US Navy Cruisers 1895 - 1975 A Pictorial Look

US Navy Cruisers 1895 - 1975 A Pictorial Guide [silent]

[@davidponseigo8811]

My father in law served as a Talos Missile battery commander during Vietnam on the Oklahoma City, Chicago, Little Rock, Galveston and two other Cruisers and fired the first surface to air and surface to surface naval missiles and shot down two Mig Fighters from the Chicago and Oklahoma City. He served on multiple other ships like the USS Hornet and a bunch more over his 30 plus years in the Navy.

[@tonytrotta9322]

Thank you Father in Law for his service. In 1954 the U.S. Navy used the battleship USS Mississippi as a test ship to launch the terrier missiles. There is a Y-tube video showing that too. I have visited the USS Little Rock CLG-4 in Buffalo many times. My dad who passed in 2017 at 92 served on the USS Louisville CA 28 from 1943-46. Take care!

[@terranceroff1707]

Note on USS Maine. I believe it since been determined that Maine was lost to a coal bunker fire and the resultant detonation of coal dust in adjoining coal bunkers, not enemy action.

[@kratzikatz1]

The heat of the bunkerfire caused an explosion of the nearbye stored ammonition.

[@ww748]

Additional notes on the USS Maine: there is no consensus on exactly what triggered the explosion - although most agree that the detonation of 5 tons of explosives in the ship’s forward magazines is what blew the vessel in two. Different investigations over the past 124 years collected evidence which support either an internal or external ignition source. There simply is no definitive proof either way. Too, the video is in error in the location of the wreck, it is not in the Florida Keys. The wreck was discovered in 2000 to be 3 miles from Havana - that’s not in the Keys but does agree with the recorded location of the Maine at the time it was scuttled.

[@wfwillis]

I served as Assistant EMO/EMO on USS Chicago CG-11 from 1977 to decommissioning on 1 Mar 1980. She was converted from USS Chicago CA-136; Commissioned 10 January 1945, Decommissioned 6 June 1947, Reclassified CG-11, 01 November 1958, Recommissioned 2 May 1964. She was the best ship I ever served on. CWO4 USN Ret.

[@LarryGarcia-p3j]

I served on the USS Columbus CG12. As a Signalman SM2. I hoisted and broke the Commission Pennant as She was recomishioned fm a CA to a CG12. Did NOT like the way to Formal rules as She was Flagship of Crudesflot 11 and carried a Rear Admiral. To damn formal.

[@tonytrotta9322]

Nice Video - My dad who passed in 2017 at age 92 served on the heavy cruiser USS Louisville CA 28 from 1943-46 and witnessed (5 ) sailors and Rear Admiral Theodore Chandler buried at sea due to (3) kamikaze hits in the Pacific. (1) main 8 inch 55 caliber gun turret found in 2016 in the Nevada Desert used as a nuclear bomb testing measuring unit.

[@LarryGarcia-p3j]

I served on the USS Columbus CG-12 as a Signalman SM2 fm the time She was re-commisioned as a CG-12 in 1962 at Bremerton, Wash. Naval Shpyd for 4yrs.

[@Bluewolfdude]

Thank you for posting the USS Richmond CL-9. My grandfather served aboard this ship during the 1920's.

[@35806willnala]

Dad served aboard the USS Canberra (CA-70/CAG-2) in the 1950s. He was Wilbert Rutland, a radioman aboard the USS Canberra. He fondly spoke of an initiation ceremony on first crossing the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The name escapes me at the moment. Something about kissing Neptune's belly lol. Thank you for your service

[@danielkislan]

Shellback

[@normanautrey9274]

Was a cruiser man, first ship after A school. USS Newport News, CA148. R Division, Engineering Department. Last heavy cruiser in the navy. Decommissioned in 1975. What a boat! 4-600 psi boilers, 719 ft. stem to stern. 31 knots. Was missing the middle 8" gun in T2 after disastrous explosion in October 72.

[@frankbodenschatz173]

What happened in that?

[@normanautrey9274]

@@frankbodenschatz173 The midships 8" gun in turret 2 suffered a hang fire, exploded in the breech. All occupants of the turret and a number of ammunition handlers in the barbel below as well as some sailors that were in their racks, total of 19, if I remember died. When I reported on-board, the turret was sealed up and the barrel removed. It wasn't opened again until we went into the shipyard for decommissioning. We made several deployments like that, the last being a North Atlantic deployment which would be her last. Her nickname was Thunder, and it was a real honor serving on the last heavy cruiser in the US Navy. Most pics you see of NN were pre-explosion so all 9 8" guns were present.

[@frankbodenschatz173]

@Norman Autrey thanks for the update. I was at a neonatal ventilator school in Pennsylvania and had some time to visit the shipyard over a weekend and saw he there. As a kid, I had a book describing all the major ships, and I really admired Salem with her autoloader 8" guns. Must have been something to experience in person. Plan on visiting Salem this summer.

[@normanautrey9274]

@@frankbodenschatz173 Yeah, those 8" autoloaders were quite loud and had a huge shock effect. My repair locker was just forward of T3, the aft 8" turret and since we were always at general quarters (battle stations) during a fie mission, I got to experience the noise and concussion, not to mention the 5" mounts surrounding us as well! I believe there is a CA148 museum on the Salem where you can see some pretty cool stuff. I have some artifacts from the boat, various brass snap links with stamped anchors that came from signal halyards, and my prize possession, a monkey fist used for line throwing that came out of the bosun's locker on the main deck. Thunder was an amazing ship for a wide eyed young sailor! Very fortunate to have experienced that.

[@crestonsimmons9862]

@@normanautrey9274 i was onboard thunder from 73 to 75 r div as well simmons htfn

[@lavernedofelmier6496]

My dad was stationed on the Long Beach 1960, while in Quincy had the privilege of seeing the frigate Bainbridge launched. Thanks for the non musical version of history.

[@lonniebryant8572]

I was aboard the USS Wright CC-2 1968-1970 ish. and served in 3rd division BM. The Wright was refitted from the USS Wright CC-2 a Comunications flat top from the USS Wright CVL-49. Good ole days indeed !

[@damkayaker]

My uncle was on the USS Juneau CL-52

[@joesphpiazza9256]

My father served on the Canberra during ww2. She was part of the third fleet, which was admiral William halsey, in the Westin Pacific.

[@cathiestubes2820]

Thank you for posting this video. It has obscure information that is arranged in an easy to use format. My only wish is that if you could also post the vital specifications ( length, beam, draft empty and loaded weight, crew size and armament) , that would make it more interesting and informative.

[@garyrunnalls7714]

I love the look in dazzle camo

[@jec1ny]

The loss of the Maine is more or universally accepted as an accident by modern historians.

[@kentbarnes1955]

Nice work. Would love to see one of these for Destroyers

[@frednesbittjr.7862]

USS-Little-Rock-CL-92-was-also-converted-to-a-Guided-Missle-Cruiser...CLG-4---served-on-her-1963.

[@markcantemail8018]

The Little Rock is in Buffalo .

[@johnthompson4067]

One ship that should be included in a list of USN cruisers would be the USS Prinz Eugen, formerly of the German Kriegmarine. The Prinz Eugen, a heavy cruiser commissioned in, I believe, 1940, was awarded to the USN in 1945 as a war prize. It was transferred into the USN, as an American ship, in essence, for its late 1945 voyage to the US and, ultimately, the Pacific, probably for legal and personnel reasons. The crew was a mixture of USN regulars, and the Prinz Eugen's German crew, who were needed to operate the ship's unfamiliar engineering systems. There was never any intention to keep the Prinz Eugen as a regular USN ship, and it was sunk in the South Pacific in late 1946.

[@ewetho]

My cruiser was launched in 62 and not pictured… Missed the Leahy and Belknap Classes

[@francisbusa1074]

I served in Gridley DLG-21, Halsey DLG-23 and R. K. Turner DLG-20 from '67 till leaving the Navy in '70. We were originally called guided missile frigates, not cruisers. The designation to guided missile cruiser came on July 1, 1975.

[@loboheeler]

Glad you got the USS Olympia in there, which is the only steel warship left of the pre-1900 era. A must see, and right across the Delaware river from the USS New Jersey. The USS Maine was a cruiser?

[@ihatebofa6]

No one can really decide if Maine and Texas were armored cruisers or really piddley battleships. Either way they weren’t great designs with their main guns mounted off the centerline.

[@klade5031]

I believe the USS Olympia got rather lucky that she was never truly tested as the Spanish had sent a naval squadron to recover the Philippines centered around an actual battleship (as compared to the outdated cruisers destroyed by Dewey in Manila Bay). They had already crossed the Suez canal when word of the US naval victory at Santiago de Cuba meant that Spanish home waters were now vulnerable so they had to turn back.

[@mikearmstrong8483]

Maine was designated as a battleship upon commissioning, but was reclassified as an armored cruiser before her sinking.

[@Mach11976]

USS Albany CG 10 Gaeta Italy 77 to 79. Flag of Sixth Fleet. I was a BT-4.

[@tonytrotta9322]

USS Indianapolis CA 35 - She set a speed record of 74+1⁄2 hours from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, an average speed of 29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph) which is a record that still stands today. I met a survivor of the USS Indianapolis years ago at the shopping mall and he mentioned that he still had night mares.

[@davidponseigo8811]

The USS Long Beach used the Talos Missile System.

[@armoredangel01]

I pity USS Atlanta and USS Juneau. One had a 1 year career before she was sunk. USS Juneau was sunk the year she was commissioned

[@yes_head]

Fascinating -- thanks for this. But you don't need anything better to confirm the U.S. industrial output toward the end of WWII than to see how many cruisers were launched, only to be pulled from active service after only a few years because there were just too many of them around. For example, USS Oregon City was launched in June of 1945 and decommissioned in December of 1947! All that work and national treasure, for a bunch of scrap metal.

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Look at the cb-3 Hawaii just a floating hulk for years before they scrap her and her sisters.

[@bamagrad99]

Nice work! Needs some music though. I would recommend Anchors Aweigh and the Victory at Sea theme.

[@anthonyruggiero3112]

I have never seen a bigger waste of money in the build million dollar ships and then scrap them after 2 years I'm retired Navy and I think that for years and years whoever is making these decisions should realize that big guns and a beautiful ship still make a difference missiles don't always have to be the answer

[@joesphpiazza9256]

Is this back too the past, no sound.

[@lutherlerfald984]

so why isn't the GALVESTON shown in here ?? USS GALVESTON CLG3 ; we mothballed her at 32nd st naval station san diego, ca and i was last quarterdeck watch to pass the word the 1mc is secured forever ! on may 20th 1970 at 11:30 am ! signed my name in the log book and the rest is history ! she was the first guided missle cruiser on the planet !

[@roamingtimtv8715]

Galveston is indeed here sir, at 43:15

[@lutherlerfald984]

@@roamingtimtv8715 very sorry tim my fault !!! i looked more toward the end and missed her !!! shows the twin missiles off the fantail !

[@doctorotis3743]

CA 148?

[@rogersmith7396]

Alaska Class. The big boys.

[@ThinkingBiblically]

There is no evidence the Main was bombed. All evidence points to a coal dust explosion in a coal bunker. The ignorance of YT content creators is amazing.

[@brucewelty7684]

piss poor service life on some of these clunkers

[@jackmoore260]

They had plenty of life, but they were obsolete as soon as nuclear powered propulsion and missiles came into use.

[@francisbusa1074]

If you're referring to the many vessels that merely served during WW II and maybe just a few years after, the reason for such short service was that the U. S. came out of the war with the largest Navy in history, but it was decided that the vast majority of the ships were unneeded in peacetime, so they were mothballed. Some had very little service time. Some were still being constructed. Congress could not forsee a sudden end of hostilities in the Pacific, and anticipated a lengthy and very costly campaign in the invasion of the home islands. That campaign would have dwarfed the invasion of Europe and of Okinawa combined. As far as anyone could see at that time, all of these ships would be needed to counter inevitable losses or damage from kamikaze attacks over a lengthy period. The design of the post treaty ships was of course, much better than those of treaty era design. Thank God the end of the war came quickly and suddenly. However I have to think that the sudden and very drastic drawdown of all U.S. forces probably served as an encouragement for China, Russia and N. Korea to attack S. Korea less than 5 years later. It takes real power to maintain the peace.

[@richgaffney4455]

The picture of the Canberra was when she was a guided missle cruiser CAG=2. I served aboard her in 1964.

[@35806willnala]

Dad served aboard her (CA-70/CAG-2) in the 1950s. He was Wilbert Rutland, a radioman aboard the USS Canberra. He fondly spoke of an initiation ceremony on first crossing the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The name escapes me at the moment. Something about kissing Neptune's belly lol. Thank you for your service.

[@doctorotis3743]

CA 148 served as a ET striker. 1966-1967 NATO Atlantic, flag for both 2nd and 6th fleet. 1968 Viet Nam 9 eight inch guns for costal bombardment.

[@fredrickmillstead2804]

Had Newport News firing gunfire support over our heads in RVN 1968. Glad she was there.

[@normanautrey9274]

I served on NN R division, last crew before decommission. 74-75.

[@michaeldantoni4292]

It's sad all those post war armored cruisers going to the scrap yard. Modern war ships look like cartoon characters compared to those old beautiful ships. Would be nice if more could have been made to museum status.

[@johnhess351]

Nice video. I never realized so many were lost or The British sunk an ex US Cruiser in the Falklands. Many of the ultimate fates were surprising. Too bad copyrights prevent a nice period appropriate soundtrack like Pirates of Penzance, Sousa Marches, Big Band and finishing with Sinatra and Hendrix.

[@Mikell-h2c]

Dad serviced aboard the Trenton ww two he loved his ship❤

[@DavidRLentz]

USS Cincinnati (CL 6)

[@davidmcleod7757]

my uncle served on the Des Moines in the mardet division in wwII

[@davidponseigo8811]

One of the 5 inch guns from the Oklahoma City was used to replace one on the USS Missouri as a museum ship in Hawaii.

[@davidponseigo8811]

The propeller from the Chicago is on display at the Navy Pier in Chicago.

[@chuckfein4024]

My father was on the West Virginia at pearl on Dec7th.

[@rongendron8705]

My great uncle, Navy Chief Edward Gaudet, then 37, was on USS Tennessee, & at 7a.m. Mass on Ford Island, on 12/07/41, when the attack happened! He was with eight Chiefs from the USS Arizona! He went on to do 30 yrs. service & got out a Lt. .in 1953 & lived to 1994! My uncle, Army pvt. Kenneth Cooke, then 20, was also there, at Scholfield Barracks! When I visited Pearl, in '91, I met former Marine Richard Fiske, who was on the W. Virginia, then!