Providence-class cruiser
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2013) ) |
USS Topeka in 1964
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Class overview | |
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Operators | United States Navy |
Preceded by | Galveston class |
Succeeded by | Long Beach |
Subclasses | Cleveland class |
In commission | 1959–1974 |
Completed | 3 |
Retired | 3 |
Scrapped | 3 |
Preserved | 0 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Guided missile cruiser |
Displacement | 15,025 tons |
Length | 608 ft (185.3 m) |
Beam | 64 ft (19.5 m) |
Draft | 23 ft 6 in (7.1 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 32.5 knots (60 km/h) |
Complement | 1,120 officers and enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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Aviation facilities | Helipad |
Originally built as
A similar pattern was followed in converting three other Cleveland-class ships (Galveston, Little Rock, and Oklahoma City) to operate the Talos surface-to-air missile system, creating the Galveston class. Little Rock and Oklahoma City were outfitted as fleet flagships, but Galveston was not.
Like the Galveston class cruisers, the Providence class ships suffered from serious stability problems caused by the topweight of the missile system, requiring the use of ballast to improve stability. The cruisers also suffered from hogging of the hull.
All three Providence-class ships were decommissioned to the reserve fleet between 1969 and 1974. In the 1975 cruiser realignment, Providence and Springfield were reclassified as guided missile cruisers (CG). The ships were stricken from the Naval Vessel Register between 1974 and 1980, and eventually sold for scrap.
Ships in class
Ship Name | Hull No. | Converted at | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
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Providence[2]
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CLG-6 | Boston Naval Shipyard
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27 July 1943 | 28 December 1944 | 15 September 1959 | 31 August 1973 | Sold for scrap, 15 July 1980 |
Springfield[3] | CLG-7 | Fore River Shipyard | 13 February 1943 | 9 March 1944 | 2 July 1960 | 15 May 1974 | Sold for scrap, 11 March 1980 |
Topeka[4] | CLG-8 | New York Naval Shipyard
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21 April 1943 | 19 August 1944 | 26 March 1960 | 5 June 1969 | Sold for scrap, 20 March 1975 |