The tier 8 premium Imperial Japanese Navy heavy cruiser Atago is an improved version of a Myoko class cruiser and is one of a handful of Takao class heavy cruisers the Japanese built.  Being a heavy cruiser the Atago has more armor than you would find on a light cruiser but it does not come close to the armor you would find on a battleship.  Nonetheless the armor does provide adequate protection in the citadel areas that consist of the magazines, main belt, propulsion, and barbettes.  This World of Warships Atago armor guide will break down the Atago into key areas and also outline the different armor thicknesses on the Atago to paint a clear picture on how to engage the Atago.

World of Warships Atago Armor Guide

The Atago’s citadel areas are well protected by armor that reaches 140mm in thickness around the powder magazines.  Being that the powder magazines are crucial to protect against potential shells igniting the stored rounds it is understandable that this would be the thickest armor found on the Atago.  Covering amidships is the main belt area that is between 102mm and 115mm above and just below the waterline on the ship.  Below this area is the main belt “bottom” area that tapers down to only 71mm but is difficult to hit due to it being well below the waterline.  The last area of the citadel consists of the barbettes which connect the main turrets to the powder magazines and they are armored with 100mm armor plates.

Moving to other areas on the Atago you see a drastic drop in armor thickness since even though the Atago is a heavy cruiser it doesn’t have the levels of armor you will find on a battleship.  The main turrets are only protected by 25mm of armor and the coning tower only has 19mm armor plates protecting it.  The forward and aft ends of the ship are protected by 25mm and the superstructure being the weakest section of the ship has between 1mm and 16mm of armor.

Overall the Atago is protected adequately for a Imperial Japanese Navy heavy cruiser butit pales in comparision when stacked against the massive amounts of armor you find on battleships.  Nonetheless it does provide protection against the smaller caliber guns found on destroyers and many other cruisers.

Historical Atago Information