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

A 6''/47 Mk.16 triple turret as seen on USS Cleveland.

The Helena carries a main armament of fifteen 6’’/47 Mk.16 Guns. As the standard main armament of American light cruisers, these guns are very effective anti-ship weapons. The guns are capable of firing at 10 rounds per minute (6-second reload), meaning that they have one of the highest fire rates for any 6 inch cannon (only the German triple 6-inch turrets fire faster at 12 rounds per minute). With the Helena's large main armament complement, this means that you can fire 150 shells per minute! The guns have good firing arcs and good ballistics as well for a gun of its size. However, they have a relatively slow turret traverse speed compared to its contemporaries. Helena's turrets are also well placed, though the #3 turret has relatively. bad firing arcs due to it's location behind the #1 and #2 turrets.

The gun has access to four shell types - Mk.34 HC, Mk.35 AP, Mk. 34 HC with base fuze and Mk.34 HC-VT. Of these, the Mk. 35 AP is typically the best choice against armoured targets (i.e. heavy cruisers and battleships) as it is the only shell with good penetration values. The Mk.34 HC with base fuze could potentially be used against lighter-armoured cruisers, as it has superior penetration values compared to the original shell. Typically, one should take ~50% Mk.35 AP, ~40% Mk. 34 HC with base fuze, and ~10% Mk.34 HC-VT in case you want to attempt to shoot down aircraft with the main guns. The Mk.34 base fuze is superior to the original Mk.34 HC shell as it has better penetration values but retains the explosive mass.

Secondary armament

The Helena is equipped with eight 5"/38 (12.7 cm) Mark 12 guns mounted in four dual-purpose turrets. These guns are extremely effective against surface and air targets alike, and are capable of firing at an obscene 22 rounds per minute while using first-stage ammunition. The weapon also has a very good vertical and horizontal rotation speed, and is capable of engaging aircraft due to it’s high-angle capability (up to 85 degrees).

The Helena gets access to the standard three shell types - Mk.34 AAC, Mk.46 Common SP, and Mk.31 AAVT. The SP is typically the best pick for heavier-armoured targets such as cruisers, while the AAC shell works better against unarmoured targets due to it’s large explosive filler. The Mk.31 AAVT is a great option for dealing with air targets due to its proximity fuze - a single direct hit should be enough to destroy an incoming bomber.

Anti-aircraft armament

The Helena gets access to sixteen 40 mm Bofors guns in four quad mounts. These weapons are extremely potent anti-aircraft guns due to their accuracy and punching power. Though these weapons fire slower than the 20mm Oerlikon or 12.7mm AN/M2, they more than make up for it due to their hard-hitting 40 mm shells. These guns are capable of shredding aircraft and small boats from ranges of 2.5 km away, though effectiveness will drop off after that range due to the large bullet drop. The guns fire from 4-round clips that reload continuously, meaning that they are capable of continuous fire. However, note that they will eventually jam after firing too long.

As well, the Helena gets access to twelve single 20mm Oerlikon cannons. The 20mm Oerlikon Cannon was the standard light anti-aircraft gun for several nations, including the United States, and replaced the prior AN/M2 Browning machine gun. This weapon is an effective short-range AA gun, and has great firing angles. These guns are very helpful and can boost the volume of AA fire at shorter ranges. Take note that the guns fire from a drum magazine that will need to be reloaded. Because of the magazine design, the gun will not jam with continuous fire.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

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 (base fuze)	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-VT
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
• Detonation of forward magazines will destroy all shells for the front turrets, depriving the ship 3/5ths of its firepower
• 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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

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• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the ship;
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Brooklyn Navy Yard
Cruiser, Light (CL)
Brooklyn-class	USS Brooklyn · USS Helena
Heavy Cruisers (CA)
Pensacola-class	USS Pensacola
Battleships (BB)
Pennsylvania-class	USS Arizona

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