CN Type 055A

The 055A donning its "White Tiger" skin.

* Base
* Top

The CN Type 055A is a Chinese destroyer in game, obtainable only through the August 2022 battle pass and the market. Is a variant of the existing Type 055 Nanchang (NATO name: Renhai) class destroyer (defined as a cruiser by NATO standards).

## Background History

The Type 055A is a variant of the type 055 Nanchang (NATO name: Renhai) class guided missile destroyers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, with the first ship Nanchang being laid down in December 2014, launched on 28 June 2017, and formally commissioned into the PLA Navy on 12 January 2020, with a total of 4 other vessels having entered service since then.

## Overview

Type 055A is a great, multipurpose destroyer, featuring good statistics across the board and good weaponry to back it up. Owners of the ship will also have access to a free special "blue tiger" camouflage that improves the aesthetics of this ship, very much needed considering it is nearly a clone of the original 055, design wise.

## Tactics

### Recommended build

* First missile slot: DF-17, SCALP Naval, Zircon (for players with the hero status)
* Second missile slot: DF-17, SCALP Naval, Zircon (for players with the hero status)
* Main gun: H/PJ-45B, MONARC
* Torpedo: Yu-7
* First AA slot (2x): Sea RAM
* Second AA Slot (4x): Pantsir ME, Garpun
* Helicopter: WZ-19 CAIC (for fast spotting), SV-22 Osprey (extra AA and ASW), MUH-1 Marineon (extra AA and ASuW)

### Playing as a 055A

Just like every surface combatant (DDG, CG, FFG, etc), the procedure at the start of every game is the same. Launch you helicopter and spot (unless the CV does it first, at which point you can leave your helicopter hovering over your ship as an extra line of defense and offense). In maps with lots of cover, use them to your advantage by limiting the number of enemies that can shoot you, this will allow you to pretty much select targets for "death" one at a time despite multiple ships aiming at your position. In Arctic, this ship can provide effective fire support and help control entire lanes with support from teammates or a strong ship that can advance up the line. When firing missiles, always fire the 1x slot. If the enemy uses flares, fire the 2x slot and then the 1x slot once it has finished reloading. Keeping in mind your lack of total weaponry which may hamper your quests for "greatness" with this ship, however this disadvantage is compensated with it's good maneuverability and speed. Using the above factors to your advantage is the way to succeed in this ship, just like any other ship.

### Playing along a type 055A

Despite the type 055A's variety of weaponry combined with it's statistics make it a great ship, no ship is perfect, and will require fire support from time to time against heavier opponents such as the Jeongjo or the Pyotr Velikiy which can and likely will beat it in a duel. And just like every other ship in this game, it can be countered by submarines, although it'll certainly take a while to kill, for it's maneuverability allows for (with skill) avoiding torpedoes, and it's torpedo will give it an ASW capability boost.

### Playing against a type 055A

The weakness of a 055A is it's lack of specialization in any specific weapon system, if you're looking for a ship with a similar problem, look no further than USS Gravely, an utterly underpowered ship in my opinion, since it reuses the Arleigh Burke hull and replaces Burke's specialty (the 2 missiles) with 1 missile and 2 ASROCs, which severely limits it's overall battle capability. The same is the case with the 055A, lacking specialization it is utterly vulnerable to most specialized (example: Pyotr Velikiy and Jeongjo the great) and even some less specialized ships (Vella Gulf, Ushakov, Lider) when not played correctly. So against an 055A simply spam missiles and aim well with your guns and/or ASROCs, as this ship is quite fast. Again, like all ships this thing is to an extent, vulnerable to subs, so if you're a sub player take advantage of this by spamming torpedoes and missiles, from mid-long range if possible.

## Advantages and disadvantages

### Advantages

* Has a good amount of weapons on board, with 3 missiles and 2 ASROCs.
* Very fast and maneuverable
* Good HP at over 300000 points
* Incredibly well armed AA suite consisting a unique/locked missile AA slot (HHQ-9B) along with 6x conventional AA CIWS mounts in 2 separate slots, giving it one of the most formidable AA suites in the game.

### Disadvantages

* A sometimes crippling lack of specialization in any 1 weapon system, meaning it has trouble countering many things such as subs (in close range) and specialized ships such as pyotr, jeongjo, and CGX.