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Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger

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Warship Wednesday, May 14, 2025: Apogee

Department of the Navy Bureau of Ships photograph, National Archives Identifier 7577927

Above we see the brand new Worcester-class light cruiser USS Roanoke (CL-145) off the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 6 January 1950, the day she left for her first Mediterranean deployment.

Laid down some 80 years ago this week, she was the last American light cruiser commissioned, capping a legacy that started in 1908, and went on to be the next to last all-gun light cruiser decommissioned.

The Worcesters

The Worcester class stemmed from a May 1941 project for BuShips to develop a fast (33 knot) cruiser capable of keeping up with the new classes of fast battleships and aircraft carriers. Designed specifically to splash high-flying enemy bombers, they were to have little in the way of side armor in place of heavily armored decks to withstand bombs while carrying a dozen high-angle 6″/47 DP guns.

However, the long gestation period and wartime experience tweaked this concept a bit.

As detailed by Friedman: 

The Worcester class was designed almost as a platform for the 6-in/47 gun. BuOrd applied the same design concept to an 8-in/55 gun, and the Des Moines class resulted. Both types competed for the tail end of the wartime cruiser program, hull numbers originally scheduled for construction as Clevelands being reordered. Both designs also showed a degree of tactical obsolescence since the missions for which they had been designed were no longer valid at the time of their completion. The Worcester arose from a 1941 demand for a ship capable of defending the fleet against heavy bombers, a role that died as soon as it became obvious that conventional heavy bombers could not hit maneuvering ships from high altitude. The records are far from clear on this point, but it appears that the continuing 6-in/47-gun project kept the cruiser project alive in 1941-43. Ultimately, BuShips justified the very heavy antiaircraft gun as a counter to guided missiles, which the Germans introduced at Salerno in 1943; the old 5-in/25 gun was already obsolete, the 5-in/38 gun barely sufficient; surely something more would be needed for the future.

The Mark 16DP 6″/47s used on the Worcesters were unique.

Whereas the Mark 16 6″/47 was by no means a new gun– the 37 assorted Brooklyn, Cleveland, and Fargo class light cruisers carried them in a variety of triple turrets– the twin high-angle (+78 degree elevation) turrets on our subject class had faster training and elevation rates which, coupled with a 12 round per minute per gun rate of fire, could prove a real threat to high-flying aircraft of the 1940s at anything under 35,000 feet. Plus, there were plans afoot to double that rate of fire to 20-25 rounds per minute per gun by making their loading fully automatic.

The inner workings of the 6″/47 Mk 16 DP mount.

The 6″/47 Mk 16 DP was trialed on the old battlewagon USS Mississippi (AG-128) prior to installation on the Worcesters.

Worcester-class light cruiser USS Roanoke in 1954. Here the after 6″/47 Mk 16 DP main guns and the Mark 27 gun fire control are visible.

With 40mm and 20mm guns seen as outdated with jets on the horizon (the original plan was for 11 quadruple and two twin Bofors for a total of 48 guns, as well as 20 twin 20mm guns), the Worcesters were given 12 dual 3″/50 twin Mark 22 guns in Mark 33 mounts (with a tertiary battery of eight twin Oerlikons). Trainable to 85 degrees elevation, they were good for up to 30,000 feet and could fire 40-50 rounds per minute per gun, allowing the Worcesters to fill the air with 1,200 rounds of 24-pound 3-inch AA VT every 60 seconds.

Bluejackets on USS Roanoke (CL-145) cooling their heels on the starboard 3-inch 50 Mk 33 gun mount blister.

Fire control was via four Mk 56/35 GFCS and six Mk 27s, while they had a quartet of radars (SR-2, SPS-6 2-D air search, SG-6 surface search, and SP-2).

Mark 56 gun fire control system aboard the U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Roanoke (CL-145), in 1956

While the original plan was to concentrate the armor over the decks, this later morphed to a more comprehensive arrangement that ranged from a 1-inch armored box over the deck, 2 inches on the rear of the gun houses and 3 inches on the belt taper to 6.5 inches on the turret sides and 5 inch on the barbettes and the engineering belt. In all, they carried a massive 2,119.7 tons of armor. Compare this to the preceding Cleveland-class light cruisers that only had 1,199 tons of protection.

Although a “light” cruiser class, the Worcesters went 679 feet overall length and hit the scales at 18,300 tons when fully loaded. Compare that to the brooding and infamous Admiral Hipper-class cruisers of the Kriegsmarine that went 665 feet oal and 18,200 tons.

Rather than the 100,000 shp plant on the preceding Cleveland and Fargos, the Worcesters, using four high-pressure (620 psi) Westinghouse boilers and four General Electric geared steam turbines, was able to wring 120,000 shp, which still surpasses the 105,000 shp seen on today’s speedy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers on four gas turbines. The speed was 33 knots, and the range was 8,000 nm at 15.

Originally planned to carry 4 seaplanes with two catapults, this didn’t happen, as we shall see.

Ten Worcesters were planned (to start) with the first four (Worcester-Roanoke-Vallejo-Gary) ordered from New York Shipbuilding Corporation as Yard Nos. 465, 466, 467, and 468, respectively.

Meet Roanoke

Our subject is at least the fifth U.S. Navy warship named after the Virginia city and river system.

The first was a circa 1855 steam frigate that was converted to an oddball triple turret ironclad during the Civil War.

Steam frigate USS Roanoke, brig of war USS Dolphin, and new buildings at Charlestown Navy Yard, Massachusetts, possibly 1861. 80-G-424917

USS Roanoke (1857-1883). Lithograph depicting the ship during the final stages of her conversion from a steam frigate to a triple-turret ironclad, at Novelty Iron Works, New York City, circa the first half of 1863. The original drawing of the scene was done by G. Hayward for “Valentine’s Manual”, 1863. Note the large derrick on the left and the Novelty Works’ building on the right. LC-USZ62-24408

The second USS Roanoke (ID # 1695) was a civilian vessel taken up for service as a dazzle-painted mine layer in the Great War and disposed of shortly after.

U.S. Navy Mine Layers. Steaming in line abreast during the laying of the North Sea mine barrage, September 1918. Analysis of camouflage patterns indicates that these ships are (from front to rear): USS Roanoke (ID # 1695); USS Housatonic (ID # 1697); USS Shawmut (ID # 1255); USS Canandaigua (ID # 1694); USS Canonicus (ID # 1696); with USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) and USS Saranac (ID # 1702) in the left and right center distance. A four-stack British cruiser is in the distance. NHHC Photograph Collection: NH 61101.

The third and fourth Roanokes, a frigate (PF-93) and light cruiser (CL-114) respectively, never sailed under the name, with the escort joining the fleet briefly as USS Lorain while the cruiser was canceled before her first steel was cut.

Whereas late-war Cleveland-class light cruisers were constructed in as little as 16 months, it was immediately evident that the Worcesters were not going to be finished before Berlin and Tokyo fell, and their construction stretched out.

Worcester Class Light AA Cruiser USS Roanoke New York Shipbuilding Corp Shipyard July 1, 1948

Worcester Class Light AA Cruiser USS Roanoke New York Shipbuilding Corp July 1, 1948

USS Roanoke (CL-145) nearing completion, January 1949

Roanoke was laid down on 15 May 1945, just a week after VE-Day. She only launched on 16 June 1947 and, at the time, was NYSB’s last wartime vessel under construction, with sisters Vallejo and Gary canceled in 1945.

“The USS Roanoke, last naval vessel presently under contract at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, was launched today. The 14,700-ton light cruiser went down the ways of the Camden yard at 12:18 P.M., after being christened by Miss Julia Ann Henebry, daughter of Leo P. Henebry, former mayor of Roanoke Va. Miss Henebry’s maid of honor was Miss Margaret Donnell Smith, daughter of R. H. Smith, president of the Norfolk & Western Railway.” Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center P563088B

“Down the ways and into the Delaware River goes the USS Roanoke at the launching yesterday at the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden. Workmen watch as the cruiser nears the water.” George D. McDowell, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Photographs. Temple University P563087B

Roanoke only completed fitting out and was commissioned on 4 April 1949, capping just under four years of construction. As it was, the brand new NYSB-built Fargo-class cruisers USS Fargo (CL-106) and Huntington (CL-107) were decommissioned just weeks after to balance the scales of the new Worcesters joining the fleet.

The future USS Roanoke (CL-145) “off the bow” at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 29 March 1949, just prior to commissioning. NARA 19-NN-CL 145 Roanoke-1354877

Jane’s 1960 Worcester class listing. Some of the specifics are incorrect.

Cold War!

Following shakedown in the Caribbean, Roanoke conducted maneuvers in the Atlantic as a unit of the shrinking Battleship-Cruiser Force before she got underway to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean for her first deployment on 6 January 1950.

USS Roanoke (CL 145) January 6, 1950 NARA 19-NN-CL 145 Roanoke-1354889

USS Roanoke (CL 145) January 6, 1950 NARA 19-NN-CL 145 Roanoke-1354894

USS Roanoke (CL 145) January 6, 1950 NARA 19-NN-CL 145 Roanoke-1354890

USS Roanoke (CL-145) underway at slow speed, circa the early 1950s. Note the ship’s crew at quarters, her call sign NIQE flying at the port yardarm, a motor whaleboat off her port side amidships, and the lighthouse on the tip of the jetty in the background. NH 106501

USS Roanoke (CL-145) underway off the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, January 6, 1950. Note the automobiles and the Sikorsky HO3S helicopter on the fantail.

The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Roanoke (CL-145) at anchor off Famagusta, Cyprus, on 22 February 1950. The ship is dressed for Washington’s Birthday.

She would continue this tempo, conducting six Med deployments with the 6th Fleet over the next five years.

USS Newport News (CA 148); USS Roanoke (CL 145), and USS Columbus (CA 74) at Naples, Italy. Mt. Vesuvius is in the background. Photograph released February 9, 1951. 80-G-426897

Same as above 80-G-426898

Same as above 80-G-426896

When not cruising the Med, Roanoke would continue to drill in exercises in the Western Atlantic and carry midshipmen on training cruises to the Caribbean.

Mids on USS Roanoke (CL-145) stand in formation, 1949-1958. Marquette University MUA_013485

An unidentified Navy ROTC student pets a cheetah, presumably while on a summer cruise with the USS Roanoke (CL-145), 1949-1958. Marquette University MUA_013496

In the fall of 1955, she landed her 20mm guns and older SG-6 and SP-2 radars, replaced by SPS-10 and SPS-8. They were also fitted for more extensive helicopter operations.

Her rigging arrangement post-refit:

On 22 September 1955, Roanoke departed Norfolk for her new homeport in Long Beach, via the Panama Canal. While in California, she conducted nine Naval Reserve cruises and deployed to the WestPac twice (May to December 1956 and September to October 1958).

Naval Reservists undergoing inspection with on active duty on deck of USS Roanoke (CL-145), 2 August 1956. Note the helicopter silhouette. 80-G-692014

A U.S. Navy Piasecki HUP Retriever landing aboard the light cruiser USS Roanoke (CL-145), in 1956.

USS Roanoke (CL-145) at Sasebo, Japan, circa 1956.

With the battleships gone and the cruisers going, the writing was on the wall for these obsolete all-gunned warships in the atomic era.

Roanoke was decommissioned on Halloween 1958. Her active career lasted just 9 years, 6 months, and 27 days.

Still new enough to be reactivated if needed, she was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Mare Island, where, along with her sister, she was preserved and placed in mothballs.

It should be noted that she was only outlived by seven all-gun heavy cruisers: USS Des Moines, Salem, Newport News, Saint Paul, Toledo, Macon, and Bremerton, although it should be noted that the latter three were decommissioned shortly after the Worcesters in 1960-61.

USS Worcester (CL 144) arrives at Pier 23, Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 26 May 1959 for inactivation. The stern of the USS Roanoke (CL 145) is to the right. YTB 268 Red Cloud is on the cruiser’s starboard bow.

Sisters USS Worcester (CL-144) and USS Roanoke (CL-145) at Pier 23, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 26 May 1959, with guns covered for mothball preservation.

Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, view of Berths 21 through 24, looking northwest, 12 July 1960, showing Pacific Reserve Fleet and other ships. Those present include (from bottom): Two Cleveland-class light cruisers, USS Roanoke (CL-145), USS Worcester (CL-144), another Cleveland-class light cruiser, USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) undergoing FRAM II modernization, two auxiliaries, and a destroyer receiving a FRAM I modernization. Courtesy of Stephen S. Roberts, 1978. NH 88082

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Ships laid up in reserve at Bremerton, 19 March 1970. They are, from left to right: USS Fort Marion (LSD-22), USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Roanoke (CL-145), and USS Worcester (CL-144). USN 1143678

Stricken 1 December 1970 after 12 years in reserve (a period longer than her active career), Roanoke was sold for scrap to Levin Metals Corporation of San Jose, California, on 22 February 1972.

Roanoke didn’t get to fire a shot in anger, coming too late for WWII and deployed to Europe to hold the line against the Russkis during Korea, but she did serve as the breeding ground for the Navy’s future admirals. Of her 11 skippers, seven would earn stars, including two who would reach VADM rank- John Louis Chew (USNA ’31) and Harold Thomas Deutermann (USNA ’27).

Epilogue

She is remembered in maritime art by Wayne Scarpaci.

A painting of USS Roanoke (CL 145) entering San Francisco Bay in 1957 by artist Wayne Scarpaci. The title of the painting is “Summer Fog,” via Navsource.

A surprising amount of Roanoke is preserved.

Her bell can be seen on display outside Elmwood Park at the Roanoke Public Library.

A large scale model of Roanoke is on display in the Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, Virginia

The National Archives holds an extensive collection of photographs as well as her deck logs.

As part of their scrapping process, at least 200 tons of armor plate from both Worcester and Roanoke were put to use at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, where some no doubt is still catching particles.

The Navy recycled her name for a 40,000-ton Wichita-class replenishment oiler, (AOR-7), which joined the fleet in 1976 and served for 19 years then was laid up at Suisun Bay with the thawing of the Cold War. She was scrapped in 2012.

A port bow view of the replenishment oiler USS Roanoke (AOR-7) participating in an underway replenishment operation with the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) during RIMPAC ’86, 17 June 1986. The Australian frigate HMAS Darwin (F-04) is on the starboard side of the Roanoke. PH2 Galaviz. NARA DN-SC-87-02027

It’s probably time that the Navy commissioned a seventh Roanoke.

Meminisse est ad Vivificandum – To Remember is to Keep Alive

***

Ships are more than steel

and wood

And heart of burning coal,

For those who sail upon

them know

That some ships have a

soul.

***

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