Mogami's 155mm guns and AP

[Aduial]

So after getting the Ibuki, I decided to try the 155mm guns on the Mogami again. So i'm finding it pretty enjoyable, but one thing i have not yet mastered about these guns is when to use AP. I often fire AP shells at other cruisers when i think i'm close enough, but a lot of the times i find that my shells do not pen, and i have yet to get a citadel hit with those guns. Yesterday, i had the misfortune to get into 5km of a Des Moines in this ship. But he only had about 15k HP left, while i still had almost 30k. So i thought, i'll just load some AP and kill him off. So I did, fired a full salvo into his waterline at 5km, and none of them penned!! It went downhill from there, and the Des Moines ended up killing me with with a few salvos. 

So when should i be using AP with these guns, if ever? 

[Battleship_60]

Maybe when crusiers expose their broadsides? That may help...

[Grevester]

You really want to save AP for ships that are basically broadside to you. If they are angled, chances are you will struggle. I was bouncing off the nose of a Des Moines in my tirpiz the other day. Annoying ship. 

[Personator]

Don't bother using AP on the later US cruiser designs such as the Cleveland, Baltimore, & DM. Their citadels can easily withstand anything that's 155 and below.

[MrDeaf]

Forget 155mm AP, unless it's against something that has no armor, like Hipper, Kutuzov and Chappy

 

Oh, and forget trying to kill a DM in a brawl. At that point, you've lost.

Your best bet is rushing it and ramming it.

[Aduial]

Forget 155mm AP, unless it's against something that has no armor, like Hipper, Kutuzov and Chappy

 

Oh, and forget trying to kill a DM in a brawl. At that point, you've lost.

Your best bet is rushing it and ramming it.

 

Well i always have torps.....

[Sinboto]

Ramming T10 ships is always fun...

 

[MrDeaf]

 

Well i always have torps.....

 

the only way you're going to get torps off, is if you've missed your ram and are now side by side, yet have enough room for the torps to arm.

[TenguBlade]

155 Mogami's AP is, like Atlanta's, very situational.  I typically don't use it unless I see a CA broadside and under 10km.  Beyond 10km, the arcs aren't favorable to penetrating cruiser belts, and the HE will still melt battleships faster.

 

"Use AP on broadside cruisers under 10km and nuke them with citadels."

[Gavroche_]

Forget 155mm AP, unless it's against something that has no armor, like Hipper, Kutuzov and Chappy

 

Oh, and forget trying to kill a DM in a brawl. At that point, you've lost.

Your best bet is rushing it and ramming it.

 

Well i always have torps.....

Not gonna work. They'll just melt you the second you show the least broadside.

[TenguBlade]

[quote name=MrDeaf" timestamp="1469352835" post="2159896]

Forget 155mm AP, unless it's against something that has no armor, like Hipper, Kutuzov and Chappy

Disagree.  These CAs are still better to use HE on if they aren't perfectly broadside to you, and any broadside CA will suffer badly from 155 AP.

Aduial, on 24 July 2016 - 04:49 AM, said:

Well i always have torps.....

No, you really don't.  Smart DM players will aim for your torpedo tubes; with how fast her RoF is she stands a decent chance of destroying them before you can use them.

 

 

 

[1nv4d3rZ1m]

I have had better success aiming for normal pens with Mogami 155 AP, because it has so many shells it the amount of damage caused is significant. 10k salvos are what I expect vs broadside ships at <10km which is the same as a couple citadels. Exceptions are Pensacolas and other softer CAs that are broadside a couple km away where I will aim for the citadels. Really going for normal pens with either HE or AP is just devastating with the 155s the weight of fire is just so overwelming. 

[Skyfaller]

So after getting the Ibuki, I decided to try the 155mm guns on the Mogami again. So i'm finding it pretty enjoyable, but one thing i have not yet mastered about these guns is when to use AP. I often fire AP shells at other cruisers when i think i'm close enough, but a lot of the times i find that my shells do not pen, and i have yet to get a citadel hit with those guns. Yesterday, i had the misfortune to get into 5km of a Des Moines in this ship. But he only had about 15k HP left, while i still had almost 30k. So i thought, i'll just load some AP and kill him off. So I did, fired a full salvo into his waterline at 5km, and none of them penned!! It went downhill from there, and the Des Moines ended up killing me with with a few salvos.

So when should i be using AP with these guns, if ever?

 

This morning I inflicted 26k damage on an Atago in a single salvo with AP at 10km range. I did a 14k citadel hit on a Des Moines at 8km range.

 

 

They do pen and citadel it just will only do it at rather close range and you have to aim for the citadels under the turrets (I've never gotten one in the midsection of any ship with them...203s do punch through though but not 155s).

[HazeGrayUnderway]

Ignore 155-Mogami's AP.  Pretend the 2 key doesn't exist.  It's so awful.  I remember when I was still working my way up on Mogami, I had the chance to get a clean, perfectly perpendicular shot on an unsuspecting Atago at around 10km.  I fired a full salvo of 155 AP with a lot of hits.  Only 1 caused a citadel for mediocre damage.  Atago got angry.