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Des Moines-class cruiser

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Salem on 16 June 1952
Class overview
NameDes Moines-class
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byOregon City class
Succeeded byNone
Built1945-1949
In commission1948–1975
Planned12
Completed3
Cancelled9[1][2]
Retired3
Scrapped2
Preserved1
General characteristics (as built)
TypeHeavy cruiser
Displacement
Length
  • 700 ft (213.4 m) wl
  • 716 ft 6 in (218.4 m) oa
Beam76 ft 6 in (23.3 m)
Draft22 ft (6.7 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 shafts; 4 steam turbine sets
Speed33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range10,500 nmi (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement1,799 officers and enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 4-6 in (102-152 mm)
  • Deck: 3.5 in (89 mm)
  • Turrets: 2-8 in (51-203 mm)
  • Barbettes: 6.3 in (160 mm)
  • Conning tower: 6.5 in (165 mm)
Aviation facilities2 × aircraft catapults

The Des Moines-class cruisers were a trio of U.S. Navy heavy cruisers commissioned in 1948 and 1949. Largely based on the earlier Baltimore-class heavy cruisers,[3] the Des Moines-class featured improved torpedo protection and heavier anti-aircraft armament. Relatively well-armored and protected,[4] the class was unique in that it mounted nine of the world’s first auto-loading large-caliber guns, the 8-inch (203 mm) Mark 16 guns. These guns enabled Des Moines-class cruisers to fire two to three times faster than earlier 8 in guns with each barrel capable of 8-10 rounds per minute.[5] They were the last of the “all-gun” heavy cruisers (with the Worcester-class representing the final "all-gun" light cruisers) and were exceeded in size within the U.S. Navy only by the 30,000-long-ton (30,481 t) Alaska-class "large cruisers" that straddled the line between heavy cruisers and battlecruisers. Two Des Moines-class cruisers were decommissioned by 1961 but the Newport News (CA-148), served until 1975. USS Salem is a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts; the other two were scrapped.

Description

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Derived from the Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, they were larger, had an improved machinery layout and carried a new design of auto-loading, rapid-fire 8"/55 gun (the Mk16).[6][7][8] The improved Mk16 guns of the main battery were the first auto-loading 8" guns fielded by the US Navy and allowed a much higher rate of fire than earlier designs, capable of sustaining eight to ten shots per minute per barrel, about twice that previous heavy cruisers could.[7][9] The auto-loading mechanism could function at any elevation, giving some anti-aircraft capability.[7] While the secondary battery of six twin 5"/38 Mk12 DP guns was essentially unchanged from the Oregon City and Baltimore-class cruisers, the Des Moines class carried a stronger battery of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, including 12 twin 3-inch/50 Mk27 and later Mk33 guns, that were considered superior to the earlier ships' quad-mounted 40mm Bofors against contemporary airborne threats.[7]

History

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Twelve ships of the class were planned, but only three were completed: Des Moines (CA-134), Salem (CA-139) and Newport News (CA-148), with USS Dallas (CA-140) canceled when approximately 28 percent complete.

Their speed made them valuable to escort carrier groups and they were useful in showing the flag in goodwill visits. The first two were decommissioned in 1961 and 1959, respectively, but Newport News remained in commission until 1975, serving for a long period (1962–1968) as United States Second Fleet flagship, and providing valuable gunfire support off Vietnam from 1967 to 1973. The ship's missions included shelling targets close to the North Vietnam shoreline. In August 1972 she raided Haiphong harbor at night with other US Navy ships to shell coastal defenses, surface-to-air missile sites and Cat Bi airfield.

Newport News was the last active all-gun cruiser (serving 25.5 years continuously) and the first completely air-conditioned surface ship in the U.S. Navy. Salem is a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts. Newport News was laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and scrapped in 1993, while Des Moines was scrapped from 2006–2007. Dallas (CA-140) and eight other ships (CA-141 through CA-143 and CA-149 through CA-153) were canceled at the end of World War II.[2][7]

Ships in class

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Construction data
Ship Hull No. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Des Moines CA-134 Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts 28 May 1945 27 September 1946 16 November 1948 6 July 1961 Struck 9 July 1991, scrapped 2007
Salem CA-139 4 July 1945 25 March 1947 14 May 1949 30 January 1959 Struck 12 July 1991, museum ship at Quincy, Massachusetts
Dallas CA-140 15 October 1945 — Cancelled, 6 June 1946 (28% completed)
— CA-141 — Cancelled, 7 January 1946
CA-142 Cancelled, 12 August 1945
CA-143
Newport News CA-148 Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia 1 October 1945 6 March 1948 29 January 1949 27 June 1975 Struck 31 July 1978, Sold for scrap, 25 February 1993
— CA-149 — Cancelled, 12 August 1945
CA-150 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
CA-151
CA-152
CA-153
[edit]
  • USS Des Moines
    USS Des Moines
  • USS Salem
    USS Salem
  • USS Newport News
    USS Newport News

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Andrew Toppan (2000-04-24). "US Cruisers List: US Light/Heavy/AntiAircraft Cruisers, Part 2". Haze Gray & Underway.
  2. ^ a b "CA-134 Des Moines – Ship Listing". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  3. ^ "About | Iowa Gold Star Military Museum".
  4. ^ "The Des Moines Class Cruiser - the Greatest Heavy Cruiser | War History Online". 10 January 2018.
  5. ^ https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/august/last-8-inch-cruiser-guns [bare URL]
  6. ^ "CA-134 Des Moines Class". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  7. ^ a b c d e "CA-134 Des Moines – Program". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  8. ^ "CA-134 Des Moines Specifications". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  9. ^ "Navweps.com". Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

Bibliography

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  • Andrews, George A., LCDR (March 2022). "Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, Design Branch, CA-139 Class Design History, 31 March 1945". Warship International. LIX (1): 20–33. ISSN 0043-0374.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Friedman, Norman (1980). "United States of America". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
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