USS Vincennes was a light cruiser of the United States Navy, which were built during World War II. The class was designed as a development of the earlier s, the size of which had been limited by the First London Naval Treaty. The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so the Clevelands used the same hull as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier. The Clevelands carried a main battery of twelve guns in four three-gun turrets, along with a secondary armament of twelve 5"/38 caliber gun| dual-purpose guns. They had a top speed of .
Design
thumb|left|Depiction of the Cleveland class, showing the plan and profile
The Cleveland-class light cruisers traced their origin to design work done in the late 1930s; at the time, light cruiser displacement was limited to by the Second London Naval Treaty. Following the start of World War II in September 1939, Britain announced it would suspend the treaty for the duration of the conflict, a decision the US Navy quickly followed. Though still neutral, the United States recognized that war was likely and the urgent need for additional ships ruled out an entirely new design, so the Clevelands were a close development of the earlier s, the chief difference being the substitution of a two-gun dual-purpose gun mount for one of the main battery gun turrets.
Vincennes was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of . Her standard displacement amounted to and increased to at full load. The ship was powered by four General Electric steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Rated at , the turbines were intended to give a top speed of . Her crew numbered 1285 officers and enlisted men.
The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 6 in /47-caliber Mark 16 guns in four 3-gun turrets on the centerline. Two were placed forward in a superfiring pair; the other two turrets were placed aft of the superstructure in another superfiring pair. The secondary battery consisted of twelve /38-caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets. Two of these were placed on the centerline, one directly behind the forward main turrets and the other just forward of the aft turrets. Two more were placed abreast of the conning tower and the other pair on either side of the aft superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense consisted of twenty-four Bofors guns in four quadruple and four double mounts and twenty-one Oerlikon guns in single mounts.
The ship's belt armor ranged in thickness from , with the thicker section amidships where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. Her deck armor was thick. The main battery turrets were protected with faces and sides and tops, and they were supported by barbettes 6 inches thick. Vincenness conning tower had 5-inch sides.
Construction and commissioning
She was originally laid down as Flint (CL-64) on 7 March 1942 at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. While the ship was under construction, however, the Battle of Savo Island occurred in August 1942, during which engagement the heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA-44) had been sunk. In order to perpetuate the name, Flint was renamed Vincennes on 16 October 1942. Launched on 17 July 1943, Vincennes was sponsored by Mrs. Arthur A. Osborn, the former Miss Harriet V. Kimmell, who had sponsored the first cruiser of the name.
Commissioned on 21 January 1944, Capt. Arthur D. Brown in command, Vincennes fitted-out at her builders' yard into late February, undergoing her sea trials soon thereafter. From 25 February to the last day of March, Vincennes sailed to the British West Indies and back on her shakedown cruise. With brief stopovers in the Chesapeake Bay region, the new light cruiser "shook down" principally in the Gulf of Paria, near Trinidad.
Awards
Vincennes earned six battle stars for her World War II service.