World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Z-39 B

Beta
Germany · Tier VI · Destroyer · Premium · Z-39 Variant
Gunboat destroyerA gun-first destroyer: lean on main-battery DPM and treat the torpedoes as a finisher.
Playstyle
  • Hold mid-cap distance and lean into gunboat trades from cover where the peer destroyer cannot match you…
  • Avoid: Trading guns in open water against peer DDs
Key characteristics
Heavy AP penHeavy HE shellsSmoke + SonarEngine BoostHigh fire chanceStiff AP fuse
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Community Data

Z-39 B Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Z-39 B is a Tier VI German gunboat destroyer: her damage comes from sustained main battery pressure on caps and open-water trades. Torpedoes are a secondary threat for closing lanes, not her main damage. Standout traits: best AP overmatch threshold in T6 DDs (10.4 mm) and top-decile long-range AP brick in T6 DDs (65.6 mm).

Positioning

Hold mid-cap distance and lean into gunboat trades from cover where the peer destroyer cannot match your fires-per-minute. Avoid open-water duels with ships running smoke or radar; your damage is mostly gunfire, and gunfire from cover wins more than from blue water. 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.

Potato Avoidance

Trading guns in open water against peer DDs

Your damage is sustained main-battery pressure from cover (the torpedoes are a secondary threat), so open-water duels just stack incoming HE on you while you fire back.

Signature Traits

Engine Boost

+8% speed, 120 s duration. Engine Boost consumable temporarily raises top speed. Mobility on demand to reposition, chase a kill, or break contact.

ELITE MAIN BATTERY
  • Big-caliber overmatch · 10.4 mm
  • Long-range AP brick · 65.6 mm
  • Heavy HE shells · 2200.0 damage
  • High fire chance · 12.0%
  • Deep-fuse AP · 0.03 s
Long-range sonar

5.0 km Sonar ship-detection range, best of T6 DDs. Lights DDs and torpedoes inside the bubble.

Stiff AP fuse

25.0 mm AP arming threshold, worst of T6 DDs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Acquisition

How to get Z-39 B

Z-39 B is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Containers. 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.

Best listed chance for this ship

Show all 5 containers (2 more)
  • Ultimate Crate 0.5% VI Z-39 B Event containers · Ultimate Crate → Black Friday '22 Crate
  • Piñata Chest 0.125% Tier V, VI, or VII Premium ship Event containers · Piñata Chest · 1 of 24 ships
Official WG availability sources
  • Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.
  • Through the Spy Glass: Z-44 Ship feature / release Start: 2023-08-30 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.
Show direct source rows

Builds Beta

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

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Cohort position

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Where Z-39 B sits among Tier VI DDs (41 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.

BestMain battery caliber150 mm (1 of 2 tied) BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 4 tied) Top 10%Hit points19,600 HP (3/41) Top 25%Engine power70,000 hp (7/41) Top 25%Turn-speed retention104.5 hp/m (8/41) Top 25%AA DPS193 (6/41) Top 25%AA threat596 (7/41) Bottom 25%Rudder shift4.5 s (35/41) Bottom 25%Main battery range10.44 km (36/41) Bottom 25%Fires per minute3.84 (35/41) Bottom 25%AP DPM118,400 (33/37) Bottom 10%Main battery reload7.5 s (38/41) Bottom 10%HE DPM70,400 (40/41) Bottom 10%Displacement3,691 t (39/41) WorstNo secondaries (37 of 41 in cohort) WorstAP arming threshold25 mm (1 of 2 tied)
See 20 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Z-39 B -- 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.

Max speed36 kt(28/41) Concealment6.8 km(13/41) Air detection3.4 km(13/41) Traverse-to-turn ratio5.05 ×(31/41) Main dispersion93.3 m(21/41) AP velocity835 m/s(17/37) HE velocity835 m/s(21/41) Acceleration17.4 s(21/41) Power-to-weight18.97 hp/t(27/41) AA range3.5 km(23/41) Torpedo range8.49 km(23/41) Torpedo damage≈13,400(25/41) Torpedo speed65 kt(18/41) Torpedo reload90 s(22/41) NormAP ricochet start45°(34 of 37 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(34 of 37 tied at this value) NormMax armor16 mm(26 of 41 tied at this value) NormCitadel belt16 mm(28 of 39 tied at this value) NormBow armor16 mm(32 of 39 tied at this value) NormStern armor16 mm(32 of 39 tied at this value)
Survivability
Hit Points19,600
Displacement3,691 t
Armor range10–16 mm
Plate armor thicknesses10, 15, 16 mm
Armor material/layer entries24
Fire resistance30%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction0%
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 150 mm L/48 Tbts LC/36
Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 4 barrels
Reload time7.5 s
Firing range10.4 km
Turret traverse8 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)2
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: σH=(R30·idealRadiusminRadiusidealDistance+minRadius)·30 =(1044330·80.51000+0.5)·30=93.3m
93.3 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: σV=σH·radiusOnMax =93.3·0.6=56m
56 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius: σH,50=σH·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =93.3·0.319(σ=2)=29.8m
29.8 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius: σV,50=σV·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =56·0.32(σ=2)=17.9m
17.9 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.
22.5 s
Base shells/min
ƒ4 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 32.
32
HE shells
HE Damage2,200
HE Velocity835 m/s
Fire Chance12%
HE penetration
ƒ25 mm ≈ 150 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
25 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,200 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,800.
8,800
Base HE DPM
ƒ8,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 70,400.
70,400
Base fires/min
ƒ32 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 3.84.
3.84
AP shells
AP Damage3,700
AP Velocity835 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.025 s
Fuse Threshold25 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(150 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
10 mm
AP Pen Close
ƒCanonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: P=107·K·m0.69·d1.07·v01.38 =107·1933·45.30.69·0.151.07·8351.38=220mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
220 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (13.1 km), where the shell has slowed to 347.6 m/s: P=107·1933·45.30.69·0.151.07·347.61.38=65.6mm.
65.6 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ3,700 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 14,800.
14,800
Base AP DPM
ƒ14,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 118,400.
118,400
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.
15
Torpedoes
ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Vierling
Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 4 tubes = 8 tubes
Reload time90 s
Projectile speed65 kt
Range8.49 km
Maximum simulated damage
ƒEstimate of WG's in-game value; matches the in-game port screen within ±5%. Saturation: most targets only intersect one hull section, so the sim transfers ~1/3 of the warhead alpha (2/3 when the warhead blast >= 5000 and the burst reaches a second section). For this ship: Dsim=α·c=40,200·0.333=13,400.
≈ 13,400
Torpedo detectability1.3 km
Flooding chance240%
Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s
Torp Turn
ƒTime to rotate the launchers 180 deg: tturn=180°25°/s=7.2s.
7.2 s
Torp Arming201 m
Per-side salvo damage
ƒOne side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 8 x 13,400 = 107,200.
107,200
AA Defense
AA mount points12
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (40×3.5×1) + (16×3.5×0.95) = 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.
193
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
3.5 km
37 mm Flakzwilling 302×2 37mm
37 mm Flak LM/422×1 37mm
37 mm Flak LM/424×2 37mm
20 mm Flakvierling 382×4 20mm
20 mm Flakzwilling 382×2 20mm
Medium aura
DPS40
Range3.5 km
Near aura
DPS16
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒMedium 40 + Near 16 = 56
56
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 70,000 hp
Engine power70,000 hp
Maximum speed36 kt
Turning circle radius670 m
Rudder shift time4.5 s
Engine power-boost threshold7 kt
Engine spool-up time7.7 s
Reverse spool-up time3.8 s
Acceleration 0-90%
ƒTime to reach 90% of top speed (32.4 kt of 36 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.
17.4 s
Acceleration 0-99%
ƒTime to reach 99% of top speed (35.6 kt of 36 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.
29.7 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·36.0·0.5144670=1.58°/s, so ratio=ωturretωhull=81.58=5.1×. Below 5 the turrets drag in a turning fight; 25+ keeps up with any rudder.
5.1× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea6.8 km
Detectability by air3.4 km
Smoke firing penalty2.94 km
Detect after firing main guns
ƒmax(base sea detectability, gun-firing bloom range). Firing never pulls your detection closer than base concealment.
6.8 km
Detect Fire Sea8.8 km
Detect Fire Air6.4 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 40 s reload · 5 s active
Smoke Generator2 charges · 240 s reload · 20 s emit / 69 s cloud active
Engine Boost2 charges · 180 s reload · 120 s active · +8% speed bonus
Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 100 s active · 5 km ship detect
ƒDerived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): 167×301000=5 km
· 3.5 km torpedo detect
ƒDerived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): 117×301000=3.5 km

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)2
Max Horiz Disp93.3 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: $\sigma_H = \left(\dfrac{R}{30}\cdot\dfrac{\text{idealRadius}-\text{minRadius}}{\text{idealDistance}} + \text{minRadius}\right)\cdot 30$ $= \left(\dfrac{10443}{30}\cdot\dfrac{8-0.5}{1000} + 0.5\right)\cdot 30 = 93.3\,\text{m}$
Shell scatter width @ 10 km90 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 Disp56 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $\sigma_V = \sigma_H \cdot \text{radiusOnMax}$ $= 93.3 \cdot 0.6 = 56\,\text{m}$
Shell scatter height @ 10 km53.2 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 Disp29.8 m
50%-hit horizontal radius: $\sigma_{H,50} = \sigma_H \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 93.3 \cdot 0.319\;(\sigma = 2) = 29.8\,\text{m}$
Med Vert Disp17.9 m
50%-hit vertical radius: $\sigma_{V,50} = \sigma_V \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 56 \cdot 0.32\;(\sigma = 2) = 17.9\,\text{m}$
AP Pen Close220 mm
Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{-1.07} \cdot v_0^{1.38}$ $= 10^{-7}\cdot 1933 \cdot 45.3^{0.69} \cdot 0.15^{-1.07} \cdot 835^{1.38} = 220\,\text{mm}$. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far65.6 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (13.1 km), where the shell has slowed to 347.6 m/s: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot 1933 \cdot 45.3^{0.69} \cdot 0.15^{-1.07} \cdot 347.6^{1.38} = 65.6\,\text{mm}$.
HE penetration25 mm
25 mm ≈ 150 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch10 mm
floor(150 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius15
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 alpha4
All 4 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time22.5 s
180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.
HE full-salvo alpha8,800
2,200 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,800.
AP full-salvo alpha14,800
3,700 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 14,800.
Base HE DPM70,400
8,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 70,400.
Base AP DPM118,400
14,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 118,400.
Base shells/min32
4 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 32.
Base fires/min3.84
32 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 3.84.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.3 km
Estimated torpedo reaction time7.7 s
detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Torpedo speed65 kt
Travel time to max range50.2 s
range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Tube count8
2 launchers x 4 tubes.
Per-side salvo8 torpedoes
8 (centerline launchers train across - full salvo to either side).
Full-salvo damage107,200
All tubes hitting one target: tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 8 x 13,400 = 107,200.
Per-side salvo damage107,200
One side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 8 x 13,400 = 107,200.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS193
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (40×3.5×1) + (16×3.5×0.95) = 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.
Maximum AA range3.5 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index596
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 range2 km

Armor Beta

Hull HP 19,600, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds. HP caps are estimated from the standard WoWs damage-allocation model.

Bow & stern16 mm

Overmatched by 124+ guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.

Farming16 mm

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 ballistics tool →

Section Plates HP cap Threats Tactic
Bow16 mm primary (range 15–16 mm)≈ 980 (~5% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (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.
Hull (midship)16 mm≈ 14,700 (~75% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Graf Spee, Scharnhorst)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern16 mm primary (range 15–16 mm)≈ 980 (~5% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Graf Spee, Scharnhorst)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel16 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.

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 Z-39 B can equip, from in-game data.

  • Z-39 B 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.