Oregon City class cruiser
USS Oregon City (CA-122) |
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Oregon City class cruiser |
| Operators: |
United States Navy |
| Preceded by: |
Baltimore-class cruiser |
| Succeeded by: |
Des Moines-class cruiser |
| In commission: |
1946–1970[note 1] |
| Planned: |
10 |
| Completed: |
4 (1 completed as a command ship USS Northampton (CLC-1) |
| Cancelled: |
6 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Heavy cruiser |
| Displacement: |
17,000 tons Full Load |
| Length: |
673 ft 5 in (205.26 m) |
| Beam: |
70 ft 10 in (21.59 m) |
| Draft: |
26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) |
| Propulsion: |
General Electric turbines turning 120,000 hp (89,000 kW) |
| Speed: |
32.4 knots (60.0 km/h; 37.3 mph) |
| Complement: |
1,142 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: |
Four amphibious scout planes |
The Oregon City class were a class of heavy cruisers of the United States Navy. Although it was intended to build ten, only four were completed – one of those as a command ship. The three cruisers were in commission from 1946 to 1970.
Design and development
The Oregon City-class cruisers were a modified version of the previous Baltimore-class design; the main difference was a more compact pyramidal superstructure with single trunked funnel, intended to improve the arcs of fire of the anti-aircraft (AA) guns. The same type of modification also differentiated the Cleveland and Fargo classes of light cruisers.[1]
History
Ten ships were authorized for the class with three being completed and the fourth suspended during construction. The final six ships were cancelled.[2] Construction on the incomplete fourth ship was resumed in 1948 and the ship served as a command ship Northampton (CLC-1). All three completed ships were commissioned in 1946. Oregon City was decommissioned after only 18 months of service, probably the shortest active life of any WWII-era cruiser. Albany was later converted into a guided missile ship, becoming the lead ship of the Albany class and served until 1980. A similar conversion was planned for Rochester but was cancelled.
Ships in class
Data from [2]
| Hull Number |
Name |
Builder |
Laid down |
Launched |
Completed |
Fate |
| CA 122 |
USS Oregon City |
Bethlehem Steel |
8 April 1944 |
9 June 1945 |
16 February 1946 |
Stricken 1 Nov 1970 |
| CA 123 |
USS Albany |
Bethlehem Steel |
6 Mar 1944 |
30 Jun 1945 |
11 Jun 1946 |
Converted to Guided Missile Cruiser – Stricken 30 June 1985[3] |
| CA-124 |
USS Rochester |
Bethlehem Steel |
29 May 1944 |
28 August 1945 |
20 December 1946 |
Stricken 1 October 1973 |
| CA-125 |
USS Northampton |
Bethlehem Steel |
31 August 1944 |
27 January 1951 |
7 March 1953 |
Converted to command ship during construction – Stricken 31 Dec 1977 |
| CA-126 |
USS Cambridge |
Bethlehem Steel |
16 December 1944 |
N/A |
N/A |
Cancelled 12 August 1945 |
| CA-127 |
USS Bridgeport |
Bethlehem Steel |
13 January 1945 |
N/A |
N/A |
Cancelled 12 August 1945 |
| CA-128 |
USS Kansas City |
Bethlehem Steel |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Cancelled 12 August 1945 |
| CA-129 |
USS Tulsa |
Bethlehem Steel |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Cancelled 12 August 1945 |
| CA-137 |
USS Norfolk |
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Cancelled 12 August 1945 |
| CA-138 |
USS Scranton |
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Cancelled 12 August 1945 |
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ Albany was converted to a guided missile cruiser and as such was in commission from 1962–1980, but this was a totally different class of ship to a heavy cruiser. Northampton was decommissioned in 1970 as the last of the Oregon City class "gun cruisers".
- Citations
- ^ Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 9780870217180
- ^ a b Whitley 1999, p. 269.
- ^ Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 578.
- Bibliography
- Gardiner, Robert and Stephen Chumbley (editors). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
- Whitley, M.J. Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Brockhampton Press, 1999. ISBN 1 86019 8740,
External links
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Oregon City-class cruiser
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| Built |
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| Canceled |
Bridgeport · Cambridge · Kansas City · Norfolk · Scranton · Tulsa
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