A Tale of Two Cruisers: Part I
"The lessons of World War 2 led the United States to pursue the development of some very particular cruiser designs. One of the most ambitious was the Worcester class light cruisers.
The Worcester class was designed to act as a hybrid design that combined the best attributes of the 6" armed Cleveland class light cruisers and the 5" armed Atlanta class cruiser family. Essentially, the Worcester class was to have the exceptional anti-surface firepower of the Cleveland class courtesy of twelve 6"/47 guns. However, the formidable anti-aircraft firepower of the Atlanta class would be retained by equipping the 6" guns with automatic loaders for a high rate of fire and extremely powerful turret machinery to grant high elevation/train rates.
Despite the lofty goals, designers did succeed in developing these super cruisers. The Worcester class was more powerful than any previous light cruiser design.
The primary armament was twelve 6"/47 Mark 16 DP (DP = Dual Purpose) guns. These guns were equipped with highly advanced automatic loaders, granting them a rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute or about 20% more than the previous 6" weapons. Even more impressive was how fast the turrets were in action, able to elevate at 15 degrees per second and train at 25 degrees per second.
In comparison, look at the figures for previous 6" and 5" weapons:
6"/47 Triple Mount: Elevation Rate - 11 degrees per second
Train Rate - 10 degrees per second
5"/38 Twin Mount: Elevation Rate -15-18 degrees per second
Train Rate - 25 degrees per second
Unlike the arrangement of the Cleveland class with four triple turrets, these guns were arranged in a manner similar to the Atlanta class with six twin turrets. Three turrets forward and three turrets aft. Only turrets 3 and 4 were superfiring, helping to keep topweight down (a lesson taken from the Atlanta class). The guns, behind capable anti-aircraft weapons allowed the Worcester class to dispense with a secondary battery of 5" dual-purpose guns found on previous light cruisers. This further saved weight and space on deck.
Light anti-aircraft weaponry was equally formidable. Twenty-four (eleven twin and two single mounts) 3"/50 Rapid Fire weapons were carried. The successor to the famous 40mm bofors, these guns were radar guided and were equipped with VT fuzes.
Protection was also stronger than previous cruisers. A belt with a maximum thickness of 6" (and a minimum of 3") protected the magazines and machinery (compared to 3 to 5" for the Cleveland class). The deck was protected by armor up to 3.5" (compared to 2.5" on the Cleveland class). Turret protection was similar to the previous cruisers.
However, this heavy firepower and protection came at a cost. It took a much larger hull to carry all of this weight. While the previous Cleveland class was 608' overall with a beam of 66', the Worcester class was 679' in length overall with a beam of 70'. This meant a much larger displacement. At full load, the Worcester class displaced 18,000 tons, about 4,000 tons more than the Cleveland class. In fact, the Worcester class was heavier than the Baltimore class heavy cruisers in World War 2. 'Light' cruisers in armament only!
Despite the added size, the Worcester class was said to be a good sea boat. They were more stable than previous light cruiser designs and were agile despite their hefty size. A top speed of 33 knots was possible thanks to a very powerful 125,000shp powerplant.
Despite all of this performance, the Worcester class was seen as less than successful.
The biggest complaint of the class was the automatic loading system. Though effective given the technology of the time, they were unreliable and required careful maintenance. This was largely the result of the complicated dual-feed system. Originally intended to allow for the instantaneous switching of ammunition from anti-surface to anti-aircraft shells, the feeds were prone to jamming. It was intended to replace these guns with an improved model using a single feed system based on the autoloaders used on the Des Moines class heavy cruisers. The new guns were intended to have a rate of fire of 20 to 25 rounds per minute.
However, these new guns were never developed further. This was due to the other fault of the Worcester class, they were nearly obsolete. The ultimate cruiser design for the Second World War, rapidly advancing technology in the post-war years quickly surpassed the capabilities of the Worcester class. Jet aircraft and missiles had progressed to the point that even the powerful 6" guns could not adequately counter them. With this in mind, there was no point in further development of the Worcester class.
Only two cruisers of the Worcester class would be completed, the others being canceled with the end of the Second World War. These two cruisers would have short service lives, being around for only about 10 years before decommissioning in 1958. Quiet careers for the ultimate gun-based light cruisers."
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