Fargo-class cruiser

USS Fargo (CL-106)
Class overview
Name: Fargo-class cruiser
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded by: Cleveland class
Succeeded by: Worcester class
Planned: 13
Completed: 2
Cancelled: 11
Retired: 2
Preserved: 0
General characteristics
Type:Light cruiser
Displacement:10,000 tons (standard)
14,464 tons (full)
Length:608 ft .25 in (185.3 m)
Beam:63 ft .5 in (19.2 m)
Draft:22 ft (6.7 m)
Propulsion:4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers
4 GE geared steam turbines
4 Screws
100,000 hp (75,000 kW)
Speed:32.5 knots (60.2 km/h)
Complement:1,100 officers and enlisted
Armament:12 × Mk.16 6 inch guns

12 × 5 inch/38 caliber guns
28 × 40 mm Bofors guns

20 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons
Armor:1.5-5 in belt
2-3 in deck
3-5 in turrets
2.25-5 in conn
Aircraft carried:3

The Fargo-class cruisers were a modified version of the previous Cleveland-class light cruiser 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 differentiated the Baltimore and Oregon City classes of heavy cruisers.[1] Changes were made to order to reduce the instability of the Cleveland-class light cruisers, especially their tendency to roll dangerously.[2] The main battery turrets sat about a foot lower and the wing gunhouses (the 5 inch, twin gun mounts on the sides of the ship) were lowered to the main deck. The medium (40 mm) anti-aircraft mounts were also lowered.[3]

In all, 13 ships of the class were planned but only USS Fargo (CL-106) and USS Huntington (CL-107) were ever completed, the rest being cancelled at varying states of completion with the de-escalation of World War II.[4]

Fargo, the lead ship of the class, was launched on 25 February 1945, but was not commissioned until 9 December 1945, shortly after the war ended. Huntington was commissioned early in 1946. The two ships were decommissioned in 1949-1950, and never reactivated.

Ships in class

Ship Name Hull No. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Fargo CL-106 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 23 August 1943 25 February 1945 9 December 1945 14 February 1950 Sold for scrap, 18 August 1971
Huntington CL-107 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 4 October 1943 8 April 1945 23 February 1946 15 June 1949 Sold for scrap, on 16 May 1962
Newark CL-108 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 17 January 1944 14 December 1945 Construction canceled 12 August 1945
New Haven CL-109 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 28 February 1944 Construction cancelled 12 August 1945
Buffalo CL-110 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey 2 April 1944 Construction cancelled 12 August 1945
Wilmington CL-111 William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company 5 March 1945 Construction cancelled 12 August 1945
Vallejo CL-112 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey Construction cancelled 5 October 1944
Helena CL-113 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey Construction cancelled 5 October 1944
Roanoke CL-114 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey Construction cancelled 5 October 1944
unnamed CL-115 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey Construction cancelled 5 October 1944
Tallahassee CL-116 Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company 31 January 1944 Construction cancelled 12 August 1945
Cheyenne CL-117 Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company 29 May 1944 Construction cancelled 12 August 1945
Chattanooga CL-118 Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company 9 October 1944 Construction cancelled 12 August 1945

External links

References

  1. ↑ Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 978-0-87021-718-0
  2. ↑ James J. Fahey, "Pacific War Diary, 1942-1945: The Secret Diary of an American Sailor" 1972 ISBN 978-0395640227
  3. ↑ http://www.world-war.co.uk/US/fargo_class.php3
  4. ↑ M.J. Whitley, Cruisers Of World War Two, An International Encyclopedia 1995 ISBN 978-1-86019-874-8