Cleveland class cruiser

USS Cleveland (CL-55)
Class overview
Name:	Cleveland class cruiser
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Atlanta-class cruiser
Succeeded by:	Fargo-class cruiser
Planned:	52
Completed:	27
Cancelled:	3 (9 converted to aircraft carriers, 13 reordered)
Retired:	27
Preserved:	1 (converted to a Galveston-class guided missile cruiser)
General characteristics
Type:	light cruiser
Displacement:	11,800 tons (standard), 14,131 tons (full)
Length:	600 ft (Waterline) 600 ft (180 m), 608 ft 4 in (Overall) 608 ft 4 in (185.42 m)
Beam:	63 ft (20.2 m)
Height:	113 ft (34.5 m)
Draft:	20 ft mean (7.5 m)
Propulsion:	4 Babcock & Wilcox, 634 psi boilers 4 GE geared steam turbines 4 Screws 100,000 hp (75 MW)
Speed:	32.5 knots
Range:	14,500 nm @ 15 kts
Complement:	1,255 Total 70 officers 1,115 enlisted
Armament:	Cleveland 1942: 12 × Mk.16 6 inch guns(4×3) 12 × 5 in/38 cal gun (6×2) 12 × 40 mm Bofors guns (2×4, 2×2) 20 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons Vicksburg 1944/1945: 12 × Mk.16 6 inch guns(4×3) 12 × 5 in/38 cal gun (6×2) 28 × 40 mm Bofors guns (4×4, 6×2) 10 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons
Armor:	Belt:3.25-5 in Deck:2 in Turrets:1.5-6 in Barbettes: 6 in Conning Tower:2.25-5 in
Aircraft carried:	4
Aviation facilities:	2 catapults for seaplanes
Notes:	Dimensions in feet from Jane's American Fighting ships of the 20th Century, 1991

The United States Navy designed the Cleveland class of light cruisers for World War II with the goal of increased range and AA armament as compared with earlier classes.^[1]

A total of 52 ships of this class were projected and 3 canceled. Nine ships were reordered as Independence-class light aircraft carriers and 13 changed (of which two were completed) to a slightly different design, with a more compact superstructure and single funnel, known as the Fargo class. Of the 27 Cleveland-class ships actually commissioned, one (USS Galveston) was completed as a guided missile cruiser and five were later refitted as Galveston- and Providence-class guided missile cruisers. Following the naming convention at the time, all the ships completed as cruisers were named for U.S. cities. ^[2]

The ships were mainly used in the Pacific during World War II, but some saw action in Europe and off the coast of Africa. All survived the war. Except for Manchester, which remained in service until 1956, all were decommissioned by 1950. The six converted into missile ships were reactivated in the mid-1950s and retired in the early 1970s.

Only one Cleveland-class ship remains, Little Rock, which is now a museum in Buffalo, New York.

Ships in class

• USS Cleveland (CL-55)
• USS Columbia (CL-56)
• USS Montpelier (CL-57)
• USS Denver (CL-58)
• USS Amsterdam (CL-59) (reordered as light carrier USS Independence (CVL-22))
• USS Santa Fe (CL-60)
• USS Tallahassee (CL-61) (reordered as light carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23))
• USS Birmingham (CL-62)
• USS Mobile (CL-63)
• USS Vincennes (CL-64)
• USS Pasadena (CL-65)
• USS Springfield (CL-66) (refit as guided missile cruiser CLG-7/CG-7)
• USS Topeka (CL-67) (refit as guided missile cruiser CLG-8)
• USS New Haven (CL-76) (reordered as light carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24))
• USS Huntington (CL-77) (reordered as light carrier USS Cowpens (CVL-25))
• USS Dayton (CL-78) (reordered as light carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26))
• USS Wilmington (CL-79) (reordered as light carrier USS Cabot (CVL-28))
• USS Biloxi (CL-80)
• USS Houston (CL-81)
• USS Providence (CL-82) (refit as guided missile cruiser CLG-6/CG-6)
• USS Manchester (CL-83)
• CL-84 (unnamed, cancelled)
• USS Fargo (CL-85) (reordered as light carrier USS Langley (CVL-27))
• USS Vicksburg (CL-86)
• USS Duluth (CL-87)
• CL-88 (unnamed, cancelled)
• USS Miami (CL-89)
• USS Astoria (CL-90)
• USS Oklahoma City (CL-91) (refit as guided missile cruiser CLG-5/CG-5)
• USS Little Rock (CL-92) (refit as guided missile cruiser CLG-4/CG-4)
• USS Galveston (CL-93) (laid up before completion, then completed as guided missile cruiser CLG-3)
• USS Youngstown (CL-94) (cancelled and scrapped)
• USS Buffalo (CL-99) (reordered as light carrier USS Bataan (CVL-29))
• USS Newark (CL-100) (reordered as light carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30))
• USS Amsterdam (CL-101)
• USS Portsmouth (CL-102)
• USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103)
• USS Atlanta (CL-104)
• USS Dayton (CL-105)

See also

Media related to Cleveland class cruiser at Wikimedia Commons

External links

• Statistics
• Global Security.org - Cleveland class cruiser

References

1. ^ Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 9780870217180
2. ^ M.J. Whitley, Cruisers Of World War Two, An International Encyclopedia 1995 ISBN 9781860198748