Baltimore class cruiser

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The Baltimore class cruisers were a class of heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy and the last heavy cruisers to be built during World War II. The ships looked very much like those of the Cleveland class. Their main role was to escort light and heavy aircraft carriers.

Baltimore class cruiser Quincy

The first of the 17 ships of the Baltimore class were commissioned in 1943 and several were kept in service into the 1980s after being refitted as the Boston (Boston and Canberra) and Albany classes of guided missile cruisers. They were the last 8-inch-armed heavy cruisers in service; the last to be paid off was USS St. Paul in 1971.

The class also served as the basis of two derived classes of heavy cruiser, which were almost identical in terms of their general characteristics: the Des Moines class and the Oregon City class. The Oregon City class being repeat builds of the Baltimores with only the superstructure design differing but the Des Moines class were enlarged versions of the Baltimores, with a displacement almost the same as the first modern battleship HMS Dreadnought. They were the main recipients of the new rapid-fire triple 8-inch turret.

1 Saipan-class light carrier
2 General characteristics
- 2.1 Heavy Cruiser
- 2.2 Saipan-class light carrier
3 Ships
- 3.1 Heavy Cruisers
- 3.2 Aircraft Carriers
4 Sources

[edit] Saipan-class light carrier

The Saipan class light carriers were based on the Baltimore class hull, but were actually built from the keel up as aircraft carriers, compared to their heavy cruiser half-sisters they were eight feet beamier (the earlier Independence class light carriers were modified from Cleveland-class light cruisers then under construction). They had very brief service lives as fleet carriers, serving respectively from 1948 to 1954 (Saipan) and 1947 to 1956 (Wright). As carriers, they were swiftly outdated by the deckspace-eating jet aircraft of the 1950s, and quickly rendered far too small in a military environment where the 900-foot-long Essex and Ticonderoga class ships were increasingly seen as cramped and small. The two ships were seen as valuable hulls, however, with a large void space within the ship that could easily be translated to other use. They were converted for non-carrier duties in the late 50s, Saipan as the communications relay ship USS Arlington and Wright as a command ship.

[edit] General characteristics

[edit] Heavy Cruiser

Displacement:
- Standard: 14,500 tons
- Full: 17,000 tons
Length: 205.3 meters
Beam: 21.6 meters
Draught: 7.3 meters
Height (Mast): 34.4 meters
Crew (Officers/Men): 61/1085
Speed: 33 knots
Armament:
- Baltimore, 1943: 9 x 8-inch (203 mm) L/55 in three triple turrets, two superfiring forward, one aft, 12 x 5-inch (127 mm) L/38, in six twin mounts, one forward, one aft, two on each side, 48 x 40-mm L/56, 24 x 20 mm
- Pittsburgh, 1944/45: 9 x 8-inch (203 mm) L/55 as above, 12 x 5-inch (127 mm) L/55 as above, 48 x 40-mm L/56, 22 x 20-mm