Wikipedia

Belknap-class cruiser

The Belknap-class cruiser was a class of single-ended guided-missile cruisers (their missile armament was installed only forward, unlike "double-ended" missile cruisers with missile armament installed both forward and aft) built for the United States Navy during the 1960s. They were originally designated as DLG frigates (destroyer leaders; the USN use of the term frigate from 1950 to 1975 was intended to evoke the power of the sailing frigates of old),[citation needed] but in the 1975 fleet realignment, they were reclassified as guided missile cruisers (CG).

USS Sterett on 7 September 1990
Class overview
NameBelknap class
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byLeahy class
Succeeded byCalifornia class
SubclassesTruxtun class
Built1962–1967
In commission1964–1995
Completed9
Active0
Retired9
General characteristics
TypeGuided missile cruiser
Displacement7,930 tons[1] (8,057 metric tons)
Length547 ft (167 m)[1]
Beam55 ft (17 m)[1]
Draft29 ft (8.8 m)[2]
Propulsionfour 1200 psi (8300 kPa) boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts. 85,000 shp (63,384 kW)[1]
Speed32 knots[1] (59 km/h)
Complement27 officers, 450 enlisted[1]
Sensors &
processing systems
Armament
Armornone[2]
Aircraft carried(final configuration) 1 × SH-2H Seasprite[1]

Description

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When commissioned, the main armament of the Belknap class was a 5-inch/54-caliber Mk. 42 gun on the quarterdeck and a twin-rail RIM-2 Terrier Mk 10 Mod 7 Guided Missile Launching System on the foredeck.[6] The Mk 10 Mod 7 launchers in this class were modified compared to the others of the same type, with additional 20 missiles and the capability to launch RUR-5 ASROC to eliminate need for a separate Mk 112 ASROC launcher.[7] These were unofficially spoken of as Ter/AS (tear-ass) launchers.[citation needed] The class was also equipped with two single 3"/50 caliber guns[8] for defence against sub-sonic aircraft.[2] In the early 1980s, the Terrier missiles were replaced with RIM-67 Standard missiles; and during the NTU program in the late 1980s and early 1990s the class had its Standard SM-1 system upgraded to utilize SM-2ER Block II, the 3-inch guns were replaced with two 4 cell Harpoon surface-to-surface missile launchers, and two Phalanx CIWS systems were installed.[2]

The derivative USS Truxtun shared the weapons systems outfit of the Belknap class, but was nuclear-powered, larger and substantially unrelated in design (for example, many weapons systems in different locations, such as the aft-facing Mark 10 Mod 8 GMLS). Most information related to nuclear cruisers is still classified, but Truxtun appears to be more a Belknap-like derivative of the nuclear cruiser Bainbridge than the other way around.[6]

Ships in class

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Name Pennant Builder Laid Down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Belknap-class conventional cruiser
Belknap CG-26 Bath Iron Works, Bath 5 February 1962 20 July 1963 7 November 1964 15 February 1995 Sunk as target, 24 September 1998[citation needed]
Josephus Daniels CG-27 23 April 1962 2 December 1963 8 May 1965 21 January 1994 Broken up at Brownsville, 1999[citation needed]
Wainwright CG-28 2 July 1962 25 April 1965 8 January 1966 15 November 1993 Sunk as target, 12 June 2002[citation needed]
Jouett CG-29 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton 25 September 1962 30 June 1964 3 December 1966 28 January 1994 Sunk as target, 10 August 2007[citation needed]
Horne CG-30 San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San Francisco 12 December 1962 30 October 1964 15 April 1967 4 February 1994 Sunk as target, 29 June 2008[citation needed]
Sterett CG-31 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton 25 September 1962 30 June 1964 8 April 1967 24 March 1994 Broken up at Brownsville, 2005[citation needed]
William H. Standley CG-32 Bath Iron Works, Bath 29 July 1963 19 December 1964 9 July 1966 11 February 1994 Sunk as target, 25 June 2005[citation needed]
Fox CG-33 Todd Shipyard, San Pedro 15 January 1963 21 November 1964 8 May 1966 15 April 1994 Broken up at Brownsville, 2008[citation needed]
Biddle CG-34 Bath Iron Works, Bath 9 December 1963 2 July 1965 21 January 1967 30 November 1993 Broken up at Philadelphia, 2001[citation needed]
Truxtun-class nuclear-powered cruiser
Truxtun CGN-35 New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden 17 June 1963 19 December 1964 27 May 1967 11 September 1995 Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, 1999[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pike, John E. (5 February 2005). "CG 26 BELKNAP class". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Toppan, Andrew (17 July 2000). "US Cruisers List: Guided Missile Cruisers". Haze Gray and Underway. Archived from the original on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.429
  4. ↑ Polmar, Norman "The U.S. Navy: Shipboard Radars" United States Naval Institute Proceedings December 1978 p.144
  5. ↑ Polmar, Norman "The U.S. Navy: Sonars, Part 1" United States Naval Institute Proceedings July 1981 p.119
  6. 1 2 Doehring, Thoralf. "The TRUXTUN – class". Unofficial US Navy Site. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
  7. ↑ Bauer, Karl Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 215. ISBN 0313262020.
  8. ↑ "BELKNAP missile cruisers (1964 - 1967)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 1 March 2026.

Bibliography

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  • Bellars, Robert A. (2007). "Question 41/88?: U.S. Naval Relics". Warship International. XLIV (2): 157–158. ISSN 0043-0374.
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