| Belknap-class cruiser | |
|---|---|
 USS Belknap, lead ship of her class | |
| Class overview | |
| Name: | In honor of Rear Admiral George Eugene Belknap |
| Builders: | Several |
| Operators: | United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Leahy class cruiser |
| Succeeded by: | California class cruiser |
| Subclasses: | Truxtun-class cruiser |
| Built: | 1962-1967 |
| In commission: | 1964-1995 |
| Completed: | 9 |
| Retired: | 9 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Guided missile cruiser |
| Displacement: | 7,930 long ton [1] (8,057 metric tons) |
| Length: | 547 ft (167 m) [1] |
| Beam: | 55 ft (17 m) [1] |
| Draft: | 29 ft (8.8 m) [2] |
| Propulsion: | four 1200 psi (8300 kPa) boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts. 85,000 shp (63,384 kW)[1] |
| Speed: | 32 knots [1] (59 km/h) |
| Complement: | 27 officers, 450 enlisted [1] |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
AN/SPS-10 surface search RADAR[3] AN/SPS-48 3D air search radar[3] AN/SPS-49 2D air search radar 2 AN/SPG-55 Terrier missile fire control radar[3][4] AN/SQS-26 SONAR[3][5] |
| Armament: |
(final configuration) 1 × Mk 10 Guided Missile Launching System with standard missiles 1 × Mk. 16 ASROC 2 × 4 Harpoon missile launchers 2 × 3 Mark 46 torpedo launchers 1 × 5 Inch/54-caliber Mk. 42 gun 2 × Phalanx CIWS.[1][2] |
| Armor: | none [2] |
| Aircraft carried: | (final configuration) 1 × SH-2 Seasprite [1] |
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), but in the 1975 fleet realignment, they were reclassified as guided missile cruisers (CG).
Description[]
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 Missile Launcher on the foredeck.[6] The class was also equipped with two twin 3"/50 caliber guns 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 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[]
| Keel laid | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belknap (CG-26) | 1962 February | 1963 July | 1964 November | 1995 February |
| Josephus Daniels (CG-27) | 1962 April | 1963 December | 1965 May | 1994 January |
| Wainwright (CG-28) | 1962 July | 1965 April | 1966 January | 1993 November |
| Jouett (CG-29) | 1962 September | 1964 June | 1966 December | 1994 January |
| Horne (CG-30) | 1962 November | 1964 October | 1967 April | 1994 February |
| Sterett (CG-31) | 1962 September | 1964 June | 1967 April | 1994 March |
| William H. Standley (CG-32) | 1963 July | 1964 December | 1966 July | 1994 February |
| Fox (CG-33) | 1963 January | 1964 November | 1966 May | 1994 April |
| Biddle (CG-34) | 1963 December | 1965 July | 1967 January | 1993 November |
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Pike, John E. (5 February 2005). "CG 26 BELKNAP class". GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cg-26-specs.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Toppan, Andrew (17 July 2000). "US Cruisers List: Guided Missile Cruisers". Haze Gray and Underway. Archived from the original on 7 January 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070107002048/http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/cruisers/guided.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.429
- ↑ Polmar, Norman "The U.S. Navy: Shipboard Radars" United States Naval Institute Proceedings December 1978 p.144
- ↑ Polmar, Norman "The U.S. Navy: Sonars, Part 1" United States Naval Institute Proceedings July 1981 p.119
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belknap class cruiser. |
- Belknap-class frigates at Destroyer History Foundation
- FAS write-up
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Coordinates: 38°04′52″N 122°05′19″W / 38.0812°N 122.0885°W
The original article can be found at Belknap-class cruiser and the edit history here.