USS Cleveland (CL-55)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Cleveland.
USS Cleveland (CL-55), underway at sea in late 1942.
History
United States
NameCleveland
NamesakeCity of Cleveland, Ohio
Ordered17 May 1938
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Laid down1 July 1940
Launched1 November 1941
Commissioned15 June 1942
Decommissioned7 February 1947
Stricken1 March 1959
FateSold for scrap 18 February 1960
General characteristics
Class and typeCleveland-class light cruiser
Displacement
Length610 ft 1 in (185.95 m)
Beam66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)
Draft24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement1,285 officers and enlisted
Armament
Armor
Aircraft carried4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities2 × stern catapults

USS Cleveland (CL-55) was the lead ship of the Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy, which were built during World War II. The class was designed as a development of the earlier Brooklyn-class cruisers, the size of which had been limited by the First London Naval Treaty. The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so the Clevelands used the same hull as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier. The Clevelands carried a main battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns in four three-gun turrets, along with a secondary armament of twelve 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns. They had a top speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph).

Cleveland was commissioned in June 1942, and saw extensive service in the war, briefly in the Atlantic, and then in the Pacific theater. Like almost all of her sister ships, she was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, and never saw active service again. Cleveland was scrapped in the early 1960s.