USS Newport News visiting Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bert Verhoeff/ANefo 1971. Beeldbank Nationaal Archief. CC Attribution-ShareAlike. Original
Of the Des Moines class-heavy cruisers. Described during her visit to Amsterdam, Netherlands as the largest cruiser of the world. Laid down at the shipyard of Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia, USA on 1 November, launched on 6 March 1948, sponsored by Mrs. Homer L. Ferguson, commissioned on 29 January 1949, decommissioned on 27 June 1975, stricken on 31 July 1968 and finally sold to be broken up to the Southern Scrap material Co. Ltd,m New Orleans, USA on 25 February 1993. Between September and October 1971 she visited harbours in England, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Germany.
The newspaper Nederlands dagblad dated 18 September 1971 reported that she would visit Amsterdam between 17 and 20 September berthed alongside the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam. On Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th was it possible to visit her between 13.00-16.00 o’clock.
With a displacement of 20.980 tons were her dimensions 218,69 x 23,32 x 8,2 metres or 717’6” x 27’x 27’1. The General Electric turbines and four boilers supplied 120.000 shp allowing a speed of 31,5 knots. Her crew numbered 31,5 knots. The armament consisted of 3x3-20,3cm/8” guns, 6x2-12,7cm/5” guns and 12-3” guns.
