New Orleans class cruiser (1931)
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The New Orleans class cruisers were a class of 7 heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy under the Washington Naval Treaty before World War II. They were an improvement on the Northampton class heavy cruisers. CA-32 through CA-36 were originally ordered as Northampton class ships but 32, 34 and 36 were reordered as what was to become the Tuscaloosa class shortly after being laid down. The Portland (CA-33) and Indianapolis (CA-35) could not be changed to the New Orleans design and became a separate class.
The 7 New Orleans class ships were:
- New Orleans (CA-32)
- Astoria (CA-34)
- Minneapolis (CA-36)
- Tuscaloosa (CA-37)
- San Francisco (CA-38)
- Quincy (CA-39)
- Vincennes (CA-44)
Three of the seven members were lost in the Battle of Savo Island in 1942. All were first commissioned between 1934 and 1937.
The New Orleans class was noteworthy for its protection. The armor belt was 5in thick, and the armor deck was 2.25in. The turrets and Barbettes had comparable protection, giving reasonable protection against 8in fire for the first time in US crusiers. However, to accomplish this, the armored box was limited. The main belt only protected the machinery spaces. The magazines were protected by placing them well below the waterline. Otherwise only a internal splinter belt and the 2.25in armor deck protected the magazines. While this allowed a exceptional degree of armored protection for the vitals against shellfire, there was little protected hull volume, and the deep magazines were more exposed to underwater damage. This was considered a necessary compromise given the ship was limited to 10000 tons standard displacement.
See also New Orleans-class cruiser (1896).
| New Orleans-class cruiser |
| New Orleans | Astoria | Minneapolis | Tuscaloosa | San Francisco | Quincy | Vincennes |
List of cruisers of the United States Navy |
