Salem on 16 June 1952
Class overview
Name	Des Moines-class
Builders	Bethlehem,Fore River, MA (2) Newport News Shipbuilding, VA (1)
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Oregon City class
Succeeded by	None
Built	1945-1949
In commission	1948–1975
Planned	12
Completed	3
Cancelled	9[1][2]
Retired	3
Scrapped	2
Preserved	1
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Heavy cruiser
Displacement	17,255long tons (17,532 t) (standard) 20,933 long tons (21,269 t) (full load)
Length	700 ft (213.4 m)wl 716 ft 6 in (218.4 m)oa
Beam	76 ft 6 in (23.3 m)
Draft	22 ft (6.7 m)
Installed power	4boilers 120,000 shp (89,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 shafts; 4steam turbine sets
Speed	33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	10,500 nmi (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	1,799 officers and enlisted
Sensors & processing systems	AN/SPS-6air-search radar SPfighter directional radar
Armament	3 × triple8"/55 caliber guns 6 × twin5"/38 caliber guns 12 × twin3"/50 caliber guns 12 × singleOerlikon 20 mm cannons
Armor	Belt: 4-6 in (102-152 mm) Deck: 3.5 in (89 mm) Turrets: 2-8 in (51-203 mm) Barbettes: 6.3 in (160 mm) Conning tower: 6.5 in (165 mm)
Aviation facilities	2 ×aircraft catapults

TheDes Moines-class cruisers were a trio ofU.S. Navy (USN)heavy cruisers commissioned in 1948 and 1949. Largely based on the earlierBaltimore-class heavy cruisers,^[3] theDes Moines-class featured improvedtorpedo protection and heavieranti-aircraft armament.Relatively well-armored and protected,^[4] the class was unique in that it mounted nine of the world’s firstauto-loading large-caliber guns, the 8-inch (203 mm)Mark 16 guns. These guns enabledDes Moines-class cruisers to fire two to three times faster than earlier 8 in guns with each barrel capable of 8-10 rounds per minute.^[5] They were the last of the “all-gun” heavy cruisers (with theWorcester-class representing the final "all-gun"light cruisers) and were exceeded in size within the USN only by the 30,000-long-ton (30,481 t)Alaska-class "large cruisers" that straddled the line between heavy cruisers andbattlecruisers.USS Des Moines (CA-134) andUSS Salem (CA-139) were decommissioned by 1961 butUSS Newport News (CA-148) served until 1975.Salem is amuseum ship inQuincy, Massachusetts (nearSalem, Massachusetts, the ship's namesake);Des Moines andNewport News werescrapped.

Derived from theBaltimore-class heavy cruisers, they were larger, had an improved machinery layout and carried a new design of auto-loading, rapid-fire 8"/55 gun (the Mk16).^[6][7][8] The improved Mk16 guns of the main battery were the first auto-loading 8" guns fielded by the US Navy and allowed a much higher rate of fire than earlier designs, capable of sustaining eight to ten shots per minute per barrel, about twice that previous heavy cruisers could.^[7][9] The auto-loading mechanism could function at any elevation, giving some anti-aircraft capability.^[7] While the secondary battery of six twin5"/38 Mk12 DP guns was essentially unchanged from theOregon City andBaltimore-class cruisers, theDes Moines class carried a stronger battery of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, including 12 twin3-inch/50 Mk27 and later Mk33 guns, that were considered superior to the earlier ships' quad-mounted40mm Bofors against contemporary airborne threats.^[7]

Twelve ships of the class were planned, but only three were completed:Des Moines (CA-134),Salem (CA-139) andNewport News (CA-148), with USSDallas (CA-140) canceled when approximately 28 percent complete.

Their speed made them valuable to escort carrier groups and they were useful in showing the flag in goodwill visits. The first two were decommissioned in 1961 and 1959, respectively, butNewport News remained in commission until 1975, serving for a long period (1962–1968) asUnited States Second Fleet flagship, and providing valuable gunfire support offVietnam from 1967 to 1973. The ship's missions included shelling targets close to the North Vietnam shoreline. In August 1972 she raidedHaiphong harbor at night with other US Navy ships to shell coastal defenses,surface-to-air missile sites andCat Bi airfield.

Newport News was the last active all-gun cruiser (serving 25.5 years continuously) and the first completely air-conditioned surface ship in the U.S. Navy.Salem is a museum ship inQuincy, Massachusetts.Newport News was laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and scrapped in 1993, whileDes Moines was scrapped from 2006–2007.Dallas (CA-140) and eight other ships (CA-141 through CA-143 and CA-149 through CA-153) were canceled at the end ofWorld War II.^[2][7]

• 
  USSDes Moines
• 
  USSSalem
• 
  USSNewport News

• List of cruisers of the United States Navy

• Andrews, George A., LCDR (March 2022). "Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, Design Branch, CA-139 Class Design History, 31 March 1945".Warship International.LIX (1):20–33.ISSN 0043-0374.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Friedman, Norman (1980). "United States of America". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books.ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDes Moines class cruiser.

• Des Moines class cruiser—NavSource Online
• Des Moines class cruiser—GlobalSecurity.org
• Des Moines class cruiser—National Park Service

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• Des Moines-class cruisers

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