USS Baltimore (CA-68)
USS Baltimore off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 18 October 1944
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Baltimore |
Namesake | City of Baltimore, Maryland |
Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts |
Laid down | 26 May 1941 |
Launched | 28 July 1942 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Howard W. Jackson |
Commissioned | 15 April 1943 |
Decommissioned | 8 July 1946 |
Recommissioned | 28 November 1951 |
Decommissioned | 31 May 1956 |
Stricken | 15 February 1971 |
Identification |
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Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type | Baltimore-class heavy cruiser |
Displacement |
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Length | 673 ft 5 in (205.26 m) oa |
Beam | 70 ft 10 in (21.59 m) |
Draft |
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Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 33 kn (38 mph; 61 km/h) |
Range | 10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
Complement | 1,142 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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Armor | |
Aircraft carried | 4 × floatplanes |
Aviation facilities | 2 × stern catapults |
USS Baltimore (CA-68) was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruiser, the fifth ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
Design
Baltimore was 664 feet (202.4 m)
Construction and commissioning
Baltimore was
Operational history
World War II
Following
Between November 1943 and June 1944 Baltimore was a unit of the
Baltimore continued to provide fire support in the
Returning to the
. where he disembarked on 9 August 1944.Returning to the war zone in November 1944, Baltimore was assigned to the
Post-World War II
After World War II concluded in August 1945, Baltimore took part in
Baltimore was recommissioned 28 November 1951 and assigned to the
Baltimore commenced pre-inactivation overhaul on her return from the Far East and went out of commission in reserve at Bremerton on 31 May 1956 after just 6+3⁄4 years of active service. She was struck from the Navy List 15 February 1971, sold 10 April 1972 to Zidell Ship Dismantling Company Portland, Oregon, and scrapped in September 1972.
Awards
- battle stars
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Service Medal with "EUROPE" and "ASIA" clasps
- National Defense Service Medal
Alleged sinking by North Korea
The Victorious War Museum in Pyongyang, North Korea, has several exhibits that claim the Baltimore was sunk by motor torpedo boats belonging to the Korean People's Navy in the Korean War during the Battle of Chumonchin Chan on 2 July 1950. Exhibits include a poster and the "actual" boat which supposedly sank Baltimore. However, the ship was in the U.S. Navy's decommissioned reserve from 1946 to 1951 before being recommissioned and assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Baltimore did not return to the Far East until 1955, when she was transferred to the U.S. Pacific Fleet two years after the end of the Korean War.[3][4][5]
The actual battle involved the U.S. Navy
Hero Kim Kun Ok after the North Korean naval leader who claimed to have sunk Baltimore on 2 July 1950.[4][5]
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North Korean propaganda poster proclaiming the sinking of Baltimore.
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North Korean torpedo boat that supposedly sank Baltimore.
References
Citations
- ^ Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, pp. 120–121.
- ^ a b c d Cressman 2005.
- ^ a b Salmon, Andrew (2012). Scorched Earth, Black Snow. Aurum. p. 41.
- ^ Washington Post. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Baltimore V (CA-68)". public2.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
Bibliography
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Coté, Larry; Wright, Christopher C. (December 2020). "Question 15/57: Concerning the Timing of the Alterations to Baltimore (CA-68) Involving Installation of 3-in/50-cal. Guns in Place of 40-mm Guns". Warship International. LVII (4): 280–282. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Cressman, Robert J. (16 December 2005). "Baltimore V (CA-68)". Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-913-8.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Baltimore (CA-68).- history.navy.mil: USS Baltimore
- Photo gallery of USS Baltimore (CA-68) at NavSource Naval History
- hazegray.org: USS Baltimore