Late Campaign Destroyer Builds

[Aries]

How are you designing your destroyers in the later campaign years, 1920 and up? What kind of tasks are the built for and why?

I am at 1935 with very advanced tech and have two builds I am using.
1. Minelaying DE/ML type that designed to stay in port (mostly lol, AI still pulls them for missions). Best minelaying, good offense, ASW, and very short range. Used for minelaying only.
2. Attack DDK/MDS type as the main DD. ASW, best minesweeper, good offense, range and very high speed 40kts. Used for minesweeping, escorting and everything else.

[Tomn]

I basically group my ships as "colonial" variants and "fleet" elements. Colonial elements are intended to be a colonial garrison, with ships that sit in port, drop mines, and are intended for small ship convoy actions and optimized for such - less focus on torpedoes (because you're usually up against fellow destroyers and light cruisers that can usually dodge), more focus on guns - particularly, with late game tech, heavy guns that can be accurate at range if you keep a steady course (though also with a good helping of light guns for point defense). Basically all my ships have maximum range as I find it useful for keeping colonial peace. I usually have far more of these than I do anything else, because I need them to garrison my various colonial holdings, some of which are too small to handle light cruisers. Good ASW as well because it might help.

"Fleet" elements on the other hand are intended to support my main battle fleets. There's only a few relatively speaking, but they tend to be heavily designed for big fleet actions. More torpedoes (because it's a target rich environment and if you miss something you can probably still another thing), a bigger focus on light guns because your screens are going to spend a huge amount of time juking and dodging enemy torpedoes and can't stay straight long enough for accuracy bonuses to matter so might as well throw more light shells downrange for sheer dakka, and both minesweeping and ASW. In some ways they're not really meant for combat per se because in the chaotic mass of a late game battlefield destroyers have a hard time landing decisive damage by themselves (unless you focus on them and invest heavily in torpedo tech I guess, which I haven't) and they exist mostly to distract enemy screens and keep them from torpedoing your capital ships who do the real damage. The main reason to have a lot of them is to provide minesweeping and ASW capabilities.

[FizzyElf]

I'm basically in a similar boat to Tomn, with an ASF and RSF set up (Advanced Strike Fleet and Reserve Service Fleet). ASF contains the most advanced ships and the receives the most action and the RSF operates as replacement, mothball and garrison elements mostly made up of old battleships/cruisers that I want to keep around as replacement vessels and fire ships and Destroyers which receive minor updates over time for minesweeping as well as clearing and armed with torps for crippling larger ships in suicide attacks so my ASF can kill them later and guns for damaging enemy destroyers. It works out decently well.

[cyan027]

My preference is fleet support DD, with minelaying/minesweeping ability that can clear minefield for BB/CA, ASW ability to drive off enemy submarine, and enough gun to destroy incoming torpedo runners. Then put some torpedos to break enemy formation.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2934425036

[Ninjafroggie]

I mean, how you build a late tech DD depends on what nation you're playing as, because some countries only have 3,000t dd hull max while others, like germany or italy, can build much larger dd that can fit a lot more stuff on them.

[FizzyElf]

Originally posted by cyan027:

My preference is fleet support DD, with minelaying/minesweeping ability that can clear minefield for BB/CA, ASW ability to drive off enemy submarine, and enough gun to destroy incoming torpedo runners. Then put some torpedos to break enemy formation.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2934425036

Oh my lord, I thought my DD's had a lot of guns.

[Aries]

Wow, good ideas thanks. That is a beast Cyan. Hate to have that sold to a friendly then enemy if you know what I mean.

Would be nice to have mine sweeper CL's. That would save alot of worry about fleet movement for me. Just have those tag along with the fleet and build the DDs strictly as fast gun platforms with depth charges.

I found needs change and I never have what I want in a region when I want it. If your on a budget that must really suck.

So I took the ideas and designed a new DD. We'll see what happens. Thanks everyone!

[cyan027]

Well, this one is fleet "support" DD so it is not exactly a beast. Team up with CA/BB can be really helpful but weak if running mission along with other CL/DD.

If you wish, you can even cut 5 inch and 2 inch gun barrel shorter to make them fire faster. DD never means to snipe enemy at long range anyway. Close quarter SMG style will be more destructive.

Torpedos are formation-breaking purpose, I never expect them hit anything (at 1940 torpedo defense is way too advance anyway) so 18 inch is pretty enough. Even you are lucky hit something, flooding surely can stop enemies in their tracks.