USS North Dakota

USS North Dakota

USS Cleveland

USS Wyoming

USS North Dakota

USS Cleveland

USS Wyoming

USA

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.3	6.3	6.3

Class:

Battleship

Research:230 000

Purchase:640 000

Description

The Delaware-class, USS North Dakota (BB-29), 1919 is a rank V American battleship with a battle rating of 6.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "New Power".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Citadel254 / 279 / 38 mm

Main fire tower305 / 203 / 203 mm

Hull25 mm (steel)

Superstructure16 mm (steel)

Number of section9

Displacement22 400 t

Crew1 384 people

The North Dakota has pretty average armor for a dreadnought. The 280mm main armor belt and the coal bunkers behind it is more than enough to keep out shells from cruisers, but AP from other battleships will punch right through and cause damage to important modules inside the ship. The turrets have thick front armor, but the sides and rear are mediocre and the barbettes are only 254mm and aren't covered by the main belt or coal bunkers. The deck armor ranges from 38-51mm, but will rarely be hit due to how low in the ship it is and the close range of combat in War Thunder. The crew count of 1384 is higher than most ships in the game except for ships with large AA complements, meaning that the ship can sustain heavy fire and remain operational. Unfortunately, this ship has one fatal flaw: the ammunition storage sticks out above the waterline and is protected only by the 279mm armor belt, leaving it easily destroyed by other battleships' armor piercing.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB46 / 21 km/h

RB40 / 18 km/h

The North Dakota is fairly average in terms battleship mobility, reaching 34km/h stock and 40km/h spaded. Capturing points and reaching advantageous locations will take a while. The rudder shift time and acceleration are somewhat sluggish, and the ship struggles to maneuver evasively. Unless threats and obstacles like torpedoes and islands are spotted well in advance, dodging them will be very difficult.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	46	21
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	40	18

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB22 774 → 28 604

RB28 736 → 36 092

Total cost of modifications218 500

336 000

Talisman cost2 100

Crew training185 000

Experts640 000

Aces1 700

Research Aces720 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

450 / 600 / 100 %

196 / 196 / 196 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 8 700 Cost: 13 000 210 Rudder Replacement Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 390 Propeller Replacement Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 270 Engine Maintenance Research: 24 000 Cost: 37 000 580	Damage Control Division Research: 8 700 Cost: 13 000 210 Fire Division Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 390 Shrapnel Protection Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 270 Ventilation Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 270 New Pumps Research: 24 000 Cost: 37 000 580 Ammo Wetting Research: 24 000 Cost: 37 000 580	Anti-Air Armament Targeting Research: 8 700 Cost: 13 000 210 305mm_us_45_mk15_navy_apc_ammo_pack Research: 8 700 Cost: 13 000 210 127mm_usa_50_apc_ammo_pack Research: 8 700 Cost: 13 000 210 Auxiliary Armament Targeting Research: 16 000 Cost: 25 000 390 Primary Armament Targeting Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 270 Improved Rangefinder Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 270

Armament

Primary armament

5 х Turret2 x 12-inch/45 Mk.5 cannon

Ammunition200 rounds

Vertical guidance-5° / 15°

• 10 x 12-inch/45 Mk.5 cannons

The 12-inch/45 Mk.5 makes up North Dakota's main armament, mounted in five twin turrets. They come with an ammunition choice of HE (stock) or APCBC unlocked at tier 1. The HE shell hits hard with 33.25kg of TNT equivalent, and will demolish destroyers and larger ships' superstructures in a handful of salvoes. Against other battleships and heavy cruisers, the AP ammunition is the better choice. The AP shell can punch through 486mm of armor at 1000m, and 280mm at 10km with 11.78kg of TNT equivalent. This allows for the penetration of the ammunition storages of both cruisers and other battleships, instantly destroying the enemy. The guns have a stock reload of 39 seconds and a 30 second reload with maximum skills and an ace crew.

Secondary armament

14 х Turret5-inch/50 Mk.5 cannon

Ammunition240 rounds

• 14 x 5-inch/45 Mk.5 cannons (7 per side)

Comes with Common shells stock and an APC round as a tier I modification. Both shell choices have a measly HE filler and mediocre penetration, and the guns fire at a lackluster 7 rounds a minute. The best use of these guns is to destroy small PT boats at close range or get some extra damage on destroyers or cruisers between main gun salvoes.

Anti-aircraft armament

2 х Turret3-inch/50 Mk.10 cannon

Ammunition200 rounds

• 2 x 3-inch/50 Mk.10 cannons (1 per side)

These guns make up the North Dakota's anti-air battery. They are mounted amidships and rather high up. These guns provide very little defense, with a small range, only two guns, a slow reload(for an AA gun), and only time fused shells.

Additional armament

Setup 112 x 533 mm Bliss-Leavitt Mk.1 torpedo

The USS North Dakota possess two 533 mm Bliss Leavitt Mk.1 Launchers with 6 torpedoes each, making up a total of 12 torpedoes available to fire. These torpedoes are very poor, being designed before World War One. With a short 3.66km run distance and only 50km/h speed, hits will be very rare with these weapons. If by some miracle one of these torpedoes does connect to a target, the pathetic 91kg warhead will deal minimal damage.

Usage in battles

Your main goal as a battleship (dreadnaught) in Realistic battles that also include "Naval EC" is to fight and control the battlefield with your high-calibre shells, mainly targeting heavy cruisers and battleships, which will be seriously damaged by good AP hits. It is not advisable to shoot at light cruisers due to your high penetration armour-piercing shells (487 mm at 1 km). Though you still can shoot at them, however, your effectiveness will go down when compared to shooting at heavy cruisers and battleships. These rounds will still do major damage to the interior of the ship. Stay near allies that can be helpful with taking down enemies larger than heavy cruisers. It is recommended not to be part of the main force to push onto the battlefield, your ship is slower compared to the other ships that you will be fighting, and if a fight goes sour you can easily be overrun and defeated by the enemy due to focus firing while trying to retreat to a more advantageous position.

Stay near friendly ships that can support in the anti-air area, this battleship has very poor anti-air defence capabilities and what little anti-aircraft it does receive are 2 x 3-inch guns. A list of ships to stay near during battles, these ships can support you with a volume of different but strong anti-aircraft support. There are other ships that can support your ship but with the size and speed of this ship, the ships you need to stay by either need, long-range anti-aircraft, or mass of shells anti-aircraft. A good list is below:

• USS Sumner (DD-692)
• USS Phelps (DD-360)
• USS Cleveland (CL-55)
• USS Helena (CL-50)
• USS Northampton (CA-26)
• USS New Orleans (CA-32)

• Type 1936A (Mob)
• Leipzig
• Nürnberg
• Prinz Eugen
• Admiral Hipper
• Admiral Graf Spee

• HMS Arethusa
• HMS Hawkins (D86)
• HMNZS Leander
• HMS York (90)
• HMS London (69)
• IJN Tone
• IJN Suzuya
• IJN Mogami
• IJN Mikuma

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Large calibre shells
• Can take quite a bit of damage
• Comes with torpedoes for additional firepower

Cons:

• Slow
• Lack of anti-aircraft support
• Long reloads
• Considered a priority target by opponents due to the high BR and heavy firepower, particularly aircraft

History

USS North Dakota underway, 1912.

USS North Dakota (BB-29) was the second ship of the two-ship Delaware class of dreadnoughts, built for the United States Navy (USN) prior to the start of the First World War. The ships were an improved version of the preceding South Carolina class, and carried a heavy armament of high-calibre cannons all mounted on the centreline. North Dakota never saw combat action due to the neutrality of the United States, and served in a variety of training roles during and after the First World War. She was later converted into a radio-controlled target ship, and scrapped by 1931 in compliance with the London naval treaty.

Design and development

In 1906, HMS Dreadnought was launched, heralding a new type of super-powerful battleships - the dreadnoughts. The dreadnoughts represented a major shift in naval doctrine, as naval architects had come to favour a larger main battery over a smaller main battery coupled with more secondary guns. As a result, the first American dreadnoughts, the South Carolina class, was launched in 1908. This class featured a variety of innovations, the most important being the positioning of the main battery on the centreline in superfiring pairs - this doctrine was subsequently used by the ships of every major nation. The next class, the Delaware class, continued the trend and mounted a fifth turret. As well, the ship had improved mobility over the dreadfully slow South Carolinas, being capable of making 21 knots. The lead ship, Delaware, was launched in 1909, while the North Dakota was actually launched earlier, in November of 1908.

USS North Dakota displaced 22 400 tons at full load, almost 4000 tons more than the preceding South Carolina class. The ship’s complement consisted of 933 officers and men. Main armament consisted of ten 12-inch (305 mm) guns on five twin turrets - two were located forwards of the superstructure in a superfiring pair while three were located aft, one of them facing forwards in a non-superfiring position. The ship’s secondary armament consisted of fourteen 5-inch (127 mm) guns in casemate mountings, two 3-pdr 47 mm guns, and four 1-pdr 37 mm anti-aircraft guns. The ship also carried two submerged 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. Powered by steam turbines delivering 25 000 shaft horsepower, North Dakota was capable of making 21 knots (39 km/h) - this later became the standard for all American battleships.

Operational history

After her commissioning, USS North Dakota fulfilled a variety of training roles and also crossed the Atlantic on her first goodwill voyage to the United Kingdom and France. Following the breakout of war in Europe, North Dakota was assigned to the Atlantic fleet and participated in vigorous training exercises intended to keep sailors ready in the case of an American entry into the First World War. When war was finally declared in 1917, North Dakota remained in the United States, while her sister ship Delaware was sent overseas to fight. As a result, she never saw any active combat. After the end of WWI, North Dakota was used as a training ship for a short period of time before being converted to a radio-controlled target ship. She was eventually scrapped in 1931 after the introduction of the London Naval Treaty.

Devblog

When the British Dreadnought was built, the United States had been completing their own “all-big-guns” battleship, the South Carolina class. Despite the fact that the new ships were not generally inferior to the British competitor, they were criticized for their small hull size and weak auxiliary artillery.

As a result, the Delaware-class battleships were developed during the mid 1900s. Being larger, better armed and more protected than the preceding South Carolinas, the Delaware-class battleships were ordered for construction and laid down in 1907. The two ships of the class, USS Delaware and USS North Dakota, were both commissioned into service with the USN in April 1910. Although sister ships, USS North Dakota featured a different propulsion system than USS Delaware - namely a steam turbine instead of a traditional steam engine.

Both ships saw only limited action, despite serving through the WWI period. While USS Delaware was operating overseas in European waters, USS North Dakota was kept close to the American shoreline due to concerns about its novel propulsion system. Following the end of WWI, both ships mostly continued their peaceful service until the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922.

Upon the treaty’s signing, the Navy’s strength was limited, particularly in battleships. As a result, both of the Delaware-class battleships were gradually put out of service during the 1920s while newer battleships were built to replace them. USS Delaware was broken up for scrap in 1924, while USS North Dakota  eventually met the same fate in 1931, after serving as a target ship for several years.

Media

• USS North Dakota (BB-29) Devblog Images
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

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

External links

• [Devblog] USS North Dakota: Dreadnought of the New World

References

• Navy History and Heritage Command. (2019). North Dakota (BB 29). Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-navy-ships/battleships/north-dakota-bb-29.html

Fore River Shipyard
Battleships (BB)
Delaware-class	USS North Dakota
Nevada-class	USS Nevada
Note	Fore River Shipyard was purchased by Bethlehem Steel Corp. in 1913.

USA battleships
Delaware-class	USS North Dakota
Wyoming-class	USS Wyoming · USS Arkansas
New York-class	USS Texas
Nevada-class	USS Nevada
Pennsylvania-class	USS Arizona
New Mexico-class	USS Mississippi
Tennessee-class	USS Tennessee