USS Salem (CA-139)

USS Salem at Toulon, 18 June 1951
History
United States
Name	Salem
Namesake	Salem, Massachusetts
Ordered	14 June 1943
Builder	Bethlehem Steel Co.'s Fore River Shipyard
Laid down	4 July 1945
Launched	25 March 1947
Commissioned	14 May 1949
Decommissioned	30 January 1959
Stricken	7 December 1991
Identification	Callsign: NIQY Hull number: CA-139
Status	Museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts 42°14′39″N 70°58′12″W / 42.24417°N 70.97000°W / 42.24417; -70.97000
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General characteristics
Class and type	Des Moines-class heavy cruiser
Displacement	17,000 long tons (17,273 t) (standard) 21,500 long tons (21,845 t) (full load)
Length	700 ft (210 m) wl 716 ft 6 in (218.39 m) oa
Beam	76 ft 6 in (23.32 m)
Draft	22 ft (6.7 m)
Propulsion	4 shafts General Electric turbines 4 boilers 120,000 shp (89,000 kW)
Speed	33 kn (61 km/h)
Range	10,500 nmi at 15 knots 19,400 km at 28 km/h
Boats & landing craft carried	2–4 × lifeboats
Complement	1,799 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-6 air-search radar AN/SPS-8A height-finding radar AN/URN-3 TACAN AN/URD-4 radio direction finder
Armament	3 × triple 8"/55 caliber guns 6 × twin 5"/38 caliber guns 12 × twin 3"/50 caliber guns 12 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons
Armor	Belt: 4–6 in (102-152 mm) Deck: 3.5 in (89 mm) Turrets: 2–8 in (51-203 mm) Barbettes: 6.3 in (160 mm) Conning tower: 6.5 in (165 mm)
Aviation facilities	2 × aircraft catapults Helipad (later conversion)

USS Salem (CA-139) is a Des Moines-class heavy cruiser completed for the United States Navy shortly after World War II and commissioned in 1949. The second ship of her class, she was the world's last heavy cruiser to enter service and is the last remaining. She was decommissioned in 1959 after serving in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. She is open to the public as a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts.^[1]