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Kaga is the Tier VII Japanese legacy strike carrier. Her squadron at 24 planes is the largest in the cohort (cohort median is 18), so her impact comes from volume waves rather than surgical alpha against a single target. Standout traits: best bomb fire chance in T7 CVs (50).
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.
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.
50.0% fire chance per bomb, best of T7 CVs. Sustained burn pressure across drops.
24.0 planes per squadron at peak, best of T7 CVs. More attack passes before reserve runs dry.
259200.0 secondary DPM per side, best of T7 CVs. Per-side barrels × shots/min × alpha across every secondary family; real damage scales with hit rate against the target.
3300.0 max HE alpha per secondary shell, best of T7 CVs. Bigger per-shell damage than peers.
265.0 AA DPS, bottom decile of T7 CVs. Aircraft chew through with impunity; lean on positioning over AA.
28.0 kt, bottom decile of T7 CVs. Hard to rotate flanks or disengage; commit positioning early.
Kaga is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.
Build for aircraft HP, restoration, speed, and torpedo/bomb consistency. Current advice should account for post-balance dive-bomber and torpedo-bomber damage, speed, and HP changes.
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Where Kaga sits among Tier VII CVs (10 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.
Not standouts for Kaga -- 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.
All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
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 sizeNumbers 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.
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (47×3.5×0.95) + (31×3.5×1) = 265. 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.Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.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: 2×2 127 mm (2/side) × 60/6 × 2100 = 42,000 + 6×2 127 mm (6/side) × 60/5 × 2100 = 151,200 + 10×1 200 mm (5/side) × 60/15 × 3300 = 66,000. 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: 3300 from the 200 mm family.Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 17% from the 200 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: 34 mm from the 200 mm family.Hull HP 54,200, 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 | 21 mm primary (range 21–120 mm) | 1,600 (3% of HP) | Overmatched by 305mm+ (Toulon, Cherbourg)Angle bounces 283mm21 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) | 152 mm primary (range 14–152 mm) | 40,700 (75% of HP) | No common caliber overmatches152 mm: no common HE pens | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 21 mm primary (range 21–152 mm) | 1,100 (2% of HP) | Overmatched by 305mm+ (Toulon, Cherbourg)Angle bounces 283mm21 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 152 mm primary (range 21–152 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 13–38 mm) | 100 (0% 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 (200 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 (25 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 | 16,300 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 updates affecting Kaga. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.
Every custom exterior Kaga can equip, from in-game data.
Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.