The Worcester class was a class of light cruisers used by the United States Navy, laid down in 1945 and commissioned in 1948-49. They and their contemporaries the Des Moines-class heavy cruisers were the last all-gun cruisers built for the US Navy. Ten ships were planned for this class, but only two (USS Worcester (CL-144) and USS Roanoke (CL-145)) were completed.
Although technically light cruisers because they carried 6 in (152 mm) guns, they were in fact among the largest cruisers ever built, being longer and displacing more than the Baltimore-class heavy cruisers of World War II. Their main battery layout was quite distinctive in that they carried twin rather than triple turrets, unlike the previous Cleveland-class, St. Louis-class, and Brooklyn-class light cruisers. Aside from the fact that the Worcesters main battery consisted of 6 in (152 mm) rather than 5 in (127 mm) guns, the layout was identical to the much smaller Juneau-class light cruisers, carrying 12 guns in six turrets, three forward and three aft, with only turrets 3 and 4 superfiring.
Both ships were decommissioned in 1958, the last conventional light cruisers to serve in the fleet, and scrapped in the early 1970's.
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Worcester class cruiser |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Fargo-class cruiser |
| Planned: | 10 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Cancelled: | 8 |
| Retired: | 2 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Light Cruiser |
| Displacement: | 13,000 tons (standard) 17,997 tons (full) |
| Length: | 679 ft .5 in |
| Beam: | 70 ft .5 in |
| Draft: | 25 ft |
| Propulsion: | 4x Westinghouse 620 psi boilers 4x geared steam turbines 4x screws 125,000 Horsepower  |
| Speed: | 33 knots |
| Complement: | 1,560 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 12 x 6-in/47 Mk16 DP in six 2-gun turrets 5 x dual 3-in/50 Mk27 port (3-in/50s were installed in early 1949) 5 x dual 3-in/50 Mk27 starboard 1 x dual 3-in/50 Mk27 bow 2 x single 3-in/50 Mk33 on blisters fantail |
| Armor: | 3-5 in belt 3.5 in (max) deck 2-6.5 in turrets 5 in barbettes 4.5 in conn |
