Midway
Beta- Stay a full map cell behind the brawl line, far enough back that a rotated DD or radar cruiser cannot t…
- Avoid: Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
Midway Community Stats
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Midway Community Stats
Playstyle
Overview
Midway is the Legendary American legacy strike carrier. Her squadron at 24 planes is the largest in the cohort (cohort median is 24), so her impact comes from volume waves rather than surgical alpha against a single target. AA (992 AA DPS at 5.2 km) 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. Standout traits: best air torpedo range in Legendary CVs (7 km) and best tough flight deck in Legendary CVs (33,800 HP).
Positioning
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.
Potato Avoidance
Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
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.
Signature Traits
7.0 km air-torpedo range, best of Legendary CVs. Drop further out, planes leak less.
33800.0 HP flight deck, best of Legendary CVs. Survives AP and HE pressure that peers can't.
2250.0 HP per plane (weakest squadron), best of Legendary CVs. Strikes survive AA pushes that thin peers' squadrons.
67600.0 HP, best of Legendary CVs.
23.7 s rudder shift, worst of Legendary CVs. Hard to dodge incoming AP; lean on island cover.
15.02 km surface detect, worst of Legendary CVs. Visible before you can react; position early.
How to get Midway
Midway is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.
Official WG availability sources
- Autumn Update: In the Shadow of Leaves Patch/update availability Start: 2022-08-25 · End: open/unknown end Official update notes with ship availability, release, store, event, or tech-tree context.
- Through the Spy Glass: Enterprise Ship feature / release Start: 2024-07-10 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.
- Battle of Midway: Themed Missions & Historical Ships Store price varies 2026-05-29
- June Update: The Ages Betwixt Store price varies 2026-05-28
- Autumn Update: In the Shadow of Leaves Store price varies 2022-08-25
Builds Beta
Build around aircraft survivability, restoration, speed, and strike consistency. Current guidance should reflect the adjusted bomber/torpedo speed, damage, accuracy, fire chance, and aircraft HP from the carrier balance passes.
Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.
Cohort position
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Where Midway sits among Legendary CVs (3 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.
See 12 mid-pack stats
Not standouts for Midway -- 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.
Stats & specs
Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chartMore tools in the WoWS Legends Data LabAll values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
ƒ
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (130×3.5×1) + (94×3.5×0.95) + (64×3.5×1) = 992. 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.ƒ
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.ƒ
Includes 64 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.ƒ
Far 64 + Medium 130 = 194ƒ
Far 64 + Medium 130 + Near 94 = 288ƒ
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.ƒ
5.5 km × 57 + 30 = 343.5 m.
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 size
See all derived stats
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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.
AA defense
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (130×3.5×1) + (94×3.5×0.95) + (64×3.5×1) = 992. 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.Secondary battery dispersion
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.5.5 km × 57 + 30 = 343.5 m.Secondary battery firepower
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: 18×1 127 mm (9/side) × 60/4 × 1800 = 243,000. 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: 1800 from the 127 mm family.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.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 67,600, 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 | 19 mm | 2,100 (3% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm19 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) | 87 mm primary (range 13–160 mm) | 50,700 (75% of HP) | No common caliber overmatches87 mm: standard HE shatters; improved HE (DE / FR BB) pens from 356mm+ | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 19 mm primary (range 19–193 mm) | 3,400 (5% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 193 mm primary (range 19–193 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 13–165 mm) | 200 (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 (127 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 (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 | 20,300 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 History
Balance updates affecting Midway. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.
Ministry of Balance: Summertime Refit
- Midway wasn't performing optimally, so we buffed her strongest aspects to make them stand out more.
- Maximum HE bomb damage increased from 5,000 to 5,300.
- HE bomb fire-starting chance increased from 25% to 28%.
Ministry of Balance: Aerial Adjustments
- Torpedo.
- Torpedo bomber restoration time increased from 24 to 31 s.
- Torpedo bomber base speed reduced from 138 to 129 kts.
- Dive bomber restoration time increased from 18 to 24 s.
- Dive bomber base speed reduced from 140 to 130 kts.
Ministry of Balance: Carriers 2.0 – First Update
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,500 to 2,250 (squadron HP reduced from 30,000 to 27,000).
- Dive bomber accuracy (likelihood of an individual bomb hitting the inner circle) reduced from 50 to 35%.
- Bomb damage reduced from 6,000 to 5,000.
- Bomb fire-setting chances reduced from 35 to 25%.
- Base speed reduced from 144 to 140 knots.
- Torpedo Bombers:
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,900 to 2,600 (squadron HP reduced from 29,000 to 26,000).
- Torpedo damage reduced from 7,767 to 6,600.
- Base speed reduced from 144 to 138 knots.
Ministry of Balance: Carriers 2.0 – First Wave
- Aiming speed increased (aiming circle shrinks faster).
- Dive bomber accuracy (likelihood of an individual bomb hitting the inner circle) increased from 25 to 50%.
- Number of aircraft in squadron increased from 9 to 12.
- Bombs per aircraft increased from 2 to 4.
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,800 to 2,500 (squadron HP increased from 25,200 to 30,000).
- Base speed increased from 128 to 144 knots.
- Aircraft maximum flight range set to 38 kilometers.
- Bomb damage reduced from 11,200 to 6,000.
- HE bomb penetration reduced from 67.1 to 53.4 mm.
- Bomb fire-setting chances reduced from 64 to 35%.
- +4 more official change lines in the source post.
Ministry of Balance Reports: Carrier Changes
- This iconic ship from the Battle of Midway is lagging behind her opponents in all three main areas, so we want to amp her up some by improving her plane HP and damage output.
Halloween Update: New Friends, Old Foes
- Surface detectability range changed from 16.1 to 15.2 km; air detectability range changed from 12.9 to 10.5 km.
Skins & permanent camouflages
Every custom exterior Midway 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.
