Des Moines-class cruiser

The Des Moines-class cruisers were a trio of U.S. Navy heavy cruisers commissioned in 1948 and 1949. Largely based on the earlier Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, the Des Moines-class featured improved torpedo protection and heavier anti-aircraft armament. Relatively well-armored and protected, the class was unique in that it mounted nine of the world’s first auto-loading large-caliber guns, the 8-inch (203 mm) Mark 16 guns. These guns enabled Des Moines-class cruisers to fire two to three times faster than earlier 8 in guns with each barrel capable of 8-10 rounds per minute. They were the last of the “all-gun” heavy cruisers and were exceeded in size within the U.S. Navy only by the 30,000-long-ton (30,481 t) Alaska-class "large cruisers" that straddled the line between heavy cruisers and battlecruisers. Two Des Moines-class cruisers were decommissioned by 1961 but the Newport News (CA-148), served until 1975. USS Salem is a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts; the other two were scrapped.

Salem on 16 June 1952
Class overview
Name	Des Moines-class
Builders	Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Oregon City class
Succeeded by	None
Built	1945-1949
In commission	1948–1975
Planned	12
Completed	3
Cancelled	9
Retired	3
Scrapped	2
Preserved	1
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Heavy cruiser
Displacement	17,255 long tons (17,532 t) (standard) 20,933 long tons (21,269 t) (full load)
Length	700 ft (213.4 m) wl 716 ft 6 in (218.4 m) oa
Beam	76 ft 6 in (23.3 m)
Draft	22 ft (6.7 m)
Installed power	4 boilers 120,000 shp (89,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 shafts; 4 steam turbine sets
Speed	33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	10,500 nmi (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	1,799 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-6 air-search radar SP fighter directional radar
Armament	3 × triple 8"/55 caliber guns 6 × twin 5"/38 caliber guns 12 × twin 3"/50 caliber guns 12 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons
Armor	Belt: 4-6 in (102-152 mm) Deck: 3.5 in (89 mm) Turrets: 2-8 in (51-203 mm) Barbettes: 6.3 in (160 mm) Conning tower: 6.5 in (165 mm)
Aviation facilities	2 × aircraft catapults

Description

Derived from the Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, they were larger, had an improved machinery layout and carried a new design of auto-loading, rapid-fire 8"/55 gun (the Mk16). The improved Mk16 guns of the main battery were the first auto-loading 8" guns fielded by the US Navy and allowed a much higher rate of fire than earlier designs, capable of sustaining eight shots per minute per barrel, about twice that previous heavy cruisers could. The auto-loading mechanism could function at any elevation, giving some anti-aircraft capability. While the secondary battery of six twin 5"/38 Mk12 DP guns was essentially unchanged from the Oregon City and Baltimore-class cruisers, the Des Moines class carried a stronger battery of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, including 12 twin 3-inch/50 Mk27 and later Mk33 guns, that were considered superior to the earlier ships' quad-mounted 40mm Bofors against contemporary airborne threats.

History

Twelve ships of the class were planned, but only three were completed: Des Moines (CA-134), Salem (CA-139) and Newport News (CA-148), with USS Dallas (CA-140) canceled when approximately 28 percent complete.

Their speed made them valuable to escort carrier groups and they were useful in showing the flag in goodwill visits. The first two were decommissioned in 1961 and 1959, respectively, but Newport News remained in commission until 1975, serving for a long period (1962–1968) as United States Second Fleet flagship, and providing valuable gunfire support off Vietnam from 1967 to 1973. The ship's missions included shelling targets close to the North Vietnam shoreline. In August 1972 she raided Haiphong harbor at night with other US Navy ships to shell coastal defenses, surface-to-air missile sites and Cat Bi airfield.

Newport News was the last active all-gun cruiser (serving 25.5 years continuously) and the first completely air-conditioned surface ship in the U.S. Navy. Salem is a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts. Newport News was laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and scrapped in 1993, while Des Moines was scrapped from 2006–2007. Dallas (CA-140) and eight other ships (CA-141 through CA-143 and CA-149 through CA-153) were canceled at the end of World War II.

Ships in class

Construction data

Ship	Hull No.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate
Des Moines	CA-134	Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts	28 May 1945	27 September 1946	16 November 1948	6 July 1961	Struck 9 July 1991, scrapped 2007
Salem	CA-139		4 July 1945	25 March 1947	14 May 1949	30 January 1959	Struck 12 July 1991, museum ship at Quincy, Massachusetts
Dallas	CA-140		15 October 1945	—			Cancelled, 6 June 1946 (28% completed)
—	CA-141		—				Cancelled, 7 January 1946
	CA-142						Cancelled, 12 August 1945
	CA-143
Newport News	CA-148	Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia	1 October 1945	6 March 1948	29 January 1949	27 June 1975	Struck 31 July 1978, Sold for scrap, 25 February 1993
—	CA-149		—				Cancelled, 12 August 1945
	CA-150	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
	CA-151
	CA-152
	CA-153

Gallery

• 
  USS Des Moines
• 
  USS Salem
• 
  USS Newport News

See also

• List of cruisers of the United States Navy

Bibliography

• Andrews, George A., LCDR (March 2022). "Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, Design Branch, CA-139 Class Design History, 31 March 1945". Warship International. LIX (1): 20–33. ISSN 0043-0374.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Friedman, Norman (1980). "United States of America". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.

External links

• Des Moines class cruiser—NavSource Online
• Des Moines class cruiser—GlobalSecurity.org
• Des Moines class cruiser—National Park Service