Salem
Tier X · Cruiser · U.S.A. · Premium
Rating S- (Near elite within its tier and class · overall score 80) · Gunnery cruiser
An American premium heavy cruiser, a rapid-fire ship firing nine 203 mm guns every 5.7 s (down from 6 s in 9.2). AP DPM is 91,288, 36% above average, and its HE sets 5.9 fires per minute on paper, 60% above average, so it steadily builds damage by switching ammo types. 3 charges of Rapid Reload II cut reload time by about 30% for 20 s, sharply boosting burst damage. Patch 9.2 also raised HP from 31,800 to 34,000 and added the Additional Damage Control Kit specialty (4 charges, 25% shorter fires and floods), which together with Repair Kits that heal about 29% each greatly improves its staying power. A 7.8 s rudder shift is nimble for its size, and 3 charges of Air Defense Alert II block aircraft well. However, no smoke and a short 11.82 km range mean it draws focus fire when exposed away from islands.
Key stats
- HP: 41,140
- Top speed: 32.25 kn
- Surface detectability: 9.3 km
- Main battery: 203 mm 3X3 · reload 5.7 s · range 11.82 km
USS Salem, a Des Moines-class cruiser, served mainly in the Mediterranean from 1950 to 1956 and regularly as the flagship of the U.S. 6th and 2nd Fleets. In 1956, she "starred" as German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in the "Pursuit of the Graf Spee" film. In 1994, the cruiser was decommissioned and converted into a museum ship, now located in Quincy, Massachusetts.