Baltimore-class cruiser

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USS Bremerton (CA-130) in 1955
Class overview
Name	Baltimore class
Builders	Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard (8) New York Shipbuilding Corporation (4) Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (2)
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	USS Wichita
Succeeded by	Oregon City class
Subclasses	Boston class Albany class
Cost	US$40 million per ship[1]
Built	1941–1945
In commission	1943–1971
Planned	14
Completed	14
Retired	14
Scrapped	14
General characteristics
Type	Heavy cruiser
Displacement	13,600 long tons (13,818 t) standard 17,000 long tons (17,273 t) full load
Length	664 ft (202 m) wl 673 ft 5 in (205.26 m) oa
Beam	70 ft 10 in (21.59 m)
Height	112 ft 10 in (34.39 m) (mast)
Draft	26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
Installed power	4 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 120,000 shp (89,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 screws; 4 steam turbine sets
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × lifeboats
Complement	61 officers and 1,085 sailors
Sensors and processing systems	Mk34 GFCS 2 × Mk37 GFCS Early: SK-2 air-search radar SP radar fighter-direction radar Later: AN/SPS-6 air-search radar AN/SPS-8A height-finding radar AN/SPS-10 surface-search radar AN/SPS-12 air-search radar AN/SPS-37 early-warning radar (Saint Paul) AN/SPS-43 air-search radar (Helena) AN/URN-3 TACAN Mark 56 fire-control system
Armament	3 × triple 8-inch/55-caliber guns 6 × twin 5-inch/38-caliber guns 12 × quad Bofors 40 mm guns 24 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons
Armor	Belt armor: 4–6 in (102–152 mm) Deck: 2.5 in (64 mm) Turrets: 1.5–8 in (38–203 mm) Barbettes: 6.3 in (160 mm) Conning tower: 6.5 in (165 mm) Bulkheads: 6 in (152 mm)
Aviation facilities	2 × aircraft catapults Helipad (later conversion)

The Baltimore-class heavy cruisers were a class of heavy cruisers in the United States Navy commissioned during and shortly after World War II. Fourteen Baltimores were completed, more than any other class of heavy cruiser (the British County class had 15 vessels planned, but only 13 completed), along with another three ships of the Oregon City sub-class. The Baltimores also were the first cruisers in the US Navy to be designed without the limitations of the London Naval Treaty.

Fast and heavily armed, the Baltimore cruisers were mainly used in World War II as anti-aircraft cruisers to protect the fast aircraft carriers in battle groups from air attack. Additionally, their 8-inch (203 mm) main guns and secondary 5-inch (127 mm) guns were regularly used to bombard land targets in support of amphibious landings. After the war, only six Baltimores (St. Paul, Macon, Toledo, Columbus, Bremerton, and Helena) and two Oregon City-class ships (Albany and Rochester) remained in service, while the rest were moved to the reserve fleet. However, all ships except Boston, Canberra, Chicago, and Fall River were reactivated for the Korean War.

Except for St. Paul, all the ships retaining all-gun configurations had very short (18 years or less) service lives, and by 1971 were decommissioned, and started being sold for scrap. However, four Baltimore-class cruisers were refitted and converted into some of the first guided missile cruisers in the world, becoming two of the three Albany-class and two Boston-class cruisers. The last of these was decommissioned in 1980, with the Chicago lasting until 1991 in reserve. No example of the Baltimore class still exists.