USS Des Moines (CA-134) |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Des Moines class heavy cruiser |
| Operators: | United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Oregon City class cruiser |
| Succeeded by: | None |
| In commission: | 1948–1975 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Cancelled: | 9[1][2] |
| Retired: | 3 |
| Preserved: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Heavy cruiser |
| Displacement: | 17,000 long tons (17,273 t) |
| Length: | 716 ft 6 in (218.39 m) |
| Beam: | 76 ft 6 in (23.32 m) |
| Draft: | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 shafts General Electric turbines 4 boilers 120,000 shp (89,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 33 kn (61 km/h) |
| Range: | 10,500 nmi at 15 knots 19,400 km at 28 km/h |
| Complement: | 1,799 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: | 6 in (150 mm) Belt 8 in (200 mm) Turrets 31⁄2 in (89 mm) Deck 61⁄2 in (170 mm) Conning Tower |
The Des Moines class cruisers were a group of U.S. Navy heavy cruisers, commissioned in 1948–1949. They were the last of the all-gun heavy cruisers, exceeded in size in the American navy only by the Alaska-class cruisers.
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Derived from the Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, they were larger, had an improved machinery layout, and carried a new design of auto-loading, rapid-fire 8"/55 gun (the Mk16).[3][4][5] The improved Mk16 guns of the main battery were the first auto-loading 8" guns fielded by the US Navy, and allowed a much higher rate of fire than earlier designs, capable of sustaining seven shots per minute per barrel, or about twice that of the Mk12s found on the Baltimore class.[4] The auto-loading mechanism could function at any elevation, giving even these large-caliber guns some anti-aircraft ability.[4] While the secondary battery of six twin 5"/38 Mk12 DP guns was essentially unchanged from the preceding Oregon City and Baltimore class cruisers, the Des Moines class carried a stronger battery of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, including 12 twin 3-inch/50 Mk27 and later Mk33 guns, superior to the earlier ships' quad-mounted 40mm Bofors.[4]
Three ships of the class were completed: Des Moines (CA-134), Salem (CA-139), and Newport News (CA-148). The first two were decommissioned in 1959 and 1961, respectively, but Newport News remained in commission until 1975, having the distinction of being the last active all-gun cruiser and the first completely air-conditioned surface ship in the U.S. Navy. Salem is a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts. Newport News was scrapped in 1993, and Des Moines was scrapped in 2006–2007. Dallas (CA-140) and eight other ships (CA-141 through CA-143 and CA-149 through CA-153) were canceled at the end of World War II.[2][4]
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