Heavy cruiser Wichita. Cleveland-class light cruisers

We have already talked about how heavy cruisers became the favorite class for American sailors. Large 10,000-ton ships were ideally suited for operations in the vast oceans, where the distances between bases were several thousand miles. Therefore, at the new naval conference, meeting in London in 1930, overseas admirals fought for them as passionately as in battle. And in the end they succeeded: the United States finally managed to defeat the “mistress of the seas.” Albeit in the same class of ships, but the most (as it seemed then) interesting. The Americans “knocked out” for themselves the right to have 18 heavy cruisers, while the British were allowed no more than 15, and the Japanese only 12. All this looked simply wonderful, but in fact the London Agreement fixed the situation that had arisen at that moment. The United States already had 16 units in service or on stocks that fell into the “heavy” category, and not all of them came out successful and strong. The seventeenth was Vincennes, which was built according to already finished project"New Orleans". As a result, with the further development of the class, there was very, very little space left for maneuver - only one ship. Then we would have to wait until the first of the “Washingtonians” served their 20-year term and they could be replaced with new ones.

It is clear that in such a situation the designers wanted to invest as much as possible in the “last hope”. Moreover, by 1934, cruisers of all projects were already in service and some results could be summed up. Having first gone through lighter hulls, the Americans gradually reached the 10,000-ton limit and now moved on without much remorse. On the Astoria, the limit was exceeded by about 140 tons - in fact, a trifle compared to the tricks that were done in other countries. Therefore, the engineers were given a not very publicized order: new project can be “weighted” by a couple of hundred tons more.

Also in 1934, the laying of the SA-44, named “Wichita,” took place. The design of the new heavy cruiser was almost completely redesigned. The next increase in weight was only one and rather insignificant difference from its predecessors. The hull for the Wichita was taken from the large Brooklyn-class light cruisers laid down a year earlier. The design idea has come full circle and returned to the smooth-deck design. However, instead of a rather significant bend on the Salt Lake City, the hull now had a high side along its entire length. This not only guaranteed uninterrupted shooting on ocean waves from the rear turret, but also made it possible to launch aircraft from catapults now installed in the very stern. The Americans considered this solution optimal, since it freed up valuable space in the middle part of the ship, which was so necessary for anti-aircraft artillery. At the same time, the “house”-hangar, which occupied a lot of space on the deck in the central part of the ship, also disappeared. It migrated directly to the hull in the stern under the catapult. The cruiser got rid of the “shed”, which not only spoiled appearance, but also represented a significant target, threatening dangerous fires if hit. Eventually general location began to correspond to a complete and very rational scheme, which the Americans were actively implementing on all classes of large ships. Perhaps its only drawback was the inability to fire from the rear turret directly to the stern. Muzzle gases easily carried overboard fragile seaplanes located directly in the line of fire. Therefore, it remained either to carefully hide them under deck in the hangar and not use them in battle, or to release them at the first sign of the enemy’s appearance, or to dodge in battle so that the enemy did not end up in the aft sector.

On the last “London” cruiser, it was finally possible to completely solve the long-standing problem of the barrels of eight-inch guns being too close together. They were “pulled apart” over a fairly large distance and placed in separate cradles. True, a problem arose with the size of the barbettes, the diameter of which had increased so much that they did not fit into the elegant contours of the body. Then the designers got clever and gave the barbettes the shape of an inverted cone, tapering from the tower to the cellar.

Anti-aircraft weapons have undergone serious changes. Already during construction, the fleet command managed to “push through” the installation of new 127-mm universal guns with a barrel length of 38 calibers - the famous gun, used since the mid-30s on all US ships, from aircraft carriers to escort destroyers and auxiliary ships, and which played a big role role in the Pacific War. The Navy wanted to have twin installations at once, but work on the Wichita had progressed so much that they had to limit themselves to single ones, and some of them did not have shields. And so, to balance the weight, 200 tons of cast iron had to be loaded into the holds as ballast. This completely useless cargo increased the overload compared to the Washington limit to 600 tons. However, other items of overload made much more sense. First of all, the weight was used to further strengthen the armor. The thickness of the belt increased to 152 mm on a 16-mm skin, the barbettes - to 178 mm, and the frontal plates of the towers up to 8 inches - 203 mm. The roofs of the towers, covered with 70 mm slabs, were also very solid - a thickness worthy of the dreadnoughts of the First World War. As a result, Wichita joined the honorable ranks of the most protected cruisers of its time. The solution to the problem of the survivability of a mechanical installation also looked interesting. Three boiler rooms were located in front, followed by two turbine rooms, between which a fourth boiler room was squeezed. This “half-echelon” scheme has become a reasonable compromise between the full alternation of machines and boilers and the traditional sequential one.

Overall, the ship turned out to be very successful and served as the basis for all subsequent US heavy cruiser projects. However, there were some complications. It was not possible to “extend” the planned increased cruising range, although the achieved 8800 miles at 15 knots can be considered a good result. But nothing reasonable could be done about the low stability. As a result, the ship, heavily overloaded with weapons and equipment placed on a high hull, had much less reserve for upgrades compared to its predecessors. Thus, it was not possible to replace single 127-millimeter guns with twin ones, and traditional close-range assault rifles - Bofors and Oerlikons - were installed on the Wichita with special precautions.

The last contracted heavy cruiser had barely entered service when World War II began. Although the United States did not yet participate in it, the admirals could not miss the golden opportunity to get new “toys”, taking advantage of the fact that restrictive maritime agreements had lost their meaning. The decision followed to return to building the favorite type - heavy cruisers. It is quite natural that the successful Wichita was chosen as a sample; this saved a lot of time both during the development and construction of new ships. Initially, the repetition was supposed to be almost complete, the only change being an increase in the width of the body by a little more than half a meter. However, the lifting of restrictions opened up too tempting opportunities, and the designers began to reshape the “caftan”, which was no longer “Trishkin”: the Americans had enough materials and money.

The first step was to strengthen the anti-aircraft weapons. The cruisers received twelve 127-mm anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts - quite the battleship norm. The impressive number was supported by an excellent location: two towers were located along the center plane and could fire above the bow and stern groups of main-caliber artillery. For the first time, the project from the very beginning provided for the placement of multi-barreled machine guns - four four-barreled 28-mm installations, nicknamed in the USA “Chicago pianos” (as during the heyday of the gangster “business”, the capital of which Chicago became, the favorite weapon of gangsters was called - Thompson submachine guns, capable of filling a competitor or an inappropriate police officer with lead in a few seconds). However, the development was not very successful, plus it was difficult to manufacture, and the Americans switched to more powerful and technologically advanced 40-mm Swedish Bofors. It is difficult to argue against such timely innovations, but they caused a completely natural increase in displacement, reaching 13,600 tons of “standard” without fuel and other cargo. The Baltimores turned out to be 20 meters longer than the Wichitas and almost two meters wider, and this despite the fact that the main caliber had not changed at all, and the armor had not improved significantly. (The main highlight of the protection was the really thick 65 mm deck.) The dimensions and displacement could have become even larger if not for the use of a new boiler plant with very high steam parameters. Turbines with a capacity of 120 thousand hp. Only four heavy-duty boilers supplied the steam. Although the power plant turned out to be quite efficient and made it possible to exceed the design power by 10% without any problems, the design 34 knots could not be achieved due to the continuous “swelling” of the load. The number of 40-mm machine guns grew by leaps and bounds, their installations occupied all available convenient (and not so convenient) places, weighing down the ships. However, the achieved 33 knots looked quite decent and respectable, just as the cruisers themselves turned out to be impressive. The echelon arrangement of boilers (each of the four had its own “separate apartment”) and turbines ensured good survivability.

184. Heavy cruiser "Baltimore" (USA, 1943)

Built by Bethlehem Steel Corporation at the Quincy shipyard. Standard displacement - 14,470 tons, gross - 17,030 tons, maximum length - 205.26 m, width - 21.59 m, draft - 7.32 m. Power of the four-shaft steam turbine unit is 120,000 hp, speed 33 knots. Reservations: side 165 - 114 mm, deck 57 mm, turrets 203-51 mm, barbettes 178 mm. Armament: nine 203/55 mm guns, twelve 127/38 mm anti-aircraft guns, forty-eight 40 mm machine guns, 4 seaplanes. In total, 1943 - 1946 14 units built: Baltimore, Boston, Canberra, Quincy, Pittsburgh, St. Paul, Columbus, Helena, Bremerton, Fall River, Macon ", "Toledo", "Los Angeles" and "Chicago". In reality, no more than two seaplanes were accepted. Upon entry into service, they carried an additional twenty to twenty-eight 20 mm machine guns. The first (in 1969 and 1971, respectively) to be excluded from the lists were "Macon", "Fall River" and "Baltimore", the rest were scrapped until the end of the 70s of the 20th century, with the exception of "Chicago" and "Albany".

185. Heavy cruiser "Wichita" (USA, 1939)

Built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Standard displacement - 10,590 tons, gross - 13,015 tons, maximum length - 185.42 m, width - 18.82 m, draft - 7.24 m. Power of the four-shaft steam turbine unit is 100,000 hp, speed 33 knots. Reservations: side 165 - 114 mm, deck 57 mm, turrets 203-37 mm, barbettes 178 mm. Armament: nine 203/55 mm guns, eight 127/38 mm anti-aircraft guns, eight 12.7 mm machine guns, 4 seaplanes. During the war, twenty-four 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns and eighteen 20-mm Oerlikons were installed. Scrapped in 1959.

186. Heavy cruiser "Oregon City" (USA, 1946)

Built by Bethlehem Steel Corporation at the Quincy shipyard. Displacement, dimensions, mechanisms, armor and armament - like the Baltimore. In 1946, 3 units were built: Oregon City, Albany and Rochester. The fourth and final unit of the series, Northampton, was completed in 1951 as a control ship. Oregon City was removed from the list in 1970, Rochester in 1974, and Northampton in 1977. 30.6.1958 "Albany" was set for conversion into a guided missile cruiser. On November 1, 1958, it received a new tail number SO-10. Commissioned on November 3, 1962. On March 1, 1967, it began another modernization, which lasted 20 months. On November 9, 1968 it was re-commissioned. In 1973, he was transferred to the reserve. In May 1974, she was commissioned into the active fleet and became the flagship of the 2nd Fleet. From 1976 to 1980, the flagship of the US 6th Fleet. 29.8.1980 was excluded from the lists of the fleet and was soon dismantled for metal.

Not only the ships themselves grew, but also the orders for them. Initially, 4 units were supposed to be ordered in July 1940, but just 2 months later their number doubled. And 2 years later, in August 1942, an order followed for 16 pieces at once! Taking into account the death of many enemy heavy cruisers during the war, the “fleet” of American “heavyweights” threatened to fill all the oceans. This rather frightening picture was slightly softened by the end of hostilities: two cruisers laid down in the last days of 1944, Norfolk and Scranton, were decided not to be completed.

However, by that time the construction of advanced heavy cruisers had already begun. "Oregon City" outwardly differed from its predecessors by one wide pipe instead of two "Baltimore" ones. Inside, changes were kept to a minimum. Although the displacement once again increased, the additional tons this time went to increase stability and seaworthiness. The more spacious hull and the initial focus on enhanced anti-aircraft weapons contributed greatly to further improvements and modernizations. While representatives of the pre-war types sank deeper and deeper into the water by the end of the war, gaining weight by several hundred (sometimes even thousands) tons, the last series was limited to overload - at least half as much as all the others.

The first of the Oregons was laid down in March 1944, and by the time it was launched it became clear that none of them would have time to fight. And so it happened: the lead cruiser entered service only in February 1946, followed by two more, and the fourth, Northampton, was completed in no hurry. The flag on it was raised in March 1953, already in the conditions of the new realities of the next war - the Cold War. The last two units were dismantled on the stocks, thereby establishing a kind of justice in relation to the “ancestors” - the Baltimores, the series of which was also cut into two ships.

It is curious that the lion's share of orders for the "American heavyweights" went to the shipyard owned by the metallurgical giant - the Bethlehem Steel Company (Bethlehem Steel Corporation). Only 4 units were ordered from a well-known specialized shipbuilding company from New York, and the state arsenal in Philadelphia limited itself to building only a couple of ships.

However, regardless of the tricks of the designers and the power of the shipbuilding industry, the excellent qualities of American military-built heavy cruisers turned out to be not in great demand. In the competition with time, time, of course, won. Only 7 units took part in the hostilities, and they practically failed to fire at the enemy with their main caliber. "Baltimore", "Boston" and "Canberra" became part of the carrier formations, and they had to repel desperate attacks from Japanese aircraft, both kamikazes and traditional dive bombers and torpedo bombers. One of the last, in October 1944 near Taiwan, managed to plant a torpedo into the very middle of the Canberra’s hull. Despite all the designers' tricks, the cruiser took in 4.5 thousand tons of water and lost speed. Only complete dominance at sea allowed the Americans to tow it across half the ocean. His fellow "Quincy" ended up in the European theater of operations, becoming there the only representative of the most modern American cruisers. Its shells destroyed German positions both during the landing in Normandy and in operations in Southern France. The career of the "Pittsburgh" turned out to be somewhat embarrassing, having sailed for only 4 months before, in June 1945, it and its formation were caught in a strong typhoon. The vaunted robust structure could not withstand the elements: the ship emerged from the hurricane without the bow end, which was torn off at the front tower. It must be said that such an outwardly impressive loss did not prevent the cruiser from reaching the base under its own power, and restoring the status quo took three times less time than repairing the Canberra.

All the “warriors” immediately after the war, in 1946 - 1947, went into reserve. It's a shame, but at least they managed to shoot and serve for three years. It was much more offensive for their colleagues who had just entered service to stand against the wall in a mothballed form. True, the “forgotten war” in Korea soon flared up, when the Americans put most of the “well-survived” units into action. Due to the complete absence of the enemy at sea, they had to mainly shoot at coastal targets. The rest of the service of the “Baltimores” and “Oregons” took place during the bloodless Cold War, and after the required 20 years, from the mid-70s of the last century, one after another they decorously followed to the butchery.

By that time, their progenitor, Wichita, had ceased to exist for a decade and a half. The cruiser saw her through the entire war, from 1941 to 1945, and visited every corner of Europe, from Arctic Norwegian waters, where she escorted Lend-Lease supply convoys, to the coast of Morocco, taking part in the Allied landings at Casablanca. Then sent to the Pacific Ocean, "Wichita" and there "examined" all corners of the huge maritime theater. In the north, its shells plowed up the island of Kiska, from which the Japanese garrison was safely evacuated even before American battleships and cruisers took over. In the south, its eight-inch guns supported almost bloodless landings in the Dutch East Indies on October 13, 1944, the “ancestor” provided significant assistance to its “descendant” by taking the heavily damaged Canberra in tow. And at the end of October, in the battle of Leyte Gulf, artillery was used against enemy ships, although the targets were completely “lame ducks.” In company with her colleagues, Wichita finished off the heavily damaged light aircraft carrier Chiyoda and the destroyer Hatsuyuki, which was trying to cover it. However, the previous exercise of towing the heavy Canberra for three days had an unfavorable effect on the turbines, and the well-fought cruiser went to the USA for repairs. However, he managed to return to the capture of Okinawa and other operations of the final period of the war, receiving 13 “stars” - combat distinctions - and went on a well-deserved rest along with the others in 1947. The fate of the veteran was finally decided in the late 50s, when it was supposed to be converted into rocket ship. But after examining the hull, which had sailed a lot, experts decided that the game was not worth the candle, since there were many much newer cruisers “in idle time,” and in August 1959, the Wichita proceeded to the plant for dismantling for metal.

The American heavy cruisers built in large numbers repeated the fate of the even more numerous “smooth-deck” destroyers that entered service after the First World War, then existed peacefully and without much benefit. But if the surviving “flash deckers” still had to take part in another world war, then the “Baltimores” did without it - for everyone’s happiness. Since the main enemy for them could well be our cruisers: Soviet Union quickly took second place in the world among maritime powers and first among potential enemies of an overseas superpower. And this threat (largely invented in the United States itself) encouraged the continuation of the arms race, leading to the creation of even more perfect type cruising class artillery ships. But more about this in the next issues.

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Heavy cruiser Wichita

Displacement: 10589t, 13015 t

Dimensions: 185.42 x 18,82 x 7.24 m

Machines: 4-shaft TZA Parsons, 8 Babcock-Wilcox boilers, 100,000shp= 33 knots; 1984 tons of oil = 10,000 miles @ 15 knots.

Armor: belt 102 - 152 mm on plating 16 mm; deck 57 mm; barbettes 178 mm; turrets 203 mm front, 70 mm roof, 95 mm sides; cabin 152 mm

Armament: 9 - 203/55 (3 x 3); 8 - 127/38 (8 x 1); 2 catapults, 4 aircraft

Crew: 929 people

The signing of the London Naval Treaty of 1930 disrupted plans for the construction of heavy cruisers in the United States, as it placed restrictions on this class of ships. The agreement allowed the United States to lay down 1 cruiser in 1934 (SA-44 Vincennes) and another cruiser in next year. In the meantime, drawings were developed, and in March 1934 a proposal was made to make them also the basis for new heavy cruisers. It was assumed that this project would increase the cruising range, thanks to improved hull contours and increased fuel tank capacity. Armor protection also had to be improved. The thickness of the belt increased to 152 mm, barbettes - to 178 mm. The side height increased. However, the work was hampered by attempts to solve one of the most difficult problems - the American 203-mm turrets produced too much dispersion of shells. To increase the accuracy of the salvo, it was necessary to increase the distance between the axes of the guns, but this led to an increase in the size of the turret and the diameter of the barbette, which was unacceptable. Still, a compromise was found. The distance between the guns was increased, and the barbettes received a conical shape.

Externally, the heavy cruiser Wichita resembled Brooklyn. The machine installation had the same characteristics. The boilers produced steam at a temperature of 648"Fat a pressure of 464 psi. inch. The ship had 6 boilers located in front engine rooms. The power of electric generators has been increased by 60%. However, the power of diesel generators was reduced, although the ship received 2 such installations.

The armor belt had a thickness of 152 mm in the middle part of the ship and 102 mm at the ends. The deck had a thickness of 57 mm. The transverse beams were 152 mm thick, and the barbettes were 178 mm thick. The total armor weight was 1,437 tons or 14% of the standard displacement. The cruiser used “Class A” armor, which provided an invulnerability zone from 203 mm gun fire from 50 to 110 cab. In 1939, the Bureau of Ordnance created a new long projectile that could penetrate the Wichita belt from a distance of 77.5 cabs, and the Vincennes belt from a distance of 90 cabs. It penetrated deck armor at distances of more than 112 kb. The new projectile also made it possible to reduce the initial velocity, which dramatically increased the survivability of the gun. It was the new shells that were used to calculate the invulnerability zones of the Baltimore-class cruisers and all subsequent ones.

The cruiser was armed with new 203/55 guns Mark12. New 127/38 appeared as a second caliber, but the designer did not have time to create twin settings. The layout of the universal guns was a significant step forward, allowing fire in almost all directions. 4 guns were mounted in closed turrets, which was also a major improvement. However, the ship's stability approached dangerous levels, and at first the last pair of 127 mm guns was not installed. Light anti-aircraft weapons consisted of 8 absolutely useless 12.7 mm machine guns. Aircraft weapons were moved to the quarterdeck. The hangar, covered with a large sliding door, was hidden below the deck.

The SA-45 cruiser was ordered from the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and the vehicles were to be manufactured by the New York Shipbuilding Corp.

"Wichita" had practically no reserves of stability, and therefore all modernizations were very limited. In the summer of 1939, the “missing” 127 mm guns were installed, at the same time 200 tons of cast iron ballast were added, and in June 1941 the cruiser received 2x4-28 mm machine guns. During the war, new radar models were installed. In November 1943, light anti-aircraft weapons were replaced. The cruiser received 4x4 + 2x2- 40 mm Bofors. 18 - 20 mm Oerlikons were also installed. By the end of the war, Wichita received another 2x2-40 mm machine gun. The Bureau of Armaments proposed installing 6 x 2 - 5" installations on the cruiser, but it is unknown whether these plans were seriously considered.

Service history

WICHITA The cruiser became part of the 7th Division of the Atlantic Squadron and participated in the Neutral Patrol in the Caribbean, but in June 1940 she made a goodwill visit to South America, which lasted until September. The cruiser's service in the Atlantic was completely routine. In the fall of 1941 he took part in the occupation of Iceland, and in March 1941 he was transferred to Scapa Flow to operate as part of the Home Fleet. He participated in escorting Arctic convoys, including the ill-fated RQ-17, and other operations in northern waters. In November 1942 he took part in Operation Torch. On November 8, during shelling of the El Hank battery near Casablanca, the cruiser was hit by a 194-mm shell. At the end of the year, Wichita is sent to the Pacific Ocean. In January 1943, the cruiser took part in the battle off Rennel Island. After that, she goes to the Aleutian Islands and in April 1943 becomes the flagship of OG 52.10, then OG 16.4, and even later OG 16.7. On July 22, the cruiser took part in the shelling of Kiska, after which she returned to Puget Sound for repairs. The work was completed in early December, and the cruiser returned to Hawaii. In January 1944, he took part in the landing on the Marshall Islands, then in Holland, in attacks on Truk and Saipan. In June 1944, Wichita took part in the battle in the Philippine Sea. In October, as part of OS 38, he participated in strikes on Okinawa, Formosa and Luzon. On October 13, the cruiser Canberra was hit by a torpedo near Formosa. "Wichita" towed the damaged ship for 2 days. On October 25, 1944, the cruiser took part in the battle off Cape Engaño. Together with other cruisers, he sinks the damaged aircraft carrier Chiyoda and the destroyer Hatsuyuki. But on the Wichita there are problems with the cars, possibly as a result of the Canberra being towed. In addition, a fracture of the Mg 3 shaft bracket was discovered. In November, the cruiser left for repairs in the USA, work ended in early February 1945. After this, the Wichita participated in the battles near Okinawa and took part in the occupation of Japan. The cruiser earned 13 battle stars during World War II. The proposal to rebuild it into a missile cruiser was not implemented.

Continuation of issue No. 17. The role that US Navy heavy cruisers played in World War II is enormous. The importance of heavy cruisers in the Pacific has especially increased after Japanese carrier-based aircraft neutralized virtually all American battleships of the Pacific Fleet on December 7. Not a single heavy cruiser was damaged in that historic raid. All heavy cruisers took part in battles with samurai-Japanese and Nazi aggressors.

Wichita-class cruisers

Wichita-class cruisers

The Wichita-class cruisers are represented by only one ship - the Wichita cruiser itself. The ship was built in accordance with the terms of the London Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Arms, concluded in 1930. According to the London Treaty, the United States was allowed to build one heavy cruiser in 1935. The cruiser was named after the largest city in the state of Kansas.

The cruiser Wichita was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on October 28, 1935, launched on November 16, 1937, and commissioned into the US Navy on February 16, 1939.

The Wichita project was based on the Brooklyn-class light cruiser (CL-40). The main differences were the strengthening of the main caliber artillery (Wichita received 203 mm guns instead of the 152 mm Bpruklina guns) and the improvement power plant. The length of the cruiser "Wichita" along the waterline is 182.9 m, along the hull - 185.4 m, width along the midship frame - 18.8 m. Standard displacement 10,590 tons (9607 metric tons), gross - 13,015 tons (II 807 metric tons), fully loaded draft - 7.24 m.

The cruiser is equipped with eight Babcock and Ulcox boilers (steam temperature 342.2 degrees C, pressure 3199.3 kPa). Four Parsons turbines produced over 100,000 horsepower. and rotated four propellers. Full speed was 33 knots. The oil reserve in the tanks - 1995 tons (1810 metric tons) provided a cruising range of 10,000 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots. Electricity was generated by two diesel generators.

The main armor belt of the cruiser protected the engine rooms, ammunition magazines and other most important and vulnerable places of the ship. The thickness of the main armor belt varied from 11.4 to 16.5 cm. The thickness of the armored deck was 5.7 cm, the barbettes of the main caliber turrets were 17.8 cm. The thickness of the armor of the main caliber turret in the frontal part was 20.3 cm, the sides were 8. 5 cm, roofs - 5.8 cm. The conical superstructure had circular armor 15.24 cm thick.

The main armament of the heavy cruiser Wichita was nine 8-inch guns with a long barrel of 55 calibers in the Mk 12 Mod I version. The guns were installed three in three turrets, two bow and one stern. The mass of the turret with guns is 319 metric tons. The guns sent shells weighing 118 kg with initial speed 853 m/s at a range of 29 km. Initially, the Mk-34 optical rangefinder was intended to control the main caliber fire; in 1943, the rangefinder was supplemented with a fire control system radar. In addition, an optical rangefinder was installed in each main caliber turret.

Auxiliary weapons were single-barreled 5-inch guns with a barrel length of 25 calibers, later they were replaced by more effective five-inch guns with a barrel length of 38 calibers. Initially, only six of the eight five-inch ones were installed to avoid a decrease in stability. Four of the six guns were mounted in single-gun turrets, the remaining two guns were mounted openly in the middle part of the cruiser. The seventh and eighth guns were mounted on the cruiser at the end of 1939.

Short-range anti-aircraft weapons consisted of eight 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns with water-cooled barrels. The machine guns were mounted on the bridge. In 1941, the cruiser was additionally armed with 28-mm quad automatic cannons, but they were soon replaced by 40-mm Bofors. In 1945, the cruiser's anti-aircraft armament consisted of four quadruple Bofors, four twin Bofors and 18 single-barrel Oerlikons.

The cruiser Wichita was equipped with two aircraft catapults. Black powder charges were used to launch seaplanes from a catapult. The catapults were mounted on the sides in the aft part of the hull, and a large crane was installed on the poop, designed for lifting seaplanes and ship's watercraft. An aircraft hangar with a large sliding door was located behind the main caliber turret No. 3. The hangar could accommodate four Curtis SOC Seagal biplane seaplanes. The seaplanes were assigned to the VCS-7 squadron. In 1943, Seagal seaplanes replaced Vought OS2U Kingfisher seaplanes. In 1945, the cruiser received Curtis SC-I Seahawk seaplanes.

In November 1942, the cruiser Wichita sailed to the shores of North Africa to support Operation Torch - the landing of the Anglo-American allies in the colonial possessions of France. In battles in the area of ​​Casablanca and Morocco, the cruiser received a direct hit from a 194-mm shell fired by a gun from a French coastal battery near Eot Hank. The shell hit the left side of the ship in the area of ​​the foremast, pierced the side, the second deck and exploded in the crew quarters. As a result of the explosion, 14 sailors were injured, all of whom received only minor injuries. The fire that started was quickly extinguished by the emergency party. The cruiser remained fully operational, but after four days of fighting it was sent to the United States for repairs.

After the repairs were completed, Wichita sailed to the Pacific Ocean, where she arrived just in time for the Battle of Rennell Island, Solomon Islands. The battle took place on January 29, 1943. Then the cruiser Chicago (SA-29) sank from numerous torpedo hits. Wichita was hit by one torpedo, which did not explode. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, the Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda and the destroyer Hatsuzuki were sunk by the artillery of the cruiser Wichita.

The cruiser "Wichita" took part in the battles for Okinawa in 1945 and was present at the surrender of Japan. On April 27, 1945, near Okinawa, the cruiser was hit by a small shell, probably 5-inch caliber, fired from a Japanese coastal battery. The shell penetrated the port side below the waterline behind the main caliber turret No. 3. The explosion of the shell did not cause serious damage to the cruiser, and the ship continued the battle.

The heavy cruiser Wichita was in service with the US Navy from February 1939 to February 1947, when it was transferred to the reserve of the Atlantic Fleet. The cruiser was finally decommissioned in 1959, and the same year the ship was sold for scrap. During her combat service in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during World War II, the heavy cruiser was awarded a battle star 13 times.

– they were undeservedly forgotten and buried under the dust of time. Who is now interested in the pogrom at Savo Island, artillery duels in the Java Sea and at Cape Esperance? After all, everyone is already convinced that naval battles in the Pacific Ocean are limited to the raid on Pearl Harbor and the battle at Midway Atoll.

In the real war in the Pacific, cruisers were one of the key operating forces of the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy - this class accounted for a large share of sunk ships and vessels from both warring sides. The cruisers provided close-range air defense for squadrons and aircraft carrier formations, covered convoys and carried out patrol missions on sea lanes. If necessary, they were used as armored “tow trucks,” towing damaged ships out of the combat zone. But the main value of the cruisers was revealed in the second half of the war: the six- and eight-inch guns did not stop talking for a minute, “smashing” the Japanese defensive perimeter on the Pacific islands.

In daylight and dark, in all weather conditions, through an impenetrable wall of tropical downpour and a milky veil of fog, the cruisers continued to rain lead on the head of the unfortunate enemy, locked on tiny atolls in the middle of the Great Ocean. Multi-day artillery preparation and fire support for the landing force - it was in this role that the heavy and light cruisers of the US Navy shone most brightly - both in the Pacific Ocean and in the European waters of the Old World. Unlike the monstrous battleships, the number of American cruisers participating in the battles was close to eight dozen (the Yankees riveted 27 units of the Clevelands alone), and the lack of particularly large-caliber artillery on board was compensated by the high rate of fire of eight-inch and smaller guns.

The cruisers had enormous destructive power - the 203 mm shell of the 8"/55 gun had a mass of 150 kilograms and left the barrel at a speed exceeding two speeds of sound. The rate of fire of the 8"/55 naval gun reached 4 rounds/min. In total, the heavy cruiser Baltimore carried nine similar artillery systems located in three main-caliber turrets.

In addition to impressive offensive capabilities, the cruisers had good armor, excellent survivability and a very high speed of up to 33 knots (>60 km/h).
High speed and the security was appreciated by the sailors. It is no coincidence that admirals so often flew their flag on cruisers - spacious workrooms and amazing equipment radio-electronic equipment made it possible to equip a full-fledged flagship command post on board the ship.

USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

Cruisers that took part in World War II are divided into two large categories: those built before and after the war (meaning the late 30s and later). As for pre-war cruisers, the great variety of designs had one important thing in common: most pre-war cruisers were victims of the Washington and London Naval Agreements. As time has shown, all the countries that signed the agreement, one way or another, committed fraud with the displacement of the cruisers under construction, exceeding the prescribed limit of 10 thousand tons by 20% or more. Alas, we still didn’t get anything worthwhile - we couldn’t prevent the World War, but we wasted a million tons of steel on damaged ships.

Like all Washingtonians, American cruisers built in the 1920s - the first half of the 1930s had a skewed ratio of combat characteristics: low security (the thickness of the main battery turrets of the cruiser Pensacola barely exceeded 60 mm) in exchange for firepower and a solid cruising range. In addition, the American projects “Pensacola” and “Notrehampton” turned out to be underutilized - the designers were so carried away by “squeezing” the ships that they could not effectively use the entire displacement reserve. It is no coincidence that in the navy these masterpieces of shipbuilding received the eloquent name “tin cans”.

Heavy cruiser "Wichita"

The American "Washington" cruisers of the second generation - "New Orleans" (7 units built) and "Wichita" (the only ship of its type) turned out to be much more balanced combat units, however, also not without shortcomings. This time, the designers were able to maintain decent speed, armor and armament in exchange for such an intangible parameter as “survivability” (linear arrangement of the power plant, denser layout - the ship had a high chance of dying from being hit by a single torpedo).

The outbreak of the world war overnight annulled all world treaties. Having thrown off the shackles of all kinds of restrictions, shipbuilders in as soon as possible presented projects of balanced warships. Instead of the previous “tin cans”, formidable combat units appeared on the stocks - true masterpieces of shipbuilding. Armament, armor, speed, seaworthiness, cruising range, survivability - the engineers did not allow compromises in any of these factors.

The combat qualities of these ships turned out to be so excellent that many of them continued to be used by the US Navy and other countries even three to four decades after the end of the war!

Frankly, in an open ship-versus-ship naval battle format, each of the cruisers presented below will prove stronger than any of its modern descendants. An attempt to pit some rusty Cleveland or Baltimore against missile cruiser"Ticonderoga" will turn out to be disastrous for a modern ship - having approached a couple of tens of kilometers, "Baltimore" will tear apart "Ticonderoga" like a hot water bottle. The possibility of Ticonderoga using a missile with a firing range of 100 kilometers or more in this case does not solve anything - old armored ships are not very susceptible to such “primitive” weapons as warheads of the Harpoon or Exocet missiles.

I invite readers to get acquainted with the most enchanting examples of American shipbuilding during the war years. Moreover, there is something to see there...

Brooklyn-class light cruisers

Number of units in the series – 9
Years of construction: 1935-1939.
Total displacement 12,207 tons (design value)
Crew 868 people
home power plant: 8 boilers, 4 Parsons turbines, 100,000 hp.
Maximum travel 32.5 knots
Cruising range 10,000 miles at 15 knots.
Main armor belt – 140 mm, maximum armor thickness – 170 mm (main battery turret walls)

Weapons:
- 15 x 152 mm main battery guns;
- 8 x 127 mm universal guns;
- 20-30 Bofors anti-aircraft guns, caliber 40 mm*;
- 20 Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns of 20 mm caliber*;
- 2 catapults, 4 seaplanes.
* typical Brooklyn air defense in the 40s

The close breath of the World War forced us to reconsider approaches to ship design. At the beginning of 1933, the Yankees received alarming information about the laying of Mogami-class cruisers in Japan, armed with 15 six-inch guns in five turrets. In reality, the Japanese committed a major forgery: the standard displacement of the Mogami was 50% greater than stated - these were heavy cruisers, which, in the future, were planned to be armed with ten 203 mm cannons (which happened at the beginning of the war).

But in the early 1930s, the Yankees did not know about the insidious plans of the samurai and, in order to keep up with the “probable enemy,” they rushed to design a light cruiser with five main battery turrets!
Despite the current restrictions of the Washington Treaty and non-standard design conditions, the Brooklyn-class cruiser turned out to be damn successful. Impressive offensive potential, coupled with excellent armor and good seaworthiness.

All nine built cruisers took an active part in the Second World War, and (one might be surprised!) none of them died in battle. The Brooklyns came under bomb and torpedo attacks, artillery fire and kamikaze attacks - alas, each time the ships remained afloat and returned to service after repairs. Off the coast of Italy, the cruiser "Savannah" was hit by a German guided super-bomb "Fritz-X", however, this time, despite the colossal destruction and death of 197 sailors, the ship was able to limp to the base in Malta.

The cruiser Phoenix off the coast of the Philippines, 1944

Argentine cruiser General Belgrano (ex-Phoenix) with the bow torn off by an explosion, May 2, 1982

The damaged cruiser Savannah off the coast of Italy, 1943. The roof of the third main battery turret was hit by a 1400 kg radio-controlled bomb "Fritz-X"

Atlanta-class light cruisers

Number of units in the series – 8

Total displacement 7,400 tons
Crew 673 people
Main power plant: 4 boilers, 4 steam turbines, 75,000 hp
Maximum travel 33 knots
Cruising range 8,500 miles at 15 knots
Main armor belt 89 mm.

Weapons:
- 16 x 127 mm universal guns;
- 16 automatic anti-aircraft guns of 27 mm caliber (the so-called “Chicago piano”);
on the latest ships of the series they were replaced with 8 Bofors assault rifles;
- up to 16 Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns of 20 mm caliber;
- 8 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber;
- by the end of the war, sonar and a set of depth charges appeared on the ships.

Some of the most beautiful cruisers of World War II. Specialized air defense ships capable of bringing down 10,560 kg of hot steel on the enemy in a minute - the salvo of the small cruiser was amazing.
Alas, in practice it turned out that the US Navy did not suffer from a shortage of 127 mm universal anti-aircraft guns (hundreds of destroyers were armed with similar guns), but medium-caliber artillery was sometimes lacking. In addition to the weakness of its weapons, Atlanta suffered from low security - due to its small size and too “thin” armor.

As a result, out of eight ships, two were killed in battle: the lead Atlanta was killed by torpedoes and enemy artillery fire in a firefight near Guadalcanal (November 1942). Another one, the Juneau, perished on the same day: the damaged ship was finished off by a Japanese submarine.

Cleveland-class light cruisers

The number of units in the series is 27. Another 3 were completed according to the improved Fargo project, 9 - as light ones
aircraft carriers Independence. The remaining dozen unfinished hulls were scrapped in 1945 - many of the cruisers had been launched by that time and were being completed afloat (the planned number of ships of the project was 52 units)

Years of construction: 1940-1945.
Total displacement 14,130 tons (project)
Crew 1255 people
Main power plant: 4 boilers, 4 steam turbines, 100,000 hp.
Maximum travel 32.5 knots
Cruising range 11,000 miles at 15 knots
Main armor belt 127 mm. Maximum armor thickness – 152 mm (frontal part of main battery turrets)

Weapons:
- 12 x 152 mm main caliber guns;

- up to 28 Bofors anti-aircraft guns;
- up to 20 Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns;

The first truly full-fledged cruiser of the US Navy. Powerful, balanced. With excellent security and offensive capabilities. Ignore the prefix “light”. Cleveland is as light as a cast iron locomotive. In the countries of the Old World, such ships are, without exaggeration, classified as “heavy cruisers.” Behind the dry numbers “gun caliber/armor thickness” there are no less interesting things hidden: a good location of anti-aircraft artillery, relative spaciousness of the interior, a triple bottom in the area of ​​the engine rooms...

But Cleveland had its own “Achilles heel” - overload and, as a result, problems with stability. The situation was so serious that on the last ships of the series they began to remove the conning tower, catapult and rangefinders from towers No. 1 and No. 4. Obviously, it was the problem with low stability that caused short life"Clevelands" - almost all of them left the US Navy before the start of the Korean War. Only three cruisers - Galveston, Oklahoma City and Little Rock (in the title illustration of the article) underwent extensive modernization and continued to serve as cruisers carrying guided missile weapons (Talos air defense system). We managed to take part in the Vietnam War.

The Cleveland project went down in history as the most numerous series of cruisers. However, despite their high combat qualities and the large number of ships built, the Clevelands arrived too late to see the real “smoke of naval battles”; Among the trophies of these cruisers, only Japanese destroyers are listed (it is worth noting that the Yankees never suffered from a lack of equipment - in the first phase of the war, pre-war cruisers, of which the Americans had as many as 40, actively fought)

Most of the time, the Clevelands were engaged in shelling coastal targets - the Mariana Islands, Saipan, Mindanao, Tinian, Guam, Mindoro, Lingayen, Palawan, Formosa, Kwajalein, Palau, Bonin, Iwo Jima... It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of these cruisers to the defeat of the Japanese defensive perimeter .

Anti-aircraft missile launch from the cruiser "Little Rock"

Baltimore-class heavy cruisers

Number of units in the series – 14
Years of construction: 1940-1945.
Total displacement 17,000 tons
Crew 1700 people
Power plant - four-shaft: 4 boilers, 4 steam turbines, 120,000 hp.
Maximum travel 33 knots
Cruising range 10,000 miles at 15 knots
Main armor belt - 150 mm. Maximum armor thickness – 203 mm (main battery turrets)

Weapons:
- 9 x 203 mm main caliber guns;
- 12 x 127 mm universal guns;
- up to 48 Bofors anti-aircraft guns;
- up to 24 Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns;
- 2 catapults, 4 seaplanes.

“Baltimore” is not ketchup with pieces of ripe vegetables, this thing is much richer. The apotheosis of American shipbuilding in the cruiser class. All prohibitions and restrictions have been lifted. The design incorporates the latest achievements of the American military-industrial complex during the war years. Radars, monstrous guns, heavy armor. A super hero with maximum advantages and minimum disadvantages.

Like the lighter Cleveland-class cruisers, the Baltimores arrived only at a preliminary stage in the Pacific - the first four cruisers entered service in 1943, another in 1944, and the remaining nine in 1945. As a result, most of the damage to the Baltimores was caused by storms, typhoons and navigational errors by the crews. Nevertheless, they made a certain contribution to the victory - heavy cruisers literally “hollowed out” the Marcus and Wake atolls, supported the landing forces on countless islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean with fire, participated in raids to the Chinese coast and launched attacks on Japan.

Just 4 days after the Indianapolis delivered atomic bombs to the island. Tinian, the cruiser was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-58. Of the 1,200 crew members, only 316 were saved. The disaster in the ocean became the largest in terms of the number of casualties in the history of the US Navy

After the repairs were completed, Wichita sailed to the Pacific Ocean, where she arrived just in time for the Battle of Rennell Island, Solomon Islands. The battle took place on January 29, 1943. Then the cruiser Chicago (SA-29) sank from numerous torpedo hits. Wichita was hit by one torpedo, which did not explode. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, the Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda and the destroyer Hatsuzuki were sunk by the artillery of the cruiser Wichita.

The cruiser "Wichita" took part in the battles for Okinawa in 1945 and was present at the surrender of Japan. On April 27, 1945, near Okinawa, the cruiser was hit by a small shell, probably 5-inch caliber, fired from a Japanese coastal battery. The shell penetrated the port side below the waterline behind the main caliber turret No. 3. The explosion of the shell did not cause serious damage to the cruiser, and the ship continued the battle.

Pittsburgh arrived in Guam without a bow. The ship lost its bow in a typhoon, but the rest of the hull withstood the onslaught of the elements. Two sailors at the dock inspect the damage to the cruiser, wondering how the cripple reached the port under his own power. For battles in the Pacific Ocean, the cruiser Pittsburgh received two battle stars.

"Pittsburgh" with a temporary bow attached to Guam for passage to the States in Bremerton, pc. Washington. Victory Day over Japan found the cruiser Pittsburgh undergoing repairs. After the repairs were completed, the cruiser was put into reserve, but with the outbreak of the Korean War and 1950, the Pittsburgh was called into service again.

"St. Paul" is the most honored of the Baltimore-class cruisers - 17 battle stars: for the Second world war- one, Korea - eight and Vietnam - eight. After commissioning and a training cruise, the ship arrived in the Pacific Ocean, where it joined TF-38. "St. Paul" is painted according to the Measure 21, NAVY Blue System scheme. The cylindrical object at the stern is a smoke generator.

In the post-war period, the cruiser St. Paul underwent intensive modernization. By May 1955, turret No. 1 with 5-inch guns, all 20- and 40-mm anti-aircraft guns, and catapults were removed from the ship. A combat antenna is installed in the bow information system NTDS. On the mast, among other antennas, there is an antenna for the TACAN long-range navigation radio system. A variety of antenna equipment is located throughout the ship. The cruiser is painted according to the Measure 27 scheme - completely in Haze Gray, a peacetime paint job.

The heavy cruiser Wichita was in service with the US Navy from February 1939 to February 1947, when it was transferred to the reserve of the Atlantic Fleet. The cruiser was finally decommissioned in 1959, and the same year the ship was sold for scrap. During her combat service in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during World War II, the heavy cruiser was awarded a battle star 13 times.

Heavy cruisers The Baltimore class continued the development of the Brooklyn class ships and the successful ship Wichita.

The lead cruiser in the series, the Baltimore, was ordered on October 1, 1940, and the keel of the cruiser was laid at the Bleasleyham Steel plant, Force River, Quincy, PC. Massachusetts, May 26, 1941. The first eight cruisers of the series (CA-68 - CA-75) were built in Quincy. The cruiser Oregon City (CA-122) was different from the previous Baltimores and actually became the lead in a new series of three ships - Oregon City, Albany (CA-123) and Rochester (CA-124). These ships were also built by Bleasleyham Steel. The Oregons were single-funnel ships, while the Baltimores carried two smokestacks. The series split again in 1950 with the development of the lead Des Moines (CA-134), followed by the cruisers Salem (CA-139) and Newport News (CA-148). In their configuration, these ships differed from the Baltimore and Oregon.

A salvo from the main-caliber bow turrets of the cruiser St. Paul. The cruiser fires at Hangnam, North Korea, December 1950. The gunfire of American ships ensured the evacuation of military and civilians from the port in the face of the Korean-Chinese hordes. The St. Paul fired its last shots in the Korean War at 21:59 on July 27, 1953 - one minute before the armistice came into force.

Vietnamese coastal artillery shells the cruiser Sept Paul, Gulf of Tonkin, August 1967. The cruiser provided fire support to American and South Vietnamese forces in 1965–1970. On September 2, 1965, the bow of the ship was hit by a shell fired by Vietnamese coastal artillery. There were no casualties among the crew.

The length of the cruisers of the "Baltimore" / "Oregon City" type along the hull is 205.3 m, along the waterline - 202.4 m, width along the midship frame - 21.6 m. Standard displacement - 14,472 t (13,129 metric tons), full - 17,030 tons (15,450 metric tons). The fully loaded draft is 8.2 m. On the Des Moines, the length along the hull was increased to 218.4 m, and the width along the midship frame was increased to 23.3 m. The standard displacement of the Des Moines was 17,000 tons ( 15,422 metric tons), gross - 21,500 tons (19,505 metric tons).

All cruisers of the three series had eight Babcock and Wilcox boilers and four General Electric turbines with a total power of 120,000 hp. the turbines operated four propellers. Full speed 33 knots. The oil reserve provided a cruising range of 10,000 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots. The cruising range, as on other cruisers, could be increased due to passing and oncoming refueling while sailing. The armoring of the Baltimore-class cruisers was generally similar to that of the Wichita cruiser. The thickness of the armor varied from 15.24 cm in the area of ​​the engine rooms to 10.2 cm in the waterline area. The thickness of the armored deck is 5 cm. The thickness of the turret barbettes is 6 inches. The thickness of the frontal armor of the main caliber turrets is 20.3 mm, the sides are 7.62 cm, and the roofs are 7.62 cm.

The cruiser St. Paul passes along the port side of the tanker Navasota (AO-106) on its way to the Gulf of Tonkin, 1967. Note the a large number of various antennas.

The sailors of the tanker Navasota are making ends meet on the cruiser St. Paul. The cruiser will have to take oil from the tanker. Tanker sailors wear fire helmets; work on a tanker is extremely unpredictable and dangerous. On the aft superstructure of the cruiser, the Mk 54 fire control sight of the main caliber turret is visible. Ahead and above the Mk 54 system is the Mk 37 system, used to control the fire of 5-inch artillery.

The cruisers Baltimore/Oregon City were armed with nine 203-mm guns with a long barrel of 55 calibers in the Mk 12 or Mk 15 variant, three guns in three turrets; two towers in Iosu, one above the other, one in the stern, separate in itself. The maximum firing range of an armor-piercing projectile weighing 152 kg was 27.5 km. The Ds Moyns had nine automated guns of 203 mm caliber with a barrel length of 55 calibers in the Mk 16 Mod 0 variant, three in three turrets. The new, heavier 8-inch guns had a rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute and were loaded with unitary ammunition rather than separate-loading rounds. Firing with the main caliber was controlled using an optical rangefinder Mk 34 and a radar rangefinder.

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