Oregon City-class cruiser

The Oregon City class was 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 ships completed as cruisers were in commission from 1946 to 1970.

USS Rochester on 20 September 1953
Class overview
NameOregon City-class
BuildersBethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard
Operators United States Navy
Preceded by Baltimore class
Succeeded by Des Moines class
Built1944-1951
In commission1946–70[note 1]
Planned10
Completed4
Cancelled6
Retired4
General characteristics
TypeHeavy cruiser
Displacement13,260 long-tons (standard)
Length
  • 664 ft (202 m) wl
  • 673 ft 5 in (205.26 m) oa
Beam70 ft 10 in (21.59 m)
Draft26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
PropulsionGeneral Electric steam turbines turning 120,000 hp (89,000 kW)
Speed32.4 knots (60.0 km/h; 37.3 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried		2 × lifeboats
Complement1,142 officers and enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carried4 × Vought OS2U Kingfishers
Aviation facilities

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, and to a lesser degree the Atlanta and Juneau 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, five after being laid down.[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 cruisers were commissioned in 1946. Oregon City was decommissioned after only 22 months of service, one of the shortest active careers of any World War II-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
Ships in class[2]
Name Hull Number Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned/
Recommissioned		 Decommissioned Fate
Oregon City CA-122 Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts 8 April 1944 9 June 1945 16 February 1946 15 December 1947 Struck 1 November 1970; Sold for scrap, 17 August 1973
Albany CA-123 6 Mar 1944 11 Jun 1945 15 June 1946 30 June 1958 Converted to Guided Missile Cruiser[3] Struck 30 June 1985; Sold for scrap, 12 August 1990
CG-10 3 November 1962 29 August 1980
Rochester CA-124 29 May 1944 28 August 1945 20 December 1946 15 August 1961 Struck 1 October 1973; Sold for scrap, 24 September 1974
Northampton CA-125 31 August 1944 27 January 1951 7 March 1953 8 April 1970 Converted to command ship during construction – Struck and sold for scrap, 31 Dec 1977
CLC-1
Cambridge CA-126 16 December 1944 N/A Cancelled 12 August 1945 and scrapped on slip
Bridgeport CA-127 13 January 1945 Cancelled 12 August 1945 and scrapped on slip
Kansas City CA-128 9 July 1945 Cancelled 12 August 1945 and scrapped on slip
Tulsa CA-129 N/A Cancelled 12 August 1945
Norfolk CA-137 Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 27 December 1944 Cancelled 12 August 1945 and scrapped on slip
Scranton CA-138 27 December 1944 Cancelled 12 August 1945 and scrapped on slip
  • USS Oregon City
  • USS Albany
  • USS Rochester
  • USS Northampton

See also

Notes
  1. 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".

References
  1. Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 978-0-87021-718-0
  2. Whitley 1999, p. 269.
  3. 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 1-86019-874-0,
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