GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Kijkduin

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Kijkduin

Beta

The Netherlands · Tier V · Cruiser · Tech Tree: Airstrike Cruisers

Airstrike cruiserStrike from cover with airstrikes; screen the fleet and zone with planes.

Playstyle

Sit 12-15 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line
Avoid: Launching airstrikes at maneuvering targets

Key characteristics

2 sigma accuracyStrong AASonarDefensive AAShort AA reach

Community Data

Kijkduin Community Stats

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

Playstyle

Overview

Kijkduin is the Tier V Dutch airstrike cruiser. The alt-armament fires a bomber line instead of torpedoes, so her damage profile is main battery up front plus airstrike pressure on distant caps. Sonar (4.4 km on ships and 3.3 km on torpedoes, 100 s active, 180 s reload, long uptime) lights up DDs and torpedoes inside its bubble, which lets her contest the cap edge without taking the spotting cycle. AA (384 AA DPS at 3.5 km, +100% Defensive AA flak burst) is heavy enough to make her the team's air-defense anchor on top of the lead role; CV strikes route around her, not through.

Positioning

Sit 12-15 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line. Hydro (4.4 km on ships, 3.3 km on torpedoes) lights up DDs and incoming torpedoes inside its bubble, so you can push the cap edge from cover without taking the spotting cycle; prefer cover positions over open-water flanks.

Potato Avoidance

Launching airstrikes at maneuvering targets

The squadron's travel time is long enough that a healthy DD or cruiser with engine boost simply turns out of the cone. Reserve strikes for capping destroyers, island-huggers, and anyone already tying up with a teammate.

Signature Traits

Airstrike alt-armament

Right-trigger fires a bomber line in place of torpedoes. Rewards behind-cover positioning with the cap in range.

Strong torpedo belt

19.0% torpedo damage reduction, top decile of T5 CAs.

Top-tier AA

384.0 AA DPS, top decile of T5 CAs (median 221.5).

Flat HE shells

950.0 m/s HE muzzle velocity, top decile of T5 CAs. Flatter trajectory, easier to land at range.

AA specialist

AA DPS in the top bracket. Sanctuary for friendly DDs against carriers; dangerous airspace for airstrikes.

Short AA reach

3.5 km AA reach, bottom quartile of T5 CAs. Drops bombs and rockets land before AA bites.

Acquisition

How to get Kijkduin

Kijkduin is available in the Airstrike Cruisers branch of the Netherlands Tech Tree for 2,400,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 600,000 credits. Official source cards below may also show its temporary Early Access window before it became a normal Tech Tree unlock. 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.

Show The Netherlands tech-tree branch diagram

Netherlands Tech Tree

Kijkduin sits in the Airstrike Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Netherlands tree.

5 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all Netherlands lines.

NetherlandsIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Cruiser

Tier ★Gouden LeeuwPHSC110 Tier VIIIJohan de WittPHSC109 Tier VIIHaarlemPHSC108 Tier VIEendrachtPHSC107 Tier VKijkduinPHSC106 Tier IVCelebesPHSC105 Tier IIIDe RuyterPHSC104 Tier IIJavaPHSC103 Tier IGelderlandPHSC102

Best listed chance for this ship

Anniversary '25 Dutch Crate 5% V Kijkduin Event containers · Anniversary '25 Dutch Crate
Dutch Cruiser Crate 2.5% V Kijkduin Early access containers · Dutch Cruiser Crate

Official WG availability sources

Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.
March Update: Thirst for Combat 500,000 Global XP 2025-02-27 Tier V default; exact price not in source

Show direct source rows

Anniversary '25 Dutch Crate 5% · V Kijkduin
Dutch Cruiser Crate 2.5% · V Kijkduin

Builds Beta

Karel Doorman is the canonical primary: Bird's Eye View extends both airstrike and main range, Sea Wings speeds the squadron up, Iron Feathers buffs plane HP against AA. Pair with Cornelis van der Windt (Flame Storm trait: airstrike bomb burning chance) for more fire starts, or Johan Furstner (Minister of the Navy trait: fire damage on cruiser shells and bombs) for heavier DoT.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship Karel Doorman

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

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Kijkduin sits among Tier V CAs (28 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.

BestAA threat1,345 (1/28) Top 10%AA DPS384 (2/28) Top 25%Stealth profile10.98 km / 6.59 km (7/28 / 7/28) Top 25%AP velocity950 m/s (5/28) Top 25%HE velocity950 m/s (5/26) Bottom 25%Rudder shift11.7 s (24/28) Bottom 25%Acceleration11 s (23/28) Bottom 25%Citadel belt75 mm (24/28) WorstNo secondaries (3 of 28 in cohort) WorstAA range3.5 km (1 of 5 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (4 of 28 in cohort)

See 26 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Kijkduin -- 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 points32,000 HP(10/28) Max speed33 kt(13/28) Traverse-to-turn ratio5.92 ×(10/28) Main battery caliber152 mm(19/28) Main battery range14.72 km(10/28) Main battery reload7.7 s(13/28) Sigma2(15/28) HE shell damage2,400(14/26) HE fire chance11%(19/26) Fires per minute6.86(11/26) HE DPM149,610(9/26) AP shell damage3,200(21/28) AP DPM199,481(17/28) Main dispersion125.4 m(12/28) AP fuse timer0.03 s(17/28) AP arming threshold25 mm(11/28) Engine power85,000 hp(14/28) Turn-speed retention118.1 hp/m(19/28) Displacement11,850 t(20/28) Power-to-weight7.17 hp/t(20/28) Max armor100 mm(19/28) Stern armor30 mm(15/28) Deck armor100 mm(9/28) NormAP ricochet start45°(25 of 28 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(25 of 28 tied at this value) NormBow armor30 mm(22 of 28 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Almirante Cochrane vs

Show all 27 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 4.44 kmDef-AAFighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 28,000 → 32,000

Displacement11,850 t

Armor range10–100 mm

Plate armor thicknesses10, 15, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 100 mm

Armor material/layer entries74

Fire resistanceInitial: 20% → 23.3%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction19%

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.

16,000

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.

9,600

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 152 mm/53 Model 1942

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels

Reload time8.5 s

Firing range (base)13.4 km

Firing range (top fire control)14.7 km

Turret traverse8 °/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 = (13385/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 125.4 m

125.4 m

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 125.4 × 0.6 = 75.2 m

75.2 m

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 125.4 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 40.1 m

40.1 m

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 75.2 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 24 m

24 m

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.

22.5 s

Base shells/min

8 broadside guns x 60 / 8.5 s base reload = 56.5.

56.5

HE shells

HE Damage2,400

HE Velocity950 m/s

Fire Chance11%

HE penetration

25 mm ≈ 152 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

25 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

2,400 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 19,200.

19,200

Base HE DPM

19,200 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8.5 s base reload = 135,529.

135,529

Base fires/min

8 HE shells x 60 / 8.5 s reload x 11% fire chance = 6.21.

6.21

AP shells

AP Damage3,200

AP Velocity950 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.025 s

Fuse Threshold25 mm

AP overmatch

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

10 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 × 2600 × 46.7^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 950^1.38 = 356 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

356 mm

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.4 km), where the shell has slowed to 330.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2600 × 46.7^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 330.1^1.38 = 82.8 mm.

82.8 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

3,200 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 25,600.

25,600

Base AP DPM

25,600 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8.5 s base reload = 180,706.

180,706

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.

✈

Squadrons

Plane HP2,000

Plane max speed180 kn

Planes per strike4

OrdnanceHE bomb, 4,500 dmg

Fire chance24%

Bomb penetration32.3 mm

Bomb velocity300 m/s

Strike reload30 s

Launch arc-124° to 124°

Plane HP2,000

Plane max speed180 kn

Planes per strike4

OrdnanceHE bomb, 5,100 dmg

Fire chance29%

Bomb penetration32.3 mm

Bomb velocity300 m/s

Strike reload30 s

Launch arc-124° to 124°

AA Defense

AA mount points14

Close-range AA DPS

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (122×3.5×0.9) = 384. 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.

384

Maximum AA range

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

3.5 km

40 mm/56 Bofors Model 19366×2 40mm

40 mm/56 BoforsInitial: 2×2 → 8×2 40mm

DPSInitial: 109 → 122

Range3.5 km

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 85,000 hp

Engine power85,000 hp

Maximum speed33 kt

Turning circle radius720 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio5.9× slow

Concealment

Detectability by sea10.98 km

Detectability by air6.59 km

Smoke firing penalty5.04 km

Detect after firing main guns10.98 km

Detect Fire Sea12.98 km

Detect Fire Air9.59 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 100 s active · 4.44 km ship detect · 3.33 km torpedo detect

Choose one

Catapult Fighter3 charges · 60 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 2 squadron size

Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost

Module options (2)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points28,000 → 32,000
Rudder shift16.4 → 11.7 s
Close-range AA DPS109 → 122
Turret traverse8 → 10 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range13,385 → 14723.5 m

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 Disp125.4 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13385/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 125.4 m

Max Vert Disp75.2 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 125.4 × 0.6 = 75.2 m

Med Horiz Disp40.1 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 125.4 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 40.1 m

Med Vert Disp24 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 75.2 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 24 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close356 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 × 2600 × 46.7^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 950^1.38 = 356 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far82.8 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.4 km), where the shell has slowed to 330.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2600 × 46.7^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 330.1^1.38 = 82.8 mm.

HE penetration25 mm

25 mm ≈ 152 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius15

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 alpha8

All 8 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time22.5 s

180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.

HE full-salvo alpha19,200

2,400 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 19,200.

AP full-salvo alpha25,600

3,200 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 25,600.

Base HE DPM135,529

19,200 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8.5 s base reload = 135,529.

Base AP DPM180,706

25,600 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8.5 s base reload = 180,706.

Base shells/min56.5

8 broadside guns x 60 / 8.5 s base reload = 56.5.

Base fires/min6.21

8 HE shells x 60 / 8.5 s reload x 11% fire chance = 6.21.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS384

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (122×3.5×0.9) = 384. 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 index1345

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 28,000 → 32,000 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 16–30 mm)	600 (2% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VIAngle 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)	100 mm primary (range 16–100 mm)	24,000 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches100 mm: standard HE shatters; improved HE (DE / FR BB) pens from 406mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	30 mm primary (range 16–75 mm)	600 (2% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VIAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	75 mm primary (range 15–75 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	10 mm primary (range 10–75 mm)	2,000 (6% 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	16,000 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 (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.
Rudder (module)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	9,600 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 Kijkduin. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Nerf ×1Commander Skill ×1

2026-04-30

Ministry of Balance: Viva la Marina!

Nerf affecting Dutch cruisers above Tier IV: Air Support special-effect activation distance reduced from 7.5/8/8.5/9 km to 7/7.4/7.7/8 km.
Air Support: Special-effect activation distance reduced from 7.5/8/8.5/9 km to 7/7.4/7.7/8 km.
Hidden Hand: Airstrike-launched torpedo damage penalty deepened: now -25/22/18/15% (was -20/17/13/10%).

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Kijkduin 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.

2025-02-27 · Patch notes March Update: Thirst for Combat Patch notes 2025-04-03 · Patch notes April Update: The Bonds of Loyalty Patch notes