The American destroyer Helm was one of the first vessels to take action and fight back at Pearl Harbor. It’s coming as a new premium for the US Bluewater fleet in the next major update!
USS Helm: A Premium Destroyer for the USA at Rank II
At a glance:
- Rapid-fire 127 mm guns
- Improved anti-aircraft weaponry
- High speed
- 16 torpedoes
- Depth charge launcher
The destroyer USS Helm (DD-388) was built at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and commissioned in October 1937. By the start of World War II, she already had solid experience, having performed exercises and maneuvers in both the Atlantic and Pacific. On the morning of Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941, Helm was the only ship underway at the time of the attack. While leaving the burning harbor, Helm detected and attacked a Japanese midget submarine, marking one of the first U.S. combat engagements of the war. In 1942, she participated in the evacuation of civilian personnel from the Howland and Baker Islands before being dispatched to the southwestern Pacific. In August, she took part in the landing on Guadalcanal and the Battle of Savo Island, where she assisted heavily damaged American cruisers and evacuated survivors.
Throughout 1943 and 1944, Helm performed a wide range of duties ,escorting convoys off the coasts of Australia and New Guinea, providing naval gunfire support for landings on New Britain and New Guinea, and anti-submarine screening for carrier groups. Her combat service culminated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the monumental Battle of Leyte Gulf, where she contributed to carrier screening and the sinking of the Japanese submarine I-46.
In 1945, she continued to perform carrier screening, and supported the capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She was decommissioned in 1946 and used as a target ship during the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, before being sold for scrap in 1947.
Introducing USS Helm!
Joining the lower ranks in the next major update, this new premium is an excellent way to start your journey through the American Bluewater fleet. She is an absolutely quintessential destroyer, fast, reactive, versatile, and on top of that, she comes with premium bonuses too! Let’s dive deeper into USS Helm.
USS Helm is a member of the Bagley class, the lead ship of which is already available at rank II of the US Bluewater fleet. Helm will be arriving to the game in her 1944 configuration, from the period of the most intense combat in the Pacific Theater, featuring more diverse armament. Helm’s main battery consists of four 127 mm dual-purpose guns; the forward pair in enclosed single mounts, while the aft pair are in open mounts. These classic cannons have an excellent rate of fire, equipped with SAP and HE shells with contact fuzes, and proximity HE shells as well for aircraft. Speaking of anti-aircraft capabilities, Helm’s arsenal has been drastically improved! The lackluster machine guns have been replaced with automatic cannons: a twin 40 mm Bofors mount and six 20 mm Oerlikons. The torpedo armament is also particularly formidable, consisting of a pair of quadruple launchers on each side for a total of 16 compact Mk.15 torpedoes.
She’s quick and nimble when she needs to be, reaching a speed of 71 km/h (over 38 knots) in a short time. Her versatile armament will let her combat any enemy at the rank effectively, and as a premium she’ll arrive completely kitted out and ready for action! If you choose her you’ll not choose wrong, Helm is definitely a very approachable ship. So if you’re interested in giving the tree a try, she’s the perfect partner to start your journey into depths of heavier ships in the higher ranks.
That’s all from us today! Make sure to pick up Helm in the next major update for Golden Eagles (be quick, she’s impatient!), and stay tuned for more dev blogs. See you soon!
Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.
