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USS Rochester on 20 September 1953
Class overview
Name	Oregon City class
Builders	Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Baltimore class
Succeeded by	Des Moines class
Subclasses	Albany class
Built	1944–1951
In commission	1946–1961
Planned	10
Completed	4
Cancelled	6
Retired	4
General characteristics
Type	Heavy cruiser
Displacement	13,260 long-tons (standard)
Length	664 ft (202 m) wl 673 ft 5 in (205.26 m) oa
Beam	70 ft 10 in (21.59 m)
Draft	26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
Propulsion	General Electric steam turbines turning 120,000 hp (89,000 kW)
Speed	32.4 knots (60.0 km/h; 37.3 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × lifeboats
Complement	1,142 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-6 air-search radar AN/SPS-8A height-finding radar
Armament	As Built: 3 × triple 8"/55 caliber guns 6 × twin 5"/38 caliber guns 11 × quad and 2 x twin Bofors 40 mm guns 8 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons Post-1953 (Albany, Rochester): 3 × triple 8"/55 caliber guns 6 × twin 5"/38 caliber guns 10 × twin 3"/50 caliber guns
Armor	6 Inch belt armor
Aircraft carried	4 × Vought OS2U Kingfishers
Aviation facilities	2 × aircraft catapults Helipad (later conversion)

The Oregon City-class was a class of heavy cruisers of the United States Navy. Although ten ships of this class were planned, only four were completed – one of those as a command ship. The three ships completed as cruisers were in commission from 1946 to 1980, one having been converted to a guided missile cruiser (CG).

Design and development

The Oregon City-class cruisers were a modified version of the previous Baltimore-class 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 Cleveland and Fargo classes, and to a lesser degree the Atlanta and Juneau 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. Construction on the incomplete fourth ship was resumed in 1948 and the ship served as a command ship Northampton (CLC-1). All three completed cruisers were commissioned in 1946. Oregon City was decommissioned after only 22 months of service, one of the shortest active careers of any World War II-era cruiser. Albany was later converted into a guided missile ship, becoming the lead ship of the Albany class and served until 1980. A similar conversion was planned for Rochester but was cancelled.

Ships in class

Gallery

• USS Oregon City
• USS Albany
• USS Rochester
• USS Northampton

See also

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

Notes

1. Albany was converted to a guided missile cruiser and as such was in commission from 1962 to 1980, but this was a totally different class of ship than an all-gun heavy cruiser. Northampton was decommissioned in 1970, but was completed as a command ship. Rochester, the last of the Oregon City class "gun cruisers" was decommissioned in 1961.

References

1. Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 978-0-87021-718-0
2. ^ Whitley 1999, p. 269.
3. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 578.

Bibliography

• Gardiner, Robert and Stephen Chumbley (editors). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland US: Naval Institute Press, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Whitley, M.J. Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Brockhampton Press, 1999. ISBN 1-86019-874-0,

External links

• Global Security.org – Oregon City class cruiser
• DANFS

• Cruiser classes
• Oregon City-class cruisers
• 1940s ships