GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Louisiana
World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Louisiana

Beta
U.S.A. · Tier ★ · Battleship
Mid-range battleship anchorHold a mid-range lane and trade with the enemy line.
Playstyle
  • Park 14-17 km from a contested cap with island cover within one rotation of your bow
  • Avoid: Launching airstrikes at maneuvering targets
Key characteristics
Spotter planeSoft superstructure
Community Data

Louisiana Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Louisiana is the Legendary American airstrike battleship. Her right-trigger fires a line of dive bombers in place of torpedoes, which gives her a damage source that does not need line of sight on top of her main battery. Standout traits: best turret traverse rate in Legendary BBs (12) and best DCP duration in Legendary BBs (20 s).

Positioning

Park 14-17 km from a contested cap with island cover within one rotation of your bow. The airstrike line wants to cross the cap and the predictable retreat lane, both of which favor positions a little further back than a brawler would take. Open-water lanes are pure downside; you do not need line of sight to score with the airstrike, so cover is free upside.

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.

Long DCP window

20.0 s Damage Control duration, best of Legendary BBs. Stays fire / flood immune longer per activation.

Long spotter loiter

40.0 s Observation Seaplane duration, best of Legendary BBs. Spotting + main-battery range bonus stays up longer.

Big spotter range bonus

+20.0% main-battery range from Observation Seaplane, best of Legendary BBs. Outranges peers while spotter is active.

Bow-tanker

Bow plate thicker than the cohort overmatch threshold. Angle straight on and shrug off same-tier guns.

Soft superstructure

6.0 mm superstructure, bottom decile of Legendary BBs. HE farms harder.

Acquisition

How to get Louisiana

Louisiana is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Early Access.

Official WG availability sources

Builds Beta

Primary Legendary premium. Joseph Reeves carries the full airstrike skill suite (range, cruise speed, torpedo speed and damage, plane HP). Pair with Jonathan Hawke (Big Game Hunter trait: more airstrike damage vs BB / CA / CV) for damage focus, or Commander Riker (Number One trait: airstrike cooldown reduction) for more strikes per match.

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Cohort position

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Where Louisiana sits among Legendary BBs (17 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.

Top 10%AA threat3,509 (2/17) Top 25%HE velocity820 m/s (5/16) Top 25%AP arming threshold68 mm (5/17) Top 25%Engine power212,000 hp (4/17) Top 25%Turn-speed retention223.2 hp/m (4/17) Top 25%AA DPS773 (5/17) Top 25%AA range5.2 km (5/17) Top 25%Max armor541 mm (4/17) WorstTraverse-to-turn ratio4.16 × (17/17)
See 35 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Louisiana -- 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 points96,300 HP(6/17) Max speed31 kt(6/17) Concealment15.96 km(8/17) Air detection12.77 km(8/17) Rudder shift24.3 s(11/17) Main battery caliber406 mm(13/17) Main battery range17.4 km(9/17) Main battery reload28.8 s(13/17) Sigma1.9(8/17) HE shell damage5,700(9/16) HE fire chance36%(10/16) Fires per minute7.5(12/16) HE DPM118,750(12/16) AP shell damage13,100(11/17) AP DPM272,917(13/17) Main dispersion234 m(11/17) Secondary DPM (per side)270,000(11/17) HE alpha1,800(9/15) Secondary fire chance9%(5/15) Secondary HE pen21 mm(12/15) AP velocity762 m/s(11/17) Acceleration10 s(13/17) Displacement72,104 t(10/17) Power-to-weight2.94 hp/t(7/17) Repair charges3(7/17) Citadel belt409 mm(7/16) Deck armor105 mm(11/16) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(12 of 17 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(15 of 17 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(14 of 17 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(14 of 17 tied at this value) NormSecondary range5 km(10 of 17 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(12 of 17 tied at this value) NormBow armor32 mm(13 of 16 tied at this value) NormStern armor32 mm(13 of 16 tied at this value)

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chartMore tools in the WoWS Legends Data Lab

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

Repair 3Fighter
Survivability
Hit Points96,300
Displacement72,104 t
Armor range6–541 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 16, 19, 32, 38, 50, 51, 105, 110, 150, 178, 180, 188, 197, 259, 324, 387, 409, 424, 432, 457, 541 mm
Armor material/layer entries67
Fire resistance40%
Fire duration60 s
Torp Reduction37%
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.
48,200
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.
28,900
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 406 mm Mk7
Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 10 barrels
Reload time32 s
Firing range17.4 km
Turret traverse4 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
1.9
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (17400/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 234 m
234 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 234 × 0.6 = 140.4 m
140.4 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 234 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 77.6 m
77.6 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 140.4 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 46.6 m
46.6 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.
45 s
Base shells/min
ƒ10 broadside guns x 60 / 32 s base reload = 18.8.
18.8
HE shells
HE Damage5,700
HE Velocity820 m/s
Fire Chance36%
HE penetration
ƒ68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
68 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ5,700 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 57,000.
57,000
Base HE DPM
ƒ57,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 32 s base reload = 106,875.
106,875
Installed HE DPM
ƒ57,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28.8 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 118,750.
118,750
Base fires/min
ƒ10 HE shells x 60 / 32 s reload x 36% fire chance = 6.75.
6.75
AP shells
AP Damage13,100
AP Velocity762 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold68 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
28 mm
AP Pen Close
ƒCanonical 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 × 2520 × 1225^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 847.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
847.6 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (21.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 498.3 m/s: 1e-7 × 2520 × 1225^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 498.3^1.38 = 471.7 mm.
471.7 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ13,100 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 131,000.
131,000
Base AP DPM
ƒ131,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 32 s base reload = 245,625.
245,625
Installed AP DPM
ƒ131,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28.8 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 272,917.
272,917
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.
250
✈
Squadrons
Airstrike
Plane HP5,000
Plane max speed180 kn
Planes per strike4
Ordnancetorpedo, 7,600 dmg
Strike reload30 s
Launch arc-60° to 60°
AA Defense
AA mount points32
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (197×3.5×0.75) + (52×3.5×0.7) + (49×3.5×0.75) = 773. 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.
773
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
5.2 km
76.2 mm Mk3316×2 76mm
20 mm Oerlikon Mk2016×2 20mm
127 mm Mk41 (DP)10×2 127mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 49 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
49
Range5.2 km
Medium aura
DPS197
Range5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 49 + Medium 197 = 246
246
Near aura
DPS52
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 49 + Medium 197 + Near 52 = 298
298
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts10
Firing range5.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
Caliber127 mm
Reload time4 s
HE Damage1,800
Muzzle Velocity808 m/s
Fire Chance9%
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 @ 5 km
ƒ5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.
315 m
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 212,000 hp
Engine power212,000 hp
Maximum speed31 kt
Turning circle radius950 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio4.2× drags
Concealment
Detectability by sea15.96 km
Detectability by air12.77 km
Smoke firing penalty15.4 km
Detect after firing main guns15.96 km
Detect Fire Sea17.96 km
Detect Fire Air15.77 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
✦
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 20 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 · 2 squadron size
Observation Seaplane3 charges · 200 s reload · 40 s active · 1 squadron size · +20% main-battery range bonus
Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade
  • Turret traverse4 → 12 °/s

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)1.9
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp234 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (17400/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 234 m
Max Vert Disp140.4 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 234 × 0.6 = 140.4 m
Med Horiz Disp77.6 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 234 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 77.6 m
Med Vert Disp46.6 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 140.4 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 46.6 m
Dispersion familyUS/UK BB Disp.
2.5% overall improvement compared to EU BB Disp.
AP Pen Close847.6 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 × 2520 × 1225^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 847.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far471.7 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (21.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 498.3 m/s: 1e-7 × 2520 × 1225^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 498.3^1.38 = 471.7 mm.
HE penetration68 mm
68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch28 mm
floor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius250
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 alpha10
All 10 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time45 s
180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.
HE full-salvo alpha57,000
5,700 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 57,000.
AP full-salvo alpha131,000
13,100 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 131,000.
Base HE DPM106,875
57,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 32 s base reload = 106,875.
Base AP DPM245,625
131,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 32 s base reload = 245,625.
Installed HE DPM118,750
57,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28.8 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 118,750.
Installed AP DPM272,917
131,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28.8 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 272,917.
Base shells/min18.8
10 broadside guns x 60 / 32 s base reload = 18.8.
Installed shells/min20.8
10 broadside guns x 60 / 28.8 s installed Artillery reload = 20.8.
Base fires/min6.75
10 HE shells x 60 / 32 s reload x 36% fire chance = 6.75.
Installed fires/min7.5
10 HE shells x 60 / 28.8 s installed reload x 36% fire chance = 7.5.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS773
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (197×3.5×0.75) + (52×3.5×0.7) + (49×3.5×0.75) = 773. 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 range5.2 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index3509
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

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 @ 5 km315 m
5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)270,000
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: 10×2 127 mm (10/side) × 60/4 × 1800 = 270,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha1800
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 127 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 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.

Armor

Hull HP 96,300, 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
Bow32 mm primary (range 32–50 mm)3,200 (3% of HP)
Overmatched by 460mm+ (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 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)38 mm primary (range 19–541 mm)72,200 (75% of HP)
No common caliber overmatches38 mm: most HE shatters, standard pen from 283mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern32 mm primary (range 32–424 mm)2,800 (3% of HP)
Overmatched by 460mm+ (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel409 mm primary (range 16–409 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).
Superstructure6 mm primary (range 6–457 mm)1,900 (2% 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 HP48,200 magazine HPMagazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HPPer-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 (127 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP800 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-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 (76 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP200 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-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 HP28,900 module HPIncapacitated at 0 HPWhen 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 Louisiana. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Nerf ×2Airstrike ×1Main Battery ×1
2026-04-30

Ministry of Balance: Viva la Marina!

  • 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
2025-10-30

Ministry of Balance: Preparing for Winter

  • Main battery reload time increased from 30 to 32 seconds.
  • Airstrike torpedo speed reduced from 55 to 50 knots.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

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.

2024-06-27 · Patch notes July Update: Skyward Endeavors Patch notes 2025-06-26 · Patch notes July Update: Of Stars and Freedom Patch notes 2025-10-30 · Patch notes November Update: Into Black Waters Patch notes