The Cleveland-class was a group of light cruisers built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. They were the most numerous class of light cruisers ever built. Fifty-two were ordered, and 36 were completed, 27 as cruisers and nine as the Independence-class of light aircraft carriers. They were deactivated within a few years after the end of the war, but six were converted into missile ships, and some of these served into the 1970s. One ship of the class remains as a museum ship.
A development of the preceding, the Cleveland class was designed with increased cruising range, anti-aircraft armament, and torpedo protection compared with earlier U.S. cruisers.[1]
After the London Naval Treaty of 1930, the U.S. Navy took up a renewed interest in the 6" gun-armed light cruiser, partially due to the Navy complaining about the 8" gun's slow rate of fire[2] of three rounds per minute compared to the ten rounds per minute of 6" guns. At this time, the U.S. Navy began to deploy drones to use as targets for anti-aircraft targets, which could simulate both dive and torpedo bombers. The simulations showed that without fire control directors and computers, the ships of the fleet would be almost helpless against the density of aircraft attacks envisioned in any future war. Mechanical computers alone could weigh up to 10 tons and had to be housed below decks for both weight and protection measures.[3] As World War II was to prove, the pre-war assumptions were optimistic as eventually, every anti-aircraft gun platform above 20 mm would end up having remote power, with fire control and radar aiming.[4]
As designed, the Cleveland class was already a tight design, but requests to widen the ship were turned down as it would affect production rates.[4] Shortly after the Fall of France, the Two-Ocean Navy Act changed those production rates rapidly. In order to fit the new heavier fire control and radar systems within the allotted tonnage for a cruiser, the No. 3 gun turret was omitted. This also gave room for the enlargement of the bridge spaces to accommodate the new combat information center and necessary radars, along with enough tonnage to fit an additional pair of 5"/38 twin mounts, located fore and aft of the superstructure, with wider arcs of fire. Despite the loss of three 6-inch guns compared to the preceding Brooklyn and St. Louis classes, the more advanced fire control gave the Cleveland class a firepower advantage in practical use.
Towards the end of World War II, the increase of light anti-aircraft weapons made the class top-heavy, so to compensate, some ships had one of the two catapults, and No. 1 turret rangefinders removed.[5] Top weight issues would plague the class with every addition of equipment having to be weighed against what would have to be removed. For example, the tighter installation of the control radar necessitated the removal of the 20 mm clipping rooms, where 20 mm rounds were loaded into their magazines.[2]
Fifty-two ships were originally planned, but nine of them were completed as the light aircraft carriers of the, and two were completed to a different design, with a more compact superstructure and a single stack, called the . Of the 27 Cleveland class commissioned, one was completed as a guided missile cruiser, and five were later modified as and guided missile cruisers. Two of each of these had enlarged superstructures to serve as flagships. Following the naming convention at the time, all the ships completed as cruisers were named for U.S. cities or towns.[6]
The Cleveland-class cruisers served mainly in the Pacific Fleet during World War II, especially with the Fast Carrier Task Force, and some served off the coasts of Europe and Africa in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. All of these warships, though worked heavily, survived the war. All were initially decommissioned by 1950, except for, which remained in service until 1956. None were recommissioned for the Korean War, as they required a crew almost as large as the ships, so those 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 top weight. This was particularly severe in Galveston, leading to its premature decommissioning in 1970. and had to have a large amount of ballast and internal rearrangement to allow service into the 1970s.[7] The last of these missile ships in service, Oklahoma City, was decommissioned in December 1979.
One Cleveland-class ship remains. The, refit in 1960 and re-designated as Galveston-class guided missile light cruiser CLG-4 (later CG-4), is now a museum ship at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York, alongside the, and the, .[8]
| Ship name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned Recommissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL-55 | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey | 1 July 1940 | 1 November 1941 | 15 June 1942 | 7 February 1947 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 18 February 1960 | |
| CL-56 | 18 August 1940 | 17 December 1941 | 29 July 1942 | 30 November 1946 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 18 February 1959 | ||
| CL-57 | 2 December 1940 | 12 February 1942 | 9 September 1942 | 24 January 1947 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 22 January 1960 | ||
| CL-58 | 26 December 1940 | 4 April 1942 | 15 October 1942 | 7 February 1947 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 4 February 1960 | ||
| CL-59 | 1 May 1941 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | |||||
| CL-60 | 7 June 1941 | 10 June 1942 | 24 November 1942 | 29 October 1946 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 9 November 1959 | ||
| CL-61 | 2 June 1941 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | |||||
| CL-62 | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia | 17 February 1941 | 20 March 1942 | 29 January 1943 | 2 January 1947 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 12 November 1959 | |
| CL-63 | 14 April 1941 | 15 May 1942 | 24 March 1943 | 9 May 1947 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 16 December 1959 | ||
(ex-Flint) | CL-64 | Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts | 7 March 1942 | 17 July 1943 | 21 January 1944 | 10 September 1946 | Struck 1 April 1966; Sunk as target, 28 October 1969 |
| CL-65 | 6 February 1943 | 28 December 1943 | 8 June 1944 | 12 January 1950 | Struck 1 December 1970; Sold for scrap, 5 July 1972 | ||
| CL-66 | 13 February 1943 | 9 March 1944 | 9 September 1944 | 30 September 1949 | Struck 31 July 1980; Sold for scrap, 11 March 1980 | ||
| CLG-7 | 2 July 1960 | 15 May 1974 | |||||
| CL-67 | 21 April 1943 | 19 August 1944 | 23 December 1944 | 18 June 1949 | Struck 1 December 1973; Sold for scrap, 20 March 1975 | ||
| CLG-8 | 26 March 1960 | 5 June 1969 | |||||
| CL-76 | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey | 11 August 1941 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | ||||
| CL-77 | 17 November 1941 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | |||||
| CL-78 | 29 December 1941 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | |||||
| CL-79 | 16 March 1942 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | |||||
| CL-80 | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia | 9 July 1941 | 23 February 1943 | 31 August 1943 | 29 August 1946 | Struck 1 December 1961; Sold for scrap, 5 March 1962 | |
(ex-Vicksburg) | CL-81 | 4 August 1941 | 19 June 1943 | 20 December 1943 | 15 December 1947 | Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap, 1 June 1961 | |
| CL-82 | Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts | 27 July 1943 | 28 December 1944 | 15 May 1945 | 14 June 1949 | Struck 30 September 1978; Sold for scrap, 15 July 1980 | |
| CLG-6 | 17 September 1959 | 31 August 1973 | |||||
| CL-83 | 25 September 1944 | 5 March 1946 | 29 October 1946 | 27 June 1956 | Struck 1 April 1960; Sold for scrap, 31 October 1961 | ||
| Buffalo | CL-84 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey | Cancelled, 16 December 1940 | ||||
| CL-85 | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey | 11 April 1942 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | ||||
(ex-Cheyenne) | CL-86 | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia | 26 October 1942 | 14 December 1943 | 12 June 1944 | 30 June 1947 | Struck 1 October 1962; Sold for scrap, 25 August 1964 |
| CL-87 | 9 November 1942 | 13 January 1944 | 18 September 1944 | 25 June 1949 | Struck 1 January 1960; Sold for scrap, 14 November 1960 | ||
| Newark | CL-88 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey | Cancelled 16 December 1940 | ||||
| CL-89 | William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2 August 1941 | 8 December 1942 | 28 December 1943 | 30 June 1947 | Struck 1 September 1961; Sold for scrap, 20 July 1962 | |
(ex-Wilkes-Barre) | CL-90 | 6 September 1941 | 6 March 1943 | 17 May 1944 | 1 July 1949 | Struck 1 November 1969; Sold for scrap, 12 January 1971 | |
| CL-91 | 8 December 1942 | 20 February 1944 | 22 December 1944 | 30 June 1947 | Struck 15 December 1979; Sunk as target, 25 March 1999 | ||
| CLG-5 | 7 September 1960 | 15 December 1979 | |||||
| CL-92 | 6 March 1943 | 27 August 1944 | 17 June 1945 | 24 June 1949 | Struck 22 November 1976; Donated to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Parkas a Museum ship, 1 June 1977 | ||
| CLG- 4 | 3 June 1960 | 22 November 1976 | |||||
| CL-93 | 20 February 1944 | 22 April 1945 | 28 May 1958 | May 1970 | Struck 21 December 1973; Sold for scrap, 16 May 1975 | ||
| CLG-3 | |||||||
| CL-94 | 4 September 1944 | Contract cancelled, 12 August 1945 | |||||
| CL-99 | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey | 31 August 1942 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | ||||
| CL-100 | 26 October 1942 | Reordered as the light aircraft carrier | |||||
| CL-101 | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia | 3 March 1943 | 25 April 1944 | 8 January 1945 | 30 June 1947 | Struck 2 January 1971; Sold for scrap, 11 February 1972 | |
| CL-102 | 28 June 1943 | 20 September 1944 | 25 June 1945 | 15 June 1949 | Struck 15 January 1971; Sold for scrap, 26 February 1974 | ||
| CL-103 | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey | 14 December 1942 | 24 December 1943 | 1 July 1944 | 9 October 1947 | Struck 15 January 1971; Sunk in testing, 13 May 1972 | |
| CL-104 | 25 January 1943 | 6 February 1944 | 3 December 1944 | 1 July 1949 | Struck 1 October 1962; Sunk in testing, 1 October 1970 | ||
| CL-105 | 8 March 1943 | 19 March 1944 | 7 January 1945 | 1 March 1949 | Struck 1 September 1961; Sold for scrap, 6 April 1962 |