World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Bretagne

Beta
Bow-tank battleshipA bow-on anchor: thick plate eats incoming fire while the team trades from behind.
Playstyle
  • Sit 12-15 km from the brawl line and exploit the range advantage
  • Avoid: Treating her like a fast battleship because of the line name
Key characteristics
15 km gun rangeFlat HE shellsLong-reach AABow-tankerFragileEasily spotted
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Community Data

Bretagne Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Bretagne is a Tier IV French bow-tank battleship: top-decile bow and deck plate shrugs what peer guns cannot crack, so she holds the line bow-in and soaks fire while the team trades around her. Standout traits: best flat HE shells in T4 BBs (921) and best AA reach in T4 BBs (5 km).

Positioning

Sit 12-15 km from the brawl line and exploit the range advantage. You do not need to push into peer fire to land damage; rotate one or two map cells back if a flank starts to collapse.

Potato Avoidance

Treating her like a fast battleship because of the line…

Despite the Fast Battleships line she is slow for her tier (21 kn), so she cannot reposition or slip focus fire the way her faster line-mates can. Pick your lane early, angle hard, and trade from a spot you can hold rather than expecting to escape on speed.

Signature Traits

ELITE MAIN BATTERY
  • Flat HE shells · 921.0 m
  • Long gun range · 15.34 km
  • Long-range sniper BB
Long-reach AA

5.0 km AA reach, best of T4 BBs.

Bow-tanker

Bow plate thicker than the cohort overmatch threshold. Angle straight on and shrug off same-tier guns.

Easily spotted

14.51 km surface detect, worst of T4 BBs. Visible before you can react; position early.

Acquisition

How to get Bretagne

Bretagne is available in the Fast Battleships branch of the France Tech Tree for 500,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 125,000 credits.

Show France tech-tree branch diagram
France Tech Tree

Bretagne sits in the Fast Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full France tree.

Builds Beta

Pair with a commander whose unique skill complements her main armament; check the build tool for current recommendations.

Open in Build Tool →

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Cohort position

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Where Bretagne sits among Tier IV BBs (24 ships). Notable standouts are shown first; the rest of the cohort-ranked stats are in the expand below. Acquisition variants (Black Friday, Founders Edition) are counted once with their base ship, not as separate peers.

BestHE velocity921 m/s (1/24) BestAA range5 km (1 of 5 tied) Top 10%Main battery range15.34 km (2/24) Top 10%AA threat985 (2/23) Top 25%Displacement26,600 t (5/24) Top 25%AA DPS197 (4/24) Bottom 25%Hit points41,700 HP (22/24) Bottom 25%Max speed21 kt (21/24) Bottom 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio2.81 × (21/24) Bottom 25%AP velocity780 m/s (21/24) Bottom 25%Engine power29,000 hp (19/24) WorstConcealment14.51 km (24/24) WorstNo torpedoes (21 of 24 in cohort)
See 30 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Bretagne -- here's where she sits on every other ranked stat in the cohort. Stats tagged NORM are tied across more than half the cohort, so the value is the cohort default rather than a standout.

Air detection10.79 km(17/24) Rudder shift12.5 s(9/24) Main battery caliber340 mm(13/24) Main battery reload30 s(12/24) Sigma1.8(11/24) HE shell damage4,700(16/24) HE fire chance26%(15/24) Fires per minute5.2(15/24) HE DPM94,000(8/24) AP shell damage9,500(13/24) AP DPM190,000(8/24) Main dispersion202.6 m(17/24) Secondary DPM (per side)132,000(16/24) HE alpha2,000(9/23) Secondary fire chance8%(17/23) Secondary HE pen23 mm(13/23) Acceleration36.3 s(15/24) AP arming threshold57 mm(13/24) Turn-speed retention50 hp/m(18/24) Power-to-weight1.09 hp/t(17/24) Repair charges3(11/24) Max armor300 mm(11/24) Citadel belt250 mm(11/24) Bow armor19 mm(11/24) Stern armor19 mm(12/24) Deck armor50 mm(15/24) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(13 of 24 tied at this value) NormSecondary range4 km(14 of 24 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(20 of 24 tied at this value)
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 38,300 → 41,700
Displacement26,600 t
Armor range10–300 mm
Plate armor thicknesses10, 13, 19, 20, 26, 30, 40, 48, 50, 70, 90, 100, 120, 142, 145, 150, 160, 175, 180, 200, 238, 250, 270, 300 mm
Armor material/layer entries92
Fire resistanceInitial: 13.3% → 16.6%
Fire duration60 s
Torp Reduction10%
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 340 mm/45 Mle 1912
Mounts / barrels5 mounts / 10 barrels
Reload time30 s
Firing range (base)13.9 km
Firing range (top fire control)15.3 km
Turret traverse3 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)1.8
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: σH=(R30·idealRadiusminRadiusidealDistance+minRadius)·30 =(1394230·122.21000+2.2)·30=202.6m
202.6 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: σV=σH·radiusOnMax =202.6·0.6=121.6m
121.6 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius: σH,50=σH·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =202.6·0.344(σ=1.8)=69.7m
69.7 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius: σV,50=σV·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =121.6·0.344(σ=1.8)=41.8m
41.8 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.
60 s
Base shells/min
ƒ10 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 20.
20
HE shells
HE Damage4,700
HE Velocity921 m/s
Fire Chance26%
HE penetration
ƒ57 mm ≈ 340 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
57 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ4,700 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 47,000.
47,000
Base HE DPM
ƒ47,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 94,000.
94,000
Base fires/min
ƒ20 shells/min x 26% fire chance = 5.2.
5.2
AP shells
AP Damage9,500
AP Velocity780 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold57 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(340 mm caliber / 14.3) = 23 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
23 mm
AP Pen Close
ƒCanonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: P=107·K·m0.69·d1.07·v01.38 =107·2350·5850.69·0.341.07·7801.38=592.7mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
592.7 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 417.1 m/s: P=107·2350·5850.69·0.341.07·417.11.38=249.8mm.
249.8 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ9,500 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 95,000.
95,000
Base AP DPM
ƒ95,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 190,000.
190,000
AP AOE Radius
ƒAP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.
50
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 18 → 16
Maximum AA range
ƒIn-game AA card max range: 5 km. Only the longest-reach family contributes at this distance.
5 km
40 mm/56 Bofors Mk3 (upgraded hull only)8×1 40mm
25 mm/60 CAD Mle 1939 (upgraded hull only)8×2 25mm
75 mm/50 Mle 1922 (stock hull only)8×1 75mm
37 mm/50 CA Mle 1925 (stock hull only)8×1 37mm
13.2 mm/76 CAQ Mle 1929 (stock hull only)2×4 13mm
Medium aura
DPS35
Range3.5 km
Near aura
DPS31
Range3.1 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒMedium 35 + Near 31 = 66
66
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts22 → 26
Firing range4.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
Caliber139 mm
Reload time10 s
HE Damage2,000
Muzzle Velocity840 m/s
Fire Chance8%
Armor Pen23 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Secondary dispersion type
ƒMax dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.
Standard
Max secondary dispersion @ 4 km
ƒ4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.
258 m
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 31,000 hp
Engine power29,000 hp
Maximum speed21 kt
Turning circle radius580 m
Rudder shift time12.5 s
Engine power-boost threshold7 kt
Engine spool-up time23 s
Reverse spool-up time11.5 s
Acceleration 0-90%
ƒTime to reach 90% of top speed (18.9 kt of 21 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.
36.3 s
Acceleration 0-99%
ƒTime to reach 99% of top speed (20.8 kt of 21 kt). 99% rather than 100% because true top speed is asymptotic (thrust meets drag), so the last fraction of a knot is never quite gained.
60.1 s
Traverse-to-turn ratio
ƒHow many degrees the turret can swing for each degree the hull turns. Turn rate ωhull=180π·Vmax(m/s)Rturn=180π·21.0·0.5144580=1.07°/s, so ratio=ωturretωhull=31.07=2.8×. Below 5 the turrets drag in a turning fight; 25+ keeps up with any rudder.
2.8× drags
Concealment
Detectability by sea14.51 km
Detectability by air10.79 km
Smoke firing penalty11.25 km
Detect after firing main guns
ƒmax(base sea detectability, gun-firing bloom range). Firing never pulls your detection closer than base concealment.
14.51 km
Detect Fire Sea16.51 km
Detect Fire Air13.79 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 15 s active
Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 5,838 HP (14% of max HP) total heal (per charge)
ƒHeal per second (0.5%) x effective active time (28 s) = up to 14% of max HP restored per charge.
· 17,514 HP (42% of max HP) total heal (all charges)
ƒ14% per charge x 3 charges = up to 42% of max HP if the whole Repair Party loadout is used.
· 208 HP/s (0.5% of max HP) heal per second
ƒ0.5% of max HP (41,700 HP) per second = 208 HP/s. WoWS heals a flat percent of MAX HP each second, so this rate holds at any health level.
Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% grouping · -50% dispersion
Module options (2)

Stats above use the fully-upgraded modules. These are the research-tree alternatives; trade-offs are flagged.

HullTrade-off
  • Hit points38,300 → 41,700
  • Rudder shift22.8 → 16.3 s
  • AA mounts18 → 16
  • Close-range AA DPS32 → 66
  • Maximum AA range3 → 3.5 km
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range13,942 → 15336.2 m

See all derived stats

Show

All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.

Numbers the spec table cannot show directly: alpha-strike math, DPM, dispersion, AP penetration. Click the formula chip on any row to reveal how it is calculated.

Main battery formulas

Shell Grouping (σ)1.8
Max Horiz Disp202.6 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: $\sigma_H = \left(\dfrac{R}{30}\cdot\dfrac{\text{idealRadius}-\text{minRadius}}{\text{idealDistance}} + \text{minRadius}\right)\cdot 30$ $= \left(\dfrac{13942}{30}\cdot\dfrac{12-2.2}{1000} + 2.2\right)\cdot 30 = 202.6\,\text{m}$
Shell scatter width @ 10 km164 m
How wide your shells scatter at 10 km, from the same dispersion model as the max-range figure above. Picking a fixed range makes this number directly comparable from ship to ship: max-range dispersion makes a longer-range gun look worse even when it's tighter at any common range. The interactive Dispersion tab on the Charts card plots the full curve from 0 to max range.
Max Vert Disp121.6 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $\sigma_V = \sigma_H \cdot \text{radiusOnMax}$ $= 202.6 \cdot 0.6 = 121.6\,\text{m}$
Shell scatter height @ 10 km89.1 m
How tall the same scatter ellipse is at 10 km. Comparable from ship to ship for the same reason as the width value above.
Med Horiz Disp69.7 m
50%-hit horizontal radius: $\sigma_{H,50} = \sigma_H \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 202.6 \cdot 0.344\;(\sigma = 1.8) = 69.7\,\text{m}$
Med Vert Disp41.8 m
50%-hit vertical radius: $\sigma_{V,50} = \sigma_V \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 121.6 \cdot 0.344\;(\sigma = 1.8) = 41.8\,\text{m}$
Dispersion familyEU BB Disp.
Standard BB dispersion. Used as the baseline for cross-family comparisons.
AP Pen Close592.7 mm
Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{-1.07} \cdot v_0^{1.38}$ $= 10^{-7}\cdot 2350 \cdot 585^{0.69} \cdot 0.34^{-1.07} \cdot 780^{1.38} = 592.7\,\text{mm}$. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far249.8 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 417.1 m/s: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot 2350 \cdot 585^{0.69} \cdot 0.34^{-1.07} \cdot 417.1^{1.38} = 249.8\,\text{mm}$.
HE penetration57 mm
57 mm ≈ 340 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch23 mm
floor(340 mm caliber / 14.3) = 23 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius50
AP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.
Broadside guns used for alpha10
All 10 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time60 s
180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.
HE full-salvo alpha47,000
4,700 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 47,000.
AP full-salvo alpha95,000
9,500 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 95,000.
Base HE DPM94,000
47,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 94,000.
Base AP DPM190,000
95,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 190,000.
Base shells/min20
10 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 20.
Base fires/min5.2
20 shells/min x 26% fire chance = 5.2.

AA defense

AA DPS at point-blank197
In-game AA card sum: 197 DPS, achievable only when a target is inside the shortest-range AA family. Captured as a point-blank total only -- per-family breakdown not yet recorded for this ship, so the DPS at 5 km is unknown.
Maximum AA range5 km
In-game AA card max range: 5 km. Only the longest-reach family contributes at this distance.
AA threat index985
SUM over AA auras of (aura DPS x aura range km). A plane crossing the AA bubble is exposed to each aura for a time proportional to that aura's range, so long-reach DPS is worth more than the same DPS in a short bubble. Units: DPS*km; used to rank overall AA threat across the cohort.
Near aura range3.1 km

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary dispersion typeStandard
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.
Max secondary dispersion @ 4 km258 m
4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)132,000
Sum across all secondary families of (per-side barrels × 60 / reload_s × alpha), where per-side barrels = mounts × barrels-per-mount / 2 (the guns that bear on one broadside target). Per-family: 22×1 139 mm (11/side) × 60/10 × 2000 = 132,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha2000
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2000 from the 139 mm family.
Max HE fire chance8%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 8% from the 139 mm family.
Max HE pen23 mm
Maximum HE armor penetration across secondary HE families (caliber × 1/6 for most nations; 1/4 for German/UK BBs). Shells whose pen falls under a plate's armor thickness shatter for 0 hull damage though fire chance still applies. Best on this ship: 23 mm from the 139 mm family.

Armor Beta

Hull HP 38,30041,700 with hull upgrade, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds. HP caps are the exact in-game values, not estimated.

Bow & stern19 mm

Overmatched by 76+ guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.

Belt / citadel250 mm

Citadels come from a flat broadside at close range; held past ~30° of angle, AP shatters or bounces.

Farming13 mm

Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 17%, fires burn 60s. Range-by-range in the ballistics tool →

Section Plates HP cap Threats Tactic
Bow19 mm primary (range 19–200 mm)1,200 (3% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Nassau, Von Der Tann)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)270 mm primary (range 10–270 mm)31,300 (75% of HP)
No common caliber overmatches270 mm: no common HE pens
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern19 mm primary (range 19–200 mm)1,600 (4% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Nassau, Von Der Tann)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel250 mm primary (range 13–250 mm)≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)
Citadel pen: full damageOver-pen: ×0.10 damage
Effectively no cap; citadel pool sits at ~165k HP on every ship. An AP citadel penetration deals the shell's full damage, the biggest single hit available; only over-penetrations are damped, to ×0.10.
Superstructure13 mm primary (range 13–300 mm)1,400 (3% of HP)
Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage
Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage. HE-spam target, and the section saturates fast (often only a few thousand HP).
Turret (module, per magazine)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP20,900 magazine HPMagazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HPPer-turret powder-magazine HP. Detonation chance scales from 1% (no mag damage) to 30% (full mag damage); this range is the in-game value. Detonation can't roll while the ship is above ~75% HP (the standard detonation-protection threshold, not a per-ship stat). Smaller magazines saturate to the 30% ceiling faster.
Secondary mount (139 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP800 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-mount HP for the heaviest secondary on this ship. A mount destroyed at 0 HP is out for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. Smaller (lighter-caliber) secondaries typically share the same HP value.
AA mount (40 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP200 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-mount HP for the heaviest AA on this ship. An AA mount destroyed at 0 HP stops shooting down planes for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. HE shells specifically target AA mounts since the small-caliber HP pool falls fast.
Engine (module, research)engine coefficient (unconfirmed)-0.050 research estimateLargest on BB/BC; zero on destroyersEngine durability isn't a per-ship value in the game data. This small negative coefficient is non-zero only on battleships, battlecruisers, and the heaviest cruisers, and is exactly zero on every destroyer, so it scales with hull displacement rather than any commander skill. Most likely an engine drag or power term in the same family as the deceleration stats; its exact meaning is not yet confirmed.
Rudder (module)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP12,500 module HPIncapacitated at 0 HPWhen module HP reaches 0 the rudder locks at its current angle until DCP repairs it. Repair via Damage Control Party.

Saturation cap = HP a section can absorb before further damage to it is reduced (the "bow-tank" effect). Citadel pool is ~165k on every ship (effectively no cap); damage is gated by pen/over-pen multipliers instead. Superstructure saturates fast but HE always pens regardless of the plate thickness. Rudder (and other module HPs) are a separate pool from ship HP: damaging a module doesn't drain ship HP. Incapacitated modules like the rudder and engine are restored by DCP, but secondary and AA mounts destroyed at 0 HP stay out for the rest of the battle.

Approximated side profile.
Open the 3D armor viewer →
3D armor viewer
Open in Charting Tool

Acceleration and Ballistics Chart

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Bretagne can equip, from in-game data.

  • Bretagne default exterior
    DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Primary official WG sources

Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.