Karl von Schönberg Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Karl von Schönberg is a Tier VII German stealth-leaning destroyer with strong surface detection (6.8 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 HE alpha in T7 DDs (2,200) and best AP fuse timer in T7 DDs (0.025 s).

Positioning

Hold concealment edges on the contested cap at 6.8 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.

Potato Avoidance

Burning the 6.8 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

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 4/30 T7 DDs.

Heavy HE shells

2200.0 damage per HE shell, best of T7 DDs. Punishes superstructure and modules harder than peers.

Deep-fuse AP

0.03 s AP fuse timer, best of T7 DDs. Shells travel deeper before detonating; citadels through belt armor more reliably.

Big-caliber overmatch

10.5 mm overmatch threshold, best of T7 DDs. Punishes bow-tanking ships peers can't crack.

Long-range sonar

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

Stiff AP fuse

25.0 mm AP arming threshold, worst of T7 DDs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Acquisition

How to get Karl von Schönberg

Karl von Schönberg is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition paths: Containers and Campaign. Container chances are shown as the listed odds of receiving this exact ship, dividing grouped ship-pool odds across the resolved ships and including nested container paths when a crate can drop another crate.

ContainersAppears in official container odds below; availability depends on the container being sold or awarded.
CampaignEarnable in the Silent Orca campaign; campaign ships can later return through other limited methods.

Best listed chance for this ship

Mystic Lantern 0.02% Superprize: Premium Ship Event containers · Mystic Lantern · 1 of 25 ships

Official WG availability sources

Silent Orca Campaign Breakdown Campaign Start: 2024-11-18 · End: 2024-12-15 Official campaign breakdown naming this ship as a campaign/reward-context ship; explicit source windows are used when present, otherwise the end date is inferred from the next indexed campaign breakdown when available.
Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.
Through the Spy Glass: K. Schönberg Ship feature / release Start: 2024-11-19 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.

Show direct source rows

Mystic Lantern 0.02% · Superprize: Premium Ship

Builds Beta

AL Z24, Blue Furiora, and Erich Bey are useful German 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.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Z24 Erich Bey

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Cohort position

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Where Karl von Schönberg sits among Tier VII DDs (30 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.

BestMain battery caliber150 mm (1 of 4 tied) BestHE shell damage2,200 (1 of 4 tied) BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 5 tied) Top 10%Hit points22,500 HP (3/30) Top 10%HE fire chance11% (3/30) Top 10%AP shell damage3,800 (2/28) Top 10%Power-to-weight26.47 hp/t (3/30) Top 25%Main battery range11.2 km (6/30) Top 25%Engine power80,000 hp (5/30) Top 25%Turn-speed retention115.9 hp/m (6/30) Bottom 25%Torpedo damage13,700 (25/29) Bottom 25%Torpedo speed58 kt (23/29) Bottom 25%Deck armor10 mm (23/25) Bottom 10%Main dispersion99 m (28/30) WorstAP arming threshold25 mm (1 of 4 tied) WorstMax armor16 mm (30/30) WorstCitadel belt16 mm (29/29) WorstEnd plates16 mm (29/29 / 29/29)

See 20 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Karl von Schönberg -- 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 speed36 kt(19/30) Concealment6.85 km(10/30) Air detection3.42 km(10/30) Rudder shift5.2 s(19/30) Traverse-to-turn ratio7.15 ×(19/30) Main battery reload4.5 s(19/30) Fires per minute5.87(13/30) HE DPM117,333(22/30) AP DPM202,667(11/28) AP velocity835 m/s(15/28) HE velocity835 m/s(17/30) Acceleration11 s(20/30) Displacement3,022 t(19/30) AA DPS155(20/30) AA range3.5 km(19/30) AA threat373(21/30) Torpedo range8.5 km(18/29) Torpedo reload90 s(9/29) NormAP ricochet start45°(23 of 28 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(23 of 28 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 28 peers

Vittorio Cuniberti vs

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 6.2 kmMBRBSmokeEngine Boost

Survivability

Hit Points22,500

Displacement3,022 t

Armor range10–16 mm

Plate armor thicknesses10, 13, 15, 16 mm

Armor material/layer entries23

Fire resistance36.6%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction0%

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.

9,000

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.

6,800

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 150 mm L/48 Tbts LC/36

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 4 barrels

Reload time5 s

Firing range11.2 km

Turret traverse11 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

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

2

Max Horiz Disp

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Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (11200/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 99 m

99 m

Max Vert Disp

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Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 99 × 0.6 = 59.4 m

59.4 m

Med Horiz Disp

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50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 99 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 31.6 m

31.6 m

Med Vert Disp

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50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 59.4 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 19 m

19 m

Turret turn time

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180 degrees / 11 deg/s traverse speed = 16.4 s.

16.4 s

Base shells/min

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

48

HE shells

HE Damage2,200

HE Velocity835 m/s

Fire Chance11%

HE penetration

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38 mm ≈ 150 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

38 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

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2,200 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,800.

8,800

Base HE DPM

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8,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 105,600.

105,600

Installed HE DPM

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8,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 117,333.

117,333

Base fires/min

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4 HE shells x 60 / 5 s reload x 11% fire chance = 5.28.

5.28

AP shells

AP Damage3,800

AP Velocity835 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.025 s

Fuse Threshold25 mm

AP overmatch

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floor(150 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

10 mm

AP Pen Close

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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 × 1933 × 45.3^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 835^1.38 = 220 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

220 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14 km), where the shell has slowed to 333.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 1933 × 45.3^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 333.2^1.38 = 61.9 mm.

61.9 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

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3,800 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 15,200.

15,200

Base AP DPM

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15,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 182,400.

182,400

Installed AP DPM

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15,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 202,667.

202,667

AP AOE Radius

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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.

12

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Vierling

Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 4 tubes = 8 tubes

Reload time90 s

Projectile speed58 kt

Range8.5 km

Maximum simulated damage12,700 (est.)

Alpha damage38,100

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming179 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

101,600

AA Defense

AA mount points10

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: (12×3.5×1) + (34×3.5×0.95) = 155. 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.

155

Maximum AA range

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

3.5 km

37 mm Flak LM/432×1 37mm

20 mm Flak 384×1 20mm

20 mm Flakvierling 384×4 20mm

DPS12

Range3.5 km

DPS34

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Medium 12 + Near 34 = 46

46

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 80,000 hp

Engine power80,000 hp

Maximum speed36 kt

Turning circle radius690 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio7.2× ok

Concealment

Detectability by sea6.85 km

Detectability by air3.42 km

Smoke firing penalty2.99 km

Detect after firing main guns6.85 km

Detect Fire Sea8.85 km

Detect Fire Air6.42 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Choose one

Smoke Generator2 charges · 240 s reload · 15 s emit / 69 s cloud active

Main Battery Reload Booster2 charges · 150 s reload · 20 s active · +50% reload boost

Engine Boost2 charges · 180 s reload · 120 s active · +8% speed bonus

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 118 s active · 6.2 km ship detect · 4.27 km torpedo detect

Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade

Turret traverse11 → 8 °/s

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)2

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

Max Horiz Disp99 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (11200/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 99 m

Max Vert Disp59.4 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 99 × 0.6 = 59.4 m

Med Horiz Disp31.6 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 99 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 31.6 m

Med Vert Disp19 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 59.4 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 19 m

AP Pen Close220 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 × 1933 × 45.3^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 835^1.38 = 220 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far61.9 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14 km), where the shell has slowed to 333.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 1933 × 45.3^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 333.2^1.38 = 61.9 mm.

HE penetration38 mm

38 mm ≈ 150 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) - 0.253 in this case. Lets HE pen ~37mm armor instead of ~25mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(150 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius12

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 time16.4 s

180 degrees / 11 deg/s traverse speed = 16.4 s.

HE full-salvo alpha8,800

2,200 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,800.

AP full-salvo alpha15,200

3,800 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 15,200.

Base HE DPM105,600

8,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 105,600.

Base AP DPM182,400

15,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 182,400.

Installed HE DPM117,333

8,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 117,333.

Installed AP DPM202,667

15,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 202,667.

Base shells/min48

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

Installed shells/min53.3

4 broadside guns x 60 / 4.5 s installed Artillery reload = 53.3.

Base fires/min5.28

4 HE shells x 60 / 5 s reload x 11% fire chance = 5.28.

Installed fires/min5.87

4 HE shells x 60 / 4.5 s installed reload x 11% fire chance = 5.87.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time8.6 s

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

Torpedo speed58 kt

Travel time to max range56.4 s

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

Tube count8

2 launchers x 4 tubes.

Per-side salvo8 torpedoes

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

Full-salvo damage101,600

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

Per-side salvo damage101,600

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS155

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (12×3.5×1) + (34×3.5×0.95) = 155. 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 range3.5 km

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

AA threat index373

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

Armor

Hull HP 22,500, 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)	3,100 (14% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst '43)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 primary (range 13–16 mm)	16,900 (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.
Stern	16 mm primary (range 13–16 mm)	1,800 (8% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst '43)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	16 mm primary (range 15–16 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	10 mm	1,800 (8% 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	9,000 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 (37 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	6,800 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 Karl von Schönberg can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Karl von Schönberg

Karl von Schönberg Community Stats