Classes of ships within the KM[]
Throughout the Naval history of Unified Germany, the German Navy was a formidable force in the open seas.
In the formation days of the German Empire, the Navy started of from a small Prussian coastline which joined German Empire. It was known as the "Imperial German Navy" or in German "Kaiserliche Marine" (Kaiserlike Marine( The Kaiser or der Kaiser was the ruler of germany)). In its later years it received a huge expansion programme from then-Kaiser Wilhelm II who wanted to compete with his cousin King George V of Britain and enlarged its mission. The key figure of this expansion was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who greatly expanded the size and quality of the navy. In the First World War, the Kaiserliche-Marine would go on to become the first largest naval fleet of the war, second only to the British Royal Navy.
The superseder of the Kaiserliche Marine was the Kreigsmarine (War Navy). Serving under the Nazi Germany it fought in the Spanish Civil War and the WWII. The backbone of the Kriegsmarine were their trademark "U-boats" (Submarines), which contributed to millions of shipping lost by the allied nations by sinking many cargo ships. They hunted in formations known as "Wolfpacks" and most of them were build after the Plan-Z initiation. The most famous heavy cruisers of among the Navy are the Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer of the Deutschland-class of Panzerschiffs, and the most famous battleship being Bismarck, nameship of the Bismarck-class of battleships.
After the WWII, the ship's were divided among allied nations and were used for missions such as minesweeping.
Destroyers[]
Destroyers of the German line tend to have around one of the best guns,short torpedo ranges and poor concealment.At low tiers(III-IV),they have torpedo tubes at the front of the ship,effectively enabling them to charge on a ship and fire.This line is best suited for brawling players.At tier IV and onward,they start to get more powerful guns and AA plus sonar.
KM Destroyers | ||||||||||
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Tier | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | |
Ships | V25 | G101 | V170 | T22 | Ernst Gaede | Leberecht Maass | Z23 | Z46 | Z52 | |
Premium | T-61 | Z39 |
Cruisers[]
German cruisers start off as lighter versions of their contemporaries, but as they progress up the tiers (especially past Tier VI), their true prowess is revealed: turrets that turn quickly, housing guns that rapidly fire powerful armor-piercing shells at long ranges, outranging, both American and Japanese cruisers. Their shells have reasonable firing arcs (i.e. no rainbow-like arcs such as those found on American destroyers and light cruisers) making gunnery very comfortable Mid-tier German cruisers have mediocre anti-aircraft suites at best, but at Tier VIII and above they are loaded with a mix of long-range, high damage 40mm, 55mm, and 150mm guns that provide excellent AA protection for themselves and allied ships. The downside is that German cruisers overall suffer from below average to average armor, good concealment values, sub-pair HE shell damage, and excellent speed and maneuverability.
KM Cruisers | ||||||||||
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Tier | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X |
Ships | Hermelin | Dresden | Kolberg | Karlsruhe | Königsberg | Nürnberg | Yorck | Admiral Hipper | Roon | Hindenburg |
Premium | Admiral Graf Spee | München | Prinz Eugen | Siegfried | ||||||
Mainz | Ägir |
Battleships[]
The first thing one will notice when they start out the German battleship line will be the smaller-caliber guns as compared to their foreign counterparts (Nassau having 283 mm whilst the Japanese Kawachi and American South Carolina having 305 mm guns). This is however compensated by having a higher RoF compared, effectively enabling them to match up in terms of DPM to their same tier competitors. Their secondaries have access to only AP, but this is not an issue at low tiers because if aimed properly, will cause substantial damage, and can easily outperform HE firing secondaries. They also have a very decent firing range, on average about half of the main battery firing range. At tier VI they receive automatic secondary batteries that will automatically open up at the nearest target that is within its firing range.
Their armour is also designed for CQE (close-quarter engagements), and should be played as such, although it should be noted that it is preferably in 1v1 situations only, which is not very common. Some of them come with torpedo tubes, which allows them to really excel in CQEs. At tier VI and above, the battleships gain access to a SONAR consumable, slightly increasing their detection range of enemy ships as well as enemy torpedoes.
The torpedo protection is weak, it's not recommended to fight 1v1 on destroyers or cruisers with tropedos (Mainly Japanese cruisers).
KM Battleships | ||||||||||
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Tier | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | ||
Ships | Nassau | Kaiser | König | Bayern | Gneisenau | Bismarck | Friedrich der Große | Großer Kurfürst | ||
Premium | Prinz Eitel Friedrich | Scharnhorst | Tirpitz | Pommern | ||||||
Odin | ||||||||||
Black Edition | Black Bayern | Black Bismarck | Black Friedrich der Große |