 | | The class leader, USS Alaska. | | | Class |
 | | Lead ship | USS Alaska (CB-1) | | Builders | New York Shipbuilding Corporation | | Number of ships | 6 ordered, 3 laid down, 2 completed | | General characteristics | | Complement | 2,251 officers and enlisted | | Armament | Nine 12 inch (305 mm), twelve 5 inch (127 mm), 56 x 40 mm, 34 x 20 mm guns | | Aircraft | 4 | | Displacement | 27,000 tons | | Armor | 229 mm | | Length | 806 ft 6 in (246 m) | | Height | | | Draught | 27 ft 1 in (8.3 m) | | Propulsion | 4-shaft General Electric steam turbines, 8 Babcock & Wilcox boilers | | Performance | 150,000 shp (112 MW) | | Speed | 31.4 knots (58 km/h) | | Range | | The Alaska class of large cruisers was a series of two vessels built for service with the United States Navy during the later stages of World War II. The class was originally planned to consist of six vessels, although only two were completed. All were to be named after United States insular areas. The Cruiser USS Alaska, Public domain photo from history. ...
Image File history File links US_Naval_Jack. ...
The third USS Alaska (CB-1) was an Alaska-class large cruiser of the United States Navy. ...
The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900. ...
USS Port Royal, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, launched in 1994. ...
The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ...
Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...
An insular area is United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nations federal district. ...
Description
The Alaska class ships are often referred to as large cruisers; in terms of gunnery and displacement they were midway between a heavy cruiser and a battleship, although closer to the former in terms of design and, particularly, armour coverage. Most authorities, including the United States Navy itself, therefore consider the Alaska-class vessels to have been unusually large cruisers rather than fully-fledged battlecruisers. In recognition of this intermediate role, the Navy named the individual vessels after US territories, rather than states (as was the tradition with battleships) or cities (cruisers). A heavy cruiser is a type of large warship which originated with the British Hawkins class during World War I. They entered service after the war. ...
HMS Victory in 1884 given to the most powerfully gun-armed and most heavily armored classes of warships built between the 15th and 20th centuries. ...
HMS Hood (left) and the battleship HMS Barham (right), in Malta, 1937. ...
Heavy cruiser development had been held steady between World War One and World War Two by the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. In this treaty, the United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy had agreed to limit heavy cruisers to 10,000 tons displacement with 8-inch main armament. US "treaty cruisers" designed between the wars followed this pattern. After the Treaty lapsed in 1936, the designs were slightly enlarged into the Baltimore class cruisers. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...
German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ...
The Washington Naval Treaty limited the naval armaments of its five signatories: the United States, the British Empire, the Empire of Japan, the French Third Republic, and Italy. ...
1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The United States Navys Baltimore class of heavy cruisers was the last of World War II. The ships looked very much like those of the Cleveland class. ...
The Alaska class were intended to serve as "cruiser-killers", in order to seek out and destroy this type of post-Treaty heavy cruiser. To facilitate this, they were given large guns of a new (and expensive) design, limited armor protection against 12" shells, and machinery capable of speeds up to 33 knots.
They resembled contemporary battleships in appearance and tonnage, with the familiar 2-A-1 main battery, massive columnar mast and cluster of 5"/38 DP guns along the sides of the superstructure. The easiest way to tell the Alaska class ships from the battleships was by the dual 5"/38 mount superfiring over the fore and aft main batteries.
However, they were built to cruiser standards, with a cruiser-like secondary battery and lacked the armoured belt and torpedo defense system of capital ships. Their percentage of armor tonnage at 16% was similar to that of contemporary cruisers and far less than that of true battlecruisers and battleships (the HMS Hood had 33%, while the German Bismarck and USS North Carolina had 40% weight in armor). As with the never-completed Lexington class battlecruisers, the Alaska class ships were an outgrowth of contemporary American cruiser design, rather than being a new battlecruiser class to occupy the middle ground between heavy cruisers and fast battleships. The Lexington class aircraft carriers were the first operational aircraft carriers in the United States Navy (USS Langley was a strictly developmental ship which only served for a short time as an active fleet unit before being converted to a seaplane tender AV-3). ...
Changes in naval warfare during World War II meant that these ships never fulfilled this role. The traditional cruiser role of fleet scout was overtaken by aircraft carrier based scout planes. Like the contemporary Iowa-class fast battleships, their speed made them ultimately more useful as carrier escorts and bombardment ships than as the sea combatants they were developed to be, as well as the ignominious defeat of the fleets of Japanese heavy cruisers that were their raison d'être. In fact, the majority of enemy cruisers were sunk by aircraft or submarines instead of surface combat. Many regarded them as "white elephants" and a planned additional four ships were cancelled after completion of Alaska and Guam. A third vessel, Hawaii, was structurally completed but never fitted out. An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ...
The Iowa-class battleships were the biggest, the most powerful, and the last battleships built for the United States Navy. ...
A royal white elephant A white elephant (also albino elephant) is a rare kind of elephant. ...
History Their operational life was brief. Both were commissioned in 1944, operated with the Fast Carrier Task Force as escorts during 1945, and saw limited shore bombardment duty. They were also assigned to the group that protected the damaged carrier USS Franklin (CV-13) off Japan. Neither saw further service, both being decommissioned in 1947. Mothballed, they were both sold for scrap in 1960. 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...
The Fast Carrier Task Force, known at different times as Task Force 38 and Task Force 58, was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the latter half of the Pacific War. ...
1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...
The fifth USS Franklin (CV-13) (also CVA-13, CVS-13, and AVT-8), nicknamed Big Ben, was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, notable as the hardest-hit carrier to survive World War II. Launch and Commissioning; Initial Cruise She was launched by Newport News...
1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...
1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...
Ships in class
USS Alaska Commissioned on 17 June 1944, Alaska served in the Pacific, screening aircraft carriers and providing shore bombardment at Okinawa. She was decommissioned on 17 February 1947 after less than three years of service and was scrapped. The third USS Alaska (CB-1) was an Alaska-class large cruiser of the United States Navy. ...
June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ...
1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...
This article is about the prefecture. ...
February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...
USS Guam Commissioned on 17 September 1944, Guam served in the Pacific with Alaska on many of the same operations. Along with Alaska, she was decommissioned on 17 February 1947 and was scrapped. The second Guam (CB-2), an Alaska class cruiser, was launched 12 November 1943 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. ...
September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ...
1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...
February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...
USS Hawaii Hawaii was intended as a third ship of the class, was never completed. Numerous plans to utilize her in the years after the war came to nothing and she was scrapped. The first USS Hawaii (CB-3) was to be an Alaska-class large cruiser (similar to a battlecruiser), but never served as a commissioned ship before being scrapped. ...
USS Philippines Planned as the fourth ship of the class, to be built at Camden, NJ, but cancelled before being laid down. Philippines (CB–4) was authorised 19 July 1940 to be built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. ...
USS Puerto Rico Planned as the fifth ship of the class, to be built at Camden, NJ, but cancelled before being laid down. Puerto Rico (CB–5) was authorized 19 July 1940, and was to be built by New York Shipbuilding Corp. ...
USS Samoa Planned as the sixth ship of the class, to be built at Camden, NJ, but cancelled before being laid down. The United States Navy selected the name Samoa for CB-6, an Alaska-class large cruiser ordered on 9 September 1940 from New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. ...
See also
The List of ships of World War II is an alphabetical list of major military ships of World War II. Only ships with a displacement of 1000 tons or greater are listed. ...
Pocket battleship is an English language term for a class of warships built by German Reichsmarine in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. ...
The third USS Alaska (CB-1) was an Alaska-class large cruiser of the United States Navy. ...
The second Guam (CB-2), an Alaska class cruiser, was launched 12 November 1943 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. ...
The first USS Hawaii (CB-3) was to be an Alaska-class large cruiser (similar to a battlecruiser), but never served as a commissioned ship before being scrapped. ...
Philippines (CB–4) was authorised 19 July 1940 to be built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. ...
Puerto Rico (CB–5) was authorized 19 July 1940, and was to be built by New York Shipbuilding Corp. ...
The United States Navy selected the name Samoa for CB-6, an Alaska-class large cruiser ordered on 9 September 1940 from New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. ...
This list of cruisers of the United States Navy includes all ships that were ever called cruiser. Since the nomenclature predates the hull numbering system, and there were several confusing renumberings and renamings, there are multiple entries referring to the same physical ship. ...
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