Regarding 139mm, worth using IFHE rounds with them?

[Jakajan]

I've been running my Krasny Krym to determine if 139mm cannons are worth using IFHE rounds with.

 

For long range shots the answer seems to be a resounding YES against tier 6-7 battleships it is pretty amazing.

However at shorter ranges when the shots are not plunging this does not seem to be the case.

 

What have your experienced been with the IFHE rounds? The best uses I have seen are on Kutuzov, Chappy, Belfast and Atlanta.

[Xero_Snake]

Even better on Don Dimitri & Moskva. With IFHE, they can at least do some good penetrating damage on BBs.

 

It's doubtful if it work well on Krym, though. It sounds close to experimenting 130mm DD guns with IFHE.

[Aduial]

However at shorter ranges when the shots are not plunging this does not seem to be the case.

 

On ships like NM or Colorado it doesn't matter where you hit, because those ships are pretty much covered with 25mm plates. 

[Jakajan]

Well, you can mathematically solve with the Krym what it can penetrate and all 139mm guns.

 

Without IFHE 139 / 6 = 23.166

With IFHE 139 / 6 * 1.3 = 30.1166

 

What this means in laymans terms is 139mm guns can penetrate the entire top deck area of the Fuso, Nagato, New Mexico, and Colorado deck where before the only zones damageable was the super structure. Also vs the Bayern the majority of the deck area is now hittable where as before only the super structure was. There is a 40mm plate that would bounce rounds but the area is small.

 

The gains are enormous in the tiers 6-7 There is no gain in the 8-10 bracket for 139mm.

 

152-180mm guns see an enormous gain in tier 6-9 match making btw making them more optimal.

[CapnCappy]

I have it on Chappy and Belfast. They melt BBs now and seem to start more fires then before. Also a nice hit on a DD always knocks out 1-2 modules, usually engine or steering.

[wadavid]

Just to be accurate, they are 130mm guns, not 139mm. But the crossing of the 25mm boundary (much of the fore/aft plating on every BB the Krasny Krym will fight against) remains the same.

 

130mm HE pens 21.6mm of armor

130mm IFHE pens 28.16mm of armor

 

So yeah, at mid-tiers, you get your money's worth out of 127-130mm IFHE against anything with 25mm plating--which happens to be every BB until tier VIII

[MrDeaf]

Soviets don't use a 139mm gun.

 

Soviets use 130mm

Italians have a 135mm

French have a 138.6mm