Albany class cruiser

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Class overview
USS Albany, lead ship of her class
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Long Beach-class cruiser
Succeeded by:	Leahy-class cruiser
Built:	1959-1964 (conversions)
In commission:	1962-1980
Planned:	5
Completed:	3
Retired:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Guided missile cruiser
Displacement:	13,700 std, 17,500 full load
Length:	664 ft (202 m) waterline, 674 ft (205 m) overall
Beam:	70 ft (21 m)
Draft:	30 ft (9.1 m)
Propulsion:	4 Babcock and Wilcox boilers, 4 General Electric geared turbines, 120,000 shp, 4 shafts
Speed:	32 kts
Complement:	1,222 (72 officers, 1,150 enlisted)
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-48 3D air search radar, AN/SPS-43, AN/SPS-30, AN/SPS-10 surface search radar, AN/SPG-49 fire control radar for Talos, AN/SPG-51 fire control radar for Tartar, AN/SQS-23 bow mounted sonar
Armament:	2 Mk 12 twin RIM-8 Talos SAM launchers (104 missiles) 2 Mk 11 twin RIM-24 Tartar SAM launchers (84 missiles) 1 Mk-112 ASROC 8-tube launcher 2 5-inch gun 2 triple Mk-32 torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried:	Flight deck only

The Albany Class guided missile cruisers were converted Baltimore and Oregon City class heavy cruisers of the United States Navy. All original superstructure and weapons were removed and replaced. The converted ships had new very high superstructures and relied heavily on Aluminum to save weight.

1 Class description
2 Weapons and systems
3 Units
4 Gallery
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Class description

The conversion was extensive, stripping the ships down to their hulls, removing all armament and the ship's superstructure. USS Albany (CA-123), a Baltimore class cruiser, was converted at Boston Naval Shipyard starting in January 1959 and recommissioning as CG-10 on November 3, 1962. USS Chicago (CA-136), an Oregon City class cruiser, was converted at San Francisco Naval Shipyard starting in July 1959 and was recommissioning as CG-11 on May 2, 1964. USS Fall River (CA-131) was originally slated to be CG-12, but USS Columbus (CA-74) was converted instead. Columbus was converted at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard beginning in September 1959 and recommissioning as CG-12 on December 1, 1962. USS Rochester (CA-124) and USS Bremerton (CA-130) were also proposed for conversion to CG-13 and CG-14, but those plans were dropped because of the high cost of the conversion and capabilities of newer guided missile frigates.^[1]

[edit] Weapons and systems

The weapon systems carried included the Mk 77 missile fire control system with four AN/SPG-49 fire control radars and two Mk 12 twin launchers for the RIM-8 Talos, one forward and one aft. The ships also carried shorter ranged RIM-24 Tartar missiles launched from two Mk 11 twin launchers, one port and one starboard of the main superstructure. Tartar was controlled by the Mk 74 missile fire control system and four AN/SPG-51 fire control radars. Space was allocated midships for the installation of eight Polaris missiles, but plans to add ballistic missiles were dropped in mid-1959. One eight cell "matchbox" ASROC launcher was installed midships, between the two stacks. The ships were initially converted with no guns, but open mount Mk 24 5"/38 guns were added later port and starboard, near the aft exhaust stack. Phalanx CIWS and Harpoon were planned to be installed, but the remaining ships were decommissioned before their installation.^[1]

[edit] Units

Ship Name	Hull No.	Builder	Commission– Decommission	Fate	Link
Albany	CA-123/CG-10	Bethlehem Steel, Quincy	1946-1980	Disposed of, sold by DRMS for scrapping, 08/12/1990	NVR DANFS
Chicago	CA-136/CG-11	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard	1945-1980	Disposed of, sold by DRMS for scrapping, 10/24/1991	NVR DANFS
Columbus	CA-74/CG-12	Bethlehem Steel, Quincy	1945-1975	Disposed of, sold by DRMS for scrapping, 11/01/1977	NVR

[edit] Gallery

Talos launcher on Columbus, 1962	Columbus firing Tartar missile - Mediterranean, 1965	USS Columbus' 8-tube Mk 112 ASROC, 1962	Elevated port side view of Columbus
Albany prior to conversion c.1951