Des Moines-class cruiser

{{Short description|Early Cold War-era heavy cruiser class of the U.S. Navy}}

{{Infobox ship begin

}}{{Infobox ship image

| Ship image = File:USS Salem (CA-139) underway in the Mediterranean Sea on 16 June 1952 (NH 97605).jpg

| Ship caption =Salem on 16 June 1952

}}

{{Infobox ship class overview

|Name=Des Moines-class

|Builders=*Bethlehem, Fore River, MA (2)

Newport News Shipbuilding, VA (1)

|Operators=20px United States Navy

|Class before={{sclass|Oregon City|cruiser|4}}

|Class after=None

|Subclasses=

|Built range= 1945-1949

|In commission range=1948–1975

|Total ships planned=12

|Total ships completed=3

|Total ships cancelled=9{{cite web | url=http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/cruisers/ca-cl2.htm | title=US Cruisers List: US Light/Heavy/AntiAircraft Cruisers, Part 2 | author=Andrew Toppan | date=2000-04-24 | publisher=Haze Gray & Underway}}

|Total ships retired=3

|Total ships scrapped=2

|Total ships preserved=1

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

| Hide header =

| Header caption = (as built)

| Ship type = Heavy cruiser

| Ship displacement = *{{convert|17255|LT|t|0|lk=on}} (standard)

{{convert|20933|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (full load)

| Ship length =*{{convert|700|ft|abbr=on|1}} wl

{{convert|716|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}} oa

| Ship beam = {{convert|76|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}}

| Ship draft = {{convert|22|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}

| Ship propulsion = *4 shafts; 4 steam turbine sets

| Ship power=*4 boilers

{{cvt|120000|shp|lk=on}}

| Ship speed = {{cvt|33|kn|lk=in}}

| Ship range = {{cvt|10500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{cvt|15|kn}}

| Ship complement = 1,799 officers and enlisted

| Ship sensors =

| Ship EW =

| Ship armament = *3 × triple 8"/55 caliber guns

6 × twin 5"/38 caliber guns
12 × twin 3"/50 caliber guns
12 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons

| Ship 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)

| Ship aircraft =

| Ship aircraft facilities =*2 × aircraft catapults

| Ship notes =

}}

The Des Moines-class cruisers were a trio of U.S. Navy (USN) heavy cruisers commissioned in 1948 and 1949. Largely based on the earlier {{sclass|Baltimore|cruiser|0}} heavy cruisers,{{cite web | url=https://goldstarmuseum.iowa.gov/about/ | title=About | Iowa Gold Star Military Museum }} the Des Moines-class featured improved torpedo protection and heavier anti-aircraft armament.

Relatively well-armored and protected,{{cite web | url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/guest-bloggers/the-des-moines-class-cruiser.html | title=The Des Moines Class Cruiser - the Greatest Heavy Cruiser | War History Online | date=10 January 2018 }} 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.{{cite web | url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/august/last-8-inch-cruiser-guns | title=Last of the 8-inch Cruiser Guns | date=August 2017 }} They were the last of the “all-gun” heavy cruisers (with the {{sclass |Worcester |cruiser |0}} representing the final "all-gun" light cruisers) and were exceeded in size within the USN only by the {{convert|30000|LT|t|0|adj=on}} {{sclass|Alaska|cruiser|0}} "large cruisers" that straddled the line between heavy cruisers and battlecruisers. {{USS|Des Moines|CA-134}} and {{USS|Salem|CA-139}} were decommissioned by 1961 but {{USS|Newport News|CA-148}} served until 1975. Salem is a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts (near Salem, Massachusetts, the ship's namesake); Des Moines and Newport News were scrapped.

Description

Derived from the {{sclass|Baltimore|cruiser|0}} 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).{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ca-134.htm |title=CA-134 Des Moines Class |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org |access-date=2009-02-28}}{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ca-134-program.htm |title=CA-134 Des Moines – Program |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org|access-date=2009-02-28}}{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ca-134-specs.htm |title=CA-134 Des Moines Specifications |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org |access-date=2009-02-28}} 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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.navweps.com/ |title=Navweps.com |access-date=2019-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620033302/http://navweps.com/ |archive-date=2013-06-20 |url-status=dead }} The auto-loading mechanism could function at any elevation, giving some anti-aircraft capability. While the secondary battery of six twin 5"/38 Mk12 DP guns was essentially unchanged from the {{sclass|Oregon City|cruiser|5}} 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.

History

Twelve ships of the class were planned, but only three were completed: {{USS|Des Moines|CA-134|3}}, {{USS|Salem|CA-139|3}} and {{USS|Newport News|CA-148|3}}, 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ca-134-unit.htm |title=CA-134 Des Moines – Ship Listing |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org |access-date=2009-02-28}}

Ships in class

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+ Construction data

!scope="col"|Ship

!scope="col"|Hull No.

!scope="col"|Builder

!scope="col"|Laid down

!scope="col"|Launched

!scope="col"|Commissioned

!scope="col"|Decommissioned

!scope="col"|Fate

scope="row"|{{USS|Des Moines|CA-134|2}}

|CA-134

|rowspan=6|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

scope="row"|{{USS|Salem|CA-139|2}}

|CA-139

|4 July 1945

|25 March 1947

|14 May 1949

|30 January 1959

|Struck 12 July 1991, museum ship at Quincy, Massachusetts

scope="row"|{{USS|Dallas|CA-140|2}}

|CA-140

|15 October 1945

|colspan=3 {{n/a}}

|Cancelled, 6 June 1946 (28% completed)

scope="row" rowspan=3 {{n/a}}

|CA-141

|colspan=4 rowspan=3 {{n/a}}

|Cancelled, 7 January 1946

scope="row"|CA-142

|rowspan=2|Cancelled, 12 August 1945

CA-143

scope="row"|{{USS|Newport News|CA-148|2}}

|CA-148

|rowspan=2|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

scope="row" rowspan=5 {{n/a}}

|CA-149

|colspan=4 rowspan=5 {{n/a}}

|rowspan=5| Cancelled, 12 August 1945

CA-150

|rowspan=4|New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey

CA-151

CA-152

CA-153

Gallery

File:USS Des Moines (CA-134) underway at sea, circa in the late 1950s.jpg|USS Des Moines

File:USS Salem (CA-139) at anchor off Sardinia on 19 May 1950 (NH 97604).jpg|USS Salem

File:USS Newport News (CA-148) underway on 1 February 1960 (NH 106502).jpg|USS Newport News

References

Bibliography

{{cite journal |last1=Andrews |first1=George A., LCDR |title=Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, Design Branch, CA-139 Class Design History, 31 March 1945 |journal=Warship International |date=March 2022 |volume=LIX |issue=1 |pages=20–33 |issn=0043-0374}}
{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger |publisher=Mayflower Books|location=New York|year=1980|isbn=0-8317-0303-2|chapter=United States of America |first1=Norman|last1=Friedman|author-link=Norman Friedman}}

External links

[http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/134/04134.htm Des Moines class cruiser]—NavSource Online
[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ca-134.htm Des Moines class cruiser]—GlobalSecurity.org
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070708055507/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/butowsky1/desmoines.htm#photos Des Moines class cruiser]—National Park Service

Category:Cruiser classes