American light cruiser USS Worcester (CL-144) 1945-1972

Fargo-class

Worcester-class

Part of the Worcester-class, planned 10 ships, completed Worcester and Roanoke, cancelled Vallejo, Gary and 6 anonymous, preceded by the Fargo-class. The Worcester-class to be used as conventional light cruisers or if needed as anti aircraft cruisers were just like the contemporary Des Moines-class heavy cruisers the last all-gun cruisers completed for account of the US Navy. The main armament of the Worcester-class proved in practice to be a failure lacking a sufficient fire rate. Furthermore didn’t the for anti aircraft fire control realize the expectations. Laid down by the New York Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, USA on 29 January 1945, launched by Gloria Ann Sullivan on 4 February 1947, commissioned on 26 June 1948, decommissioned on 19 December 1958, in reserve since then, stricken on 1 December 1970 and sold to Zidell Explorations Incorporation, Portland, Oregon on 5 July 1972.

General technical specifications.
Displacement 14.700 (standard)-17.997 (full load) and as dimensions 207,0 x 21,3 x 7,6 metres or 679.5 x 70.5 x 25 feet. The machinery consisted of 4 General electric steam turbines and 4 Westinghouse 620 psi boilers suppling 125.000hp allowing with the 4 screws a speed of 33 knots. With a speed of 15 knots was the range 8.000 nautical miles. The crew numbered 1.401 men. The armour consisted of a 7,62cm/3”-12,7cm/5” belt, a 8,9cm/3.5” (maximum) thick deck with the turrets, barbettes and conning tower protected by respectively 5,08cm/2”-16,51cm/6.5”, 12,7cm/5” and 11,43cm/4.5”. The armament consisted of 6x2-15,2cm/6”/47 Mk1 dual purpose guns (3 fore, 3 aft), 24 7,62cm/3” Mk33 anti aircraft guns 12-2cm/0.78” anti aircraft guns. Carried between 1948-1949 a Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk Seaplane with her, after 1949 a Target Drone “Denny’ and a Sikorsky HO3-S Dragonfly helicopter.