American Alaska-class large cruisers
Percentage of completion on 1 May 1942: 11.0
Percentage of completion gain for April 1942: 2.6
Keel laid down on 17 December 1941.
Number of months between keel laying and completion 30.
Date of completion as per contract or order 1 April 1945.
Date of completion as reported by building yard on 11 January 1941: 1 January 1945.
Date of completion as last reported by building yard: 15 June 1944.
Months ahead 11 January 1941 prediction 6.5
Building ordered on 9 September 1940, laid down on 17 December 1941, launched on 15 August 1943, commissioned on 17 June 1944, decommissioned on 17 February 1947, considered in 1958 to be converted in to a guided missile cruiser, stricken on 1 June 1960 and broken up in 1961. 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 Treaty heavy cruiser armed with 20.3cm/8” guns. End 1930's 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 28.0 x 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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