The first American heavy cruiser that became available in WoWs was the Pensacola, and it is on it that players will have to master the features of management and practice tactical techniques.
The Pensacola is a level VI ship that becomes available after Omaha, will require 33,000 experience to learn, and will cost 2.8 million credits to purchase.
We also advise you to read a helpful article: Where is the Citadel in World of Warships
What is the Pensacola in World of Warships, what are its pros and cons, we will analyze further, as well as give tips on the game.
Pensacola – “Glass Cannon” in World of Warships
“Glass Cannon” is a unit with damage that far outweighs survivability. Still, it cannot be unequivocally stated that the American cruiser is designed to inflict maximum damage at the expense of durability and armor.
The Pensacola was originally designed to fight destroyers, for which she has sufficient gun damage and armor, but the weak citadel protection makes the ship vulnerable to being hit inboard.
Pros of the Ship
The advantages of the American cruiser include:
- Excellent for its level, 203-mm guns can inflict up to 46,000 damage with a 100% hit salvo of armor-piercing shells from 10 barrels of the main caliber, the range of which is 14.25 km.
- The high armor penetration angles are an excellent addition to the high firepower, which increases the number of hits.
- Suitable for its level air defense system, it could cope with raids of gliders that took off from the aircraft carrier level VIII and provided maneuvering to reduce the number of hits.
- Maneuverability is also quite good due to the combination of:
- a top speed of 32.5 knots;
- a turning radius of 620 meters;
- the ability to change rudders in 9.1 seconds.
Cons
The disadvantages of Pensacola can include:
- Thin aft armor, which does not allow it to withstand hits from shells of a caliber more significant than 356 mm, which is guaranteed to penetrate it, accompanied by heavy damage due to the weak armor of the citadel;
- 45 seconds are required to turn the main caliber guns, which makes it problematic to keep the enemy in the crosshairs at close range;
- low rate of fire due to a 15-second reload;
- no torpedo tubes, so there is nothing to fight within close quarters;
- poor camouflage, even after improvement, is 12.4 km and corresponds to the indicators of battleships.
Tips and Recommendations for Playing on the Pensacola
The optimal tactic is constant maneuvering, with an approach to the flank of the enemy formation for volleys from the main caliber from long and medium range.
Approaching torpedo carriers (destroyers and cruisers) should be avoided because a torpedo attack will be lethal and a counterattack impossible.
A good air defense system obliges them to stay close to allied ships to protect them from air raids.
Turning around should be avoided, but the angles of fire of the guns allow salvos to be fired at an angle to the enemy, so that hits to the 25mm fore/aft armor will not cause serious damage.
