Cleveland-class cruiser

	USS Cleveland at sea in 1942
Class overview
Name	Cleveland class
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Template:Sclass- cruiser; Template:Sclass-;
Succeeded by	Template:Sclass-
In commission	1942–1979
Planned	52
Completed	27
Cancelled	3 (9 converted to aircraft carriers, 13 reordered as Template:Sclass-)
Retired	27
Preserved	1 (converted to a Template:Sclass- guided missile cruiser)
General characteristics
Type	Light cruiser
Displacement	11,744 long tons (11,932 t) (standard); 14,131 long tons (14,358 t) (max);
Length	600 ft (180 m) wl; 608 ft 4 in (185.42 m) oa;
Beam	63 ft (19 m)
Height	113 ft (34 m)
Draft	25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) (mean); 25 ft (7.6 m) (max);
Installed power	4 × Babcock & Wilcox, 634 psi boilers; 100,000 shp (75,000 kW);
Propulsion	4 × General Electric geared steam turbines; 4 × screws;
Speed	32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h)
Range	14,500 nmi (26,900 km; 16,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	1,255 Total; 70 officers; 1,115 enlisted men;
Armament	Cleveland 1942:; 4 × triple 6 in (150 mm)/47 ; 6 × dual 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber; 12 × 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns (2 × 4, 2 × 2); 20 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons; Vicksburg 1944/1945:; 4 × triple 6 in (150 mm)/47; 6 × dual 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber; 28 × 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns (4 × 4, 6 × 2); 10 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons;
Armor	Belt: 3.25–5 in (83–127 mm); Deck: 2 in (51 mm); Bulkheads: 5 in (130 mm); Turrets Face: 6.5 in (170 mm); Turrets Roof: 3 in (76 mm); Turrets Sides: 3 in (76 mm); Turrets Rear: 1.5 in (38 mm); Barbettes: 6 in (150 mm); Conning tower: 2.25–5 in (57–127 mm);
Aircraft carried	4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities	2 × stern catapults
Notes	Dimensions in feet from Jane's American Fighting ships of the 20th Century, 1991

The U.S. Navy designed the Cleveland class of light cruisers for World War II with the goal of increased cruising range, anti-aircraft armament, torpedo protection, etc., compared with earlier U.S. cruisers.^[1]

52 light cruisers of this class were originally planned, but nine of them were completed as the light aircraft carriers of the Template:Sclass-, and two of them were completed to a somewhat different design, with more compact superstructures and just a single stack. These two were called the Template:Sclass-. Of the 27 Cleveland-class cruisers that were commissioned, one (Galveston) was completed as a guided missile cruiser and five were later modified as Template:Sclass- and Template:Sclass- guided missile cruisers. Following the naming convention at the time, all the ships completed as cruisers were named for US cities and towns.^[2]

The Cleveland-class cruisers served mainly in the Pacific Fleet during World War II, especially in the Fast Carrier Task Force, but some of them served off the coasts of Europe and Africa in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. All of these warships, though hard worked in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, and in some cases heavily damaged in combat, survived the war. Except for Manchester, which remained in service until 1956, and the guided missile cruisers all of these cruisers were decommissioned by 1950. They suffered from increasing stability problems as anti-aircraft armament and additional radar was added during the war. None were recommissioned for the Korean War, as they required a crew almost as large as the Template:Sclass- ships, and those ships were reactivated instead. All non-converted ships were sold off from the reserve fleet for scrapping beginning in 1959. The six that were completed as or converted into guided missile cruisers were reactivated during the 1950s and then served into the 1970s. All particularly the Talos armed ships suffered from greater stability problems, than the original design, due to the extra radar and equipment and top weight, which was particularly severe in Galveston, leading to its premature decommissioning in 1970 and Oklahoma City and Little Rock had to have a large amount of ballast and internal rearrangement to allow continued service in the 1970s.^[3] The last of these in service, Oklahoma City, was decommissioned in December 1979.

Only one Cleveland-class cruiser remains in existence. She is the guided missile cruiser Little Rock, which is a museum ship along the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York, along with the Template:Sclass- The Sullivans, and the Template:Sclass-, Croaker.^[4]

Ships in class

Ship Name	Hull No.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate
Cleveland	CL-55	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	1 July 1940	1 November 1941	15 June 1942	7 February 1947	Sold for scrap, 18 February 1960
Columbia	CL-56	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	18 August 1940	17 December 1941	29 July 1942	30 November 1946	Sold for scrap, 18 February 1959
Montpelier	CL-57	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	2 December 1940	12 February 1942	9 September 1942	24 January 1947	Sold for scrap, 22 January 1960
Denver	CL-58	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	26 December 1940	4 April 1942	15 October 1942	7 February 1947	Sold for scrap, 4 February 1960
Amsterdam	CL-59	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	1 May 1941				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVL-22)
Santa Fe	CL-60	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	7 June 1941	10 June 1942	24 November 1942	29 October 1946	Sold for scrap, 9 November 1959
Tallahassee	CL-61	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	2 June 1941				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23)
Birmingham	CL-62	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	17 February 1941	20 March 1942	29 January 1943	2 January 1947	Sold for scrap, 12 November 1959
Mobile	CL-63	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	14 April 1941	15 May 1942	24 March 1943	9 May 1947	Sold for scrap, 16 December 1959
Vincennes	CL-64	Bethlehem Steel Corporation's, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	7 March 1942	17 July 1943	21 January 1944	10 September 1946	Sunk as target, 28 October 1969
Pasadena	CL-65	Bethlehem Steel Corporation's, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	6 February 1943	28 December 1943	8 June 1944	12 January 1950	Sold for scrap, 5 July 1972
Springfield	CL-66 CLG-7	Bethlehem Steel Corporation's, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	13 February 1943	9 March 1944	9 September 1944 2 July 1960	30 September 1949 15 May 1974	Sold for scrap, 11 March 1980
Topeka	CL-67 CLG-8	Bethlehem Steel Corporation's, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	21 April 1943	19 August 1944	23 December 1944	18 June 1949	Sold for scrap, 20 March 1975
New Haven	CL-76	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	11 August 1941				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)
Huntington	CL-77	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	17 November 1941				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Cowpens (CVL-25)
Dayton	CL-78	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	29 December 1941				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26)
Wilmington	CL-79	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	16 March 1942				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Cabot (CVL-28)
Biloxi	CL-80	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	9 July 1941	23 February 1943	31 August 1943	29 August 1946	Sold for scrap, 5 March 1962
Houston	CL-81	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	4 August 1941	19 June 1943	20 December 1943	15 December 1947	Sold for scrap, 1 June 1961
Providence	CL-82 CLG-6	Bethlehem Steel Corporation's, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	27 July 1943	28 December 1944	15 May 1945 17 September 1959	14 June 1949 31 August 1973	Sold for scrap, 15 July 1980
Manchester	CL-83	Bethlehem Steel Corporation's, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	25 September 1944	5 March 1946	29 October 1946	27 June 1956	Sold for scrap, 31 October 1961
Buffalo	CL-84	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey					Cancelled, 16 December 1940
Fargo	CL-85	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	11 April 1942				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Langley (CVL-27)
Vicksburg	CL-86	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	26 October 1942	14 December 1943	12 June 1944	30 June 1947	Sold for scrap, 25 August 1964
Duluth	CL-87	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	9 November 1942	13 January 1944	18 September 1944	25 June 1949	Sold for scrap, 14 November 1960
Newark	CL-88	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey					Cancelled 16 December 1940
Miami	CL-89	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2 August 1941	8 December 1942	28 December 1943	30 June 1947	Sold for scrap, 20 July 1962
Astoria	CL-90	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	6 September 1941	6 March 1943	17 May 1944	1 July 1949	Sold for scrap, 12 January 1971
Oklahoma City	CL-91 CLG-5	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	8 December 1942	20 February 1944	22 December 1944 7 September 1960	30 June 1947 15 December 1979	Sunk as target, 25 March 1999
Little Rock	CL-92 CLG- 4	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	6 March 1943	27 August 1944	17 June 1945 3 June 1960	24 June 1949 22 November 1976	Donated to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park as a Museum ship, 1 June 1977
Galveston	CL-93 CLG-3	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	27 August 1943	22 April 1945	28 May 1958	May 1970	Sold for scrap, 16 May 1975
Youngstown	CL-94	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	4 September 1944				Contract cancelled, 12 August 1945
Buffalo	CL-99	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	31 August 1942				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Bataan (CVL-29)
Newark	CL-100	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	26 October 1942				Reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)
Amsterdam	CL-101	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	3 March 1943	25 April 1944	8 January 1945	30 June 1947	Sold for scrap, 11 February 1972
Portsmouth	CL-102	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	28 June 1943	20 September 1944	25 June 1945	15 June 1949	Sold for scrap, 26 February 1974
Wilkes-Barre	CL-103	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	14 December 1942	24 December 1943	1 July 1944	9 October 1947	Sunk in testing, 12/14 May 1972
Atlanta	CL-104	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	25 January 1943	6 February 1944	3 December 1944	1 July 1949	Sunk in testing, 1 October 1970
Dayton	CL-105	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	8 March 1943	19 March 1944	7 January 1945	1 March 1949	Sold for scrap, 6 April 1962

References

^ Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 978-0-87021-718-0
^ M.J. Whitley, Cruisers Of World War Two, An International Encyclopedia 1995 ISBN 978-1-86019-874-8
^ Those Cleveland Class Cruisers. An exercise in expediency in N.Wilder Post.' Sea Classics Oct 2013, V46, No 10', pp18-25 & 65
^ "Ships". Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park. Retrieved 13 April 2015.

External links

[1] Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 978-0-87021-718-0

[2] M.J. Whitley, Cruisers Of World War Two, An International Encyclopedia 1995 ISBN 978-1-86019-874-8

[3] Those Cleveland Class Cruisers. An exercise in expediency in N.Wilder Post.' Sea Classics Oct 2013, V46, No 10', pp18-25 & 65

[4] "Ships". Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park. Retrieved 13 April 2015.

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v t e Cleveland-class cruisers
Completed	Cleveland Columbia Montpelier Denver Santa Fe Birmingham Mobile Vincennes Pasadena Springfield Topeka Biloxi Houston Providence Manchester Vicksburg Duluth Miami Astoria Oklahoma City Little Rock Galveston Amsterdam Portsmouth Wilkes-Barre Atlanta Dayton
Converted to aircraft carriers	Amsterdam (CL-59) Tallahassee New Haven Huntington Dayton (CL-78) Wilmington Fargo Buffalo (CL-99) Newark (CL-100)
Cancelled	Buffalo (CL-84) Newark (CL-88) Youngstown
Preceded by: Atlanta class Followed by: Fargo class
List of cruisers of the United States Navy

v t e United States naval ship classes of World War II
Aircraft carriers	Lexington Ranger^S Yorktown Wasp^S Essex Midway^C
Light aircraft carriers	Independence Saipan^C
Escort carriers	Long Island Charger Bogue Sangamon Casablanca Commencement Bay
Battleships	Wyoming New York Nevada Pennsylvania New Mexico Tennessee Colorado North Carolina South Dakota Iowa Montana^X
Large cruisers	Alaska
Heavy cruisers	Pensacola Northampton Portland New Orleans Wichita^S Baltimore Oregon City^C Des Moines^C
Light cruisers	Omaha Brooklyn Atlanta Cleveland Fargo^C Juneau^C Worcester^C CL-154^X
Gunboats	Dubuque Sacramento^S Asheville Plymouth^S Williamsburg^S St. Augustine^S Vixen^S Erie PGM-1 PGM-9
Destroyers	Sampson Caldwell Wickes Clemson Farragut Porter Mahan Gridley Bagley Somers Benham Sims Benson Stevenson^X Gleaves Fletcher Allen M. Sumner Robert H. Smith Gearing
Destroyer escorts	Evarts Buckley Cannon Edsall Rudderow John C. Butler
Patrol frigates	Asheville Tacoma
Patrol boats	Action PT boat
Minelayers	Oglala^S Wassuc^S Monadnock^S Miantonomah^S Terror^S Keokuk^S Salem^S Weehawken^S Camanche Chimo
Minesweepers	Lapwing Raven Auk Eagle^S Hawk Admirable
Submarines	O R S Barracuda Argonaut^S Narwhal Dolphin^S Cachalot Porpoise Salmon Sargo Tambor Mackerel Gato Balao Tench
Tankers	T1 tanker T2 tanker T3 tanker
Cargo ships	Liberty Victory Haskell Andromeda Arcturus Artemis Tolland Alstede Aldebaran Adria Acubens Arctic Denebola Hyades Mizar
Auxiliary ships	Ammunition Floating drydock Repair dock Barracks Collier Combat stores Destroyer tender Depot High-speed transport Hospital Ice cream barge Net laying Motor torpedo boat tender Reefer Oiler Repair Seaplane tender Submarine tender Underway replenishment
C Completed after the war S Single ship of class X Cancelled