USS Des Moines (CA-134)

## USS Des Moines

The Des Moines, as seen in game. Note that the table statistics do not reflect flag bonuses

## Armament

### Primary Batteries

Nine 200mm (8 inch) guns.Damage: 21,285 to 28,054

Reload Time: 13 to 10 seconds

### Secondary Batteries

Six dual mounts.Range: 930 to 1,109 meters

Damage: 8,469 to 10,099

Reload Time: 11 to 8 seconds

### Anti-Aircraft Guns

▪Twelve "class 1" DPS: 480 to 607

▪Twelve "class 2"

DPS: 200 to 253

### Aircraft Catapults (Interceptors)

None.

USS *Des Moines* was an American heavy cruiser featured in the game.

## Background History

**USS *Des Moines* (CA-134)** was the lead ship of the *Des Moines-*class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy. She was the first ship to sport the auto loading mark 16 8-inch/55 caliber gun. Laid down in 28 May 1945 and commissioned in 16 November 1948, she served in no major wars. *Des Moines* served as the flagship of the 6th Task Force for a long time, and proudly represented American power and interests in other countries. She participated in NATO exercises and patrols in Suez Crisis and the Lebanon crisis of 1958.

*Des Moines* was decommissioned in 1961 and mothballed. When she was determined too difficult for a modernized refit, and reactivation and update costs were nearly the same amount as that of the *Iowa,* she was attempted to be turned into a museum ship. However, that failed, and she was later scrapped by ESCO Marine, Inc., Brownsville, TX on 16 August 2007.

## Overview

*Des Moines* should be used in a frontal manner as she has the majority of her firepower concentrated on her bow. doing so makes her a extremely hard target to hit and it can also deflect some shells. This makes des Moines a nasty opponent for most larger foes with the only legitimate counter to the bow and reverse strategy being either focus firing by the team or having a carrier to deal with her which is difficult given her quick acceleration and AA firepower. an alternate playstle is as an *de facto* mid tier battleship which when done correctly can also get good results but not effective as *Brooklyn* in terms of speed. She is a surprisingly notorious cruiser and is widely feared by opponents, who will gun down a *Des Moines* relatively quickly if not carefully used. Like the Brooklyn but unlike the *Atago*, the cruiser has no torpedoes and while it can deal 28k damage every 8 seconds, still falls behind on ultimate damage compared to Atago. She is very fast, reaching more than 41 knots with Brazilian flags and other speed flags. She can rush weak enemies and flee if necessary, making her more than suitable for an assassins' role.

## Tactics

The *Des Moines* stands out among cruisers due to her improved primary armament, decent secondaries, and powerful AA guns. She also has improved mobility and also has high HP. She mainly plays the role of an escort or a raiding hunter in a match.

**When playing as a Des Moines**

The *Des Moines* high firepower makes it a dangerous opponent on a gun to gun skirmish, so do not be afraid to engage other non capital ships. Her high HP ensures her survival during one, and her high mobility means that it will not struggle to dodge torpedoes. But keep in mind that the *Des Moines* is a large cruiser, larger than even the battleship Fuso. Avoid being the main attention of the rival team, as the *Des Moines* has difficulty taking damage when under heavy fire.

Her frontal batteries and rather thin profile, allowing her to deflect shells, allows you to put the hurt on enemies while negating most incoming damage. Her firepower is higher than most cruisers and can take down weak battleships with ease. Her broadsides can be devastating to destroyers and cruisers alike. An above-average AA suite, speed and mobility, due to her cruiser's nature, make it even harder for carriers to accurately pinpoint a strike.

**When playing along with a Des Moines**

An ally *Des Moines* is a very useful anti aircraft weapon, so do not waste time following one. The combination of the ally *Des Moines* firepower with that of your attacks can usually topple down even the most powerful rival ship. Also, it is usually advised to keep in pace of your fellow *Des Moines*, since they are quite the speedy vessels. If you're in a destroyer, you can act as a distraction while your ally tears them to pieces. Large, fast battleships can apply additional fire support.

A great combination, although not widely known, is a *Des Moines* and an *Admiral Hipper*. Both players must be well experienced in these ships. Both ships are powerful in close range and frontal bow charges are rather effective against a small fleet. Once in close range, both ships broadside enemy vessels together while the *Admiral Hipper* launches all torpedoes.

**When against a Des Moines**

The *Des Moines* natural predators are the battleships, along with any other cruiser. The *Des Moines* large size but low HP makes it vulnerable to any form of attack, even at the distance. It is not advised to rely solely on carrier aircraft to sink this ship, since its formidable AA can wipe out entire formations. Ships that have a massive broadside are most likely to deal more damage to a frontal-bow charge from a Des Moines. Larger and more powerful battleships, *South Dakota, Fuso, Kongo,* and *Dunkerque* give a lethal dose of hell to any *Des Moines*. *Des Moines* and *Brooklyns* are really well suited as cruisers.

## Advantages and Disadvantages

**Advantages**

* High HP for a cruiser.
* Satisfactory main gun damage and reload.
* Decent auxiliary armament.
* High mobility.
* Decent AA.
* Has a great ability, which allows it to "drift". This allows her to stay extremely mobile despite having a rather average turn time.

**Disadvantages**

* Large size, comparable to that of a battleship.
* Lacks interceptors.
* Quite coarse dispersion beyond 3KM.

## Editor/Contributor's Opinion

1) **XercesDenial** :- " One of my most played ships.. seems hard at first.. but.. play on her strengths **[**stay angled and don't go broadside] and she won't disappoint.. "

2) **Thathsilu898** :- " Ah yes, Another example of a ship that gave me really great playing experiences.. Why are you on low tier though? "

## Trivia

* Both *Fuso* and *Des Moines* used to suffer a visual glitch that made their camouflage appear zoomed in. This was later on fixed.
* *Des Moines* actually has a 6 second reload in real life thanks to the automatic reload system, but considering how broken a 6 second reload with a mid tier battleship damage cruiser would be, it was decided to limit her reload to 8 seconds.
* The ship was originally designed to carry scout planes, but were later on removed.
* The *Des Moines* is pronounced as /di-'móin/ (di-moIN).
* Her sister ship, *Salem,* is a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts.
* USS *Des Moines*’ bell, nameplate and plaque is on display at Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa.

**In game Inaccuracies**

* The 3"/50 Anti Aircraft mount at the tip of the ship's bow was later removed due to problems caused by seawater constantly flooding the bow.