GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Z-46

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Z-46

Beta

Germany · Tier VIII · Destroyer · Tech Tree: Area-Control Destroyers

Destroyer gunboatWin DD duels and cap fights with gun DPM.

Playstyle

Hold concealment edges on the contested cap at 6.8 km detection
Avoid: Burning the 6.8 km concealment advantage on guns

Key characteristics

2 sigma accuracyImproved HE penSmoke + SonarEngine BoostShort gun range

Community Data

Z-46 Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Z-46 is a Tier VIII German stealth-leaning destroyer with strong surface detection (6.8 km). The kit opens detection windows most peer DDs cannot match, so her value is contesting caps from concealment edges where the detection band holds. Standout traits: end-plate armor (20 mm).

Positioning

Hold concealment edges on the contested cap at 6.8 km detection. The band opens windows for unspotted torpedo drops and clean repositions; lean into the gaps your peer DDs cannot read, and back out before detection closes.

Potato Avoidance

Burning the 6.8 km concealment advantage on guns

Every salvo lights you up and gives back the detection edge that makes the kit work; reserve guns for finishing damage on already-spotted ships, and prioritize torpedo drops you can fire while undetected.

Signature Traits

Improved HE penetration

HE pen at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6. HE-spam is a real damage option here, not just a fire-starter; pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE, shared by 6/25 T8 DDs.

Heavy belt

Citadel belt in the top bracket. Incoming AP rarely citadels through angle.

Short gun range

10.67 km main battery reach, bottom decile of T8 DDs. Outranged by peers; close distance or lean on terrain.

Acquisition

How to get Z-46

Z-46 is available in the Area-Control Destroyers branch of the Germany Tech Tree for 25,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 6,250,000 credits.

Show Germany tech-tree branch diagram

Germany Tech Tree

Z-46 sits in the Area-Control Destroyers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Germany tree.

8 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all Germany lines.

GermanyIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Destroyer Split

Cruiser

Battleship

Battleship Split

Carrier

Tier VIIIF. SchultzPGSD209 Tier VIIIP. RupprechtPGSB209 Tier VIIG. J. MaerkerPGSD208 Tier VIIZietenPGSB208 Tier VIZ-31PGSD207 Tier VIP. HeinrichPGSB207 Tier VMackensenPGSB206 Tier IVDerfflingerPGSB205 Tier ★Z-52PGSD110 Tier ★Großer KurfürstPGSB110 Tier ★Manfred von RichthofenPGSA110 Tier VIIIZ-46PGSD109 Tier VIIIRoonPGSC109 Tier VIIIFriedrich der GroßePGSB109 Tier VIIZ-23PGSD108 Tier VIIHipperPGSC108 Tier VIIBismarckPGSB108 Tier VIIAugust von ParsevalPGSA108 Tier VIMaassPGSD107 Tier VIYorckPGSC107 Tier VIGneisenauPGSB107 Tier VGaedePGSD106 Tier VNürnbergPGSC106 Tier VBayernPGSB106 Tier VWeserPGSA106 Tier IVT-22PGSD105 Tier IVKönigsbergPGSC105 Tier IVKönigPGSB105 Tier IIIV-170PGSD104 Tier IIIKarlsruhePGSC104 Tier IIIKaiserPGSB104 Tier IIIRheinPGSA104 Tier IIKolbergPGSC103 Tier IIV-25PGSD102 Tier IDresdenPGSC002

Builds Beta

Build for concealment, survivability, torpedo reload, gun reload/AP utility, and Sonar-backed objective control.

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Cohort position

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Where Z-46 sits among Tier VIII DDs (25 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 25%Stealth profile6.77 km / 3.39 km (7/25 / 7/25) Top 25%AP DPM300,000 (4/23) Top 25%Main dispersion87.7 m (4/25) Top 25%Torpedo reload81 s (5/24) Bottom 25%HE shell damage1,500 (22/24) Bottom 25%AA DPS183 (21/25) Bottom 25%AA threat677 (22/25) Bottom 10%Main battery range10.67 km (24/25)

See 26 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Z-46 -- 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 points19,900 HP(14/25) Max speed37.5 kt(8/25) Rudder shift5.8 s(13/25) Traverse-to-turn ratio10.91 ×(16/25) Main battery caliber128 mm(11/25) Main battery reload3.6 s(12/25) HE fire chance7%(15/24) Fires per minute7(10/24) HE DPM150,000(16/24) AP velocity830 m/s(13/23) HE velocity830 m/s(15/24) Acceleration11.25 s(14/25) AP fuse timer0.01 s(13/23) AP arming threshold21 mm(11/23) Engine power70,000 hp(10/25) Turn-speed retention104.5 hp/m(9/25) Displacement3,683 t(12/25) Power-to-weight19.01 hp/t(13/25) AA range5 km(14/25) Torpedo range9.99 km(15/24) Torpedo damage14,400(18/24) Torpedo speed67 kt(9/24) NormAP ricochet start45°(17 of 23 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(17 of 23 tied at this value) NormMax armor20 mm(22 of 25 tied at this value) NormCitadel belt20 mm(21 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.

Sonar 4.93 kmSmokeEngine Boost

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 16,200 → 19,900

Displacement3,683 t

Armor range13–20 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 19, 20 mm

Armor material/layer entries25

Fire resistance40%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction0%

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.

10,000

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.

6,000

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 128 mm L/45 Drh LC/41

Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 6 barrels

Reload time4 s

Firing range (base)9.7 km

Firing range (top fire control)10.7 km

Turret traverse18 °/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 = (9697/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 87.7 m

87.7 m

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 87.7 × 0.6 = 52.6 m

52.6 m

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 87.7 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 28 m

28 m

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 52.6 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 16.8 m

16.8 m

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 18 deg/s traverse speed = 10 s.

10 s

Base shells/min

6 broadside guns x 60 / 4 s base reload = 90.

HE shells

HE Damage1,500

HE Velocity830 m/s

Fire Chance7%

HE penetration

32 mm ≈ 128 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

32 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

1,500 HE damage x 6 broadside guns = 9,000.

9,000

Base HE DPM

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4 s base reload = 135,000.

135,000

Installed HE DPM

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 3.6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 150,000.

150,000

Base fires/min

6 HE shells x 60 / 4 s reload x 7% fire chance = 6.3.

6.3

AP shells

AP Damage3,000

AP Velocity830 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.01 s

Fuse Threshold21 mm

AP overmatch

floor(128 mm caliber / 14.3) = 8 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

8 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 × 1647 × 28^0.69 × 0.128^-1.07 × 830^1.38 = 158.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

158.1 mm

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (13.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 326.5 m/s: 1e-7 × 1647 × 28^0.69 × 0.128^-1.07 × 326.5^1.38 = 43.6 mm.

43.6 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

3,000 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 18,000.

18,000

Base AP DPM

18,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4 s base reload = 270,000.

270,000

Installed AP DPM

18,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 3.6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 300,000.

300,000

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.

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleG7 Wolfsbarsch

Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 4 tubes = 8 tubes

Reload time81 s

Projectile speed67 kt

Range9.99 km

Maximum simulated damage13,400 (est.)

Alpha damage40,200

Torpedo detectability1.4 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming207 m

Per-side salvo damage

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

107,200

AA Defense

AA mount points7

Close-range AA DPS

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (23×3.5×1) + (12×3.5×0.95) + (18×3.5×1) = 183. 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.

183

Maximum AA range

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

5 km

20 mm Flakvierling 38Initial: 20 mm Flakzwilling 38 (4×2) → 20 mm Flakvierling 38 (3×4)

37 mm Flak LM/42Initial: 3×2 → 4×2 37mm

DPS

Includes 18 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose main battery firing as AA in this range band.

Range5 km

DPSInitial: 18 → 23

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 18 + Medium 23 = 41

DPS12

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 18 + Medium 23 + Near 12 = 53

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 70,000 hp

Engine power70,000 hp

Maximum speed37.5 kt

Turning circle radius670 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio10.9× ok

Concealment

Detectability by sea6.77 km

Detectability by air3.39 km

Smoke firing penalty2.52 km

Detect after firing main guns6.77 km

Detect Fire Sea8.77 km

Detect Fire Air6.39 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 40 s reload · 5 s active

Smoke Generator2 charges · 240 s reload · 15 s emit / 69 s cloud active

Engine Boost2 charges · 180 s reload · 120 s active · +8% speed bonus

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 96 s active · 4.93 km ship detect · 3.47 km torpedo detect

Module options (3)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points16,200 → 19,900
Rudder shift8.1 → 5.8 s
Close-range AA DPS30 → 35

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range9,697 → 10666.7 m

TorpedoesUpgrade

Range9.51 → 9.99 km
Reload90 → 81 s
Speed66 → 67 kt

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 Disp87.7 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (9697/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 87.7 m

Max Vert Disp52.6 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 87.7 × 0.6 = 52.6 m

Med Horiz Disp28 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 87.7 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 28 m

Med Vert Disp16.8 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 52.6 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 16.8 m

Dispersion familyDD Disp.

Standard destroyer dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close158.1 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 × 1647 × 28^0.69 × 0.128^-1.07 × 830^1.38 = 158.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far43.6 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (13.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 326.5 m/s: 1e-7 × 1647 × 28^0.69 × 0.128^-1.07 × 326.5^1.38 = 43.6 mm.

HE penetration32 mm

32 mm ≈ 128 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

Improved HE PenYes

This ship's HE shells use a 1/4 (~0.25) caliber-to-pen ratio instead of the standard 1/6 (~0.167) - 0.25 in this case. Lets HE pen ~32mm armor instead of ~21mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.

AP overmatch8 mm

floor(128 mm caliber / 14.3) = 8 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius10

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 alpha6

All 6 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time10 s

180 degrees / 18 deg/s traverse speed = 10 s.

HE full-salvo alpha9,000

1,500 HE damage x 6 broadside guns = 9,000.

AP full-salvo alpha18,000

3,000 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 18,000.

Base HE DPM135,000

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4 s base reload = 135,000.

Base AP DPM270,000

18,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4 s base reload = 270,000.

Installed HE DPM150,000

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 3.6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 150,000.

Installed AP DPM300,000

18,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 3.6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 300,000.

Base shells/min90

6 broadside guns x 60 / 4 s base reload = 90.

Installed shells/min100

6 broadside guns x 60 / 3.6 s installed Artillery reload = 100.

Base fires/min6.3

6 HE shells x 60 / 4 s reload x 7% fire chance = 6.3.

Installed fires/min7

6 HE shells x 60 / 3.6 s installed reload x 7% fire chance = 7.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.4 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time8 s

detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Torpedo speed67 kt

Travel time to max range57.3 s

range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Tube count8

2 launchers x 4 tubes.

Per-side salvo8 torpedoes

8 (centerline launchers train across - full salvo to either side).

Full-salvo damage107,200

tube count x per-torpedo simulated damage (all torpedoes hitting).

Per-side salvo damage107,200

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS183

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (23×3.5×1) + (12×3.5×0.95) + (18×3.5×1) = 183. 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 index677

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

Armor

Hull HP 16,200 → 19,900 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	20 mm primary (range 19–20 mm)	2,800 (14% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Cherbourg, Brandenburg)Angle bounces 283mm20 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)	19 mm	14,900 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	20 mm primary (range 19–20 mm)	1,900 (10% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Cherbourg, Brandenburg)Angle bounces 283mm20 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	20 mm primary (range 13–20 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen ×0.50 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 (×0.50 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Turret (module, per magazine)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	10,000 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 (37 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	6,000 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 Z-46. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×3Main Battery ×1

2023-06-15

Ministry of Balance: Italian Concerto

Stock Hull rudder-shift time reduced from 6.3 to 6.2 s.
Upgraded Hull rudder-shift time reduced from 4.5 to 4.4 s.
Upgraded Torpedo reload time reduced from 90 to 81 s.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Z-46 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.

2022-07-14 · Official ship feature / stats Strive for Greatness: Tier VIII development blog Official source 2022-07-21 · Patch notes Anniversary Update: New Horizons Patch notes