The Oregon City class were a class of heavy cruisers of the United States Navy. Although it was intended to build ten, only four were completed – one of those as a command ship. The three cruisers were in commission from 1946 to 1970.
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 of light cruisers.
Ten ships were authorized for the class with three being completed and the fourth suspended during construction. The final six ships were cancelled. Construction on the incomplete fourth ship was resumed in 1948 and the ship served as a command ship Northampton (CLC-1). All three completed ships were commissioned in 1946. Oregon City was decommissioned after only 18 months of service, probably the shortest active life of any WWII-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.
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 of light cruisers.
Ten ships were authorized for the class with three being completed and the fourth suspended during construction. The final six ships were cancelled. Construction on the incomplete fourth ship was resumed in 1948 and the ship served as a command ship Northampton (CLC-1). All three completed ships were commissioned in 1946. Oregon City was decommissioned after only 18 months of service, probably the shortest active life of any WWII-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.
| Oregon City class cruiser | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Oregon City class cruiser |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Baltimore-class cruiser |
| Succeeded by: | Des Moines-class cruiser |
| In commission: | 1946–1970 |
| Planned: | 10 |
| Completed: | 4 (1 completed as a command ship USS Northampton (CLC-1) |
| Cancelled: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Heavy cruiser |
| Displacement: | 17,000 tons Full Load |
| Length: | 673 ft 5 in (205.26 m) |
| Beam: | 70 ft 10 in (21.59 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) |
| Propulsion: | General Electric turbines turning 120,000 hp (89,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 32.4 knots (60.0 km/h; 37.3 mph) |
| Complement: | 1,142 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: | Four amphibious scout planes |
