Hermes
Beta- Stay a full map cell behind the brawl line, far enough back that a rotated DD or radar cruiser cannot t…
- Avoid: Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
Hermes Community Stats
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Hermes Community Stats
Playstyle
Overview
Hermes is the Tier III British legacy strike carrier. Her squadron at 12 planes is the largest in the cohort (cohort median is 12), so her impact comes from volume waves rather than surgical alpha against a single target. Standout traits: best heavy air torpedoes in T3 CVs (5,267) and best tough flight deck in T3 CVs (16,600 HP).
Positioning
Stay a full map cell behind the brawl line, far enough back that a rotated DD or radar cruiser cannot threaten the hull. Launch from positions where the recall path stays inside your team's AA umbrella, not over open water where intercepting fighters can finish off limping squadrons. Longer trip back, fewer waves per match.
Potato Avoidance
Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
Match impact comes from cycling waves across multiple targets, not committing a dive into layered AA for one battleship. When a target's AA is heavy, route around and find a softer pick rather than burning planes through the wall.
Signature Traits
5267.0 damage per air-dropped torpedo, best of T3 CVs. Each torp delete-strike hits harder.
16600.0 HP flight deck, best of T3 CVs. Survives AP and HE pressure that peers can't.
1900.0 HP per plane (weakest squadron), best of T3 CVs. Strikes survive AA pushes that thin peers' squadrons.
33200.0 HP, best of T3 CVs.
270.0 s to restore one plane, worst of T3 CVs. Reserves refill slower between sorties.
12.5 s rudder shift, worst of T3 CVs. Hard to dodge incoming AP; lean on island cover.
How to get Hermes
Hermes is available in the Armored Carriers branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 270,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 54,000 credits.
Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram
Hermes sits in the Armored Carriers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.
Builds Beta
Build around aircraft restoration, survivability, speed, and basic strike consistency. Current advice should account for changed bomber/torpedo restoration, aircraft HP, attack size, and surface/air detectability.
Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.
Cohort position
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Where Hermes sits among Tier III CVs (3 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.
See 11 mid-pack stats
Not standouts for Hermes -- 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.
Stats & specs
Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chartMore tools in the WoWS Legends Data LabAll values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
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Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (3×3.5×1) = 10. 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.ƒ
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.ƒ
Includes 3 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.ƒ
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.ƒ
3.5 km × 57 + 30 = 229.5 m.Show 1 more gun family
Automatic Damage Control Party∞ charges · 90 s reload · 60 s active
Automatic Fighter4 charges · 150 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 4 squadron size
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.
AA defense
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (3×3.5×1) = 10. 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.Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.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
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.3.5 km × 57 + 30 = 229.5 m.Secondary battery firepower
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: 3×1 102 mm (1.5/side) × 60/4 × 1500 = 33,750 + 6×1 140 mm (3/side) × 60/5 × 2000 = 72,000. 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: 2000 from the 140 mm family.Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 8% from the 140 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: 23 mm from the 140 mm family.Armor
Hull HP 32,200 → 33,200 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 | 25 mm primary (range 16–76 mm) | 700 (2% of HP) | Overmatch not possible at T IVAngle 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) | 13 mm primary (range 10–16 mm) | 24,900 (75% of HP) | Overmatched by 203mm+ (Desert Falcon, Genova)Angle bounces 152mm13 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 25 mm primary (range 16–76 mm) | 800 (2% of HP) | Overmatch not possible at T IVAngle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 76 mm primary (range 13–76 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 | 10 mm primary (range 10–76 mm) | 400 (1% 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). |
| Secondary mount (140 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. |
| Rudder (module) | separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP | 10,000 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.
Balance History
Balance updates affecting Hermes. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.
Ministry of Balance: Breaking the Ice
- Hermes is the hidden king of Tier III carriers in terms of performance, as a result we are slightly nerfing her main source of damage, torpedoes.
- Torpedo maximum damage reduced from 5,833 to 5,367.
Ministry of Balance: Aerial Adjustments
- Torpedo.
- Torpedo bomber restoration time increased from 170 to 270 s.
- Dive bomber restoration time increased from 170 to 270 s.
Ministry of Balance: Carriers 2.0 – First Wave
- Number of attacking aircraft per strike increased from 1 to 2.
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,100 to 1,900 (squadron HP reduced from 8,400 to 7,600).
- Base speed increased from 98 to 108 knots.
- Maximum flight range set to 26 kilometers.
- Maximum hangar aircraft increased from 9 to 12.
- Starting hangar aircraft reduced from 9 to 8.
- Aircraft restoration time increased from 80 to 170 seconds.
- Aircraft restored increased from 1 to 4.
- Torpedo Bombers:
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,200 to 2,000 (squadron HP reduced from 8,800 to 8,000).
- +3 more official change lines in the source post.
Ministry of Balance Reports: Carrier Changes
- Since her introduction, Hermes has been lagging behind her peers in total damage dealt, which also affects the ship’s win rate and battle impact. Hermes dishes out damage equally with both weapons normally, so they have been buffed:
- HE bomb damage increased from 3,200 to 3,400.
- Torpedo damage increased from 5,633 to 5,833.
- Torpedo speed increased from 40 to 42 knots.
- Torpedo range increased from 2.4 to 3.0 km.
Halloween Update: New Friends, Old Foes
- Surface detectability range changed from 10.9 to 11 km; air detectability range changed from 7.6 to 7.7 km.
- Dive bomber HP changed from 2,000 to 2,100; torpedo bomber HP changed from 2,100 to 2,200.
March update: All That is Gold Does Not Glitter
- Maximum bomb damage increased from 2,400 to 3,200.
- Maximum torpedo damage increased from 5,200 to 5,633.
- Speed for torpedo bombers increased by 5 kts.
- Torpedo arming time reduced from 3.5 to 3 s.
- Torpedo speed increased from 35 to 40 kts.
- Torpedo spotting range increased by about 15%.
Skins & permanent camouflages
Every custom exterior Hermes can equip, from in-game data.
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.
