Hughes
Also called: 休斯 Beta- Hold a flank position your team can rotate behind, not a center lane your team has to defend you in
- Avoid: Idling beam-on in an obvious torpedo lane
On this page
Hughes Community Stats
Across 1,000+ Standard battles from 110+ players, Hughes averages a 64% win rate, 38,800 damage and 1.2 kills per battle, and survives 49% of them.
Hughes Community Stats
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Hughes Community Stats
Record History
Playstyle
Overview
Hughes is a Tier VI American super-radar destroyer (8 km) and an equal 8 km torpedo-detection radius so the same scan that lights an enemy DD also paints incoming torps. The kit isn't stealth-and-ambush -- the radar IS the kit; she takes caps by lighting up the contest from inside her own scan, not by sneaking in under detection. Standout traits: heavy AP shells in T6 DDs (3,300, 3rd of 37) and best close-range AP pen in T6 DDs (248.1 mm, 1st of 37).
Positioning
Hold a flank position your team can rotate behind, not a center lane your team has to defend you in. Your guns lose penetration at range, so aim AP at broadsides you can still citadel and put HE into superstructures and upper-hull sections, rather than the bow-in or belt armor your shells bounce and shatter on. Shooting from the cloud gives you away at 2.6 km, and a destroyer here is spotted at about 6.9 km, so you see it coming with roughly 4.2 km to spare. Vision is mutual: past the 2 km guaranteed ring you cannot see out either, but your own Radar (8 km) reads through it, so you can find targets instead of borrowing them. Enemy sonar (about 4.2 km) and radar (about 9 km) read straight in regardless. She is genuinely evasive in both phases of a turn, answering the helm in 2.7 s and carving a 500 m circle, so you can break a salvo and still be where you meant to go.
Potato Avoidance
Idling beam-on in an obvious torpedo lane
Unspotted is not unseen: once the enemy has reason to think a destroyer is holding this cap they will put torpedoes into the water you are probably in, and one fish the size of your own (20,880 damage against 17,000 HP) is more than your whole health bar. Keep way on, cross lanes bow or stern first, and never sit still beam-on to a chokepoint you would torpedo yourself.
Signature Traits
8 km range, 10 s duration. Detects all enemy ships within a fixed radius regardless of line-of-sight. A short scan - long enough to break a smoke camp or call a target for the team, not to hold a cap.
- Heavy AP shells · 3300 damage
- Close-range AP brick · 248.1 mm
- Long-range AP brick · 78.83 mm
- Long gun range · 10.9 km
- Heavy HE shells · 2150 damage
20880 damage per torpedo, top decile of T6 DDs.
5 km AA reach, best of T6 DDs.
7.1 km surface detect, bottom quartile of T6 DDs. Visible before you can react; position early.
How to get Hughes
Hughes is available in the Recon Destroyers branch of the U.S.A. Tech Tree for 9,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 2,250,000 credits. Official source cards below may also show its temporary Early Access window before it became a normal Tech Tree unlock. Container chances are shown as the listed odds of receiving this exact ship, dividing grouped ship-pool odds across the resolved ships and including nested container paths when a crate can drop another crate.
History: Early Access Jun 2026 (temporary crate drops, now ended).
While you save up, check active promo codes for free doubloons, camouflages, and other rewards.
Show U.S.A. tech-tree branch diagram
Hughes sits in the Recon Destroyers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S.A. tree.
Best listed chance for this ship
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U.S. Alt. Destroyer crate
3%
VI Hughes
Early access · U.S. Alt. Destroyer crate
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Anniversary '26 U.S. crate
2%
VI Hughes
Event · Anniversary '26 U.S. crate
Official WG availability sources
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U.S.A. 250: History-Inspired Event & New Alternative Destroyers
Early Access
Start: 2026-06-26
- You can find Tier V–VIII Early Access ships in U.S. Alt. Destroyer crates, available via the campaign, Calendar, collection, and Ranked Battles. You'll also find the new ships in the Steel Eagles random bundle in the Store.
- Tier VI Hughes
Show direct source rows
- Anniversary '26 U.S. crate 2% · VI Hughes
- U.S. Alt. Destroyer crate 3% · VI Hughes
Want the full picture? Each container page charts the odds as you open more crates - including pity guaranteed-reward timers and, for GD Supporters, pack math personalized to your port.
Builds
Pair with a commander whose unique skill complements her main armament; check the build tool for current recommendations.
Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here, or browse the Ship Builds guide for proven loadouts across the fleet.
Cohort position
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Where Hughes sits among Tier VI DDs (40 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.
See 22 mid-pack stats
Not standouts for Hughes -- 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.
Peers in this cohort
Compare Tier VI DestroyersShow all 40 peers
Stats & specs
Customize in the Build Tool →ƒ
How far each mount can train, in degrees to either side of the mount's own facing. A rear turret with ±150° leaves a 60° blind wedge over the bow; one-sided arcs are wing mounts that cover a single side. The data does not say which way each mount faces, so the arcs are listed per mount without bow/stern angles.ƒ
180° − 150° (the most restricted aft-facing mount's arc) = 30° off bow; 180° − 150° (the most restricted forward-facing mount's arc) = 30° off stern. How far off the bow (or stern) the ship must angle before every main turret can fire: the widest blind wedge among the rear-facing (or forward-facing) mounts, from each mount's trainable arc.ƒ
In practice: 25% tighter (better) horizontal dispersion and 25% less vertical spread at max range (10.9 km) than a standard destroyer: about 73 m wide × 44 m tall, against 97 m × 58 m. Also on this curve (4): Burrows, Christopher, Kane, Osborne.ƒ
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the dispersion model:ƒ
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range:ƒ
50%-hit horizontal radius:ƒ
50%-hit vertical radius:ƒ
180 degrees / 11 deg/s traverse speed = 16.4 s.ƒ
Zero upgrades: 4 broadside guns x 60 / 5 s base reload = 48. All upgrades (top gun): 4 broadside guns x 60 / 4.571 s (4.5 s = 32 ticks) all-upgrades reload = 52.5.HE shells
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21 mm ≈ 127 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).ƒ
2,150 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,600.ƒ
Zero upgrades: 8,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 103,200. All upgrades (top gun): 8,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.571 s (4.5 s = 32 ticks) all-upgrades reload = 112,875.ƒ
Zero upgrades: 48 shells/min × 0.09 (9% fire chance) = 4.32. All upgrades (top gun): 52.5 shells/min × 0.09 (9% fire chance) = 4.72.AP shells
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floor(127 mm caliber / 14.3) = 8 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).ƒ
AP formula evaluated at muzzle velocity: .ƒ
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (10.9 km), where the shell has slowed to 363.9 m/s: .ƒ
3,300 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 13,200.ƒ
Zero upgrades: 13,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5 s base reload = 158,400. All upgrades (top gun): 13,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.571 s (4.5 s = 32 ticks) all-upgrades reload = 173,250.ƒ
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.ƒ
Most targets only intersect one hull section, so a hit transfers about 1/3 of the warhead alpha (2/3 when the warhead blast >= 5000 and the burst reaches a second section). For this ship: . In battle, a hit on the torpedo belt deals the per-hit figure × (1 − the target's torpedo protection %), a bow or stern hit deals it in full, and a torpedo never counts as a citadel hit. This warhead's blast reaches a second section, so a hit lands as either a one-section hit (31,320 / 3 = 10,440) or a two-section hit (10,440 + 9,000 blast = 19,440, the ammunition figure), both before the belt reduction; the two-section hit is the more common outcome.ƒ
31,320 warhead alpha / 3 + 9,000 blast = 19,440. Warhead alpha / 3 plus the blast addend: the per-torpedo damage figure. The 'Maximum simulated damage' row above applies target geometry to the same warhead. A two-section hit deals this before the belt reduction (see the row above).ƒ
Per-torpedo module/blast damage parameter. Most torpedoes carry 500 to 2,000; ships announced by WG as dealing increased module damage carry 9,000 to 12,000, so their hits knock out engines, rudders, and turrets far more often. Comparative figure. The blast also widens the hit: these torpedoes land as either a one-section hit (alpha / 3) or a two-section hit (alpha / 3 + blast), the two-section hit more often; the Torpedoes card above gives this ship's two numbers.ƒ
How long a target has to dodge after your torpedo is spotted at its detectability range (lower means less warning): . 2.6855 converts knots to m/s on the game clock. Base value; commander torpedo-concealment skills lower it further.ƒ
This torpedo carries a flooding-chance value of 1.9 per hit, shown as . Values above 100% are normal: in battle the base chance is scaled down by the target's torpedo protection (the Torp Reduction stat on its Survivability card) and any flood-resistance modifiers, so a value above 100% keeps flooding likely even through partial protection.ƒ
Time to rotate the launchers 180 deg: .ƒ
One side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 8 x 20,880 = 167,040. Each hit on the target's torpedo belt is reduced by its torpedo protection %. A one-section hit deals 10,440 instead (see Torpedo module damage).ƒ
Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 2 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.ƒ
Effective DPS in in-game units (raw aura damage × 3.5 × hit probability, summed per contributing aura) - matches the Close-range AA DPS headline's currency. Includes 63 from dual-purpose main battery firing as AA in this range band.ƒ
Initial: 11 × 3.5 × 0.95 = 37 → 18 × 3.5 × 0.95 = 60. Raw aura damage × 3.5 × hit probability, the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.ƒ
Far 63 + Near 60 = 123ƒ
Each ~2 s salvo fires 2 AA explosions in quick succession, each leaving 1 cloud ahead of the attacking squadron - up to 2 clouds per salvo × 210 damage each. Planes that fly into a cloud take its damage; clouds dissipate before the next salvo lands. Defensive AA Fire, where fitted, multiplies the AA explosions within each salvo, and commander skills that raise the Number of AA explosions add to it.ƒ
Damage a plane takes for flying into one flak cloud, before any reductions.ƒ
Every potential cloud spawns - the full pattern, every salvo. Often called flak 'hit chance', but spawned clouds always damage planes that fly into them - the roll is on spawning.ƒ
A new flak salvo (the AA explosions above) fires roughly every 2 s.ƒ
Flak keeps firing while at least one main battery mount is operational - even losing every dedicated AA mount does not stop it.ƒ
The activation band: flak fires while attacking planes are inside it. Clouds are placed ahead of the planes' path, so clouds can land short of 2.5 km or past 5 km - once planes get inside the band, new salvos stop. AA range bonuses push the outer edge out; the 2.5 km inner edge does not move.ƒ
top speed / 4 + 4.9 = 35 / 4 + 4.9 = 13.7 kt. Base value; speed modifiers scale it.ƒ
Seconds from top speed to a dead stop after ordering full reverse: reverse power winds in over the reverse spool-up while water drag does most of the braking, using the ship's own reverse-power ratio. The full curve is on the acceleration chart. Full reverse stops about a quarter faster than a plain Stop order from top speed.ƒ
Speed below which the engine's built-in power boost applies in reverse.ƒ
Time to reach 90% of top speed (31.5 kt of 35.0 kt).ƒ
Time to reach 99% of top speed (34.6 kt of 35.0 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.ƒ
With the rudder hard over the hull turns 9.3°/s, so a target drifts across the bow at that rate. Turret traverse minus hull turn: 11 − 9.3 = +1.7°/s, so the guns hold the target through the turn. Main Battery Mod. 2 (+20% traverse) and Mod. 3 (−15%) move this line.ƒ
Base value, no camouflage. With a Grade IV permanent camo (or any disposable camo): 7.12 km x 0.955 = 6.8 km. Camouflage does not change detectability by air.ƒ
Detectability by sea 7.12 km x 0.955 (Grade IV permanent camo or any disposable camo) = 6.8 km.ƒ
Larger of 10.9 km range and 2.65 km smoke firing penalty = 10.9 km. When you fire, you can be seen out to your main battery range. Skills that shorten your range don't shorten this below your smoke firing penalty.ƒ
Air detectability 3.56 km + gun-firing bloom 2.54 km = 6.1 km. The bloom tracks main-battery caliber 127 mm × 0.020 = 2.54 km.ƒ
Sea detectability 7.12 km + 2.0 km while burning = 9.12 km.ƒ
Air detectability 3.56 km + 3.0 km while burning = 6.56 km.
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 40 s reload · 5 s active
Smoke Generator2 charges · 240 s reload · 27 s emit / 121 s cloud active · 450 m radius
Advanced Radar2 charges · 120 s reload · 10 s active · 8 km radar range ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000):ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000):ƒ
The passive radar beam rotates at 18°/s -- one full Minimap rotation every ~20 s.ƒ
A ship caught by the passive sweep stays marked on the Minimap for about 2.5 s after the beam passes.
Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · ×2 flak burst boost ƒ
Repeats the flak burst pattern ×2 within each salvo - more clouds in the air over the salvo, at the same spots.
Under the hood
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All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
The constants behind the formulas and the long tail: shell and dispersion inputs, fixed-range anchors, salvo math, layered AA. Click the formula chip on any row to see how it is calculated.
Main battery formulas
H = horizontal, V = vertical spread. This ship's curve against the standard destroyer curve, both evaluated at this ship's max range (10.9 km) with the same model as Max Horiz/Vert Disp: horizontal 73 / 97 m − 1 = -25%, vertical 44 / 58 m − 1 = -25%. Shell grouping (σ) is separate: it sets how shells bunch toward the centre of this ellipse.(166.7 × (6 − 0.4) / 1000 + 0.4) × 30 = 40 m. Horizontal scatter at a fixed 5 km, from the same dispersion model as the rows below - a knife-fight-range anchor comparable across ships.(333.3 × (6 − 0.4) / 1000 + 0.4) × 30 = 68 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.How tall the scatter ellipse is at a fixed 5 km, from the same model, comparable from ship to ship. The height/width ratio is a piecewise-linear curve through three points from the ship's own dispersion data: at 0 m, at m, and at 10901 m. Below the kink: , so .How tall the same scatter ellipse is at 10 km. Comparable from ship to ship for the same reason as the width value above. The height/width ratio is a piecewise-linear curve through three points from the ship's own dispersion data: at 0 m, at m, and at 10901 m. Above the kink: , so .AP penetration at a fixed 5 km, from the same ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the AP formula , where 602.8 m/s is the shell's speed when it arrives at 5 km (from 960 m/s at the muzzle). Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.AP penetration at a fixed 10 km, from the same ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the AP formula , where 390.2 m/s is the shell's speed when it arrives at 10 km (from 960 m/s at the muzzle). Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.How long an HE shell takes to reach a target at a fixed 10 km, from the same numerically integrated trajectory the Charts card plots. The shell slows under quadratic air drag, , where is air density from a standard-atmosphere profile and bundles the shell's drag coefficient, caliber and mass: . That runs from a 792 m/s muzzle velocity in 0.02 s steps under gravity 9.8 m/s² until the shell lands, then divides by 2.77 because the game clock runs faster than real time. Lower is better, since a faster shell is harder to dodge and needs less lead.How long an AP shell takes to reach a target at a fixed 10 km, from the same numerically integrated trajectory the Charts card plots. The shell slows under quadratic air drag, , where is air density from a standard-atmosphere profile and bundles the shell's drag coefficient, caliber and mass: . That runs from a 960 m/s muzzle velocity in 0.02 s steps under gravity 9.8 m/s² until the shell lands, then divides by 2.77 because the game clock runs faster than real time. Lower is better, since a faster shell is harder to dodge and needs less lead.4 mounts × 1 barrels = 4; all 4 bear on the broadside.Model inputs
Armor-penetration constant of the AP shell; penetration scales straight with it, so a 10% higher Krupp is 10% more penetration at every range.Enters penetration as mass^0.69 and slows the shell's drag deceleration, so a heavier shell keeps more velocity at range.Air drag on the AP shell in flight; lower keeps velocity, and with it penetration, at long range.Starting speed of the AP shell; penetration scales with velocity^1.38.Starting speed of the HE shell; sets its flight time and lead.Horizontal dispersion growth per idealDistance of range, in 30 m units; the slope of the scatter-width line.Horizontal dispersion at zero range, in 30 m units; the intercept of the scatter-width line.Range step over which horizontal dispersion grows by idealRadius.Inside this range the scatter width tapers toward minRadius instead of following the line.Vertical scatter as a share of horizontal at zero range.Vertical scatter as a share of horizontal at the delim point.Vertical scatter as a share of horizontal at maximum range.Where the vertical-scatter curve bends, as a share of maximum range.Torpedoes
900 m / (40.0 kt × 2.6855) = 8.4 s. detectability / (speed kt x 2.6855 m/s per knot on the game clock).8000 m / (40.0 kt × 2.6855) = 74.5 s. range / (speed kt x 2.6855 m/s per knot on the game clock).2 launchers × 4 tubes.2 launchers × 4 tubes = 8, all to either side (centreline launchers train across - full salvo to either side).All tubes hitting one target: tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 8 x 20,880 = 167,040. Each hit on the target's torpedo belt is reduced by its torpedo protection %. A one-section hit deals 10,440 instead (see Torpedo module damage).AA defense
Only families that reach 5 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 20mm Oerlikon MK20 Twin12 4x2 -> 60 DPS @ 2 km; Far AA (?) -> 63 DPS @ 5 km.@ 5 km: 63 from one family; @ 2 km: 60 + 63 = 123. Cumulative AA DPS at each family range threshold. Inner ranges stack the outer families, so a target closing the distance hits stronger AA bubbles as it crosses each band.60 + 63 = 123 DPS: the sum of every family's average DPS, achievable only inside the closest-range family (2 km).60 × 2 + 63 × 5 = 435. 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.Ship Charts
Background
A destroyer of the Sims class - the final series of the so-called "1,500-ton" destroyers. USS Hughes spent the entirety of World War II in the Pacific Theater. The ship took part in the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. She also provided support during landings on the Gilbert, Marshall, and Palau Islands. During the Philippines Campaign, USS Hughes was struck by a kamikaze attack but returned to service.
Armor Beta
Hull HP 14,900 → 17,000 with hull upgrade, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds. HP caps are estimates.
Overmatched by 126+ AP guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.
Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 30%, fires burn 30s. Range-by-range in the Compare tool →
| Section | Plates | HP cap | Threats | Tactic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 16 mm primary (range 15–16 mm) | ≈ 850 (~5% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ AP (Graf Spee, Scharnhorst)Angle bounces 203mm16 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. |
| Stern | 16 mm primary (range 13–16 mm) | ≈ 850 (~5% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ AP (Graf Spee, Scharnhorst)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 16 mm primary (range 10–16 mm) | 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. |
| Superstructure | 10 mm primary (range 10–16 mm) | no cap | 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). |
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.
Skins & permanent camouflages
Every custom exterior Hughes can equip.
DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
The Righteous (Hughes)Decorative
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.
