GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / South Carolina

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

South Carolina

Also called: 南卡罗来纳 Beta

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

Bow-tank battleshipA bow-on anchor: thick plate eats incoming fire while the team trades from behind.

Playstyle

Sit 12-15 km from the brawl line and exploit the range advantage
Avoid: Taking the long way round the map edge to flank

Key characteristics

14 km gun rangeThickest plateDeep-fuse APLong DCP windowSlow

On this page

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

Community Data

South Carolina Community Stats

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

Playstyle

Overview

South Carolina is a Tier III 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: deck armor (76 mm) and best AP fuse timer in T3 BBs (0.03 s).

Positioning

Sit 12-15 km from the brawl line and exploit the range advantage. You do not need to push into peer fire to land damage; rotate one or two map cells back if a flank starts to collapse. Her handling reads as a contradiction and is not one: 15 s on the rudder means she starts turning late, while a 480 m circle means she comes around inside most of her cohort once she does. Decide a beat early and the turn itself will not let you down.

Potato Avoidance

Taking the long way round the map edge to flank

At 18 kn five minutes of sailing buys about 2.8 km, so a border run costs most of the mid-game and arrives after the fight it was meant to decide. She wins by holding a lane and trading from it: pick the flank before the first salvo, then let the guns do the travelling.

Signature Traits

ELITE ARMOR ↗

Thickest plate · 305 mm
Thick deck · 76 mm
Thick stern plate · 25 mm
Heavy citadel belt · 305 mm

Deep-fuse AP ↗

0.03 s AP fuse timer, best of T3 BBs. Shells travel deeper into the plate before bursting; citadels through belt armor more reliably.

Long DCP window ↗

20 s Damage Control duration, best of T3 BBs. Stays fire / flood immune longer per activation.

Slow for the class ↗

18 kt, bottom decile of T3 BBs. Hard to rotate flanks or disengage; commit positioning early.

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 South Carolina

South Carolina is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.

Premium/EventAvailability usually depends on store rotations, event reruns, collaborations, coupons, or special offers.

Official WG availability sources

Through the Spy Glass: USS Black, Independence, South Carolina Ship feature / release Start: 2022-06-21 · 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 South Carolina sits among Tier III BBs (17 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.

BestTurning circle480 m (1/18) BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 3 tied) BestDisplacement17,900 t (1/18) Top 25%Main battery range14.26 km (3/18) Top 25%Acceleration34 s (4/17) Top 25%Max armor305 mm (5/18) Top 25%Citadel belt305 mm (3/18) Top 25%Stern armor25 mm (3/18) Top 25%Deck armor76 mm (4/18) Bottom 25%Hit points35,000 HP (17/18) Bottom 25%Rudder shift15 s (17/18) Bottom 25%AP DPM145,714 (16/18) Bottom 25%HE velocity823 m/s (15/18) WorstMax speed18 kt (18/18) WorstSecondary HE alpha1,100 (17/17) WorstSecondary fire chance4% (1 of 2 tied) WorstSecondary HE pen13 mm (17/17) WorstEngine power16,000 hp (17/17) WorstTurn-speed retention33.3 hp/m (17/17) WorstPower-to-weight0.89 hp/t (17/17) WorstNo AA (3 of 18 in cohort) WorstBow armor16 mm (1 of 5 tied)

See 20 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for South Carolina -- 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.

Concealment12.48 km(10/18) Smoke fire bloom9.53 km(11/18) Air detection9.98 km(11/18) Traverse-to-turn ratio3.62 ×(6/18) Main battery caliber305 mm(9/18) Main battery reload28 s(7/18) Sigma1.8(6/18) HE shell damage4,500(6/18) HE fire chance28%(8/18) Fires per minute4.8(12/18) HE DPM77,143(14/18) Main dispersion202.6 m(14/18) Secondary DPM (per side)121,000(11/18) AP velocity823 m/s(12/18) AP arming threshold51 mm(10/18) AP pen at 10 km288 mm(9/18) Effective HE DPM (incl. fire)108,636(14/18) Secondary range4.5 km(7/18) Repair charges3(9/18) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(15 of 18 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Compare Tier III Battleships

Show all 17 peers

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →

Survivability

Hit Points35,000

Displacement17,900 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.

137.2 x 24.5 m (published figure)

Armor range10–305 mm

Plate armor thicknesses10, 16, 19, 25, 38, 51, 76, 127, 203, 254, 279, 305 mm

Armor material/layer entries45

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.

10%

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 (6,300 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 (7,000 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.

13%

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.

14,500

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.

10,500

Effective HP

Base 35,000 HP plus everything Repair Party can restore: 0.5%/s x 28 s = 4,900 HP per charge, x3 charges = 14,700 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.

49,700

Repairable: penetration50%

Repairable: citadel10%

Repairable: steering gear50%

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 305 mm Mk5

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels

Reload time28 s

Firing range

patched

baseline14255
In-game data
2025-07-3114250
Ministry of Balance: Back to the Naval Academy Main battery firing range increased from 13.1 to 14.25 km.

14.3 km

Turret traverse4 °/s

Turret armor305 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.

2x ±140°, ±136°, ±138°

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.

44° off bow / 42° off stern

See the firing-arcs diagram ↓

HE fire DPM vs T3 BB31493

Effective HE DPM vs T3 BB108636

Shell Grouping (σ)1.8

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{14255}{30} \cdot \frac{12 - 2}{1000} + 2) \cdot 30 = 202.6 m

202.6 m at 14.3 km

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range:

σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax

= 202.6 \cdot 0.6 = 121.5 m

121.5 m at 14.3 km

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius:

σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 202.6 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.8} = 67.5 m

67.5 m at 14.3 km

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius:

σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 121.5 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.8} = 40.5 m

40.5 m at 14.3 km

Turret turn time

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

45 s

Shells/min

8 broadside guns x 60 / 28 s base reload = 17.1.

17.1

HE shells

HE Damage4,500

HE Velocity823 m/s

Fire Chance28%

HE penetration

51 mm ≈ 305 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

51 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

4,500 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 36,000.

36,000

HE DPM

36,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 77,143.

77,143

Fires/min

17.1 shells/min x 28% fire chance = 4.8.

4.8

AP shells

AP Damage8,500

AP Velocity823 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold51 mm

AP overmatch

floor(305 mm caliber / 14.3) = 21 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

21 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 2408 \cdot {394.6}^{0.69} \cdot {0.305}^{- 1.07} \cdot 823^{1.38} = 559.8 mm

. Matches the in-game spec card.

559.8 mm point-blank

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 427.9 m/s:

P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2408 \cdot {394.6}^{0.69} \cdot {0.305}^{- 1.07} \cdot {427.9}^{1.38} = 227 mm

227 mm at 14.3 km

AP full-salvo alpha

8,500 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 68,000.

68,000

AP DPM

68,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 145,714.

145,714

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.

AA Defense

AA mount points0

Maximum AA range

In-game AA card max range: None km. Only the longest-reach family contributes at this distance.

None km

Secondary Battery

Mounts22

Firing range4.5 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

76.2 mm Mk422×1 76.2mm

Caliber76.2 mm

Reload time6 s

HE Damage1,100

Muzzle Velocity823 m/s

Fire Chance4%

Armor Pen13 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 @ 4.5 km

4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.

286.5 m

Maneuverability

Engine power16,000 hp

Maximum speed18 kt

Turning circle radius480 m

Rudder shift time15 s

Engine power-boost threshold7 kt

Engine spool-up time23 s

Reverse spool-up time11.5 s

Reverse speed

top speed / 4 + 4.9 = 18 / 4 + 4.9 = 9.4 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.

9.4 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.

43.3 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).

5.4 kt

Acceleration 0-90%

Time to reach 90% of top speed (16.2 kt of 18 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.

34 s

Acceleration 0-99%

Time to reach 99% of top speed (17.8 kt of 18 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.

56.2 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{18.0 \cdot 0.5144}{480} = 1.11 ° / s

, so

ratio = \frac{ω_{turret}}{ω_{hull}} = \frac{4}{1.11} = 3.6 \times

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

3.6× drags

See the full acceleration curve ↓

Concealment

Detectability by sea12.48 km

Detectability by air9.98 km

Smoke firing penalty9.53 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.

14.26 km

Detect when firing (air)

Air detectability plus the gun-firing bloom (6.1 km, which tracks main-battery caliber x 0.020). Matches the in-game 'Detect Firing Air' value on every captured ship.

16.08 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.

14.48 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.

12.98 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 4,900 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.
· 14,700 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.
· 175 HP/s (0.5% of max HP) heal per second
ƒ
0.5% of max HP (35,000 HP) per second = 175 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

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)1.8

Max Horiz Disp202.6 m at 14.3 km

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model:  $σ_{H} = (\frac{R}{30} \cdot \frac{idealRadius - minRadius}{idealDistance} + minRadius) \cdot 30$   $= (\frac{14255}{30} \cdot \frac{12 - 2}{1000} + 2) \cdot 30 = 202.6 m$

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.

Max Vert Disp121.5 m at 14.3 km

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax$ $= 202.6 \cdot 0.6 = 121.5 m$

Shell scatter height @ 10 km86.4 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  $delim \cdot R_{m a x} = 0.5 \cdot 14255 = 7128$  m, and  $radiusOnMax = 0.6$  at 14255 m. Above the kink:  $k = 0.5 + (0.6 - 0.5) \cdot \frac{10000 - 7128}{14255 - 7128} = 0.5403$ , so  $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot k = 160 \cdot 0.5403 = 86.4 m$ .

Med Horiz Disp67.5 m at 14.3 km

50%-hit horizontal radius: $σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 202.6 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.8} = 67.5 m$

Med Vert Disp40.5 m at 14.3 km

50%-hit vertical radius: $σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 121.5 \cdot \frac{0.6}{1.8} = 40.5 m$

AP Pen Close559.8 mm point-blank

Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v_{0}^{1.38}$   $= 10^{- 7} \cdot 2408 \cdot {394.6}^{0.69} \cdot {0.305}^{- 1.07} \cdot 823^{1.38} = 559.8 mm$ . Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far227 mm at 14.3 km

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 427.9 m/s:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2408 \cdot {394.6}^{0.69} \cdot {0.305}^{- 1.07} \cdot {427.9}^{1.38} = 227 mm$ .

AP pen 5 km399 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 km288 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 flight time @ 10 km5.67 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:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.435 \cdot {0.305}^{2}}{8 \cdot 394.6} = 4.03 \times 10^{- 5}$ . That runs from a 823 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 km5.67 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:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.435 \cdot {0.305}^{2}}{8 \cdot 394.6} = 4.03 \times 10^{- 5}$ . That runs from a 823 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 penetration51 mm

51 mm ≈ 305 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch21 mm

floor(305 mm caliber / 14.3) = 21 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius40

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 alpha8

All 8 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time45 s

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

HE full-salvo alpha36,000

4,500 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 36,000.

AP full-salvo alpha68,000

8,500 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 68,000.

HE DPM77,143

36,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 77,143.

AP DPM145,714

68,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 145,714.

Shells/min17.1

8 broadside guns x 60 / 28 s base reload = 17.1.

Fires/min4.8

17.1 shells/min x 28% fire chance = 4.8.

AA defense

AA DPS at point-blankNone

In-game AA card sum: None DPS, achievable only when a target is inside the shortest-range AA family. Captured as a point-blank total only -- per-family breakdown not yet recorded for this ship, so the DPS at None km is unknown.

Maximum AA rangeNone km

In-game AA card max range: None km. Only the longest-reach family contributes at this distance.

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 @ 4.5 km286.5 m

4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)121,000

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: 22×1 76.2 mm (11/side) × 60/6 × 1100 = 121,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1100

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1100 from the 76.2 mm family.

Max HE fire chance4%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 4% from the 76.2 mm family.

Max HE pen13 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: 13 mm from the 76.2 mm family.

Armor Beta

Hull HP 35,000, 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 & stern16 mm

Overmatched by 47+ AP guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.

Belt / citadel305 mm

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

Farming10 mm

Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 10%, fires burn 60s. Range-by-range in the Compare tool →

Section	Plates	HP cap	Threats	Tactic
Bow	16 mm primary (range 16–38 mm)	1,600 (5% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ AP (Nassau, Von Der Tann)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)	19 mm primary (range 16–203 mm)	26,300 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ AP (Nassau, Von Der Tann)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	25 mm primary (range 16–76 mm)	800 (2% of HP)	Overmatch not possible in its bracketAngle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	305 mm primary (range 16–305 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	10 mm primary (range 10–305 mm)	1,100 (3% 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	14,500 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 (76.2 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.
Engine (module, research)	engine coefficient (unconfirmed)	-0.120 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	10,500 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 South Carolina. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×7Main Battery ×5

2025-07-31

Ministry of Balance: Back to the Naval Academy

Ship HP increased from 29,000 to 35,000.
Main battery firing range increased from 13.1 to 14.25 km.
Main battery reload time reduced from 30 to 28 seconds.
Main battery HE shell damage increased from 4,100 to 4,500.
Main battery HE fire-setting chances increased from 20 to 28%.
Main battery maximum AP shell damage increased from 8,100 to 8,500.
Added the Reloader ship trait.

Read the full official post

2025-07-31

Anniversary Update: Operation Piñata

Two ships have been buffed: U.S. Tier III Premium battleship South Carolina and Soviet Tier III Premium battleship Knyaz Suvorov. Additionally, a few ships have received armor updates: Normandie, Lyon, and Repulse.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

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.

2022-06-21 · Through the Spy Glass Through the Spy Glass: USS Black, Independence, South Carolina Ship feature 2022-06-16 · Patch notes Summer Update: The High Roll Patch notes 2024-10-10 · Patch notes Halloween Update: Crimson Tale Patch notes 2025-07-31 · Patch notes Anniversary Update: Operation Piñata Patch notes

South Carolina

South Carolina Community Stats

South Carolina Community Stats

Playstyle

Overview

Positioning

Potato Avoidance

Signature Traits →

How to get South Carolina

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: Back to the Naval Academy

Anniversary Update: Operation Piñata

Skins & permanent camouflages

Primary official WG sources

Signature Traits