And this is why one uses IFHE

[Snargfargle]

I used the recent free commander skill reassignment event to test the average penetration of the Cleveland's 152 mm shells, using both plain HE and IFHE. The below picture is when IFHE is loaded. With only HE, the numbers are almost exactly reversed.

 

 

[Slightlyaskewed]

I've found the Cleveland with ifhe is monstrous. And it absolutely dominates in operations. 

[Saetre]

17 minutes ago, Snargfargle said:

I used the recent free commander skill reassignment event to test the average penetration of the Cleveland's 152 mm shells, using both plain HE and IFHE. The below picture is when IFHE is loaded. With only HE, the numbers are almost exactly reversed.

 

 

 

this is as scientific as an Esquire article is investigative

[Snargfargle]

15 minutes ago, _V12 said:

 

this is as scientific as an Esquire article is investigative

This is just a representative image. I ran a test using HE for 25 games and IFHE for another 25 games. The ratio of pens to non-pens with IFHE was generally close to 2:1, whereas with only HE this ratio was reversed. Looking at the armor of the ships that the Cleveland is matched against reveals why this is so.  Especially with battleships, the 152 mm HE shells almost never penetrate the bow and stern areas, thus damage is limited mostly to non-armored superstructure and fires set.

[EvansBWC]

Really glad that out of all the confusion and conflicting information surrounding IFHE that we can get a concise direction for the use of 152mm guns on CAs moving forward with it.

[Frederick_The_Great]

IFHE goes a long ways in getting guaranteed damage.   Especially when you face those tier 8s.   Fires are nice, but if rng hates you, there isn't much you can do.  The cleve on certain maps is just dirty.  Hot spot comes to mind.  You can just farm people left and right in the right spots.  

[_WaveRider_]

This has been discussed before on the forum and there are many videos on YouTube; however it never hurts to remind players of the choices out there. Thank you Snargfargle +1 

 

It basically comes down to the fact that HE isn't affected by angling - so if you can get the HE value high enough to penetrate, then you can do constant damage whatever the angle. 152mm HE with IFHE happens to reach a penetration value of 33 when rounded up, which = the ability to penetrate 32mm armour. Take a look on ship armour values to see just how much more that opens up for causing damage on enemy ships.

The value for 152mm is: 152/6 = 25.33 + 30% = 32.93 (33). So it can penetrate 32mm armour. Jingles explains it very well:

 

 

[Snargfargle]

The Cleveland does a pretty job of getting citadel penetrations, especially against other cruisers, when AP is loaded. However. I've been playing a bunch of Co-op games and paying close attention to how often you can actually get a ship broadside to you. Even with bots, this is a fairly rare occurrence. It has been my experience that keeping IFHE loaded allows me to deal more general damage than switching back and forth. Specifically now, if the opportunity presents itself and you need to get something like a torpedo cruiser sunk fast, then by all means switch to AP.