Iron Duke Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Iron Duke is a Tier IV British battleship with 343mm guns at 14.9 km on a 27-second reload. Her damage profile is AP into broadside targets and HE for chip pressure when no broadsides are available. 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 HE fire chance in T4 BBs (40) and best AA reach in T4 BBs (5 km).

Positioning

Anchor a flank at 12-15 km with bow toward the closest threat. Rotate one or two map cells with the team rather than holding solo; a battleship alone on a flank is a free focus target for the enemy.

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

Improved HE penetration

HE pen at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6. HE-spam is a real damage option here, not just a fire-starter; pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE, shared by 6/24 T4 BBs.

High fire chance

40.0% fire chance per HE shell, best of T4 BBs.

Burny secondaries

12.0% best HE fire chance per secondary shell (before target resistance), best of T4 BBs. Stacks fires faster than peers in a brawl.

Long-reach AA

5.0 km AA reach, best of T4 BBs.

Slow AP shells

759.0 m/s AP muzzle velocity, bottom decile of T4 BBs. Lobby trajectory, more lead, easier to dodge at range.

Light citadel belt

38.0 mm citadel belt, bottom decile of T4 BBs. Citadels through angle are possible.

Acquisition

How to get Iron Duke

Iron Duke is available in the Flamethrowing Battleships branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 500,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 125,000 credits.

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U.K. Tech Tree

Iron Duke sits in the Flamethrowing Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.

7 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

AL Hood, AL Nelson, and AL Queen Elizabeth are useful British battleship commander directions. Inspirations usually favor accuracy, reload, AP performance, HP, survivability, or secondary/brawling bonuses depending on how aggressively you want to play.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Hood AL Nelson AL Queen Elizabeth

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Cohort position

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Where Iron Duke sits among Tier IV BBs (24 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.

BestSecondary dispersion bracket33 (1 of 4 tied) BestSecondary fire chance12% (1 of 3 tied) BestAA range5 km (1 of 5 tied) Top 10%Fires per minute8.89 (3/24) Top 25%HE DPM111,111 (6/24) Top 25%AP DPM220,000 (5/24) Top 25%Secondary range4.5 km (7/24) Top 25%AA DPS193 (5/24) Top 25%Max armor305 mm (7/24) Bottom 25%Power-to-weight1.05 hp/t (19/24) Bottom 10%HE velocity759 m/s (23/24) WorstTraverse-to-turn ratio2.45 × (24/24) WorstAP velocity759 m/s (24/24) WorstNo torpedoes (21 of 24 in cohort) WorstCitadel belt38 mm (23/23)

See 27 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Iron Duke -- 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 points47,100 HP(15/24) Max speed22.5 kt(16/24) Concealment13.43 km(16/24) Air detection10.74 km(16/24) Rudder shift17.3 s(12/24) Main battery caliber343 mm(12/24) Main battery range14.88 km(11/24) Main battery reload27 s(12/24) Sigma1.8(11/24) HE shell damage5,000(11/24) AP shell damage9,900(10/24) Main dispersion195.3 m(14/24) Secondary DPM (per side)152,093(11/24) HE alpha2,200(7/23) Secondary HE pen25 mm(9/23) Acceleration7.4 s(10/24) AP fuse timer0.01 s(16/24) AP arming threshold57 mm(13/24) Engine power32,500 hp(16/24) Turn-speed retention50 hp/m(18/24) Displacement30,867 t(9/24) AA threat523(8/23) Repair charges3(11/24) Bow armor30 mm(12/23) Stern armor30 mm(13/23) Deck armor76 mm(17/23) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(20 of 24 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 23 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.

Repair 3

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 41,200 → 47,100

Displacement30,867 t

Armor range13–305 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 19, 25, 30, 38, 44, 63, 76, 102, 152, 203, 229, 254, 279, 305 mm

Armor material/layer entries68

Fire resistanceInitial: 13.3% → 16.6%

Fire duration60 s

Torp Reduction16%

Magazine HP

ƒ

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.

23,600

Steering gear HP

ƒ

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.

14,100

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 343 mm/45 Mk V

Mounts / barrels5 mounts / 10 barrels

Reload time30 s

Firing range (base)13.5 km

Firing range (top fire control)14.9 km

Turret traverse2.5 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

1.8

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13526/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 195.3 m

195.3 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 195.3 × 0.6 = 117.2 m

117.2 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 195.3 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 67.1 m

67.1 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 117.2 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 40.3 m

40.3 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 2.5 deg/s traverse speed = 72 s.

72 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

10 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 20.

20

HE shells

HE Damage5,000

HE Velocity759 m/s

Fire Chance40%

HE penetration

ƒ

86 mm ≈ 343 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

86 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

5,000 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 50,000.

50,000

Base HE DPM

ƒ

50,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 100,000.

100,000

Base fires/min

ƒ

10 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 40% fire chance = 8.

8

AP shells

AP Damage9,900

AP Velocity759 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.015 s

Fuse Threshold57 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(343 mm caliber / 14.3) = 23 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

23 mm

AP Pen Close

ƒ

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 × 2031 × 635^0.69 × 0.343^-1.07 × 759^1.38 = 517.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

517.1 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 413.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2031 × 635^0.69 × 0.343^-1.07 × 413.1^1.38 = 223.4 mm.

223.4 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

9,900 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 99,000.

99,000

Base AP DPM

ƒ

99,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,000.

198,000

AP AOE Radius

ƒ

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.

55

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 8 → 10

Close-range AA DPS

ƒ

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (59×3.5×0.75) + (6×3.5×0.7) + (9×3.5×0.75) = 193. 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.

193

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

5 km

40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VII4×4 40mm

40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII (upgraded hull only)2×8 40mm

12.7 mm Mk III4×4 13mm

102 mm/45 QF Mk XIX (DP)2×2 102mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 9 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

9

Range5 km

DPSInitial: 40 → 59

Range2.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 9 + Medium 59 = 68

68

DPSInitial: 7 → 6

Range1.2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 9 + Medium 59 + Near 6 = 74

74

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts14 → 16

Firing range4.5 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Secondary dispersion type

ƒ

This ship's secondary families don't share one dispersion bracket. Each family is listed below with its own slope; max dispersion = secondary range (km) × that family's slope + 30 m.

Improved (40%) + Standard

Caliber102 mm

Reload time3 s

HE Damage1,500

Muzzle Velocity811 m/s

Fire Chance6%

Armor Pen17 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Show 1 more gun family

Caliber152 mm

Reload time8.6 s

HE Damage2,200

Muzzle Velocity914 m/s

Fire Chance12%

Armor Pen25 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 32,500 hp

Engine power32,500 hp

Maximum speed22.5 kt

Turning circle radius650 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio2.5× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea13.43 km

Detectability by air10.74 km

Smoke firing penalty11.29 km

Detect after firing main guns13.43 km

Detect Fire Sea15.43 km

Detect Fire Air13.74 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 15 s active

Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal

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 points41,200 → 47,100
Rudder shift24.2 → 17.3 s
AA mounts8 → 10
Close-range AA DPS47 → 65
Turret traverse2.5 → 3 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range13,526 → 14878.6 m

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.

Main battery formulas

Shell Grouping (σ)1.8

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

Max Horiz Disp195.3 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13526/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 195.3 m

Max Vert Disp117.2 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 195.3 × 0.6 = 117.2 m

Med Horiz Disp67.1 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 195.3 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 67.1 m

Med Vert Disp40.3 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 117.2 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 40.3 m

AP Pen Close517.1 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 × 2031 × 635^0.69 × 0.343^-1.07 × 759^1.38 = 517.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far223.4 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 413.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2031 × 635^0.69 × 0.343^-1.07 × 413.1^1.38 = 223.4 mm.

HE penetration86 mm

86 mm ≈ 343 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 ~85mm armor instead of ~57mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.

AP overmatch23 mm

floor(343 mm caliber / 14.3) = 23 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius55

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 alpha10

All 10 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time72 s

180 degrees / 2.5 deg/s traverse speed = 72 s.

HE full-salvo alpha50,000

5,000 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 50,000.

AP full-salvo alpha99,000

9,900 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 99,000.

Base HE DPM100,000

50,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 100,000.

Base AP DPM198,000

99,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,000.

Base shells/min20

10 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 20.

Base fires/min8

10 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 40% fire chance = 8.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS193

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (59×3.5×0.75) + (6×3.5×0.7) + (9×3.5×0.75) = 193. 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 km

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

AA threat index523

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 range1.2 km

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary dispersion typeImproved (40%) + Standard

This ship's secondary families don't share one dispersion bracket. Each family is listed below with its own slope; max dispersion = secondary range (km) × that family's slope + 30 m.

102 mm × 4 dispersion typeStandard

Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30 for this family. Slope is set per gun model in the binary.

102 mm × 4 max disp @ 4.5 km286.5 m

4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.

152 mm × 12 dispersion typeImproved (40%, German battlecruiser type)

Max dispersion = range (km) × 33 + 30 for this family. Slope is set per gun model in the binary.

152 mm × 12 max disp @ 4.5 km178.5 m

4.5 km × 33 + 30 = 178.5 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)152,093

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: 2×2 102 mm (2/side) × 60/3 × 1500 = 60,000 + 12×1 152 mm (6/side) × 60/8.6 × 2200 = 92,093. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha2200

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2200 from the 152 mm family.

Max HE fire chance12%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 12% from the 152 mm family.

Max HE pen25 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: 25 mm from the 152 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 41,200 → 47,100 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	30 mm primary (range 19–152 mm)	2,600 (6% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VAngle bounces 410mm30 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)	25 mm primary (range 19–305 mm)	35,300 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	30 mm primary (range 19–152 mm)	1,600 (3% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	38 mm primary (range 19–38 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	13 mm primary (range 13–279 mm)	1,600 (3% of HP)	Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damageDamage multiplier ×0.6	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	23,600 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.
Secondary mount (152 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.
AA mount (40 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.
Engine (module, research)	engine coefficient (unconfirmed)	-0.067 research estimate	Largest on BB/BC; zero on destroyers	Engine 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 HP	14,100 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.

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Iron Duke can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Iron Duke

Iron Duke Community Stats