American Alaska-class large cruisers
Contractor New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, USA.
Percentage of completion on 1 May 1942: 2.8
Percentage of completion gain for April 1942: 0.4
Number of months between keel laying and completion: 29-1/2
Date of completion as per contract or order: 1 December 1945.
Date of completion as reported by building yard on 11 January 1941: 1 May 1945.
Date of completion as last reported by building yard: 15 December 1944.
Months ahead 11 January 1941 prediction: 4.6
Building ordered on 9 September 1940., laid down on 20 December 1943, launched on 3 November 1945, labour stopped in February or April 1947, considered conversion into an aircraft carrier project SCB 26 (including able launching cruise missiles) in 1948 and to be completed in 1950 but cancelled in 1949, in 1946 and 1948 considered conversion into a guided missile cruiser (SCB 26A), conversion into a command ship (CBC-1) in 1951 and cancelled in 1953, considered rearming with missiles in stead of guns in 1957, stricken on 9 June 1958 and sold to be broken up on 15 April 1959. The concept for a large cruiser dated back from the 1930 when Germany developed the so-called pocket battleships armed with 28cm/11” guns (later classified as heavy cruisers) which were to beat the Washington heavy cruiser armed with 20.3cm/8” guns. End 1930s seemed Japan intending to built the B-65 class which super cruisers armed with 31cm/12.2” were no match for the US heavy cruisers. The result was that the US navy started with designing her super cruiser variant ending in at least 9 preliminary designs, the finally choosing for an increased Baltimore-class heavy cruiser design. General technical specifications. Displacement 30.249 (standard)-34.803 (full load) tons and as dimensions 241.25 (waterline)-246.43 (over all) x 28.0x w 8.26 (mean)-9.68 (maximum) metres or 791.6-808.6 x 91.9 3.75 x 27.1-9.25 feet. The machinery consisted of 4-shaft General Electric double-reduction geared steam turbines and Babcock&Wilcox boilers supplying 150.00 ship allowing a speed of 31.4-33 knots and a range of 12.000 nautical miles/15 knots. Crew numbered 1.517-2.251 men. Armament consisted of x3-30.5cm/12” cal 50 Mark 8 guns, 6x2-12.7cm/5”cal 38 dual purpose guns, 14x4-4cm/1.57” Bofors guns and 34x1-2cm Oerlikon guns and 4 OS2U Kingfisher or SC Seahawk aircraft to be stored in an enclosed hangar amidships. The armour consisted of a main side belt 23cm/9” gradually thinning to 13cm/5” thickness sloped at 10 degrees. Further more a 9.7cm/ 3.8-10.2cm/4” thick armour deck, a 3.6cm/1.4” thick weather main deck, a 1.59cm/1.4” thick splinter deck. The barbettes were protected by 28cm/11”- 33cm/13” thick armour. The conning tower by 27cm/10.6”and a 13cm/5” thick roof and finally the gun turrets by 33cm/12.8” (front)-13cm/5” (roof)-13cm/5.25”-15.2cn/6” (sides)-13.3cm/5’5” (rear) thick armour.
Sources
Franklin Roosevelt D. Roosevelt Presidential Library&Museum. Bureau of Ships: reports 1 May 1942 FDR’s President’s Secretary’s Files (psfc000095).
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