USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Tuscaloosa.

USS Tuscaloosa (CA 37) off the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 10 November 1944
History
United States
NameTuscaloosa
NamesakeCity of Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Ordered13 February 1929
Awarded3 March 1931
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey
Cost$10,450,000 (limit of price)
Laid down3 September 1931
Launched15 November 1933
Sponsored byMrs. Thomas Lee McCann
Commissioned17 August 1934
Decommissioned13 February 1946
Stricken1 March 1959
Identification
Honors and
awards		 7 × battle stars
FateSold for scrap 25 June 1959
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Class and typeNew Orleans-class cruiser
Displacement9,975 long tons (10,135 t) (standard)
Length
  • 588 ft (179 m) oa
  • 574 ft (175 m) pp
Beam61 ft 9 in (18.82 m)
Draft
  • 19 ft 5 in (5.92 m) (mean)
  • 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) (max)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed32.7 kn (37.6 mph; 60.6 km/h)
CapacityFuel oil: 1,650 tons
Complement103 officers 763 enlisted
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 3–5 in (76–127 mm)
  • Deck: 1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in (32–57 mm)
  • Barbettes: 5 in (130 mm)
  • Turrets: 1+1⁄2–8 in (38–203 mm)
  • Conning Tower: 5 in (130 mm)
Aircraft carried4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities2 × Amidship catapults
General characteristics (1945)[2][3]
Armament
  • 9 × 8 in (200 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3)
  • 8 × 5 in (130 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns
  • 2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns
  • 6 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns
  • 28 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Aviation facilities1 × Amidship catapult

USS Tuscaloosa (CL/CA-37) was a New Orleans-class cruiser of the U.S. Navy. Commissioned in 1934, she spent most of her career in the Atlantic and Caribbean, participating in several European wartime operations. In early 1945, she transferred to the Pacific and assisted in shore bombardment of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She earned 7 battle stars for her service in World War II. Never damaged in battle, the ship fared better compared to her six sister ships, three of which were sunk and the other three heavily damaged.

Tuscaloosa was decommissioned in early 1946 and scrapped in 1959.

  1. ^ "Ships' Data, U. S. Naval Vessels". US Naval Department. 1 July 1935. pp. 16–23. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. ^ Rickard, J (19 December 2014). "USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37)". Historyofwar.org. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  3. ^ "US Cruisers List: Light/Heavy/Antiaircraft Cruisers, Part 1". Hazegray.org. 22 January 2000. Retrieved 8 October 2015.