Oregon City-class cruiser

300px USS Oregon City (CA-122)
Class overview
Name:	Oregon City-class cruiser
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Baltimore class
Succeeded by:	Des Moines class
In commission:	1946–70
Planned:	10
Completed:	4 (1 completed as a command ship USS Northampton (CLC-1)
Cancelled:	6
General characteristics
Type:	Heavy cruiser
Displacement:	13,260 long-tons (standard)
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:	9 × 8 inch/55 caliber guns (3×3) 12 × 5 inch/38 caliber guns (6×2) 48 × 40 mm Bofors guns 20 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons
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.

History

Ten ships were authorized for the class with three being completed and the fourth suspended during construction. The final six ships were cancelled. 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

Ships in class

Hull Number	Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate
CA-122	Oregon City	Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	8 April 1944	9 June 1945	16 February 1946	15 December 1947	Sold for scrap, 17 August 1973
CA-123 CG-10	Albany		6 Mar 1944	11 Jun 1945	15 June 1946 3 November 1962	30 June 1958 29 August 1980	Converted to Guided Missile Cruiser Sold for scrap, 12 August 1990
CA-124	Rochester		29 May 1944	28 August 1945	20 December 1946	15 August 1961	Sold for scrap, 24 September 1974
CA-125 CLC-1	Northampton		31 August 1944	27 January 1951	7 March 1953	8 April 1970	Converted to command ship during construction – stricken 31 Dec 1977
CA-126	Cambridge		16 December 1944	-	-		Cancelled 12 August 1945
CA-127	Bridgeport		13 January 1945	-	-		Cancelled 12 August 1945
CA-128	Kansas City		9 July 1945	-	-		Cancelled 12 August 1945
CA-129	Tulsa		-	-	-		Cancelled 12 August 1945
CA-137	Norfolk	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard	27 December 1944	-	-		Cancelled 12 August 1945
CA-138	Scranton		27 December 1944	-	-		Cancelled 12 August 1945

See also

• Albany class cruiser

References

Notes

Citations

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,

External links

• Global Security.org – Oregon City class cruiser
• DANFS