Cleveland-class cruiser

The U.S. Navy designed the Cleveland class of light cruisers for World War II with the goal of increased cruising range, antiaircraft armament, torpedo protection, etc., compared with earlier American cruisers.

52 light cruisers of this class were originally planned, but nine of them were completed as the light aircraft carriers of the Independence-class aircraft carrier, and two of them were completed to a somewhat different design, with more compact superstructures and just a single smokestack. These two were called the Fargo-class cruiser. Of the 27 Cleveland-class cruisers that were commissioned, one (USS Galveston) was completed as a guided missile cruiser and five were later modified as Galveston-class cruiser- and Providence-class cruiser-class guided missile cruisers. Following the naming convention at the time, all the ships completed as cruisers were named for American cities and towns.

The Cleveland-class cruisers served mainly in the Pacific Fleet during World War II, especially in the Fast Carrier Task Force, but some of them served off the coasts of Europe and Africa in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. All of these warships survived the war. Except for the USS Manchester, which remained in service until 1956, and the guided missile cruisers all of these cruisers were decommissioned by 1950. The six that were completed as or converted into guided missile cruisers were reactivated during the 1950s and then served into the 1970s. The last of these in service, the USS Oklahoma City, was decommissioned in December 1979.

Only one Cleveland-class cruisers remains in existence. She is the guided missile cruiser Little Rock, which is a museum ship along the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York.

Ships in class

 * USS Cleveland (CL-55)
 * USS Columbia (CL-56)
 * USS Montpelier (CL-57)
 * USS Denver (CL-58)
 * USS Amsterdam (CL-59) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVL-22))
 * USS Santa Fe (CL-60)
 * USS Tallahassee (CL-61) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23))
 * USS Birmingham (CL-62)
 * USS Mobile (CL-63)
 * USS Vincennes (CL-64)
 * USS Pasadena (CL-65)
 * USS Springfield (CL-66) (modified as the guided missile cruiser CLG-7/CG-7)
 * USS Topeka (CL-67) (converted as the guided missile cruiser CLG-8)
 * USS New Haven (CL-76) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24))
 * USS Huntington (CL-77) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Cowpens (CVL-25))
 * USS Dayton (CL-78) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26))
 * USS Wilmington (CL-79) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Cabot (CVL-28))
 * USS Biloxi (CL-80)
 * USS Houston (CL-81)
 * USS Providence (CL-82) (converted as the guided missile cruiser CLG-6/CG-6)
 * USS Manchester (CL-83)
 * CL-84 (unnamed, canceled)
 * USS Fargo (CL-85) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Langley (CVL-27))
 * USS Vicksburg (CL-86)
 * USS Duluth (CL-87)
 * CL-88 (unnamed, canceled)
 * USS Miami (CL-89)
 * USS Astoria (CL-90)
 * USS Oklahoma City (CL-91) (converted as the guided missile cruiser CLG-5/CG-5)
 * USS Little Rock (CL-92) (converted as the guided missile cruiser CLG-4/CG-4)
 * USS Galveston (CL-93) (suspended before completion, then completed as the guided missile cruiser CLG-3)
 * USS Youngstown (CL-94) (canceled)
 * USS Buffalo (CL-99) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS Bataan (CVL-29))
 * USS Newark (CL-100) (reordered as the light aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30))
 * USS Amsterdam (CL-101)
 * USS Portsmouth (CL-102)
 * USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103)
 * USS Atlanta (CL-104)
 * USS Dayton (CL-105)