US Navy Heavy and Light Cruisers: USS New Orleans (CL/CA-32)
Washington Naval Treaty
The first cruisers of the Pensacola, Northampton, New Orleans, and Portland classes – which were designed after the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, so quickly that the last design was complete before sea trial of the first were finished – were originally designated Light Cruisers (CL) due to their light protection. Later, in accordance with the 1930 London Naval Treaty, they were reclassified as “Heavy Cruisers” (CA) in 1931 due to their 8-inch (203 mm) guns. Thenceforward new heavy and light cruisers were numbered in a single sequence. These four classes were known as “Treaty cruisers” and “Tinclads” and were seen even before the Second World War as deficient by the Navy due to the treaty limitations, but despite their high losses in the early days of the war they performed well. (Wikipedia)
New Orleans class
(CL/CA-32) New Orleans (1934) – WW2: 17 battle stars.
Portland class
(CL/CA-33) Portland (1933) – WW2: 16 battle stars.
New Orleans class
(CL/CA-34) Astoria (1934) – WW2: 3 battle stars, sunk by gunfire 9 August 1942, 219 killed
Portland class
(CL/CA-35) Indianapolis (1932) – WW2: 10 battle stars, sunk by torpedoes 30 July 1945, 879 killed.
New Orleans class
(CL/CA-36) Minneapolis (1934) – WW2: 17 battle stars.
(CA-37) Tuscaloosa (1934) – WW2: 7 battle stars.
(CA-38) San Francisco (1934) – WW2: 17 battle stars.
(CA-39) Quincy (1936) – WW2: 1 battle star, sunk by gunfire and torpedoes 9 August 1942, 370 killed.
USS New Orleans (CA-32)
(USN Photo)
USS New Orleans (CA-32) steams through a tight turn in Elliot Bay, Washington (USA), on 30 July 1943, following battle damage repairs and overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
USS New Orleans (CL/CA-32) was the lead New Orleans-class cruiser in service with the United States Navy. The New Orleans-class cruisers were the last U.S. cruisers built to the specifications and standards of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Such ships, with a limit of 10,000 long tons (10,160 t) standard displacement and 8-inch (203 mm) caliber main guns may be referred to as “treaty cruisers.” While she was originally classified a light cruiser because of her thin armor, soon after being laid down she was reclassified as a heavy cruiser because of her 8-inch guns. The term “heavy cruiser” was not defined until the London Naval Treaty in 1930. (Wikipedia)
(USN Photo)
USS New Orleans (CA-32) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, on 8 March 1945, following her last wartime overhaul. The port catapult has been removed.
USS Portland (CL/CA-33)
USS Astoria (CL/CA-34)
USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35)
USS Minneapolis (CL/CA-36)
USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37)
USS San Francisco (CA-38)
USS Quincy ((CA-39)
London Naval Treaty
The terms of the 1930 London Naval Treaty motivated the signatories to de-emphasize heavy cruiser construction in favor of light cruisers. The resultant nine ship Brooklyn-class of light cruisers had a strong influence on US cruiser design. Nearly all subsequent US cruisers, heavy and light, were directly or indirectly based on them, including the unique heavy cruiser Wichita. (Wikipedia)
Brooklyn class
(CL-40) Brooklyn (1937) – WW2: 4 battle stars, later Chilean O’Higgins.
(CL-41) Philadelphia (1937) – WW2: 5 battle stars, later Brazilian Barroso.
(CL-42) Savannah (1938) – WW2: 3 battle stars.
(CL-43) Nashville (1938) – WW2: 10 battle stars, later Chilean Capitan Prat.
New Orleans class
(CA-44) Vincennes (1937) – WW2: 2 battle stars, sunk by gunfire and torpedoes 9 August 1942, 332 killed.
Wichita class
(CA-45) Wichita (1939) – WW2: 13 battle stars.
Brooklyn class
(CL-46) Phoenix (1938) – WW2: 11 battle stars, later ARA General Belgrano.
(CL-47) Boise (1938) – WW2: 11 battle stars, later ARA Nueve de Julio.
(CL-48) Honolulu (1938) – WW2: 8 battle stars.
Brooklyn class (St. Louis subclass)
(CL-49) St. Louis (1939) – WW2: 11 battle stars, later Brazilian Almirante Tamandaré.
(CL-50) Helena (1939) – WW2: 7 battle stars, war loss 6 July 1943, 168 killed.
Second London Naval Treaty
The 1936 Second London Naval Treaty would also influence the Navy’s light cruiser program. It imposed limits that resulted in the smaller displacement Atlanta class with a 5-inch (127 mm) dual purpose rapid fire main gun battery, the first such ship in the Navy. (Wikipedia)
Atlanta class
(CL-51) Atlanta (1941) – WW2: 5 battle stars, scuttled after torpedo damage 13 November 1942.
(CL-52) Juneau (1942) – WW2: 4 battle stars, sunk by torpedoes 13 November 1942, 687 killed.
(CL-53) San Diego (1942) – WW2: 18 battle stars.
(CL-54) San Juan (1942) – WW2: 13 battle stars.
Cruiser-Destroyer (CLD)
Parallel to the Atlanta design was an abortive attempt to design a super-Atlanta known as the Cruiser-Destroyer, or CLD. The “ship characteristics” resulting from this study would be almost identical to that of the later CL-154 design. CLD did not become an official hull classification symbol. (Wikipedia)
Early Second World War
When the United States entered the Second World War it had three major classes of cruisers under construction: the Atlanta and Cleveland light cruiser classes (with 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries, respectively), and the Baltimore-class of heavy cruisers. The Cleveland-class was an improvement of the Brooklyn design, while the Baltimore-class was an improved Wichita. These ships would form the bulk of the cruiser war construction effort, with eight Atlanta-class, twenty-seven Cleveland-class, and fourteen Baltimore-class cruisers ultimately completed. Early in the war nine Cleveland hulls would be diverted for conversion into Independence class light aircraft carriers (CVLs). By the end of the war three Cleveland hulls would be canceled, and one incomplete hull would later be converted to a guided missile cruiser. (Wikipedia)
Cleveland class
(CL-55) Cleveland (1942) – WW2: 13 battle stars.
(CL-56) Columbia (1942) – WW2: 10 battle stars.
(CL-57) Montpelier (1942) – WW2: 13 battle stars.
(CL-58) Denver (1942) – WW2: 11 battle stars.
(CL-59) Amsterdam (completed as Independence (CVL-22)).
(CL-60) Santa Fe (1942) – WW2: 13 battle stars.
(CL-61) Tallahassee (completed as Princeton (CVL-23)).
(CL-62) Birmingham (1943) – WW2: 8 battle stars.
(CL-63) Mobile (1943) – WW2: 11 battle stars.
(CL-64) Vincennes (ex-Flint) (1944) – WW2: 6 battle stars.
(CL-65) Pasadena (1944) – WW2: 5 battle stars.
(CL-66) Springfield (1944) – WW2: 2 battle stars, later converted to CLG-7.
(CL-67) Topeka (1944) – WW2: 2 battle stars, later converted to CLG-8.
Baltimore class
(CA-68) Baltimore (1943) – WW2: 9 battle stars.
(CA-69) Boston (1943) – WW2: 10 battle stars, later converted to CAG-1.
(CA-70) Canberra (ex-Pittsburgh) (1943) – WW2: 7 battle stars, later converted to CAG-2.
(CA-71) Quincy (ex-St Paul) (1943) – WW2: 5 battle stars.
(CA-72) Pittsburgh (ex-Albany) (1944) – WW2: 2 battle stars.
(CA-73) St. Paul (1945) – WW2: 1 battle star, Korea: 8 stars, Vietnam: 9 stars.
(CA-74) Columbus (1945) – later converted to CG-12.
(CA-75) Helena (ex-Des Moines) (1945) – WW2: 4 battle stars.
Cleveland class
(CL-76) New Haven (completed as Belleau Wood (CVL-24)).
(CL-77) Huntington (completed as Cowpens (CVL-25)).
(CL-78) Dayton (completed as Monterey (CVL-26)).
(CL-79) Wilmington (completed as Cabot (CVL-28)).
(CL-80) Biloxi (1943) – WW2: 9 battle stars.
(CL-81) Houston (ex-Vicksburg) (1943) – WW2: 3 battle stars.
(CL-82) Providence (1945) – later converted to CLG-6.
(CL-83) Manchester (1946) – Korea: 9 battle stars.
(CL-84) Buffalo – canceled.
(CL-85) Fargo (completed as Langley (CVL-27)).
(CL-86) Vicksburg (1944) – WW2: 2 battle stars.
(CL-87) Duluth (1944) – WW2: 2 battle stars.
(CL-88) Newark – canceled.
(CL-89) Miami (1943) – WW2: 6 battle stars.
(CL-90) Astoria (ex-Wilkes-Barre) (1944) – WW2: 5 battle stars.
(CL-91) Oklahoma City (1944) – WW2: 2 battle stars, later converted to CLG-5.
(CL-92) Little Rock (1945) – later converted to CLG-4.
(CL-93) Galveston (completed as CLG-3).
(CL-94) Youngstown – canceled after construction started.
Atlanta class (Oakland subclass)
(CL-95) Oakland (1943) – WW2: 9 battle stars.
(CL-96) Reno (1943) – WW2: 3 battle stars.
(CL-97) Flint (1944) – WW2: 4 battle stars.
(CL-98) Tucson (1945) – WW2: 1 battle star.
Cleveland class
(CL-99) Buffalo (completed as Bataan (CVL-29)),
(CL-100) Newark (completed as San Jacinto (CVL-30)).
(CL-101) Amsterdam (1945) – WW2: 1 battle star.
(CL-102) Portsmouth (1945).
(CL-103) Wilkes-Barre (1944) – WW2: 4 battle stars.
(CL-104) Atlanta (1944) – WW2: 2 battle stars, later IX-304.
(CL-105) Dayton (1945) – WW2: 1 battle star.
Late Second World War
As the Navy gained experience with Second World War combat conditions, it was decided that the Atlanta, Cleveland, and Baltimore classes needed improvement. However, major improvements would cause unacceptable delays in the construction programs. A new generation of cruisers with minor improvements would consist of the Juneau and Fargo classes of light cruisers (respectively 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries), and the Oregon City-class of heavy cruisers. The major noticeable difference would be that the Fargo and the Oregon City classes would have their engine exhausts trunked into a single funnel to aid anti-aircraft fire. Due to the near-total destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the number of the ships of this generation to be completed as gun cruisers would be small: three Juneau-class, two Fargo-class, and three Oregon City-class cruisers. A fourth Oregon City-class cruiser would be completed postwar as a command cruiser. Seventeen hulls from among the three classes were canceled. (Wikipedia)
Late in the war the Baltimore-class would also serve as the basis of the two Saipan class light aircraft carriers (CVLs).
Fargo class
(CL-106) Fargo (1945).
(CL-107) Huntington (1946).
(CL-108) Newark – canceled after construction started.
(CL-109) New Haven – canceled after construction started.
(CL-110) Buffalo – canceled after construction started.
(CL-111) Wilmington – canceled after construction started.
(CL-112) Vallejo – canceled.
(CL-113) Helena – canceled.
(CL-114) Roanoke – canceled.
(CL-115) – canceled unnamed.
(CL-116) Tallahassee – canceled after construction started.
(CL-117) Cheyenne – canceled after construction started.
(CL-118) Chattanooga – canceled after construction started.
Juneau class
(CL-119) Juneau (1946).
(CL-120) Spokane (1946).
(CL-121) Fresno (1946).
Oregon City class
(CA-122) Oregon City (1946).
(CA-123) Albany (1946) – later converted to CG-10.
(CA-124) Rochester (1946) – Korea: 6 battle stars.
(CA-125) Northampton (completed as CLC-1)
(CA-126) Cambridge – canceled after construction started.
(CA-127) Bridgeport – canceled after construction started.
(CA-128) Kansas City – canceled after construction started.
(CA-129) Tulsa – canceled.
Baltimore class
(CA-130) Bremerton (1945) – Korea: 2 battle stars.
(CA-131) Fall River (1945) – Operation Crossroads nuclear test participant.
(CA-132) Macon (1945).
(CA-133) Toledo (1946) – Korea: 5 battle stars.
Post-Second World War
The Navy agreed in the waning days of the war to construct a small number of cruisers for the purpose of operationally testing new gun designs and other major improvements incorporating the lessons learned of World War II combat: the ‘CL-154’ and Worcester classes of light cruisers (respectively 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries), and the Des Moines-class of heavy cruisers. Initially the Navy wanted at least one squadron of six ships of each class, but in the end only two Worcester-class and three Des Moines-class cruisers would be completed, and the CL-154 class would be cancelled in its entirety. A total of seventeen hulls from among the three planned classes would be canceled. (Wikipedia)
Des Moines class
(CA-134) Des Moines (1948).
Baltimore class
(CA-135) Los Angeles (1945) – WW2: 1 battle star, Korea: 5 stars.
(CA-136) Chicago (1945) – WW2: 1 battle star, later converted to CG-11.
Oregon City class
(CA-137) Norfolk – canceled after construction started.
(CA-138) Scranton – canceled after construction started.
Des Moines class
(CA-139) Salem (1949), museum ship.
(CA-140) Dallas – canceled after construction started.
CA-141 to 143 – canceled unnamed.
Worcester class
(CL-144) Worcester (1948) – Korea: 2 battle stars.
(CL-145) Roanoke (1949).
(CL-146) Vallejo – canceled after construction started.
(CL-147) Gary – canceled after construction started.
Des Moines class
(CA-148) Newport News (1949) – Vietnam: 3 battle stars.
(CA-149) – canceled unnamed.
(CA-150) Dallas – canceled.
CA-151 to 153 – canceled unnamed.
CL-154 class
CL-154 to 159 – canceled unnamed.
The last ship to be assigned a hull number in the Heavy and Light Cruiser sequence would be the 1950s era nuclear powered Long Beach, though this ship would be assigned another number and designation under the guided missile cruiser hull classification before launch.
Long Beach class
(CLGN/CGN-160) Long Beach, completed as CGN-9 (1961).