Iron Duke
Beta- Anchor a flank at 12-15 km with bow toward the closest threat
- Avoid: Leading the push alone
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Iron Duke Community Stats
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Iron Duke Community Stats
Record History
Playstyle
Overview
Iron Duke is a Tier IV British fire-starter battleship: her improved-penetration HE farms fires and chips angled targets her AP cannot crack, so the kit is sustained HE pressure from range rather than bow-in trading. HE pen sits at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6, so HE spam is a real damage option here - pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE round. Standout traits: best burny secondaries in T4 BBs (12) and best AA reach in T4 BBs (5 km).
Positioning
Anchor a flank at 12-15 km with bow toward the closest threat. Rotate one or two map cells with the team rather than holding solo; a battleship alone on a flank is a free focus target for the enemy.
Potato Avoidance
Leading the push alone
A battleship caught broadside by two same-tier guns at mid range loses more HP than any single salvo trades back, so rotate with the team or hold your angle instead of charging in first.
Signature Traits
HE pen at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6. HE-spam is a real damage option here, not just a fire-starter; pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE, shared by 6/24 T4 BBs.
- High fire chance · 40.0%
- High fire pressure · 8.0 fires
12.0% best HE fire chance per secondary shell (before target resistance), best of T4 BBs. Stacks fires faster than peers in a brawl.
5.0 km AA reach, best of T4 BBs.
759.0 m/s AP muzzle velocity, bottom decile of T4 BBs. Lobby trajectory, more lead, easier to dodge at range.
38.0 mm citadel belt, bottom decile of T4 BBs. Citadels through angle are possible.
How to get Iron Duke
Iron Duke is available in the Flamethrowing Battleships branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 500,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 125,000 credits.
Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram
Iron Duke sits in the Flamethrowing Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.
Builds Beta
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.
Cohort position
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Where Iron Duke 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.
See 25 mid-pack stats
Not standouts for Iron Duke -- 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
Stats & specs
Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chartƒ
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model:ƒ
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range:ƒ
50%-hit horizontal radius:ƒ
50%-hit vertical radius:ƒ
180 degrees / 2.5 deg/s traverse speed = 72 s.ƒ
10 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 20.HE shells
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86 mm ≈ 343 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).ƒ
5,000 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 50,000.ƒ
50,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 100,000.ƒ
20 shells/min x 40% fire chance = 8.AP shells
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floor(343 mm caliber / 14.3) = 23 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).ƒ
Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: . Matches the in-game spec card.ƒ
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 413.1 m/s: .ƒ
9,900 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 99,000.ƒ
99,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,000.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
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (59×3.5×0.75) + (6×3.5×0.7) + (9×3.5×0.75) = 193. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.ƒ
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.ƒ
Includes 9 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.ƒ
Far 9 + Medium 59 = 68ƒ
Far 9 + Medium 59 + Near 6 = 74ƒ
This ship's secondary families don't share one dispersion bracket. Each family is listed below with its own slope; max dispersion = secondary range (km) × that family's slope + 30 m.Show 1 more gun family
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Time to reach 90% of top speed (20.2 kt of 22.5 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.ƒ
Time to reach 99% of top speed (22.3 kt of 22.5 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
How many degrees the turret can swing for each degree the hull turns. Turn rate , so . Below 5 the turrets drag in a turning fight; 25+ keeps up with any rudder.ƒ
max(base sea detectability, gun-firing bloom range). Firing never pulls your detection closer than base concealment.
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 15 s active
Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 6,594 HP (14% of max HP) total heal (per charge) ƒ
Heal per second (0.5%) x effective active time (28 s) = up to 14% of max HP restored per charge.ƒ
14% per charge x 3 charges = up to 42% of max HP if the whole Repair Party loadout is used.ƒ
0.5% of max HP (47,100 HP) per second = 236 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
See all derived stats
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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
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: $\sigma_H = \left(\dfrac{R}{30}\cdot\dfrac{\text{idealRadius}-\text{minRadius}}{\text{idealDistance}} + \text{minRadius}\right)\cdot 30$ $= \left(\dfrac{13526}{30}\cdot\dfrac{12-2}{1000} + 2\right)\cdot 30 = 195.3\,\text{m}$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.Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $\sigma_V = \sigma_H \cdot \text{radiusOnMax}$ $= 195.3 \cdot 0.6 = 117.2\,\text{m}$How tall the same scatter ellipse is at 10 km. Comparable from ship to ship for the same reason as the width value above.50%-hit horizontal radius: $\sigma_{H,50} = \sigma_H \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 195.3 \cdot 0.344\;(\sigma = 1.8) = 67.1\,\text{m}$50%-hit vertical radius: $\sigma_{V,50} = \sigma_V \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 117.2 \cdot 0.344\;(\sigma = 1.8) = 40.3\,\text{m}$Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{-1.07} \cdot v_0^{1.38}$ $= 10^{-7}\cdot 2031 \cdot 635^{0.69} \cdot 0.343^{-1.07} \cdot 759^{1.38} = 517.1\,\text{mm}$. Matches the in-game spec card.Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 413.1 m/s: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot 2031 \cdot 635^{0.69} \cdot 0.343^{-1.07} \cdot 413.1^{1.38} = 223.4\,\text{mm}$.86 mm ≈ 343 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).This ship's HE shells use a 1/4 (~0.25) caliber-to-pen ratio instead of the standard 1/6 (~0.167) - 0.251 in this case. Lets HE pen ~85mm armor instead of ~57mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.floor(343 mm caliber / 14.3) = 23 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).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.All 10 barrels bear on the broadside.180 degrees / 2.5 deg/s traverse speed = 72 s.5,000 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 50,000.9,900 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 99,000.50,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 100,000.99,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 198,000.10 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 20.20 shells/min x 40% fire chance = 8.AA defense
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (59×3.5×0.75) + (6×3.5×0.7) + (9×3.5×0.75) = 193. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.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.Secondary battery dispersion
This ship's secondary families don't share one dispersion bracket. Each family is listed below with its own slope; max dispersion = secondary range (km) × that family's slope + 30 m.Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30 for this family. Slope is set per gun model.4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.Max dispersion = range (km) × 33 + 30 for this family. Slope is set per gun model.4.5 km × 33 + 30 = 178.5 m.Secondary battery firepower
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: 2×2 102 mm (2/side) × 60/3 × 1500 = 60,000 + 12×1 152 mm (6/side) × 60/8.6 × 2200 = 92,093. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2200 from the 152 mm family.Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 12% from the 152 mm family.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: 25 mm from the 152 mm family.Armor Beta
Hull HP 41,200 → 47,100 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.
Overmatched by 76+ guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.
Citadels come from a flat broadside at close range; held past ~30° of angle, AP shatters or bounces.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 19 mm primary (range 19–152 mm) | 2,600 (6% 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) | 25 mm primary (range 19–305 mm) | 35,300 (75% of HP) | Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+ | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 19 mm primary (range 19–152 mm) | 1,600 (3% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ (Nassau, Von Der Tann)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 305 mm primary (range 19–38 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. |
| Superstructure | 13 mm primary (range 13–279 mm) | 1,600 (3% of HP) | Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damageDamage multiplier ×0.6 | 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 HP | 23,600 magazine HP | Magazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HP | Per-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 (152 mm mount) | separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP | 800 per-mount HP | Destroyed at 0 HP | Per-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 HP | 200 per-mount HP | Destroyed at 0 HP | Per-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) | -0.067 research estimate | Largest on BB/BC; zero on destroyers | Engine 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 HP | 14,100 module HP | Incapacitated at 0 HP | When 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.
3D armor viewer
Acceleration and Ballistics Chart
Skins & permanent camouflages
Every custom exterior Iron Duke can equip, from in-game data.
DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
Primary official WG sources
GamingDiver has indexed official WG mentions for this ship, but none are focused enough to show as a primary source card here. Low-context list, crate, comparison, or passing mentions are intentionally filtered out.
