Des Moines class
_underway_at_sea_on_15_November_1948.jpg) Typ ship USS Des Moines |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | Heavy cruiser |
| units | 3 completed, none in service |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| period of service |
1948-1975 |
| Technical specifications | |
| to Whitley: Cruiser in World War II | |
| displacement |
Standard: 17,531 t |
| length |
Construction waterline : 213.4 m |
| width |
23.0 m |
| Draft |
middle: 7.9 m |
| crew |
1799 men |
| drive |
4 Babcock & Wilcox -boiler |
| speed |
32.5 kn |
| Range |
10,500 nm at 15 kn |
| Bunker quantity |
2640 tons of oil |
| Armament | |
| Armor |
|
The Des Moines class was the final class of heavy cruiser in the US Navy . The ships were designed and built for the newly developed 20.3 cm fully automatic guns (type designation 8 "/ 55 RF Mk. 16). These guns made them the most powerful heavy cruisers ever built.
prehistory
The American Navy has always been dissatisfied with the slow rate of fire ( cadence ) of the 8 inch guns on their heavy cruisers. These turned out to be a disadvantage , especially in the night battles conducted as fast-moving battles during the campaign near the Solomon Islands (see Battle of Guadalcanal ). As a result, priority was given to the construction of light cruisers equipped with 15.2 cm high-rate guns. In addition, the development of fully automatic guns in calibers 15.2 cm and 20.3 cm was advanced. There were first considerations for this as early as 1937.
It was planned to equip some of the ships of the Baltimore class (namely the ships CA-123 to CA-138, also known as the Oregon City class ) with the new gun. For reasons of weight, only double towers would have been possible, so that in mid-1943 it was decided to build a new class of ships to carry these weapons - the new guns were then only available at the end of 1945. This was the Des Moines class, of which 12 ships were originally planned. However, only three ships were completed. The keel for the USS Dallas (CA-140) was laid on October 15, 1945, but construction was canceled. The remaining ships (IDs CA-141 to CA-143 and CA-149 to CA-153) were suspended from construction.
In parallel to the Des Moines class, the Worcester class light cruisers were developed with fully automatic 15.2 cm L / 47 guns.
Technical specifications
The ships of the Des Moines class represented an enlarged further development of the preceding Baltimore class. The higher weight of the main armament and the need to carry more ammunition due to the high rate of fire of the main guns required a significantly larger hull. The armor could also be reinforced.
The water displacement increased compared to the Baltimore class from 14,704 tons standard to 17,531 tons. The propulsion system corresponded to that of the previous class, which reduced the top speed by 0.5 knots to 32.5 knots. 4 boilers fed 4 turbines, which in turn developed 120,000 shaft horsepower on 4 shafts .
The armor comprised a 152 mm thick belt in the waterline, the thickness of which was reduced to 102 mm at the lower edge. The armored deck had been reinforced to 91 mm. In addition, the upper deck received a 25 mm thick armor, which was supposed to trigger the detonators of bombs and steeply falling grenades before they hit the main armored deck ("Krepierdeck"). Anti-tank bulkheads divided the central citadel into five armored areas to localize combat damage. The barbeds of the main artillery were protected with 161 mm armor, the turrets had 203 mm armor on the front, 102 mm on the ceiling and 95 mm otherwise. The command post had armor from 140 mm to 165 mm.
In total, the armor weighed around 2,200 tons. That was 700 tons more than the Baltimore class.
The main armament consisted of nine fully automatic 20.3 cm guns in three triple turrets. The guns fired separate ammunition in propellant charge and projectile, with the propellant charge in brass cartridges . The armor-piercing shell for this gun weighed 152 kg and had a range of 27.5 km at the maximum elevation of 41 degrees. The guns had a wedge lock , could be loaded in any elevation and lateral direction and had a rate of 10 rounds per minute. In contrast to other heavy fully automatic guns of the time, the gun was considered very reliable and reached the planned rate of fire without any problems. In addition, the ships carried 12 12.7 cm multipurpose guns in 6 double mounts in the standard setup for American cruisers of the time. In terms of flak, the ships were to receive the usual 4 cm Bofors in quad mounts and 2 cm Oerlikon . Since their effectiveness against kamikaze attacks was limited, the 4 cm in the design was replaced by the new 7.6 cm L / 50 gun. The 2 cm came on board only briefly, if at all.
The following fire control devices were available to control the armament:
- 2 pieces FLG Mk 54 with radar Mk 13: This type FLG was only installed on the Des Moines class and controlled the main artillery.
- 4 pieces FLG Mk 37 with radar Mk 25: This was the standard FLG for the 12.7 cm guns. In contrast to previous cruiser classes, the number of devices in the Des Moines class has been doubled to four. The 12.7cm L / 38 / FLG Mk 37 combination is widely considered to be the best heavy AA system of World War II.
- 4 pieces FLG Mk 56 with radar Mk 35: The devices were used to control the 7.6 cm guns. For this purpose they were developed together with the radar shortly after the war.
There were two catapults and four aircraft on board, but only the USS Des Moines received catapults for a short time. A helipad was later set up on the quarterdeck.
history
The ships were often used as flagships, especially in the Mediterranean. USS Newport News was used several times for coastal shelling off Vietnam.
Location of the ships:
- USS Des Moines (CA-134) (launched September 27, 1946): decommissioned July 14, 1961, deleted July 1, 1991, scrapped 2007
- USS Salem (CA-139) (launched March 25, 1947): decommissioned January 30, 1959, deleted July 1, 1991; Museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts.
- USS Newport News (CA-148) (launched March 6, 1948): decommissioned June 27, 1975, deleted July 31, 1978, scrapped 1993/94
literature
- Mike J. Whitley: Cruiser in World War II . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01842-X .
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch : US Navy cruisers - From the Omaha class to Long Beach . Licensed edition for Bechtermünz Verlag by Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-86047-588-6
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch: Sea power USA . Licensed edition for Bechtermünz Verlag by Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-86047-576-2 .
- Technical information on the main armament on www.navweaps.com ( [1] )
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ 20.3 cm guns of this time normally fired projectiles that weighed around 100 kg. The US Navy had developed the super-heavy armor-piercing projectile for its heavy cruisers. In addition, 118 kg HE shells were available.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser
- ^ Whitley: Cruisers in World War II
- ↑ http://www.navweaps.com ; Whitley names 6 rounds per minute, Terzibaschitsch: Cruiser of the US Navy 20 rounds per minute, which in view of the caliber is probably a misprint
- ↑ Terzibaschitsch: US Navy cruiser
