GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Hipper
World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Hipper

Beta
Germany · Tier VII · Cruiser · Tech Tree: Fire-Support Cruisers
AP citadel cruiserPunish broadsides with AP; angle to deny return citadels.
Playstyle
  • Hold 12-15 km where rotated focus can find island cover within one heal cycle
  • Avoid: Trading the super-heal advantage in open water
Key characteristics
2 sigma accuracyStrong secondaries (5 km)SonarDefensive AASlow
Community Data

Hipper Community Stats

Log in to GamingDiver and upload your data to see Community Data for Hipper: community win rate, damage, survival, spotting, and your own comparison.

Log in & upload to see Community Data

Playstyle

Overview

Hipper is a Tier VII German cruiser built around the super-heal: each Repair Party charge returns dramatically more HP than a standard heal, so her durability comes from sustain rather than armor. Sonar (6.2 km on ships and 4.3 km on torpedoes, 118 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. HE pen sits at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6, so HE spam is a real damage option here - pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE round. Standout traits: best Sonar ship range in T7 CAs (6.2 km).

Positioning

Hold 12-15 km where rotated focus can find island cover within one heal cycle. The super-heal (~0.6%/s, roughly twice a standard heal) makes sustained trades profitable that would not be on a standard cruiser, but only if you finish the trade behind cover; open-water sustain just feeds shells.

Potato Avoidance

Trading the super-heal advantage in open water

The kit rewards finishing the trade behind cover so the heal recovers what the salvo took; sustained open-water exposure burns through all 2 charges before the cooldown completes.

Signature Traits

Long-range sonar

6.2 km Sonar ship-detection range, best of T7 CAs. Lights DDs and torpedoes inside the bubble.

Long-duration sonar

118.0 s Sonar duration, best of T7 CAs.

Thick deck armor

150.0 mm armor deck, best of T7 CAs. Eats plunging fire and HE that peers don't.

Wide torpedo sonar

4.27 km Sonar torpedo-detection range, top decile of T7 CAs. More reaction time on incoming torps.

Thick stern plate

30.0 mm stern, top decile of T7 CAs.

Small-caliber secondaries

1200.0 max HE alpha per secondary shell, bottom quartile of T7 CAs. Per-shell damage runs below peers'.

Acquisition

How to get Hipper

Hipper is available in the Fire-Support Cruisers branch of the Germany Tech Tree for 18,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 4,050,000 credits.

Show Germany tech-tree branch diagram
Germany Tech Tree

Hipper sits in the Fire-Support Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Germany tree.

7 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all Germany lines.
GermanyIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★
Destroyer
Destroyer Split
Cruiser
Battleship
Battleship Split
Carrier
Tier VIIIF. SchultzPGSD209 Tier VIIIP. RupprechtPGSB209 Tier VIIG. J. MaerkerPGSD208 Tier VIIZietenPGSB208 Tier VIZ-31PGSD207 Tier VIP. HeinrichPGSB207 Tier VMackensenPGSB206 Tier IVDerfflingerPGSB205 Tier ★Z-52PGSD110 Tier ★Großer KurfürstPGSB110 Tier ★Manfred von RichthofenPGSA110 Tier VIIIZ-46PGSD109 Tier VIIIRoonPGSC109 Tier VIIIFriedrich der GroßePGSB109 Tier VIIZ-23PGSD108 Tier VIIHipperPGSC108 Tier VIIBismarckPGSB108 Tier VIIAugust von ParsevalPGSA108 Tier VIMaassPGSD107 Tier VIYorckPGSC107 Tier VIGneisenauPGSB107 Tier VGaedePGSD106 Tier VNürnbergPGSC106 Tier VBayernPGSB106 Tier VWeserPGSA106 Tier IVT-22PGSD105 Tier IVKönigsbergPGSC105 Tier IVKönigPGSB105 Tier IIIV-170PGSD104 Tier IIIKarlsruhePGSC104 Tier IIIKaiserPGSB104 Tier IIIRheinPGSA104 Tier IIKolbergPGSC103 Tier IIV-25PGSD102 Tier IDresdenPGSC002

Builds Beta

Build for reload, AP performance, Sonar utility, rudder, and survivability.

Open in Build Tool →

Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Hipper sits among Tier VII CAs (46 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 fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 20 tied) BestDeck armor150 mm (1 of 6 tied) Top 10%Acceleration9.1 s (3/46) Top 10%Torpedo reload68 s (3/33) Top 25%Hit points43,800 HP (9/46) Top 25%Main battery range15.85 km (9/46) Top 25%AP shell damage6,000 (7/46) Top 25%Main dispersion132.4 m (12/46) Top 25%HE velocity925 m/s (11/41) Top 25%Engine power133,630 hp (12/45) Top 25%Bow armor27 mm (11/45) Top 25%Stern armor30 mm (10/45) Bottom 25%Max speed32 kt (40/46) Bottom 25%Fires per minute5.13 (37/41) Bottom 25%HE DPM107,184 (35/41) Bottom 25%AA range4.5 km (41/46) Bottom 25%Torpedo range6 km (29/33) Bottom 25%Torpedo damage13,700 (27/33) Bottom 25%Citadel belt80 mm (41/45) WorstHE alpha1,200 (1 of 7 tied) WorstSecondary fire chance5% (1 of 19 tied)
See 26 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Hipper -- 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.

Concealment13.53 km(35/46) Air detection8.12 km(35/46) Rudder shift12.6 s(26/46) Traverse-to-turn ratio6.28 ×(16/46) Main battery caliber203 mm(16/46) Main battery reload10.3 s(28/46) Sigma2(25/46) HE shell damage2,300(28/41) AP DPM279,612(18/46) Secondary DPM (per side)128,955(17/40) Secondary HE pen20 mm(21/40) AP velocity925 m/s(13/46) AP arming threshold34 mm(31/46) Turn-speed retention180.6 hp/m(15/45) Displacement18,210 t(34/46) Power-to-weight7.34 hp/t(19/45) AA DPS426(16/46) AA threat1,461(20/46) Torpedo speed64 kt(13/33) Repair heal rate0.6 %/s(18/45) Max armor150 mm(21/46) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(37 of 40 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(33 of 46 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(33 of 46 tied at this value) NormSecondary range5 km(36 of 40 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(40 of 45 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 6.2 kmRepair 2Def-AAFighter
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 37,300 → 43,800
Displacement18,210 t
Armor range13–150 mm
Plate armor thicknesses13, 16, 20, 25, 27, 30, 40, 70, 80, 90, 105, 150 mm
Armor material/layer entries45
Fire resistanceInitial: 33.3% → 36.6%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction10%
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.
21,900
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.
13,100
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 203 mm L/60 Drh LC/34
Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels
Reload time11.5 s
Firing range (base)14.4 km
Firing range (top fire control)15.8 km
Turret traverse8 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
2
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14405/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 132.4 m
132.4 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 132.4 × 0.6 = 79.4 m
79.4 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 132.4 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 42.3 m
42.3 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 79.4 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 25.4 m
25.4 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.
22.5 s
Base shells/min
ƒ8 broadside guns x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 41.7.
41.7
HE shells
HE Damage2,300 → 2,700
HE Velocity925 m/s
Fire Chance11% → 13%
HE penetration
ƒ51 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).
51 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 21,600.
21,600
Base HE DPM
ƒ21,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 112,696.
112,696
Installed HE DPM
ƒ21,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 125,825.
125,825
Base fires/min
ƒ8 HE shells x 60 / 11.5 s reload x 13% fire chance = 5.43.
5.43
AP shells
AP Damage6,000
AP Velocity925 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold34 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
14 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 × 2409 × 122^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 925^1.38 = 452.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
452.6 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (19.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 403.3 m/s: 1e-7 × 2409 × 122^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 403.3^1.38 = 143.9 mm.
143.9 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ6,000 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 48,000.
48,000
Base AP DPM
ƒ48,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 250,435.
250,435
Installed AP DPM
ƒ48,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 279,612.
279,612
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.
30
◇
Torpedoes
ModuleTorpedoes: G7a T1
Launchers / tubes4 launchers × 3 tubes = 12 tubes
Reload time68 s
Projectile speed64 kt
Range6 km
Maximum simulated damage12,700 (est.)
Alpha damage38,100
Torpedo detectability1.3 km
Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s
Torp Turn7.2 s
Torp Arming198 m
Per-side salvo damage
ƒper-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.
76,200
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 14 → 28
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (69×3.5×0.9) + (32×3.5×0.85) + (36×3.5×0.9) = 426. 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.
426
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
4.5 km
40 mm L/56 Flak 28 (upgraded hull only)18×1 40mm
20 mm Flakvierling 38 (upgraded hull only)6×4 20mm
20 mm Flakzwilling 38 (upgraded hull only)4×2 20mm
37 mm Flakzwilling 30 (stock hull only)6×2 37mm
20 mm Flak 38 (stock hull only)8×1 20mm
105 mm L/65 Dop. L. C/31 (DP)6×2 105mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 36 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
36
Range4.5 km
Medium aura
DPSInitial: 9 → 69
Range3.5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 36 + Medium 69 = 105
105
Near aura
DPSInitial: 17 → 32
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 36 + Medium 69 + Near 32 = 137
137
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts6
Firing range5.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
Caliber105 mm
Reload time3.35 s
HE Damage1,200
Muzzle Velocity900 m/s
Fire Chance5%
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: 110,000 hp
Engine power133,630 hp
Maximum speed32 kt
Turning circle radius740 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio6.3× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea13.53 km
Detectability by air8.12 km
Smoke firing penalty7.91 km
Detect after firing main guns13.53 km
Detect Fire Sea15.53 km
Detect Fire Air11.12 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
✦
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Choose one
Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 118 s active · 6.2 km ship detect · 4.27 km torpedo detect
Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost
Catapult Fighter3 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size
Repair Party2 charges · 60 s reload · 28 s active · 0.6% heal per second · 16.8% 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 points37,300 → 43,800
  • Rudder shift17.6 → 12.6 s
  • AA mounts14 → 28
  • Close-range AA DPS26 → 101
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range14,405 → 15845.5 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)2
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp132.4 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14405/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 132.4 m
Max Vert Disp79.4 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 132.4 × 0.6 = 79.4 m
Med Horiz Disp42.3 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 132.4 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 42.3 m
Med Vert Disp25.4 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 79.4 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 25.4 m
Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.
Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.
AP Pen Close452.6 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 × 2409 × 122^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 925^1.38 = 452.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far143.9 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 403.3 m/s: 1e-7 × 2409 × 122^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 403.3^1.38 = 143.9 mm.
HE penetration51 mm
51 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).
Improved HE PenYes
This ship's HE shells use a 1/4 (~0.25) caliber-to-pen ratio instead of the standard 1/6 (~0.167) - 0.251 in this case. Lets HE pen ~50mm armor instead of ~33mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.
AP overmatch14 mm
floor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius30
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 time22.5 s
180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.
HE full-salvo alpha21,600
2,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 21,600.
AP full-salvo alpha48,000
6,000 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 48,000.
Base HE DPM112,696
21,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 112,696.
Base AP DPM250,435
48,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 250,435.
Installed HE DPM125,825
21,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 125,825.
Installed AP DPM279,612
48,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 279,612.
Base shells/min41.7
8 broadside guns x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 41.7.
Installed shells/min46.6
8 broadside guns x 60 / 10.3 s installed Artillery reload = 46.6.
Base fires/min5.43
8 HE shells x 60 / 11.5 s reload x 13% fire chance = 5.43.
Installed fires/min6.06
8 HE shells x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload x 13% fire chance = 6.06.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.3 km
Estimated torpedo reaction time7.8 s
detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Torpedo speed64 kt
Travel time to max range36.1 s
range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Tube count12
4 launchers x 3 tubes.
Per-side salvo6 torpedoes
tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).
Full-salvo damage152,400
tube count x per-torpedo simulated damage (all torpedoes hitting).
Per-side salvo damage76,200
per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS426
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (69×3.5×0.9) + (32×3.5×0.85) + (36×3.5×0.9) = 426. 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 range4.5 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index1461
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)128,955
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: 6×2 105 mm (6/side) × 60/3.35 × 1200 = 128,955. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha1200
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1200 from the 105 mm family.
Max HE fire chance5%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 5% from the 105 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 105 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 37,300 → 43,800 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
Bow27 mm primary (range 20–40 mm)1,300 (3% of HP)
Overmatched by 406mm+ (Colorado, Sinop)Angle bounces 380mm27 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 13–90 mm)32,900 (75% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst '43)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern30 mm primary (range 27–80 mm)1,600 (4% of HP)
Overmatched by 460mm+ (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel80 mm primary (range 13–80 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).
Superstructure30 mm primary (range 30–150 mm)3,100 (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 HP21,900 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 (105 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.
Rudder (module)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP13,100 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 Hipper. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×3Main Battery ×7
2023-04-06

Ministry of Balance Reports: German Commander Refit & More

  • Increases battleship shell damage against other ship types, except for carriers.
  • Increases shell damage when shooting at battleships by 4/6.5/9.5/12%.
  • Increases shell damage when shooting at cruisers by 1.5/3/4.5/6%.
  • Increases shell damage when shooting at destroyers by 1.5/3/4.5/6%.
Read the full official post
2021-05-13

May Update: Things Are Heating Up!

  • Main battery reload time reduced from 13 to 11.5 seconds.
  • For Hull B, HE shell maximum damage increased from 2,500 to 2,700.
  • For Hull B, AP shell maximum damage increased from 5,900 to 6,000.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Hipper 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.

2022-07-14 · Official ship feature / stats Strive for Greatness: Tier VIII development blog Official source 2020-05-14 · Patch notes Update: May 2020 Patch notes 2021-05-13 · Patch notes May Update: Things Are Heating Up! Patch notes 2021-12-16 · Patch notes Holiday Update: Chilling With the Beasts Patch notes 2022-01-27 · Patch notes February update: fortes fortuna adiuvat Patch notes