GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Kongō

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Kongō

Beta

Japan · Tier IV · Battleship · Tech Tree: Outranging Battleships

Fast flanking battleshipUse speed to take flanks and cross-fire from angles.

Playstyle

Anchor a flank at 12-15 km with bow toward the closest threat, then use the speed advantage at 30 kn to…
Avoid: Using the 30-kn speed to push rather than to rotate

Key characteristics

356 mm overmatch1.8 sigma accuracy15 km gun rangeSpotter planeEasily spotted

Community Data

Kongō Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Kongō is a Tier IV Japanese fast battleship at 30 kn. Mobility lets her rotate flanks battleship-fast and pick fights where her guns get the first salvo. Standout traits: best HE alpha in T4 BBs (5,700) and best AA reach in T4 BBs (5 km).

Positioning

Anchor a flank at 12-15 km with bow toward the closest threat, then use the speed advantage at 30 kn to rotate to the cap that needs a second battleship rather than the one your team already has. Mobility means you can pick which fight you are in; do not waste it by holding center the whole match.

Potato Avoidance

Using the 30-kn speed to push rather than to rotate

The mobility advantage is about picking which cap fight you arrive at, not about leading the brawl line; a fast BB that overextends loses HP that the kit cannot trade back.

Signature Traits

High HP pool

54100.0 HP, best of T4 BBs.

Long gun range

15.39 km main battery reach, best of T4 BBs.

Heavy HE shells

5700.0 damage per HE shell, best of T4 BBs. Punishes superstructure and modules harder than peers.

Punchy HE secondaries

2500.0 max HE alpha per secondary shell, best of T4 BBs. Bigger per-shell damage than peers.

Stiff AP fuse

59.0 mm AP arming threshold, worst of T4 BBs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Sluggish rudder

19.4 s rudder shift, bottom decile of T4 BBs. Hard to dodge incoming AP; lean on island cover.

Acquisition

How to get Kongō

Kongō is available in the Outranging Battleships branch of the Japan Tech Tree for 500,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 125,000 credits.

Show Japan tech-tree branch diagram

Japan Tech Tree

Kongō sits in the Outranging Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Japan tree.

7 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all Japan lines.

JapanIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Destroyer Split

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Hybrid Battleship

Carrier

Tier VIIsePJSB527 Tier VIIIDewaPJSB309 Tier VIISuwoPJSB308 Tier VIIIKitakazePJSD219 Tier VIIIYūgumoPJSD209 Tier VIIITakahashiPJSC209 Tier VIIKagerōPJSD208 Tier VIIShimantoPJSC208 Tier VIShiratsuyuPJSD207 Tier VIOmonoPJSC207 Tier VHatsuharuPJSD206 Tier VGokasePJSC206 Tier IVMinekazePJSD205 Tier IVAganoPJSC205 Tier VIIAkizukiPJSD108 Tier VIIShōkakuPJSA108 Tier VIAkatsukiPJSD107 Tier VFubukiPJSD106 Tier IVMutsukiPJSD105 Tier IChikumaPJSC035 Tier IIWakatakePJSD024 Tier VIIIIzumoPJSB021 Tier ★YamatoPJSB018 Tier IITenryūPJSC015 Tier IIIKumaPJSC013 Tier VIIAmagiPJSB013 Tier ★ShimakazePJSD012 Tier VIIIIbukiPJSC012 Tier VINagatoPJSB010 Tier VIIMogamiPJSC009 Tier VRyūjōPJSA009 Tier VIMyōkōPJSC008 Tier IIIIshizuchiPJSB008 Tier VAobaPJSC007 Tier IVKongōPJSB007 Tier VFusōPJSB006 Tier IVFurutakaPJSC005 Tier IIIIsokazePJSD003 Tier IIIHōshōPJSA002

Builds Beta

AL Fusou, Arpeggio Haruna, and Arpeggio Kirishima are useful Japanese battleship commander directions. Inspirations usually favor accuracy, reload, AP performance, HP, survivability, or secondary/brawling bonuses depending on how aggressively you want to play.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Fusou Arpeggio Haruna Arpeggio Kirishima

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

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Kongō 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.

BestHit points54,100 HP (1 of 3 tied) BestMax speed30 kt (1 of 4 tied) BestMain battery caliber356 mm (1 of 10 tied) BestMain battery range15.39 km (1/24) BestHE shell damage5,700 (1 of 4 tied) BestHE alpha2,500 (1 of 4 tied) BestEngine power136,000 hp (1 of 3 tied) BestTurn-speed retention176.6 hp/m (1 of 3 tied) BestPower-to-weight3.51 hp/t (1 of 3 tied) BestAA range5 km (1 of 5 tied) Top 25%Secondary DPM (per side)205,800 (5/24) Bottom 25%Stealth profile13.61 km / 10.89 km (21/24 / 22/24) Bottom 25%Rudder shift19.4 s (22/24) Bottom 25%AP DPM172,043 (21/24) Bottom 25%Acceleration8.8 s (20/24) Bottom 25%Max armor254 mm (20/24) Bottom 10%Traverse-to-turn ratio2.61 × (23/24) Bottom 10%Fires per minute4.3 (23/24) WorstAP arming threshold59 mm (1 of 9 tied) WorstDisplacement38,767 t (1 of 3 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (21 of 24 in cohort)

See 20 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Kongō -- 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.

Main battery reload27.9 s(17/24) Sigma1.8(11/24) HE fire chance25%(18/24) HE DPM98,065(13/24) Main dispersion184.7 m(10/24) Secondary fire chance9%(13/23) Secondary HE pen25 mm(9/23) AP velocity790 m/s(17/24) HE velocity805 m/s(13/24) AA DPS164(10/24) AA threat506(9/23) Repair charges3(11/24) Citadel belt203 mm(14/23) Bow armor30 mm(12/23) Stern armor30 mm(13/23) Deck armor127 mm(7/23) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(13 of 24 tied at this value) NormSecondary range4 km(14 of 24 tied at this value) 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 3Fighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 49,500 → 54,100

Displacement38,767 t

Armor range6–254 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 13, 19, 25, 30, 38, 63, 70, 76, 89, 102, 110, 120, 121, 127, 152, 203, 254 mm

Armor material/layer entries59

Fire resistanceInitial: 13.3% → 16.6%

Fire duration60 s

Torp Reduction25%

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.

27,100

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.

16,200

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 356 mm/45 Type41

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels

Reload time31 s

Firing range (base)14 km

Firing range (top fire control)15.4 km

Turret traverse3 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

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

1.8

Max Horiz Disp

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13989/30·(10−2.8)/1000 + 2.8)·30 = 184.7 m

184.7 m

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 184.7 × 0.8 = 147.8 m

147.8 m

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 184.7 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 63.5 m

63.5 m

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 147.8 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 50.8 m

50.8 m

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.

60 s

Base shells/min

8 broadside guns x 60 / 31 s base reload = 15.5.

15.5

HE shells

HE Damage5,700

HE Velocity805 m/s

Fire Chance25%

HE penetration

59 mm ≈ 356 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

59 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

5,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 45,600.

45,600

Base HE DPM

45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 31 s base reload = 88,258.

88,258

Base fires/min

8 HE shells x 60 / 31 s reload x 25% fire chance = 3.87.

3.87

AP shells

AP Damage10,000 → 10,200

AP Velocity790 m/s → 775 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold59 mm

AP overmatch

floor(356 mm caliber / 14.3) = 24 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

24 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 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 775^1.38 = 696.8 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

696.8 mm

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 413.4 m/s: 1e-7 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 413.4^1.38 = 292.7 mm.

292.7 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

10,200 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 81,600.

81,600

Base AP DPM

81,600 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 31 s base reload = 157,935.

157,935

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.

AA Defense

AA mount points12

Close-range AA DPS

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (20×3.5×0.75) + (19×3.5×0.85) + (21×3.5×0.75) = 164. 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.

164

Maximum AA range

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

5 km

25 mm Type96 mod. 1 (upgraded hull only)6×2 25mm

13 mm Type93Initial: 12×4 → 2×4 13mm

13 mm Type93Initial: 12×2 → 4×2 13mm

127 mm Type89 A1 (DP)4×2 127mm

DPS

Includes 21 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

Range5 km

DPS20

Range3.1 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 21 + Medium 20 = 41

DPSInitial: 37 → 19

Range1.2 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 21 + Medium 20 + Near 19 = 60

Secondary Battery

Mounts18

Firing range4.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Secondary dispersion type

Max 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 @ 4 km

4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

258 m

Caliber127 mm

Reload time5 s

HE Damage2,100

Muzzle Velocity725 m/s

Fire Chance8%

Armor Pen21 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Show 1 more gun family

Caliber152 mm

Reload time10 s

HE Damage2,500

Muzzle Velocity825 m/s

Fire Chance9%

Armor Pen25 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 136,000 hp

Engine power136,000 hp

Maximum speed30 kt

Turning circle radius770 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio2.6× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea13.61 km

Detectability by air10.89 km

Smoke firing penalty11.8 km

Detect after firing main guns13.61 km

Detect Fire Sea15.61 km

Detect Fire Air13.89 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 10 s active

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

Choose one

Catapult Fighter3 charges · 60 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size

Observation Seaplane3 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · +10% main-battery range bonus

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 points49,500 → 54,100
Rudder shift22.5 → 19.4 s
Close-range AA DPS37 → 39
Maximum AA range1.2 → 3.1 km
Turret traverse3 → 5 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range13,989 → 15387.9 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)1.8

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

Max Horiz Disp184.7 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13989/30·(10−2.8)/1000 + 2.8)·30 = 184.7 m

Max Vert Disp147.8 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 184.7 × 0.8 = 147.8 m

Med Horiz Disp63.5 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 184.7 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 63.5 m

Med Vert Disp50.8 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 147.8 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 50.8 m

AP Pen Close696.8 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 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 775^1.38 = 696.8 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far292.7 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 413.4 m/s: 1e-7 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 413.4^1.38 = 292.7 mm.

HE penetration59 mm

59 mm ≈ 356 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch24 mm

floor(356 mm caliber / 14.3) = 24 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius60

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 time60 s

180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.

HE full-salvo alpha45,600

5,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 45,600.

AP full-salvo alpha81,600

10,200 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 81,600.

Base HE DPM88,258

45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 31 s base reload = 88,258.

Base AP DPM157,935

81,600 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 31 s base reload = 157,935.

Base shells/min15.5

8 broadside guns x 60 / 31 s base reload = 15.5.

Base fires/min3.87

8 HE shells x 60 / 31 s reload x 25% fire chance = 3.87.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS164

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (20×3.5×0.75) + (19×3.5×0.85) + (21×3.5×0.75) = 164. 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 index506

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 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 @ 4 km258 m

4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)205,800

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: 4×2 127 mm (4/side) × 60/5 × 2100 = 100,800 + 14×1 152 mm (7/side) × 60/10 × 2500 = 105,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha2500

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2500 from the 152 mm family.

Max HE fire chance9%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 9% 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 49,500 → 54,100 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 19–76 mm)	2,900 (5% 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)	152 mm primary (range 19–203 mm)	40,600 (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	30 mm primary (range 19–89 mm)	1,500 (3% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	203 mm primary (range 6–203 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 13–254 mm)	1,600 (3% 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	27,100 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 (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.
Engine (module, research)	engine coefficient (unconfirmed)	-0.170 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	16,200 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 Kongō 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.

2022-04-22 · Official ship feature / stats Golden Week 2022 Official source 2023-04-24 · Official ship feature / stats Golden Week '23 Official source 2022-04-07 · Patch notes April Update: Three Years Strong Patch notes 2022-05-12 · Patch notes May update: Galloping Seahorse Patch notes 2022-12-08 · Patch notes December Update: The Most Wonderful Tide of the Year Patch notes