USS Helena

USS Helena

USS Helena

USA

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.0	6.0	6.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Light cruiser

Purchase:8 020

Description

The Brooklyn-class, USS Helena (CL-50), 1943 is a premium rank IV American light cruiser with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.93 "Shark Attack".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour on Helena is pretty strong for a light cruiser, as it can definitely hold out against large calibre HE shells. One should remember that Brooklyn-class cruisers oftentimes could survive a torpedo hit, so if you have enough crew, you can easily tank one or even two torpedoes. Your main concern while playing Helena should be high calibre AP shells, as they can wreck your ship in no time, especially if they are coming from fast reloading guns like American 5"/38, or if they are shot at you by a ship with lots of guns like IJN Suzuya.

Turret face armour is 165 mm, side, rear and top armour are 76 mm, 76 mm, and 51 mm thick respectively, and mantlets are 100 mm of RHA. Barbettes are 152 mm of rolled cemented armour. Secondaries are protected only by 32 mm of antifragmentation armour, so expect them to be knocked out as soon as any high calibre shell hits them.

Bow ammo magazines are protected by 51 mm of antifragmentation armour on the top and sides, and 127 mm of antifragmentation armour in the front. They are also hidden deep below the waterline and behind fuel tanks, which makes them a very difficult target. Aft shells and charges are protected from the top and rear by the same armour as bow magazines, but since there are no fuel tanks, they get 120 mm rolled cemented armour as side armour. Rear of the bow ammo stowage and front of the aft ammo stowage are protected by 95 mm of rolled cemented armour. Ammo elevators are protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armour.

Bridge is protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armour on the sides and 57 mm of the same armour on the top.

Thanks to the unit system (engines and boilers are alternating inside the hull) it's very hard to disable propulsion on the ship, even with a torpedo.

Mobility

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Armament

Primary armament

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Secondary armament

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Anti-aircraft armament

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Usage in battles

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Modules

Tier	Seakeeping	Unsinkability		Firepower
I	Dry-Docking	Tool Set		6 inch Mk.35 AP	Anti-Air Armament Targeting
II	Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	6 inch Mk.34 HC	Auxiliary Armament Targeting
III	Propeller Replacement	Shrapnel Protection	Ventilation	5 inch AAVT Mk.31	Primary Armament Targeting	Improved Rangefinder
IV	Engine Maintenance	New Pumps	Ammo Wetting	6 inch Mk.34 HC
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 2 x triple-mount 6 inch and 2 x dual-mount 5 inch cannons can fire straight ahead, allowing decent firepower while only exposing a small silhouette towards the enemy
• Extensive use of antifragmentation armour, rendering Helena as almost HE-"proof"
• Best citadel armour out of all light cruisers in the game
• One of the highest main calibre fire rates out of all light cruisers (10 rpm)
• Very hard to disable all of the engines with one torpedo hit, thanks to unit system of machinery (transmission and engines are alternated inside the ship)
• Highest ammo count out of all cruisers
• Shells and charges are hidden below waterline, are protected by loads of antifragmentation armour, rolled cemented armour and fuel, making it very hard to one hit kill Helena
• Second thickest turret face in the game (only Chapayev and Sverdlov have thicker turret armour)
• Second best AA in game in terms of amount of guns, best AA in game in terms of ammo and flexibility (out of all light cruiser that is)
• Mobility is comparable to other ships (except top tier Japanese and Italian cruisers)
• Bridge is protected by 127 mm of antifragmentation armour
• One of the highest crew counts in the game

Cons:

• Citadel and ammoracks are well armoured, but other parts of the ship are protected by only 16 mm of antifragmentation armour
• There are some shells hidden inside barbettes, so unlucky hit may cause heavy fires or even one hit kill a ship
• Auxiliary turrets have their first stage ammo stowages unprotected, so unlucky hits may cause heavy fires
• Second worst 152 mm penetration in game (but it's still enough to kill any vessel)
• Turret No. 3 can shoot only when retreating or when showing broadside
• No torpedo armament

History

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Media

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See also

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External links

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USA light cruisers
Omaha-class	USS Detroit · USS Raleigh · USS Trenton
Atlanta-class	USS Atlanta
Brooklyn-class	USS Brooklyn · USS Helena
Cleveland-class	USS Cleveland
Fargo-class	USS Fargo
Worcester-class	USS Roanoke