 2562 × 330^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 890^1.38 = 635.5 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far280.4 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (20 km), where the shell has slowed to 491.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 2562 × 330^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 491.9^1.38 = 280.4 mm.
HE penetration47 mm
47 mm ≈ 283 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch19 mm
floor(283 mm caliber / 14.3) = 19 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 alpha9
All 9 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time25 s
180 degrees / 7.2 deg/s traverse speed = 25 s.
HE full-salvo alpha35,100
3,900 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 35,100.
AP full-salvo alpha68,400
7,600 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 68,400.
Base HE DPM140,400
35,100 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15 s base reload = 140,400.
Base AP DPM273,600
68,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15 s base reload = 273,600.
Installed HE DPM156,000
35,100 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 156,000.
Installed AP DPM304,000
68,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 304,000.
Base shells/min36
9 broadside guns x 60 / 15 s base reload = 36.
Installed shells/min40
9 broadside guns x 60 / 13.5 s installed Artillery reload = 40.
Base fires/min7.2
9 HE shells x 60 / 15 s reload x 20% fire chance = 7.2.
Installed fires/min8
9 HE shells x 60 / 13.5 s installed reload x 20% fire chance = 8.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS636
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (154×3.5×0.9) + (48×3.5×0.9) = 636. 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 range5.2 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index2484
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.

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)204,000
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: 6×2 120 mm (6/side) × 60/3 × 1700 = 204,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha1700
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1700 from the 120 mm family.
Max HE fire chance7%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 7% from the 120 mm family.
Max HE pen20 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: 20 mm from the 120 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 51,900, 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
Bow25 mm primary (range 25–40 mm)2,900 (6% of HP)
Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bismarck, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+
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 16–250 mm)38,900 (75% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern25 mm primary (range 25–100 mm)2,000 (4% of HP)
Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bismarck, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel250 mm primary (range 30–250 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).
Superstructure30 mm primary (range 30–150 mm)2,500 (5% 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 HP26,000 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 (120 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP1,200 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 HP15,600 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 Gouden Leeuw. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Nerf ×1Commander Skill ×1
2026-04-30

Ministry of Balance: Viva la Marina!

  • Nerf affecting Dutch cruisers above Tier IV: Air Support special-effect activation distance reduced from 7.5/8/8.5/9 km to 7/7.4/7.7/8 km.
  • Air Support: Special-effect activation distance reduced from 7.5/8/8.5/9 km to 7/7.4/7.7/8 km.
  • Hidden Hand: Airstrike-launched torpedo damage penalty deepened: now -25/22/18/15% (was -20/17/13/10%).
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

  • Gouden Leeuw default exterior
    DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

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.

2025-02-27 · Patch notes March Update: Thirst for Combat Patch notes 2026-01-15 · Patch notes January Update: Anchors Up! Patch notes