Long Beach (CGN 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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placement. . . Qandj two steel cruisers of not more than three thousand nor less than two thousand five hundred tons displacement each, . . . as recommended by the Naval Advisory Board in its report of December twentieth, eight- een hundred and eighty-two, one million three hundred thousand dollarsg. . .M In accordance with these Acts, keels were layed for both Ailania and Boston in November of 1883, both ships were 283 feet long, displaced 3,189 tons, had a designated speed of 13 knots, and carried 19 officers and 265 enlisted men. Cruisers became gradually larger as time pro- gressed. New York, commissioned in 1893 was 8,200 tons, carried 40 officers and 526 enlisted, and was capable of 20 knots. The cruisers Si. Louis and Milwaukee, commissioned 13 years later, displaced 9,700 tons, were over 426 feet long, and had a designed speed of 22 knots. The '5nodern cruiser developed io- wards the close of ilze last century. Admiral Deweyis Flagship USS Olympia, top, and an 1898 view of USS New York. 9

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1 A Unique Shzjo - and the h67'Z'llClg6 that made her. In 1862 an engagement took place in the estuary at Hampton Roads that revolutionized sea warfare. The Southern Confederacy, hard pressed by the Northern blockade, conceived the plan of fitting iron plates onto one of her old wooden ships, M errimac. The device proved so successful that the North developed a cumber- some-looking vessel called Monitor, which was even more heavily armored than M ezrimac, and had, besides, almost no freeboard. The now-famous battle between these ships sounded the death-knell for the wooden man-of- war, and there began, in Europe and the United States, frenzied construction of armored ships of all kinds. This evolution resulted in the produc- tion, during the early years of the Twentieth Century, of modern cruisers and battleships. Tracing back into the annals of naval history, in an attempt to separate the cruisers from the other warships manned by the navies of the world, however, would be most difficult, if not impossible. The speed, mobility and firepower which mark the cruisers of recent vintage were certainly characteristics sought and often achieved by the ships of many nations over the centuries people have fought upon the seas. The Phoenician, Venetian, Turkish, Spanish, French and English vessels which have ruled the oceans from time to time in history have been given many names and classifications by their builders and naval historians, but the term cruiser is apparently a fairly modern one. The U. S. Congressional Act ofAugust 5, 1882 speaks of 'ccruising vessels ofwar : MNO part of this sum Qthe annual appropria- tion for the Bureau of Construction and Repairj shall be applied to the repairs of any wooden ship when the estimated cost of such repairs shall exceed thirty per centum of the estimated cost of a new ship of the same size and like material . . . . Any portion of the said sum not required for the purposes aforesaid may be applied to- ward the construction of two steam cruising ves- sels of war, which are hereby authorized, at a total cost, when fully completed, not to exceed the amount estimated by the late Naval Advisory Board for such vessel, the same to be constructed of steel, of domestic manufacture,. . . One of said vessels shall be of not less than five thousand nor more than six thousand tons displacement, and shall have the highest attainable speed .... One of said vessels shall be of not less than four thousand three hundred por more than four thousand seven hundred tons displacement, and shall have the highest attainable speed .... The Act ofMarch 5, 1883 read, in part: For the construction of thesteel cruiser of not less than four thousand three hundred tons dis- I 4 r

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Several battle cruisers were scheduled for con- struction following World War I, but the Treaty arising from the Limitation of Armament Con- ference in 1922 resulted in some being converted into early aircraft carriers, and others being can- celled. By the late 1920's and early 1930's, however, the CL,s themselves had grown upg be- sides having catapults with which to launch their own aircraft, they were armed with torpedoes, displaced over 9,000 tons and had reached 600 feet in length. About this time all cruisers, hold- ing whatever designation, were redesignated CA's, although with the commissioning of Brookbin as CL-40, this designation was return- ed to in 1937. She and others launched in the mid-1930's were designed for over 32 knots. During this period armored cruisers Qdesig- nated ACR,s Q, the forerunners of our battleships, and scout cruisers QCSQ, the earliest light cruisers, also made their appearance and the overall class of vessel known as the cruiser ex- panded and diversified. A great many CL's and a number of CA,s were turned out during the Second World War, of course, and several under construction were cancelled just as the war came to an end. Among those authorized during the war and completed shortly thereafter were the 10,000 ton Huntington QCL-107D and the 17,000 ton Des Moines QCA-1341. Two CB's, Alaska and Guam, were also commissioned during the warg each displaced 27,000 tons, was over 808 feet long, and carried 73 officers and 1,444 enlisted men. In an article entitled 4'The Carrier, which ap- peared in Fbiing magazine's special issue of anuary 1943 on U S NavalAvzatzon at War Rear Admiral Frederick C Sherman wrote with the advent of air warfare the uses of the battleship began to be increasingly limited and with dive bombers and torpedo planes be coming more numerous and accurate the battle ship requires an air umbrella wherever it is with in range of any enemy a1rcraft His comments of course were equally appli cable to our cruisers operating at that time al though the author admitted the subject was controversial in most of the navies ofthe world Cruisers hacl grown in tonnage and armament by the earbz anal micl-193019, with heavy cruisers like Indianapolis top o 9800 tons boasting eight 5 guns and nine 8-inehers carrying four o her own aircra tana' a catapult and capable of 33-knot speeds Many light cruisers CL s like Cleveland above were turned out during the war while Alaska one o two battle cruisers KCB sj was also completed be ore hos- tilities enclecl T his 27 000 ton warship was over 808 eet long ana' carried a complement ofover I 500. J . . 3 9 7 ' ' 7 , 5, . . . , f , , 66 . . J . . . , 7 . - K 1 , - 2 a 7 ' J - - as - 3 . I J 9 9 ' J f a ' J 66 . . , ,, ' 2 -W'-f'--A-ew-4--L 1- ------