GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Icarus

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Icarus

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U.K. · Tier V · Destroyer · Tech Tree: Dueling Destroyers

Destroyer gunboatWin DD duels and cap fights with gun DPM.

Playstyle

Hold concealment edges on the contested cap at 6.5 km detection
Avoid: Burning the 6.5 km concealment advantage on guns

Key characteristics

2 sigma accuracyLobs over islandsSmoke + SonarSlow torp reload

Community Data

Icarus Community Stats

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

Playstyle

Overview

Icarus is a Tier V British stealth-leaning destroyer with strong surface detection (6.5 km). The kit opens detection windows most peer DDs cannot match, so her value is contesting caps from concealment edges where the detection band holds. Standout traits: best smoke duration in T5 DDs (20 s) and best Sonar duration in T5 DDs (180 s).

Positioning

Hold concealment edges on the contested cap at 6.5 km detection. The band opens windows for unspotted torpedo drops and clean repositions; lean into the gaps your peer DDs cannot read, and back out before detection closes. Her high-arc gun shells lob over island cover, so you can rain HE on broadsides from positions where flat-trajectory DDs have no firing solution.

Potato Avoidance

Burning the 6.5 km concealment advantage on guns

Every salvo lights you up and gives back the detection edge that makes the kit work; reserve guns for finishing damage on already-spotted ships, and prioritize torpedo drops you can fire while undetected.

Signature Traits

Long-burning smoke

20.0 s Smoke Generator duration, best of T5 DDs. Holds the smoke shield longer.

Long-duration sonar

180.0 s Sonar duration, best of T5 DDs.

High-arc AP shells

42.1° impact angle at max range, best of T5 DDs. Lobs over island cover.

High-arc HE shells

42.1° HE impact angle at max range, top decile of T5 DDs. Lobs over cover.

Fast acceleration

~9.7 s to max forward speed, top quartile of T5 DDs. Rebuilds speed quickly after a turn or stop. (Acceleration decode is validated in-game but not yet confirmed across every ship.)

Slow torp reload

120.0 s torpedo reload, bottom decile of T5 DDs. Long wait between drops.

Acquisition

How to get Icarus

Icarus is available in the Dueling Destroyers branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 2,400,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 600,000 credits.

Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram

U.K. Tech Tree

Icarus sits in the Dueling Destroyers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.

8 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.K. lines.

U.K.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Battleship Split

Carrier

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Builds Beta

Ariadne M. Davis, Grotmaz Smart, and Phillip Vian are useful British destroyer commander directions. Inspirations usually start with concealment, then add HP, torpedo reload, gun performance, or speed depending on whether you want safer scouting or harder cap fights.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship Ariadne M. Davis Grotmaz Smart Philip Vian

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

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Icarus sits among Tier V DDs (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.

BestAcceleration9.7 s (1 of 5 tied) BestAP arming threshold20 mm (1 of 7 tied) Top 25%Main dispersion85.5 m (4/21) Bottom 25%Hit points12,100 HP (17/21) Bottom 25%Engine power34,000 hp (19/21) Bottom 25%Turn-speed retention63 hp/m (19/21) Bottom 25%Power-to-weight18.01 hp/t (19/21) Bottom 25%AA DPS70 (17/21) Bottom 25%AA range2 km (17/21) Bottom 10%Torpedo reload120 s (20/21) WorstMain battery caliber120 mm (1 of 9 tied)

See 28 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Icarus -- 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.

Max speed35.5 kt(16/21) Concealment6.48 km(9/21) Air detection3.24 km(9/21) Rudder shift4 s(9/21) Traverse-to-turn ratio5.16 ×(9/21) Main battery range10.33 km(15/21) Main battery reload4.5 s(9/21) HE shell damage1,700(16/21) HE fire chance8%(7/21) Fires per minute4.27(8/21) HE DPM90,667(13/21) AP shell damage2,100(15/19) AP DPM112,000(15/19) AP velocity808 m/s(14/19) HE velocity808 m/s(15/21) Displacement1,888 t(8/21) AA threat140(16/21) Torpedo range8.01 km(11/21) Torpedo damage15,433(7/21) Torpedo speed61 kt(9/21) Max armor16 mm(13/21) Bow armor16 mm(11/20) Stern armor16 mm(11/20) Deck armor13 mm(11/16) NormAP fuse timer0.01 s(17 of 19 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(18 of 19 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(18 of 19 tied at this value) NormCitadel belt16 mm(19 of 20 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 19 peers

Stats & specs

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

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

Sonar 3.89 kmSmoke

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 10,000 → 12,100

Displacement1,888 t

Armor range10–16 mm

Plate armor thicknesses10, 13, 15, 16 mm

Armor material/layer entries22

Fire resistanceInitial: 20% → 23.3%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction0%

Magazine HP

The 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.

6,100

Steering gear HP

Durability 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.

3,600

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 120 mm/45 QF Mk IX

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 4 barrels

Reload time5 s

Firing range (base)9.4 km

Firing range (top fire control)10.3 km

Turret traverse10 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.

Max Horiz Disp

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (9395/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 85.5 m

85.5 m

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 85.5 × 0.6 = 51.3 m

51.3 m

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 85.5 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 27.3 m

27.3 m

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 51.3 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 16.4 m

16.4 m

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.

18 s

Base shells/min

4 broadside guns x 60 / 5 s base reload = 48.

HE shells

HE Damage1,700

HE Velocity808 m/s

Fire Chance8%

HE penetration

20 mm ≈ 120 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

20 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

1,700 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 6,800.

6,800

Base HE DPM

6,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 81,600.

81,600

Base fires/min

4 HE shells x 60 / 5 s reload x 8% fire chance = 3.84.

3.84

AP shells

AP Damage2,100

AP Velocity808 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.01 s

Fuse Threshold20 mm

AP overmatch

floor(120 mm caliber / 14.3) = 8 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

8 mm

AP Pen Close

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 × 2396 × 22.68^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 808^1.38 = 205.3 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

205.3 mm

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (12.9 km), where the shell has slowed to 237 m/s: 1e-7 × 2396 × 22.68^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 237^1.38 = 37.8 mm.

37.8 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

2,100 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,400.

8,400

Base AP DPM

8,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 100,800.

100,800

AP AOE Radius

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.

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Mk IX

Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 5 tubes = 10 tubes

Reload time120 s

Projectile speed61 kt

Range8.01 km

Maximum simulated damage14,333 (est.)

Alpha damage43,000

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming188 m

Per-side salvo damage

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

143,330

AA Defense

AA mount points4

Close-range AA DPS

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (20×3.5×1) = 70. 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 range

Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.

2 km

20 mm Oerlikon Mk IV2×1 20mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk V (upgraded hull only)2×2 20mm

12.7 mm Mk III (stock hull only)2×4 13mm

DPSInitial: 5 → 20

Range2 km

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 34,000 hp

Engine power34,000 hp

Maximum speed35.5 kt

Turning circle radius540 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold33 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio5.2× slow

Concealment

Detectability by sea6.48 km

Detectability by air3.24 km

Smoke firing penalty2.31 km

Detect after firing main guns6.48 km

Detect Fire Sea8.48 km

Detect Fire Air6.24 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 40 s reload · 5 s active

Smoke Generator6 charges · 60 s reload · 20 s emit / 40 s cloud active

Sonar3 charges · 120 s reload · 180 s active · 3.89 km ship detect · 2.78 km torpedo detect

Module options (3)

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

HullTrade-off

Hit points10,000 → 12,100
Rudder shift5.5 → 4 s
Close-range AA DPS8 → 20
Turret traverse10 → 7.4 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range9,395 → 10334.5 m

TorpedoesTrade-off

Range6 → 8.01 km
Reload106 → 120 s
Alpha damage43,900 → 43,000
Display damage14,633 → 14,333
Speed59 → 61 kt

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 Disp85.5 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (9395/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 85.5 m

Max Vert Disp51.3 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 85.5 × 0.6 = 51.3 m

Med Horiz Disp27.3 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 85.5 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 27.3 m

Med Vert Disp16.4 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 51.3 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 16.4 m

Dispersion familyDD Disp.

Standard destroyer dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close205.3 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 × 2396 × 22.68^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 808^1.38 = 205.3 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far37.8 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (12.9 km), where the shell has slowed to 237 m/s: 1e-7 × 2396 × 22.68^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 237^1.38 = 37.8 mm.

HE penetration20 mm

20 mm ≈ 120 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch8 mm

floor(120 mm caliber / 14.3) = 8 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius8

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 alpha4

All 4 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time18 s

180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.

HE full-salvo alpha6,800

1,700 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 6,800.

AP full-salvo alpha8,400

2,100 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,400.

Base HE DPM81,600

6,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 81,600.

Base AP DPM100,800

8,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 100,800.

Base shells/min48

4 broadside guns x 60 / 5 s base reload = 48.

Base fires/min3.84

4 HE shells x 60 / 5 s reload x 8% fire chance = 3.84.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time8.2 s

detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Torpedo speed61 kt

Travel time to max range50.5 s

range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Tube count10

2 launchers x 5 tubes.

Per-side salvo10 torpedoes

10 (centerline launchers train across - full salvo to either side).

Full-salvo damage143,330

tube count x per-torpedo simulated damage (all torpedoes hitting).

Per-side salvo damage143,330

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS70

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (20×3.5×1) = 70. 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 range2 km

Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.

AA threat index140

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.

Armor

Hull HP 10,000 → 12,100 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	16 mm primary (range 15–16 mm)	1,800 (15% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Moltke, Graf Spee)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	16 mm	9,100 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Moltke, Graf Spee)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	16 mm primary (range 13–16 mm)	1,200 (10% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Moltke, Graf Spee)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	16 mm primary (range 10–16 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen ×0.50 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 (×0.50 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Superstructure	13 mm	600 (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 HP	6,100 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.
AA mount (20 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	3,600 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.

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 Icarus. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Nerf ×1

2020-10-01

October 2020 Update

British destroyers Icarus, Jervis, and Lightning will lose the access to Propulsion Mod. II. They are currently extremely effective in most scenarios, save for some encounters with the French fleet, so we didn't want to change much. If you have said modifications, they will be removed from the aforementioned ships and moved to the Inventory.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Icarus 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.

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 2026-04-30 · Patch notes May Update: From Rome to Edo Patch notes