USS Galveston (CL-93 / CLG-93 / CLG-3)

History

The Cleveland-class light cruisers were critical to the United States Navy's (USN) victories in the Pacific during World War II (1939-1945). Her importance at the outbreak of the war in 1941 was so high that 52 of these utility ships were planned, but by the end of the war in 1945, only 27 had been completed.

Nine were converted to aircraft carriers, and a further thirteen were converted to the Fargo-class (detailed elsewhere on this site).

USS Galveston (CL-93) was born in the Cleveland class and saw her keel laid by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding on February 20, 1944, when the war was still undecided. The ship was launched on April 22, 1945, did not take part in any military operations (ending August-September 1945), and was not even ready when it ceased work on June 24, 1946.

After a period of service with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, she was rebuilt on 4 February 1956 as a guided missile cruiser with the hull designation "CLG-93" and became the lead ship of the new "Galveston-class". On May 23, 1957, she changed her name again - eventually she became USS Galveston (CLG-3).

In its revised form, the ship retains most of its combat formdimensions include an overall length of 610 feet, a beam of 66.3 feet, and a draft of up to 25.5 feet. Power comes from 4 steam boilers that power 4 geared steam turbines producing 100,000 horsepower to drive 4 shafts under the stern for a top speed of 32.5 knots and a range of 11,000 nautical miles.

Changes to the ship naturally resulted in some changes to the interior and exterior of the ship. This includes an increase in crew numbers from 1,255 to 1,426.

The armament package was also resolved, becoming a 6 x 6 in (150 mm)/47 caliber Mark 16 main gun in two triple turrets, a 6 x 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber Mark 32 anti-aircraft gun (AA) and - Perhaps most importantly - 1 x Mark 7 "Talos" Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) dual rail launcher, capable of loading 46 missiles.

In contrast, the original ship was planned to have 12 x 6" guns, 12 x 5" guns, 10 x 40mm anti-aircraft guns and 21 x 20mm anti-aircraft guns in four turrets.

The USS Galveston entered service in June 1958 when she left for the West Indies in early 1959 for the required pre-training trials. In February of that year, she launched the first Talos missile in U.S. Navy history.

Like other warships of the time, Galveston was forced into service in 1965 during the Vietnam War (1955-1975), when her guns were used as part of the 7th Fleet against enemy forces. In addition, their vital air defense systems provide airspace deterrence for advancing ground forces. With the rest of the war, the ship returned to the United States (San Diego) and was modernized and overhauled before starting training. Before the end of 1967, she was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Her last action was recorded in 1968-1969, when she fired again at enemy forces in the Vietnam conflict, firing some 3,500 rounds in nine days.

She arrived in the United States in February 1969, then crossed the Panama Canal to return to the East Coast and work at the Theater of the Atlantic.

On May 25, 1970, USS Galveston (CLG-3) was discharged from USN service. Her name was removed from the Naval Register on December 21, 1973, and her dismantled hull was sold for scrap on May 16, 1975, marking her official death.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

POWER

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

AIR WING