GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Montana

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Montana

Also called: 蒙大拿 Beta

U.S.A. · Tier ★ · Battleship · Premium

Bow-tank battleshipAngle bow-in and absorb; the armor holds a lane peer battleships cannot push through.

Playstyle

Anchor a flank at 14-17 km with bow toward the closest threat
Avoid: Spending the spotter on a target that is already dodging

Key characteristics

Lobs over islandsSpotter planeThickest plateLong DCP windowHeavy beltBow-in or broadside-dead

On this page

Community stats
Playstyle
How to get Montana
Builds
Cohort position
Stats and specs
Armor
Charts
Balance history
Exteriors

Community Data

Montana Community Stats

Log in to GamingDiver and upload your data to see Community Data for Montana: community win rate, damage, survival, spotting, and your own comparison.

Playstyle

Overview

Montana is a Legendary American bow-tank battleship: top-decile bow and deck plate shrugs what peer guns cannot crack, so she holds the line bow-in and soaks fire while the team trades around her. Standout traits: top-decile deck armor in Legendary BBs (105 mm) and best DCP duration in Legendary BBs (20 s).

Positioning

Anchor a flank at 14-17 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. 96,300 HP is what a rotation started too late costs, and it is spent before the guns that punished it come off cooldown. With 22.3 s on the rudder she starts turning late, so the angle has to be set before you are shot at.

Potato Avoidance

Spending the spotter on a target that is already dodging

The extra range only converts if the shot was going to land: save it for the salvos that matter, an exposed broadside cruiser or a battleship committed to its angle, where the reach turns a maybe into a citadel. Popped over a jinking destroyer it buys you a longer look at your own shells missing.

Signature Traits

ELITE ARMOR ↗

Thickest plate · 541 mm
Thick deck · 105 mm
Heavy citadel belt · 541 mm
Heavy belt
Heavy armor deck

Long DCP window ↗

20 s Damage Control duration, best of Legendary BBs. Stays fire / flood immune longer per activation.

High-arc howitzer

Steep impact angle. Shells lob over island cover into targets you can't see directly.

Bow-in or broadside-dead

Angled bow-on, the bow and belt bounce AP that would citadel a flat-side peer -- but show a full broadside even for one salvo and you hand out a citadel. Commit to a lane you can hold angled; you can't afford to swing broadside to dodge torpedoes.

Acquisition

How to get Montana

Montana is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Early Access.

Early AccessOfficial WG line/source notes indicate a temporary Early Access window before normal acquisition.

Official WG availability sources

Strike From the Skies: U.S. Hybrids in Early Access and Our July 4th Event Early Access / event Start: 2024-06-30 · End: 2024-07-31 Official early-access or tech-tree-line article. Tech-tree ships are temporary crate drops during Early Access, then move to the Tech Tree.
Through the Spy Glass: Hizen Ship feature / release Start: 2023-11-09 · 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.

Builds

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

Open in Build Tool →

Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Montana sits among Legendary BBs (21 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.

BestCitadel belt541 mm (1 of 3 tied) Top 25%AP DPM360,000 (5/22) Top 25%AA DPS776 (5/22) Top 25%Max armor541 mm (5/22) Top 25%Deck armor105 mm (4/21) Bottom 10%Traverse-to-turn ratio4.3 × (21/22) WorstRudder shift22.3 s (22/22) WorstNo torpedoes (17 of 22 in cohort)

See 42 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Montana -- 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.

Hit points96,300 HP(7/22) Max speed30 kt(11/22) Concealment16.05 km(14/22) Smoke fire bloom15.49 km(11/22) Air detection12.84 km(14/22) Turning circle950 m(13/22) Main battery caliber406 mm(15/22) Main battery range17.42 km(8/22) Main battery reload27 s(14/22) Sigma1.9(12/22) HE shell damage5,700(11/21) HE fire chance36%(11/21) Fires per minute9.6(10/21) HE DPM152,000(7/21) AP shell damage13,500(13/22) Main dispersion234.2 m(17/22) Secondary DPM (per side)270,000(13/22) Secondary HE alpha1,800(10/20) Secondary fire chance9%(7/20) Secondary HE pen21 mm(15/20) AP velocity762 m/s(15/22) HE velocity820 m/s(8/21) Acceleration38.5 s(15/22) AP arming threshold68 mm(7/22) Engine power172,000 hp(10/22) Turn-speed retention181.1 hp/m(10/22) Displacement72,104 t(13/22) Power-to-weight2.39 hp/t(13/22) AP pen at 10 km623 mm(13/22) Effective HE DPM (incl. fire)230,693(9/21) AA range5.2 km(7/22) AA threat2,546(7/22) Flak per wave (expected)2,415(10/22) Repair charges3(9/22) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(15 of 22 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(20 of 22 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(19 of 22 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(19 of 22 tied at this value) NormSecondary range5 km(12 of 22 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(15 of 22 tied at this value) NormBow armor32 mm(18 of 22 tied at this value) NormStern armor32 mm(18 of 22 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Compare Legendary Battleships

Show all 21 peers

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →

Survivability

Hit Points96,300

Displacement72,104 t

Hull dimensions

Length x beam at the waterline, with the hull's draft where the client carries one. Ships whose client entry holds only the 260 x 20 m placeholder use a curated real-world figure instead, and any ship we have no trustworthy size for omits this row rather than print the placeholder. Length matters when dodging torpedoes; beam and draft shape how hard the ship is to hit.

281.2 x 36.9 m (measured from the ship model)

Armor range6–541 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 19, 25, 32, 38, 50, 51, 105, 110, 150, 178, 180, 188, 197, 259, 324, 387, 409, 424, 432, 457, 541 mm

Armor material/layer entries67

Fire resistance

Does not reduce the damage a burning fire does per second: replay-measured burn ticks run at the full rate on every ship. By elimination it lowers how often hits set you on fire; ignition-rate replay data is consistent with that but too confounded by attacker mix to measure the reduction directly.

40%

Fire duration60 s

Fire damage

Each fire ticks 0.3% of max HP per second for the full 60 s, so one unattended fire burns 18% of the pool (17,334 HP on this ship). 4 fire points can burn at once. Verified against measured burn ticks in replay data.

0.3% of HP per second

Flood duration40 s

Flood damage

A flood ticks 0.5% of max HP per second for the 40 s duration, so one unattended flood costs 20% of the pool (19,260 HP on this ship). Verified against measured flood ticks in replay data.

0.5% of HP per second

Torp Reduction

Reduces torpedo hit damage. Replay data shows no effect on floods: flood ticks run at the full rate and flood frequency does not decline with protection.

37%

Magazine HP

Per-turret powder-magazine HP, a separate pool from the ship's. Penetrating hits wear it down and the turret is likelier to be knocked out as it falls, so a larger pool keeps the guns firing through punishment that silences a peer's.

48,200

Steering gear HP

Durability of the steering gears. As this pool drops, hits are likelier to jam the rudder; unlike most modules the steering can be knocked out and repaired but is never permanently destroyed.

28,900

Effective HP

Base 96,300 HP plus everything Repair Party can restore: 0.5%/s x 28 s = 13,482 HP per charge, x3 charges = 40,446 HP. Ceiling, not a prediction: a charge only restores damage actually taken, and only the regeneratable share of it. Across 1,826 players in our replay corpus the median ship realized about half of this, mostly because half the charges go unspent — when Repair Party IS pressed it returns ~97% of the per-charge figure above.

136,746

Repairable: penetration50%

Repairable: citadel10%

Repairable: steering gear50%

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 406 mm Mk7

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 12 barrels

Reload time30 s

Firing range17.4 km

Turret traverse4 °/s

Turret armor457 mm

Turret traverse arcs

How far each mount can train, in degrees to either side of the mount's own facing, read from in-game data. 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.

±145°, ±150°, ±148°, ±147°

Guns to bear

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. Mount facing is inferred from turret stations and verified against known layouts, including Izumo's aft-facing forward turret.

33° off bow / 35° off stern

See the firing-arcs diagram ↓

AP pen max range513 mm

HE fire DPM vs T8 BB70824

Effective HE DPM vs T8 BB207624

Shell Grouping (σ)1.9

Max Horiz Disp

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model:

σ_{H} = (\frac{R}{30} \cdot \frac{idealRadius - minRadius}{idealDistance} + minRadius) \cdot 30

= (\frac{17420}{30} \cdot \frac{12 - 2}{1000} + 2) \cdot 30 = 234.2 m

234.2 m at 17.4 km

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range:

σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax

= 234.2 \cdot 0.6 = 140.5 m

140.5 m at 17.4 km

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius:

σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 234.2 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.9} = 74 m

74 m at 17.4 km

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius:

σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 140.5 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.9} = 44.4 m

44.4 m at 17.4 km

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.

45 s

Shells/min

Zero upgrades: 12 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 24. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 12 broadside guns x 60 / 27 s all-upgrades reload = 26.7.

Initial: 24 → 26.7

HE shells

HE Damage5,700

HE Velocity820 m/s

Fire Chance36%

HE penetration

68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

68 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

5,700 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 68,400.

68,400

HE DPM

Zero upgrades: 68,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 136,800. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 68,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 27 s all-upgrades reload = 152,000.

Initial: 136,800 → 152,000

Fires/min

Zero upgrades: 24 shells/min x 36% fire chance = 8.64. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 26.7 shells/min x 36% fire chance = 9.6.

Initial: 8.64 → 9.6

AP shells

AP Damage13,500

AP Velocity762 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold68 mm

AP overmatch

floor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

28 mm

AP Pen Close

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 2520 \cdot 1225^{0.69} \cdot {0.406}^{- 1.07} \cdot 762^{1.38} = 847.6 mm

. Matches the in-game spec card.

847.6 mm point-blank

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17.4 km), where the shell has slowed to 529.5 m/s:

P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2520 \cdot 1225^{0.69} \cdot {0.406}^{- 1.07} \cdot {529.5}^{1.38} = 512.9 mm

512.9 mm at 17.4 km

AP full-salvo alpha

13,500 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 162,000.

162,000

AP DPM

Zero upgrades: 162,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 324,000. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 162,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 27 s all-upgrades reload = 360,000.

Initial: 324,000 → 360,000

AP AOE Radius

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.

250

AA Defense

AA mount points60

Maximum AA range

Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 3.5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.

5.2 km

40 mm Bofors Mk220×4 40mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk420×1 20mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk2020×2 20mm

127 mm Mk41 (DP)

Dual-purpose: your secondaries doing double duty against aircraft. The same mounts appear on the Secondary Battery card - shared guns, not extra hardware.

10×2 127mm

Guns127 mm Mk41 (DP)

Continuous DPS

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 131 from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

131

Range5.2 km

Guns40 mm Bofors Mk2

Continuous DPS

Effective DPS: 146 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 0.75 hit probability = 383 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.

383

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 131 + Medium 383 = 514

514

Guns20 mm Oerlikon Mk20 + 20 mm Oerlikon Mk4

Continuous DPS

Effective DPS: 107 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 0.7 hit probability = 262 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.

262

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 131 + Medium 383 + Near 262 = 776

776

Bursts

Each ~2 s wave fires 2 quick salvos of 6 clouds ahead of the attacking squadron, plus 2 stray clouds farther out that appear off-beat between waves - up to 14 clouds per wave × 230 damage each. Planes that fly into a cloud take its damage; clouds dissipate before the next wave lands. Defensive AA Fire, where fitted, multiplies the salvo repeats within each wave.

2 salvos × 6 clouds + 2 outer

Cloud damage

Damage a plane takes for flying into one flak cloud, before any reductions.

230

Cloud spawn chance

Each cloud in the pattern rolls this chance to spawn, so waves average fewer clouds than the maximum. Often called flak 'hit chance', but spawned clouds always damage planes that fly into them - the roll is on spawning.

75%

Wave rate

A flak wave spawns roughly every 2 s - timed frame-by-frame from gameplay footage and consistent across ships.

every ~2 s

Fired by

Flak keeps firing while at least one secondary battery mount is operational - even losing every other AA mount does not stop it.

Secondary battery

Flak zone

The activation band: flak fires while attacking planes are inside it. Clouds are placed ahead of the planes' path, so bursts can land short of 2.5 km or past 5.2 km - once planes get inside the band, new waves stop. AA range bonuses push the outer edge out; the 2.5 km inner edge does not move.

2.5-5.2 km

See the AA layers diagram ↓

Secondary Battery

Mounts10

Firing range5.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

127 mm Mk41 (DP)

Dual-purpose: the same mounts also fire at aircraft, so they appear on the AA Defense card too - shared guns, not extra hardware.

10×2 127mm

Caliber127 mm

Reload time4 s

HE Damage1,800

Muzzle Velocity808 m/s

Fire Chance9%

Armor Pen21 mm

Secondary dispersion type

Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Standard

Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

315 m

Maneuverability

Engine power172,000 hp

Maximum speed30 kt

Turning circle radius950 m

Rudder shift time22.3 s

Engine power-boost threshold7 kt

Engine spool-up time23 s

Reverse spool-up time11.5 s

Reverse speed

top speed / 4 + 4.9 = 30 / 4 + 4.9 = 12.4 kt. The community reverse-speed model from the WoWs ShipBuilder project, the same source as the acceleration model on this card. Base value; speed modifiers scale it. Not shown on the in-game card.

12.4 kt

Crash stop

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. Same community-model simulation as the acceleration times, using the ship's own reverse-power ratio from in-game data. The full curve is on the acceleration chart.

47.6 s

Engine boost threshold (reverse)

Speed below which the engine's built-in power boost applies in reverse. Matches the in-game maneuverability card's reverse threshold (Vampire II reads 10.5 here and the card shows 11; the card rounds half up).

9 kt

Acceleration 0-90%

Time to reach 90% of top speed (27.0 kt of 30 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.

38.5 s

Acceleration 0-99%

Time to reach 99% of top speed (29.7 kt of 30 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.

62.9 s

Traverse-to-turn ratio

How many degrees the turret can swing for each degree the hull turns. Turn rate

ω_{hull} = \frac{180}{π} \cdot \frac{V_{max} (m/s)}{R_{turn}} = \frac{180}{π} \cdot \frac{30.0 \cdot 0.5144}{950} = 0.93 ° / s

, so

ratio = \frac{ω_{turret}}{ω_{hull}} = \frac{4}{0.93} = 4.3 \times

. Below 5 the turrets drag in a turning fight; 25+ keeps up with any rudder.

4.3× drags

See the full acceleration curve ↓

Concealment

Detectability by sea16.05 km

Detectability by air12.84 km

Smoke firing penalty15.49 km

Detect when firing (sea)

Equal to the ship's main battery range (never below base detectability): firing makes you visible to everyone you can reach. Matches the in-game 'Detect Firing Sea' value on all 8 unmodified captures, and range-modified captures track the modified range.

17.42 km

Detect when firing (air)

Air detectability plus the gun-firing bloom (8.12 km, which tracks main-battery caliber x 0.020). Matches the in-game 'Detect Firing Air' value on every captured ship.

20.96 km

Detect when on fire (sea)

Base sea detectability + 2.0 km while burning; matches the in-game 'Detect Fire Sea' value on every captured ship.

18.05 km

Detect when on fire (air)

Base air detectability + 3.0 km while burning; matches the in-game 'Detect Fire Air' value on every captured ship.

15.84 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 20 s active

Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 13,482 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.
· 40,446 HP (42% of max HP) total heal (all charges)
ƒ
14% per charge x 3 charges = up to 42% of max HP if the whole Repair Party loadout is used.
· 482 HP/s (0.5% of max HP) heal per second
ƒ
0.5% of max HP (96,300 HP) per second = 482 HP/s. WoWS heals a flat percent of MAX HP each second, so this rate holds at any health level.

Choose one

Catapult Fighter6 charges · 80 s reload · 90 s active · 5 km patrol radius
ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): $\frac{167 \times 30}{1000} = 5 km$
· 1 squadron size

Observation Seaplane6 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · Tightens main-battery shell grouping

Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% grouping · -50% dispersion

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)1.9

Max Horiz Disp234.2 m at 17.4 km

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model:  $σ_{H} = (\frac{R}{30} \cdot \frac{idealRadius - minRadius}{idealDistance} + minRadius) \cdot 30$   $= (\frac{17420}{30} \cdot \frac{12 - 2}{1000} + 2) \cdot 30 = 234.2 m$

Shell scatter width @ 5 km110 m

Horizontal scatter at a fixed 5 km, from the same verified dispersion model as the rows below - a knife-fight-range anchor comparable across ships.

Shell scatter width @ 10 km160 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.

Shell scatter width @ 15 km210 m

Horizontal scatter at a fixed 15 km, from the same verified dispersion model - the long-range anchor. Only shown when the ship's guns reach 15 km.

Max Vert Disp140.5 m at 17.4 km

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax$ $= 234.2 \cdot 0.6 = 140.5 m$

Shell scatter height @ 10 km82.4 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. The height/width ratio is a piecewise-linear curve through three points from the ship's own dispersion data:  $radiusOnZero = 0.2$  at 0 m,  $radiusOnDelim = 0.5$  at  $delim \cdot R_{m a x} = 0.5 \cdot 17420 = 8710$  m, and  $radiusOnMax = 0.6$  at 17420 m. Above the kink:  $k = 0.5 + (0.6 - 0.5) \cdot \frac{10000 - 8710}{17420 - 8710} = 0.5148$ , so  $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot k = 160 \cdot 0.5148 = 82.4 m$ .

Med Horiz Disp74 m at 17.4 km

50%-hit horizontal radius: $σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 234.2 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.9} = 74 m$

Med Vert Disp44.4 m at 17.4 km

50%-hit vertical radius: $σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 140.5 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.9} = 44.4 m$

Dispersion familyUS/UK BB Disp.

2.5% overall improvement compared to EU BB Disp.

AP Pen Close847.6 mm point-blank

Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v_{0}^{1.38}$   $= 10^{- 7} \cdot 2520 \cdot 1225^{0.69} \cdot {0.406}^{- 1.07} \cdot 762^{1.38} = 847.6 mm$ . Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far512.9 mm at 17.4 km

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17.4 km), where the shell has slowed to 529.5 m/s:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2520 \cdot 1225^{0.69} \cdot {0.406}^{- 1.07} \cdot {529.5}^{1.38} = 512.9 mm$ .

AP pen 5 km725 mm

AP penetration at a fixed 5 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v^{1.38}$ . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.

AP pen 10 km623 mm

AP penetration at a fixed 10 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v^{1.38}$ . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.

AP pen 15 km544 mm

AP penetration at a fixed 15 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v^{1.38}$ . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.

AP flight time @ 10 km5.34 s

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,  $a_{drag} = k ρ v^{2}$ , where  $ρ$  is air density from a standard-atmosphere profile and  $k$  bundles the shell's drag coefficient, caliber and mass:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.352 \cdot {0.406}^{2}}{8 \cdot 1225} = 1.86 \times 10^{- 5}$ . That runs from a 762 m/s muzzle velocity in 0.02 s steps under gravity 9.8 m/s² until the shell lands, then divides by 2.77: the game clock runs faster than real time, and that factor was measured against stopwatch runs in the Training Room. Lower is better, since a faster shell is harder to dodge and needs less lead.

HE flight time @ 10 km5.19 s

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,  $a_{drag} = k ρ v^{2}$ , where  $ρ$  is air density from a standard-atmosphere profile and  $k$  bundles the shell's drag coefficient, caliber and mass:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.346 \cdot {0.406}^{2}}{8 \cdot 862} = 2.6 \times 10^{- 5}$ . That runs from a 820 m/s muzzle velocity in 0.02 s steps under gravity 9.8 m/s² until the shell lands, then divides by 2.77: the game clock runs faster than real time, and that factor was measured against stopwatch runs in the Training Room. Lower is better, since a faster shell is harder to dodge and needs less lead.

HE penetration68 mm

68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch28 mm

floor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius250

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 alpha12

All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time45 s

180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.

HE full-salvo alpha68,400

5,700 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 68,400.

AP full-salvo alpha162,000

13,500 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 162,000.

HE DPMInitial: 136,800 → 152,000

Zero upgrades: 68,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 136,800. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 68,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 27 s all-upgrades reload = 152,000.

AP DPMInitial: 324,000 → 360,000

Zero upgrades: 162,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 324,000. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 162,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 27 s all-upgrades reload = 360,000.

Shells/minInitial: 24 → 26.7

Zero upgrades: 12 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 24. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 12 broadside guns x 60 / 27 s all-upgrades reload = 26.7.

Fires/minInitial: 8.64 → 9.6

Zero upgrades: 24 shells/min x 36% fire chance = 8.64. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 26.7 shells/min x 36% fire chance = 9.6.

AA defense

AA DPS at max range131

Only families that reach 5.2 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 40mm Bofors 20x4 -> 383 DPS @ 3.5 km; 20mm Oerlikon MK4 20x1 -> 131 DPS @ 2 km; 20mm Oerlikon MK20 Twin12 20x2 -> 131 DPS @ 2 km; 5in54 10x2 -> 131 DPS @ 5.2 km.

Maximum AA range5.2 km

Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 3.5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.

AA DPS layered by range131 DPS @ 5.2 km, 514 DPS @ 3.5 km, 776 DPS @ 2 km

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.

AA DPS at point-blank776

Sum of every family's average DPS, achievable only inside the closest-range family (2 km).

AA threat index2546

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

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary dispersion typeStandard

Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km315 m

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)270,000

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: 10×2 127 mm (10/side) × 60/4 × 1800 = 270,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1800

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 127 mm family.

Max HE fire chance9%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 9% from the 127 mm family.

Max HE pen21 mm

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: 21 mm from the 127 mm family.

Armor Beta

Hull HP 96,300, 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.

Bow & stern32 mm

Overmatched by 7 AP guns here: Incomparable SE 25IncomparableYamato and 4 more. Angling still helps against the rest.

Belt / citadel409 mm

Citadels come from a flat broadside at close range; held past ~30° of angle, AP shatters or bounces.

Farming6 mm

Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 40%, fires burn 60s. Range-by-range in the Compare tool →

Section	Plates	HP cap	Threats	Tactic
Bow	32 mm primary (range 32–50 mm)	5,000 (5% of HP)	Overmatched by 460mm+ AP (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	6 mm primary (range 6–541 mm)	72,200 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 127mm+ AP (A. M. Sumner, Chung Mu)6 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	32 mm primary (range 6–178 mm)	6,600 (7% of HP)	Overmatched by 460mm+ AP (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	409 mm primary (range 25–541 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	19 mm	3,900 (4% of HP)	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).
Turret (module, per magazine)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	48,200 magazine HP	Turret knocked out	Per-turret powder-magazine HP, a separate pool that does not drain ship HP. As it is worn down the turret is likelier to be knocked out, and a smaller pool gets there faster.
Secondary mount (127 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.
Rudder (module)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	28,900 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.

Open in Charting Tool

Ship Charts

Balance History

Balance updates affecting Montana. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Nerf ×4Buff ×3Main Battery ×2

2024-04-25

Ministry of Balance: Old Gold

Main battery shell grouping increased by 2.5% (from 1.85 to 1.9).
Main battery AP shell damage increased from 13,100 to 13,500.
Ship HP increased from 86,600 to 96,300.
Bow HP reduced from 12,500 to 5,000.
Casemate HP reduced from 33,000 to 13,000.
Stern HP reduced from 16,750 to 6,600.
Superstructure HP reduced from 10,000 to 3,900.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Montana can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
Montana Hw24Halloween
Freedom Fighter
Freedom Fighter skin for MontanaFreedom Fighter
Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes permanent camouflage for MontanaStars and Stripes

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.

2022-09-01 · Official ship feature / stats Transformers Go Legendary Official source 2024-08-02 · Official ship feature / stats Blue Archive: New Collaboration! Official source 2025-08-04 · Official ship feature / stats Blue Archive Is Back in Legends! Official source 2021-11-25 · Patch notes December Update: Dragon's Breath Patch notes 2021-12-16 · Patch notes Holiday Update: Chilling With the Beasts Patch notes 2022-09-29 · Patch notes Halloween Update: New Friends, Old Foes Patch notes

Montana

Montana Community Stats

Montana Community Stats

Playstyle

Overview

Positioning

Potato Avoidance

Signature Traits →

How to get Montana

Builds

Cohort position

Peers in this cohort

Stats & specs

See all derived stats

Main battery formulas

AA defense

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary battery firepower

Armor Beta

Ship Charts

Balance History

Ministry of Balance: Old Gold

Skins & permanent camouflages

Primary official WG sources

Signature Traits