USS Oregon City explained
45.3521°N -122.6133°W
USS Oregon City (CA-122), the lead ship of the of
heavy cruisers, was laid down 8 April 1944 by
Bethlehem Steel Company,
Quincy, Massachusetts; launched 9 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Raymond P. Canfield, wife of the City Commissioner of
Oregon City, Oregon. Newspapers showed pictures of celebrated radio, film and television personality
Bing Crosby adding a bit of glamor to the launching. The
Oregon City was commissioned 16 February 1946.
[1] Oregon City was named for the city in the state of
Oregon.
Oregon City departed
Boston 31 March 1946 for shakedown out of
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, then returned to
Boston in mid-May.
Oregon City became flagship of the
United States Fourth Fleet on 3 July and the following month began dockside training of reservists in Philadelphia. From 6 to 19 October she made a post-war Reserve Training Cruise, to
Bermuda, then sailed to Boston and remained until the following March with a somewhat reduced complement. Reassigned to the 2nd Fleet in January 1947,
Oregon Citys crew had returned to full strength by the time she sailed for
Guantanamo Bay 30 March. After three weeks of exercises she returned to Boston, not sailing again until 6 June. She embarked midshipmen at
Annapolis on the 21st, then sailed for the Canal Zone and the
Caribbean on an annual summer training cruise.
Oregon City debarked her midshipmen at Norfolk in mid-August and sailed for Philadelphia and deactivation. She was decommissioned on 15 December 1947. She was the only Oregon City-class ship to be decommissioned soon after completion, and was not selected for conversion to a missile ship. Her bell was sent back to Oregon where it is on display at the Museum of the Oregon Territory in Oregon City, Oregon. She was stricken 1 November 1970, and sold 17 September 1973 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation, NYC, and scrapped in Kearny, New Jersey the following year. Her 5" gun houses could still be seen well into the 90s at Philadelphia Navy Yard.
The bell originally from USS Oregon City was presented to Portland Area Naval Reserve through the people of Oregon City, Oregon on 8 March 1975 and it is now on display at Museum of Oregon Territory. A model of her is also on displayed there.[2]
Awards
Notes and References
- Web site: Cruiser Photo Index CA 122 USS OREGON CITY – Navsource – Photographic History of the U.S. Navy. navsource.org. 2020-03-14.
- Web site: Model Ship and Bell – Picture of Museum of the Oregon Territory, Oregon City – Tripadvisor. tripadvisor.com. en. 2020-05-27.
