World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Katori A

Beta
Japan · Tier II · Cruiser · Premium · Katori Variant
HE fire-spam cruiserSustained HE and fires from range or island cover.
Playstyle
  • Use flanks, island edges, and retreating angles where you can keep guns working while preserving room t…
  • Avoid: Do not brawl nose-in or expose broadside to force all guns; Japanese cruisers live by timing, concealme…
Key characteristics
Long torps (7 km)2 sigma accuracySlow
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Community Data

Katori A Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Katori is a Tier II Japanese premium cruiser best treated as a Japanese cruiser that excels at kiting, HE pressure, torpedo zoning, and punishing ships that chase too far. Its value comes from choosing safe firing lanes, punishing exposed targets, and using mobility or cover before battleship focus locks on.

Positioning

Use flanks, island edges, and retreating angles where you can keep guns working while preserving room to turn out and disengage. Choose cover, kiting lanes, or flank angles that let the main battery work while torpedoes remain a close-range deterrent rather than the whole plan.

Potato Avoidance

Brawl nose-in or expose broadside to force all guns

Japanese cruisers live by timing, concealment, and clean escape angles. The common throw is overcommitting before the minimap is settled, then losing the ship’s best tools before they can matter late.

Signature Traits

Burny secondaries

8.0% best HE fire chance per secondary shell (before target resistance), best of T2 CAs. Stacks fires faster than peers in a brawl.

Long-reach AA

5.0 km AA reach, best of T2 CAs.

Heavy HE shells

2400.0 damage per HE shell, top decile of T2 CAs. Punishes superstructure and modules harder than peers.

Bleeds speed in turns

16.3 hp per metre of turn radius, bottom decile of T2 CAs. Lateral drag outpaces engine output, so speed drops noticeably during sustained turns.

Slow for the class

18.0 kt, bottom quartile of T2 CAs. Hard to rotate flanks or disengage; commit positioning early.

Acquisition

How to get Katori A

Katori A is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.

Builds Beta

AL Atago, AL Azuma, and Arpeggio Haguro are useful Japanese cruiser commander directions. Inspirations usually support accuracy, reload, concealment, agility, or survivability so the ship can keep influencing fights without giving up easy citadels.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL AtagoAL AzumaArpeggio Haguro

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Cohort position

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Where Katori A sits among Tier II CAs (25 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 fire chance8% (1 of 2 tied) BestAA range5 km (1 of 2 tied) BestTorpedo reload39 s (1 of 2 tied) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio6.08 × (7/25) Top 25%Main battery range11.43 km (5/25) Top 25%Main battery reload6.3 s (7/25) Top 25%HE shell damage2,400 (4/24) Top 25%HE fire chance10% (6/24) Top 25%HE alpha2,100 (3/15) Top 25%Secondary HE pen21 mm (3/15) Top 25%AP arming threshold23 mm (5/24) Top 25%AA DPS76 (5/25) Top 25%AA threat270 (5/16) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber140 mm (20/25) Bottom 25%AP DPM102,857 (21/24) Bottom 25%Main dispersion111.8 m (21/25) Bottom 25%Secondary DPM (per side)25,200 (13/15) Bottom 25%Engine power7,000 hp (23/25) Bottom 25%Power-to-weight1.02 hp/t (23/25) Bottom 25%Max armor51 mm (23/25) WorstMax speed18 kt (1 of 4 tied) WorstTurn-speed retention16.3 hp/m (1 of 2 tied)
See 18 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Katori A -- 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 points22,000 HP(15/25) Concealment8.9 km(9/25) Air detection5.34 km(9/25) Rudder shift6.5 s(14/25) Sigma2(11/25) Fires per minute3.81(13/24) HE DPM91,429(15/24) AP shell damage2,700(13/24) AP velocity850 m/s(11/24) HE velocity850 m/s(11/24) Displacement6,861 t(15/25) Secondary range3 km(6/15) Torpedo range6.99 km(3/6) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(13 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(23 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(23 of 24 tied at this value) NormTorpedo damage≈8,267(4 of 6 tied at this value) NormTorpedo speed57 kt(4 of 6 tied at this value)
Survivability
Hit Points22,000
Displacement6,861 t
Armor range6–51 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 7, 10, 13, 32, 51 mm
Armor material/layer entries37
Fire resistance3.3%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction0%
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.
11,000
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.
6,600
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 140 mm 3rd Year Type
Mounts / barrels2 mounts / 4 barrels
Reload time7 s
Firing range11.4 km
Turret traverse7.5 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
2
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: σH=(R30·idealRadiusminRadiusidealDistance+minRadius)·30 =(1142730·81.11000+1.1)·30=111.8m
111.8 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: σV=σH·radiusOnMax =111.8·0.6=67.1m
67.1 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius: σH,50=σH·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =111.8·0.319(σ=2)=35.7m
35.7 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius: σV,50=σV·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =67.1·0.319(σ=2)=21.4m
21.4 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 7.5 deg/s traverse speed = 24 s.
24 s
Base shells/min
ƒ4 broadside guns x 60 / 7 s base reload = 34.3.
34.3
HE shells
HE Damage2,400
HE Velocity850 m/s
Fire Chance10%
HE penetration
ƒ23 mm ≈ 140 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
23 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,400 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 9,600.
9,600
Base HE DPM
ƒ9,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7 s base reload = 82,286.
82,286
Base fires/min
ƒ4 HE shells x 60 / 7 s reload x 10% fire chance = 3.43.
3.43
AP shells
AP Damage2,700
AP Velocity850 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.025 s
Fuse Threshold23 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(140 mm caliber / 14.3) = 9 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
9 mm
AP Pen Close
ƒCanonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: P=107·K·m0.69·d1.07·v01.38 =107·1794·380.69·0.141.07·8501.38=199.6mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
199.6 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (14.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 280.2 m/s: P=107·1794·380.69·0.141.07·280.21.38=43.2mm.
43.2 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,700 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 10,800.
10,800
Base AP DPM
ƒ10,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7 s base reload = 92,571.
92,571
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.
8
Torpedoes
ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm double
Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 2 tubes = 4 tubes
Reload time39 s
Projectile speed57 kt
Range6.99 km
Maximum simulated damage
ƒEstimate of WG's in-game value; matches the in-game port screen within ±5%. Saturation: most targets only intersect one hull section, so the sim transfers ~1/3 of the warhead alpha (2/3 when the warhead blast >= 5000 and the burst reaches a second section). For this ship: Dsim=α·c=24,800·0.333=8,267.
≈ 8,267
Torpedo detectability1.2 km
Flooding chance145%
Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s
Torp Turn
ƒTime to rotate the launchers 180 deg: tturn=180°25°/s=7.2s.
7.2 s
Torp Arming176 m
Per-side salvo damage
ƒOne side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 2 x 8,267 = 16,534.
16,534
AA Defense
AA mount points4
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (18×3.5×0.9) + (6×3.5×0.9) = 76. 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.
76
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
5 km
25 mm Type96 mod. 14×2 25mm
127 mm Type89 A1 (DP)1×2 127mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 6 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
6
Range5 km
Medium aura
DPS18
Range3.1 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 6 + Medium 18 = 24
24
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts1
Firing range3.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
Caliber127 mm
Reload time5 s
HE Damage2,100
Muzzle Velocity725 m/s
Fire Chance8%
Armor Pen21 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 @ 3 km
ƒ3 km × 57 + 30 = 201 m.
201 m
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 7,000 hp
Engine power7,000 hp
Maximum speed18 kt
Turning circle radius430 m
Engine power-boost threshold7 kt
Acceleration 0-90%
ƒTime to accelerate from 0 kt to 90% of top speed (16.2 kt of 18). Numerical integration of the WoWS engine model with the inputs decoded for this ship: maxPower=(Pm)0.42=(7,0006,861)0.42=1.0085; drag(v)=v|v|Vmax2·maxPower; piecewise acceleration a(v)={maxPower·2+drag(v)v<7 ktP(t)+drag(v)v7 kt; the engine ramps over τ=Tup2.61=402.61=15.3s. Euler step vn+1=vn+a(vn)Δt,Δt=0.01s until t90=min{t:v(t)0.9Vmax}=28.2s. The 0.42 exponent, quadratic drag and the TimeScale 2.61 are the calibrated game constants (New York's 60/2.61 = 23.0 s spool-up matches in-game); no closed form.
28.2 s
Acceleration 0-99%
ƒTime to accelerate from 0 kt to 99% of top speed (17.8 kt of 18). Same integration as the 0-90% row, read where t99=min{t:v(t)0.99Vmax}=49.1s. 99% (not 100%) because exact top speed is asymptotic - thrust equals drag at Vmax, so the last fraction of a knot is never quite gained.
49.1 s
Traverse-to-turn ratio
ƒHow many degrees the turret can swing for each degree the hull turns. Turn rate ωhull=180π·Vmax(m/s)Rturn=180π·18.0·0.5144430=1.23°/s, so ratio=ωturretωhull=7.51.23=6.1×. Below 5 the turrets drag in a turning fight; 25+ keeps up with any rudder.
6.1× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea8.9 km
Detectability by air5.34 km
Smoke firing penalty3.65 km
Detect after firing main guns
ƒmax(base sea detectability, gun-firing bloom range). Firing never pulls your detection closer than base concealment.
8.9 km
Detect Fire Sea10.9 km
Detect Fire Air8.34 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Catapult Fighter1 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size

See all derived stats

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

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 Disp111.8 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: $\sigma_H = \left(\dfrac{R}{30}\cdot\dfrac{\text{idealRadius}-\text{minRadius}}{\text{idealDistance}} + \text{minRadius}\right)\cdot 30$ $= \left(\dfrac{11427}{30}\cdot\dfrac{8-1.1}{1000} + 1.1\right)\cdot 30 = 111.8\,\text{m}$
Max Vert Disp67.1 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $\sigma_V = \sigma_H \cdot \text{radiusOnMax}$ $= 111.8 \cdot 0.6 = 67.1\,\text{m}$
Med Horiz Disp35.7 m
50%-hit horizontal radius: $\sigma_{H,50} = \sigma_H \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 111.8 \cdot 0.319\;(\sigma = 2) = 35.7\,\text{m}$
Med Vert Disp21.4 m
50%-hit vertical radius: $\sigma_{V,50} = \sigma_V \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 67.1 \cdot 0.319\;(\sigma = 2) = 21.4\,\text{m}$
AP Pen Close199.6 mm
Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{-1.07} \cdot v_0^{1.38}$ $= 10^{-7}\cdot 1794 \cdot 38^{0.69} \cdot 0.14^{-1.07} \cdot 850^{1.38} = 199.6\,\text{mm}$. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far43.2 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 280.2 m/s: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot 1794 \cdot 38^{0.69} \cdot 0.14^{-1.07} \cdot 280.2^{1.38} = 43.2\,\text{mm}$.
HE penetration23 mm
23 mm ≈ 140 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch9 mm
floor(140 mm caliber / 14.3) = 9 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 time24 s
180 degrees / 7.5 deg/s traverse speed = 24 s.
HE full-salvo alpha9,600
2,400 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 9,600.
AP full-salvo alpha10,800
2,700 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 10,800.
Base HE DPM82,286
9,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7 s base reload = 82,286.
Base AP DPM92,571
10,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7 s base reload = 92,571.
Base shells/min34.3
4 broadside guns x 60 / 7 s base reload = 34.3.
Base fires/min3.43
4 HE shells x 60 / 7 s reload x 10% fire chance = 3.43.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.2 km
Estimated torpedo reaction time8.1 s
detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Torpedo speed57 kt
Travel time to max range47.2 s
range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Tube count4
2 launchers x 2 tubes.
Per-side salvo2 torpedoes
tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).
Full-salvo damage33,068
All tubes hitting one target: tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 4 x 8,267 = 33,068.
Per-side salvo damage16,534
One side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 2 x 8,267 = 16,534.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS76
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (18×3.5×0.9) + (6×3.5×0.9) = 76. 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 index270
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.

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 @ 3 km201 m
3 km × 57 + 30 = 201 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)25,200
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: 1×2 127 mm (1/side) × 60/5 × 2100 = 25,200. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha2100
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2100 from the 127 mm family.
Max HE fire chance8%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 8% from the 127 mm family.
Max HE pen21 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: 21 mm from the 127 mm family.
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Acceleration and Ballistics Chart

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Katori A can equip, from in-game data.

  • Katori A default exterior
    DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Primary official WG sources

GamingDiver has not indexed a focused official WG source card for this ship yet. The guide still uses the spreadsheet, in-game data, balance history, and community-data pipeline where available.

Source status No high-context source card yet Filtered for precision

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