The Oregon City-class was a class of heavy cruisers of the United States Navy. Largely based on the preceding Baltimore-class of heavy cruisers, ten Oregon City-class ships were planned, but only four were completed. Of the completed ships, one was the USS Albany, which, in 1962, was converted to be the lead ship of the Albany-sub class of guided missile cruisers. Another vessel of the class, the USS Northampton would be converted to a command ship in 1951. The completed ships were in-commission from 1946 to 1980, with the Albany being the final vessel of the class to serve. All vessels of the class were eventually sold for scrap.

Design and development

The Oregon City-class cruisers were a modified version of the previous 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 and classes, and to a lesser degree the and classes of light cruisers.

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.

|-

! Name

! Hull Number

! Builder

! Laid down

! Launched

! Commissioned/<br>Recommissioned

! Decommissioned

! Fate

|-

|

|CA-122

|rowspan=10|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

|-

|rowspan=2|

|CA-123

|rowspan=2|6 Mar 1944

|rowspan=2|11 Jun 1945

|15 June 1946

|30 June 1958

|rowspan=2|Converted to Guided Missile Cruiser Struck 30 June 1985; Sold for scrap, 12 August 1990

|-

|CG-10

|3 November 1962

|29 August 1980

|-

|

|CA-124

|29 May 1944

|28 August 1945

|20 December 1946

|15 August 1961

|Struck 1 October 1973; Sold for scrap, 24 September 1974

|-

|rowspan=2|

|CA-125

|rowspan=2|31 August 1944

|rowspan=2|27 January 1951

|rowspan=2|7 March 1953

|rowspan=2|8 April 1970

|rowspan=2|Converted to command ship during construction – Struck and sold for scrap, 31 Dec 1977

|-

|CLC-1

|-

|Cambridge

|CA-126

|16 December 1944

|colspan=3 rowspan=6

|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

|rowspan=2|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

|}

<gallery mode="nolines">

File:USS Oregon City (CA-122) underway at sea on 17 June 1946 (80-G-262557).jpg|USS Oregon City

File:USS Albany (CA-123) underway 1955.jpg|USS Albany

File:USS Rochester (CA-124) in port c1959.jpg|USS Rochester

File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) underway c1959.jpg|USS Northampton

</gallery>

See also

  • Albany-class cruiser
  • List of cruisers of the United States Navy

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • Gardiner, Robert and Stephen Chumbley (editors). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland US: Naval Institute Press, 1995. .
  • Whitley, M.J. Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Brockhampton Press, 1999. ,
  • Global Security.org – Oregon City class cruiser
  • DANFS