Fargo-class cruiser

The Fargo-class cruisers were a modified version of the Cleveland-class cruiser design; the main difference was a more compact pyramidal superstructure with single trunked funnel, intended to improve the arcs of fire of the anti-aircraft (AA) guns. The same type of modification differentiated the Baltimore and Oregon City classes of heavy cruisers, and to a lesser degree the Atlanta and Juneau classes of light cruisers.^[2] Changes were made in order to reduce the instability of the Cleveland-class light cruisers, especially their tendency to roll dangerously.^[3] The main battery turrets sat about a foot lower and the wing gunhouses (the 5-inch, twin gun mounts on the sides of the ship) were lowered to the main deck. The medium (40 mm) anti-aircraft mounts were also lowered.^[4]

USS Huntington in August 1948
Class overview
Name	Fargo-class
Builders	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Cleveland class
Succeeded by	Worcester class
Built	1943–1946
In commission	1945–1950
Planned	13
Completed	2
Cancelled	11
Retired	2
Scrapped	2
Preserved	0
General characteristics
Type	Light cruiser
Displacement	11,744 long tons (11,932 t) (standard) 14,464 long tons (14,696 t) (full)
Length	608 ft .25 in (185.3 m)
Beam	66 ft 4 in (20.2 m)
Draft	22 ft (6.7 m)
Installed power	4 × Babcock & Wilcox, 634 psi boilers 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric geared steam turbines 4 × screws
Speed	32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range	20000km at 15kn
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × lifeboats
Complement	1,100 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	SK-2 air-search radar SR-3 air-search radar SG-6 surface-search radar SP fighter-direction radar
Armament	4 × triple 6"/47 caliber Mark 16 guns 6 × dual 5"/38 caliber guns 4 × quad Bofors 40 mm guns 6 × dual Bofors 40 mm guns 20 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons
Armor	Belt: 1.5–5 in (38–127 mm) Deck: 2–3 in (51–76 mm) Bulkheads: 5 in (127 mm) Turrets: 3–5 in (76–127 mm) Barbettes: 6 in (152 mm) Conning tower: 2.25–5 in (57–127 mm)
Aircraft carried	4 × floatplanes[1]
Aviation facilities	2 × stern catapults

In all, 13 ships of the class were planned but only Fargo and Huntington were ever completed, the rest being cancelled at varying states of completion with the de-escalation and eventual end of World War II.^[5]

Fargo, the lead ship of the class, was launched on 25 February 1945, but was not commissioned until 9 December 1945, four months after the war ended. Huntington was commissioned early in 1946. The two ships were decommissioned in 1949–1950, and never reactivated.^{[citation needed]}

Ships in class

Construction data

Ship name	Hull no.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate
Fargo	CL-106	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	23 August 1943	25 February 1945	9 December 1945	14 February 1950	Struck 1 March 1970; Sold for scrap, 18 August 1971
Huntington	CL-107		4 October 1943	8 April 1945	23 February 1946	15 June 1949	Struck 1 September 1961; Sold for scrap, on 16 May 1962
Newark	CL-108		17 January 1944	14 December 1945	—	—	Construction canceled 12 August 1945 when 67.8% completed, launched on 14 December 1945, for use in underwater explosion tests, sold on 2 April 1949 for scrapping
New Haven	CL-109		28 February 1944	—	—	—	Construction cancelled 12 August 1945 and scrapped on slip
Buffalo	CL-110		2 April 1944
Wilmington	CL-111	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	5 March 1945
Vallejo	CL-112	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey	—	—	—	—	Construction cancelled 5 October 1944
Helena	CL-113
Roanoke	CL-114
—	CL-115
Tallahassee	CL-116	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia	31 January 1944	—	—	—	Construction cancelled 12 August 1945 and scrapped on slip
Cheyenne	CL-117		29 May 1944
Chattanooga (ex-Norfolk)	CL-118		9 October 1944

See also

• List of cruisers of the United States Navy

References

1. Terzibashitsch 1988, p. 311.
2. Norman Friedman, U.S. Cruisers, An Illustrated Design History 1984 ISBN 978-0-87021-718-0
3. James J. Fahey, "Pacific War Diary, 1942-1945: The Secret Diary of an American Sailor" 1972 ISBN 978-0395640227
4. "USS Fargo Class - US warships of WW2".
5. M. J. Whitley, Cruisers Of World War Two, An International Encyclopedia 1995 ISBN 978-1-86019-874-8

Bibliography

• Terzibashitsch, Stefan (1988). Cruisers of the US Navy 1922-1962. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-974-X.

External links

• Global Security.org - Fargo-class cruiser
• Global Security.org - Fargo-class cruiser specifications
• Hazegray - US Cruisers List: US Light/Heavy/AntiAircraft Cruisers, Part 2
• Fargo Class Light Cruisers