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USSNew Orleans
Class overview
Name	New Orleans class
Builders	Bethlehem Fore River, MA (2) Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY (1) Puget Sound Navy Yard, WA (1) Philadelphia Navy Yard, PA (1) New York Shipbuilding, NJ (1) Mare Island Navy Yard, CA (1)
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Portland class
Succeeded by	USS Wichita
Built	14 March 1931 - 24 February 1937
In commission	15 February 1934 – 10 February 1947
Planned	7
Completed	7
Lost	3
Retired	4
General characteristics
Type	Heavy cruiser
Displacement	9,950 long tons (10,110 t) 12,463 long tons (12,663 t) (loaded)
Length	578 ft (176 m)wl 588 ft 2 in (179.27 m)oa
Beam	61 ft 9 in (18.82 m)
Draft	19 ft 5 in (5.92 m)
Propulsion	4 × Parsons/Westinghouse geared turbines 8 ×Babcock & Wilcoxboilers 4 × screws 107,000 hp (79,800 kW)
Speed	32.7 knots (60.6 km/h; 37.6 mph)
Complement	708 officers and enlisted
Sensors & processing systems	Mk31 GFCS (8in main) Mk33 GFCS (5in secondary)[1]
Armament	9 ×8-inch/55 caliber guns 8 ×5-inch/25 caliber guns[2] 8 ×.50 caliber machine guns
Armor	Belt 3–5 in (76–127 mm) Deck 1.25–2.25 in (32–57 mm) Turrets 1.5–8 in (38–203 mm) Barbettes 5 in (127 mm) (6.5 in (165 mm) in CA-38) Conning tower 5 in (127 mm)

TheNew Orleans-class cruisers were a class of sevenheavy cruisers built for theUnited States Navy (USN) in the 1930s.

These ships participated in the heaviest surface battles of thePacific War.Astoria,Quincy, andVincennes were all sunk in theBattle of Savo Island, and three others were heavily damaged in subsequent battles in theGuadalcanal campaign.OnlyTuscaloosa, which spent most of the war in the Atlantic, got through the war without being damaged. Collectively, ships of the class earned 64 battle stars. The four surviving ships were laid up immediately after the end of the war, and sold for scrap in 1959.

TheNew Orleans-class design was a test bed for innovations in cruiser design, and three distinct designs were used within the class.

Originally called theAstoria class, it was renamed afterUSSAstoria was sunk and the surviving ships of the class underwent substantial reconstruction.

• Design #1:New Orleans,Astoria, andMinneapolis
• Design #2:Tuscaloosa andSan Francisco
• Design #3:Quincy andVincennes

This class was the direct ancestor for all subsequent USN gun cruisers. From them came theBrooklyn,Wichita,Cleveland, andBaltimore-class cruisers. While theWashington Naval Treaty was still being observed, new technology was implemented in theNew Orleans class because the USN knew that if and when war came, they would need this knowledge to build ships (which were already in the planning stage) beyond the treaty limits. The USN came to the conclusion that no 10,000-ton cruiser could adequately perform the roles given.

Originally,Tuscaloosa was the lead ship of this class, butAstoria,New Orleans, andMinneapolis, laid down asPortland-class ships, were reordered to theTuscaloosa design in 1930;Portland andIndianapolis were being built in civilian rather than Navy yards and were completed as originally designed.

Three ships of the class (Astoria,Quincy, andVincennes) were lost in the Battle of Savo Island in 1942. Immediately following theGuadalcanal campaign, the remaining ships of the class went through major overhauls to lessen top heaviness caused by new electrical and radar systems and antiaircraft weaponry, which had been added as technology advanced. In doing so, the ships took on a new appearance, most notably in the bridge area, and became known as theNew Orleans class. The four survivors were decommissioned shortly after the war ended, and scrapped in 1959–1961.

TheNew Orleans class was the last series of US cruisers completed to the limitations of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. As completed, the single-shipWichita class (and subsequent heavy cruisers) exceeded the 10,000-ton standard.

Design of these ships began in early 1929, based on the three preceding classes: ThePensacola, theNorthampton and thePortland classes. All of the cruisers of theNew Orleans class were outwardly similar, but the displacement among these ships varied by some 600 tons. TheBureau of Construction and Repair authorized a contemporary 8-inch (203 mm) gun cruiser design of smaller size, but one which allocated considerably more tonnage towards protection. TheNew Orleans class was noteworthy for its protection. The hull was 12 feet (3.7 m) shorter than aNorthampton, with a shorter armor belt that protected only the machinery and other internal spaces, allowing its thickness to be increased to 5 inches (130 mm). The machinery bulkheads were given 3.5 inches (89 mm) and the deck armor was strengthened to 2.25 inches (57 mm). For the first time in US cruisers,barbette andturret armor was sufficient to withstand 8-inch shellfire. The turrets were faced with 8 inches of armor, 2.75 inches (70 mm) on the sides and 1 inch (25 mm) on the roof. The barbettes were protected with 5 inches of armor on all ships exceptSan Francisco, whose barbettes were fitted with 6.5 inches (170 mm) of armor.

Magazine protection was increased to 4 inches (100 mm). Magazine protection was further increased by placing them well below the waterline. Otherwise, only an internal splinter belt and the armor deck protected the magazines. While this allowed an exceptional degree of armored protection for the vitals against shellfire, the protected hull volume was small, and the deep magazines were more exposed to underwater damage (New Orleans learned this the hard way at theBattle of Tassafaronga). Protection represented about 15% of normal displacement as opposed to only 5.6% in thePensacola's and 6% in theNorthampton andPortland classes. The fuel bunkerage had to be reduced, which resulted in a smaller operational range.

The main armament on the class centered on nine8 in/55 caliber Mark 14 guns (Mark 9 guns until replaced in World War II), mounted in triple turrets.New Orleans was fitted withMark 14 Mod 0 guns,Minneapolis with theMark 15 Mod 1 guns, and the remaining ships of the class received Mark12 Mod 0 guns. The turret face configurations were also different, with the Mark 14 guns being housed in round-faced turrets and the Mark 12 and 15 guns in a flat-faced turret. The 8 in guns had a range of 31,860 yards (29,130 m) with a muzzle velocity of 2,800 feet per second (853 m/s). Thearmor-piercing round weighed 260 pounds (118 kg) and could penetrate five inches of armor plating at 19,500 yards (17,830 m).

Secondary armament for the class consisted of eight5 in/25 caliber dual-purpose guns, which could be used against surface and aerial targets, as well as.50 caliber water-cooled machine guns to augment the5 in guns. When the US entered the war in December 1941, theNew Orleans class and other "Treaty" cruisers were rushed into battle with little modification and lacking in air defense. TheJapanese proved atPearl Harbor and with thesinking ofPrince of Wales andRepulse offMalaya that this war would be decided with air power. As soon as available, thequadruple 1.1 in guns and theSwiss-designed20 mm Oerlikon cannon (which would replace the .50 caliber guns) were fitted, as well as earlyradar units andfire-control directors. As the war progressed, developments in radar abilities gave theAllies an increasingly decisive advantage over the enemy. In late 1942, the arrival of the40 mm Bofors (in twin and quadruple mountings), replaced the quadruple 1.1-inch autocannons, which had proved ineffective.

By late 1945, even after the removal of many nonessential items (half of their spotter planes, as well as a crane and a catapult became nonessential due to advances in radar), the ships became dangerously overweight because of new weaponry and electrical and radar equipment. The threat from the air was so intense, this condition had to be tolerated.

Outwardly, theNew Orleans ships had a distinctive appearance and were considered very good-looking vessels, though the 1942–43 refits of the surviving ships changed the appearance substantially. The forward superstructure had the bridge wings cut back, and all of the large windows were plated in with just a few port holes taking their place. The open bridge above the wheelhouse was enlarged by 100% by extending it forward. In addition, several gun tubs were created for the 40 mm Bofors mounts, both around the main mast and aft. Theforecastle deck extended back to the second funnel and the mainsuperstructure was constructed without the ungainlytripod mast seen on the previous cruisers. Thebow was a raked type, similar to those of British cruisers. The two funnels were situated closer together, with a large searchlight tower in between. Aircraft-handling facilities were moved further aft and a larger second conning station was erected above the hangar. A single mainmast was erected there, between two huge pedestal cranes, which handled both spotter planes and small craft. The main 8-inch turrets, although armored, were actually smaller, with a more effective angular faceplate. By enlarging the forecastle deck, the secondary battery of 5-inch guns was mounted closer together, facilitating a more efficient ammunition delivery.

Power was provided by eightBabcock & Wilcoxsteam boilers that produced 107,000 hp (79,800 kW) for the fourWestinghouse gearing steam turbines. The turbines were shafted to four screws, giving this class a rated speed of 32.75knots (60.7 km/h). The cruisers' range – using 2,195long tons (2,230 t) of bunker oil – was around 9,000nautical miles (16,670 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)^[3] or 5,280 nautical miles (9,779 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h).^[4] Their range could be extended by refueling from an oiler or another ship fitted to transfer oil while underway.

TheNew Orleans cruisers performed peacetime exercises well with no serious shortcomings being found. While many changes were implemented to improve their performance and especially their protection, the 10,000-ton limit of the Washington Naval Treaty was not exceeded. The new cruisers were considered successful in their own right, but could not be considered equal to some foreign contemporaries, which were often considerably larger.

For almost four years, the ships of theNew Orleans class were assigned to the most urgent of front-line duties, becoming involved in much deadly action.Astoria,Quincy, andVincennes were sunk in the Battle of Savo Island, 8–9 Aug 1942. Although three of their number were lost, the ships proved to be well designed.New Orleans,Minneapolis, andSan Francisco were also seriously damaged in early war engagements in thePacific. These engagements included theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal, in whichSan Francisco engaged enemy ships at point-blank range, and theBattle of Tassafaronga whereMinneapolis andNew Orleans took heavy damage and losses fromLong Lance torpedoes. Damage control work and skillful seamanship kept these ships afloat to continue to fight through the end of the war.

New Orleans-class cruisers were found at every major naval skirmish of World War II in the Pacific, despite the fact that only four of the seven units remained after the first year of war. They were some of the most-used and hardest-fought ships of the US Navy during the war. Three ships of this class were among themost decorated US ships of World War II.San Francisco earned^[5] 17Battle Stars and aPresidential Unit Citation,New Orleans earned^[6] 17 Battle Stars, andMinneapolis earned^[5] 17 Battle Stars, as well. As a class, they earned a total of 64 Battle Stars and a Presidential Unit Citation.^[5]

• New Orleans-class cruiser (1896)
• List of cruisers of the United States Navy

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNew Orleans class cruiser.

• Global Security.org – New Orleans class cruiser
• Global Security.org – New Orleans class cruiser specifications

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• New Orleans-class cruisers
• World War II cruisers of the United States

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