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:	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.^[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

• Albany class cruiser

References

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".

Citations

1. ^ Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 9780870217180^{[page needed]}
2. ^ ^{a b} 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 8740,

External links

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