West Virginia 44 Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

West Virginia 44 is a Tier VI American secondary battleship with top-decile secondary reach out to 6 km: the kit rewards closing inside secondary range and letting the auto-fire battery work alongside the mains, not holding mid-range AP lines. AA (613 AA DPS at 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. Standout traits: best torpedo belt percent in T6 BBs (37) and best DCP duration in T6 BBs (20 s).

Positioning

Push to within secondary range (~6 km) so the secondary battery starts contributing damage. A secondary BB at mid range is wasting half her kit; the geometry that pays out is close enough that the secondaries DPM peer BBs instead of the main battery alone.

Potato Avoidance

Holding mid-range AP lines like a standard BB

The secondary battery is half the kit, so a mid-range secondary BB is leaving damage on the table every minute; commit to the brawl angle or play a different ship.

Signature Traits

Strong torpedo belt

37.0% torpedo damage reduction, best of T6 BBs.

Long DCP window

20.0 s Damage Control duration, best of T6 BBs. Stays fire / flood immune longer per activation.

High-arc AP shells

25.1° impact angle at max range, best of T6 BBs. Lobs over island cover.

Fast acceleration

~7.0 s to max forward speed, top decile of T6 BBs. Rebuilds speed quickly after a turn or stop. (Acceleration decode is validated in-game but not yet confirmed across every ship.)

Bleeds speed in turns

41.2 hp per metre of turn radius, bottom decile of T6 BBs. Lateral drag outpaces engine output, so speed drops noticeably during sustained turns.

Stiff AP fuse

68.0 mm AP arming threshold, bottom decile of T6 BBs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Acquisition

How to get West Virginia 44

West Virginia 44 is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Containers. 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.

ContainersAppears in official container odds below; availability depends on the container being sold or awarded.

Best listed chance for this ship

Mystic Lantern 0.02% Superprize: Premium Ship Event containers · Mystic Lantern · 1 of 25 ships

Official WG availability sources

Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.
5 Years Strong: Loyalty Reward for All Captains! Event/store source Start: 2024-03-25 · End: open/unknown end Official ship/event post that can indicate store, collaboration, event, return, or limited availability.

Show direct source rows

Mystic Lantern 0.02% · Superprize: Premium Ship

Builds Beta

Build for main-battery accuracy, reload/range, survivability, and fire resistance.

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Cohort position

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Where West Virginia 44 sits among Tier VI BBs (27 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 dispersion bracket33 (1 of 7 tied) BestAcceleration7 s (1/27) Top 10%Secondary range6 km (3/27) Top 10%AA DPS613 (3/27) Top 10%AA threat1,836 (2/27) Top 10%Max armor406 mm (3/27) Top 25%Stealth profile14.33 km / 11.46 km (6/27 / 7/27) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio4.85 × (4/27) Top 25%AP shell damage12,400 (5/27) Top 25%HE alpha2,160 (6/26) Top 25%Secondary HE pen25 mm (6/26) Top 25%Repair heal rate0.66 %/s (7/27) Bottom 25%Main battery range15.85 km (23/27) Bottom 25%AP arming threshold68 mm (22/27) Bottom 10%Engine power30,900 hp (26/27) Bottom 10%Power-to-weight0.75 hp/t (26/27) WorstMax speed21 kt (1 of 2 tied) WorstSecondary fire chance5% (1 of 4 tied) WorstTurn-speed retention41.2 hp/m (27/27) WorstNo torpedoes (22 of 27 in cohort)

See 24 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for West Virginia 44 -- 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 points62,000 HP(8/27) Rudder shift19.4 s(19/27) Main battery caliber406 mm(8/27) Main battery reload27 s(16/27) Sigma1.8(17/27) HE shell damage5,700(11/27) HE fire chance36%(9/27) Fires per minute6.4(15/27) HE DPM101,333(17/27) AP DPM220,444(15/27) Main dispersion218.5 m(17/27) Secondary DPM (per side)207,360(12/27) AP velocity768 m/s(19/27) HE velocity803 m/s(17/27) Displacement40,990 t(11/27) AA range5 km(11/27) Repair charges3(13/27) Citadel belt343 mm(9/26) Bow armor26 mm(11/26) Stern armor26 mm(11/26) Deck armor102 mm(14/26) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(18 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(24 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(24 of 27 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Francesco Caracciolo vs

Show all 26 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 3Def-AAFighter

Survivability

Hit Points62,000

Displacement40,990 t

Armor range16–406 mm

Plate armor thicknesses16, 25, 26, 31, 35, 38, 40, 44, 76, 102, 114, 140, 152, 159, 165, 203, 273, 330, 343, 406 mm

Armor material/layer entries58

Fire resistance30%

Fire duration60 s

Torp Reduction37%

Magazine HP

ƒ

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.

29,600

Steering gear HP

ƒ

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.

18,600

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 406 mm/45 Mk.5

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels

Reload time30 s

Firing range15.8 km

Turret traverse4 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

1.8

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15850/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 218.5 m

218.5 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 218.5 × 0.6 = 131.1 m

131.1 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 218.5 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 75.1 m

75.1 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 131.1 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 45.1 m

45.1 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.

45 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.

16

HE shells

HE Damage5,700

HE Velocity803 m/s

Fire Chance36%

HE penetration

ƒ

68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

68 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

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

45,600

Base HE DPM

ƒ

45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 91,200.

91,200

Base fires/min

ƒ

8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 36% fire chance = 5.76.

5.76

AP shells

AP Damage12,400

AP Velocity768 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold68 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

28 mm

AP Pen Close

ƒ

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 × 2700 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 768^1.38 = 806.9 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

806.9 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 407.4 m/s: 1e-7 × 2700 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 407.4^1.38 = 336.4 mm.

336.4 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

12,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 99,200.

99,200

Base AP DPM

ƒ

99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,400.

198,400

AP AOE Radius

ƒ

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.

120

AA Defense

AA mount points70

Close-range AA DPS

ƒ

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (75×3.5×0.75) + (127×3.5×0.7) + (40×3.5×0.75) = 613. 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.

613

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

5 km

40 mm Bofors Mk210×4 40mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk.458×1 20mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk.241×2 20mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk.151×4 20mm

127 mm Mk32 (DP)8×2 127mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 40 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

40

Range5 km

DPS75

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 40 + Medium 75 = 115

115

DPS127

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 40 + Medium 75 + Near 127 = 242

242

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts8

Firing range6.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber127 mm

Reload time5 s

HE Damage2,160

Muzzle Velocity792 m/s

Fire Chance5%

Armor Pen25 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Secondary dispersion type

ƒ

Max dispersion = range (km) × 33 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Improved (40%, German battlecruiser type)

Max secondary dispersion @ 6 km

ƒ

6 km × 33 + 30 = 228 m.

228 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 30,900 hp

Engine power30,900 hp

Maximum speed21 kt

Turning circle radius750 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold18 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio4.8× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea14.33 km

Detectability by air11.46 km

Smoke firing penalty13.87 km

Detect after firing main guns14.33 km

Detect Fire Sea16.33 km

Detect Fire Air14.46 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 20 s active

Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.66% heal per second · 18.5% 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 Booster4 charges · 100 s reload · 30 s active · +100% damage boost · +50% reload boost

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

Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade

Turret traverse4 → 8 °/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)1.8

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

Max Horiz Disp218.5 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15850/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 218.5 m

Max Vert Disp131.1 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 218.5 × 0.6 = 131.1 m

Med Horiz Disp75.1 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 218.5 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 75.1 m

Med Vert Disp45.1 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 131.1 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 45.1 m

AP Pen Close806.9 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 × 2700 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 768^1.38 = 806.9 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far336.4 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 407.4 m/s: 1e-7 × 2700 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 407.4^1.38 = 336.4 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 Radius120

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 time45 s

180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.

HE full-salvo alpha45,600

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

AP full-salvo alpha99,200

12,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 99,200.

Base HE DPM91,200

45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 91,200.

Base AP DPM198,400

99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,400.

Base shells/min16

8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.

Base fires/min5.76

8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 36% fire chance = 5.76.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS613

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (75×3.5×0.75) + (127×3.5×0.7) + (40×3.5×0.75) = 613. 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 index1836

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 typeImproved (40%, German battlecruiser type)

Max dispersion = range (km) × 33 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Max secondary dispersion @ 6 km228 m

6 km × 33 + 30 = 228 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)207,360

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: 8×2 127 mm (8/side) × 60/5 × 2160 = 207,360. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha2160

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2160 from the 127 mm family.

Max HE fire chance5%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 5% from the 127 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 127 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 62,000, 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	26 mm primary (range 26–40 mm)	2,100 (3% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm26 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)	114 mm primary (range 25–343 mm)	46,500 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches114 mm: standard HE shatters; improved HE (DE / FR BB) pens from 460mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	26 mm primary (range 26–203 mm)	1,400 (2% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm26 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	343 mm primary (range 35–343 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	16 mm primary (range 16–406 mm)	3,900 (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	29,600 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 (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	18,600 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.

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior West Virginia 44 can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

West Virginia 44

West Virginia 44 Community Stats