Oregon City-class cruiser

The Oregon City class was a class of heavy cruisers of the United States Navy. Although ten ships of this class were planned, only four were completed – one of those as a command ship. The three ships completed as cruisers were in commission from 1946 to 1980, one having been converted to a guided missile cruiser (CG).

USS Rochester on 20 September 1953
Class overview
NameOregon City class
BuildersBethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byBaltimore class
Succeeded byDes Moines class
SubclassesAlbany class
Built1944–1951
In commission1946–1961[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 — 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 — 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 Oregon City
  • USS Albany
    USS Albany
  • USS Rochester
    USS Rochester
  • USS Northampton
    USS Northampton

See also

Notes
  1. Albany was converted to a guided missile cruiser and as such was in commission from 1962 to 1980, but this was a totally different class of ship than an all-gun heavy cruiser. Northampton was decommissioned in 1970, but was completed as a command ship. Rochester, the last of the Oregon City class "gun cruisers" was decommissioned in 1961.

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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