- Yes
- No
- Tech Tree
- Event/Gift
- Squadron
- Premium
- Indifferent
- I don’t want to see it added
Background
USS Quincy was the fourth ship of the Baltimore-class of heavy cruisers. She was laid down on the 9th of October, 1941, launched on the 23rd of June, 1943, and commissioned into the US Navy on the 15th of December, 1943. Originally laid down as St. Paul, she was renamed Quincy in honor of the New Orleans-class cruiser, USS Quincy (CA-39), sunk during the First Battle of Savo Island, 1942, with the loss of 389 men.
The Baltimore-class cruisers were the first heavy cruisers designed without the limits of the Washington Naval Treaty in mind. In 1939, with the outbreak of war, the naval treaty system had completely fallen apart, and the US Navy was now able to once again consider more 8-inch armed cruisers. Design studies were launched for replacements for the “tin can” cruisers of the Pensacola and New Orleans-classes, with work being based on the recently completed USS Wichita (CA-45). Since the treaty system had collapsed, the new designs were free to go above the 10,000t limit on displacement. The new designs aimed to correct stability issues, in part caused by the 10,000t limit, found on Wichita during trials. Delays in construction, as the ships had lower priority than the concurrently-running Cleveland-class, and feedback from the field resulted in the small-gun AA armament to be changed from the .50 cal and 1.1-inch guns to the new wartime standard 20mm Oerlikon and 40mm Bofors.
By the time they entered service, the war had developed in the US’s favor, and the Baltimore-class ships were primarily used for carrier escort. They were well suited to this task, with high speed, modern radars, and a veritable wall of anti-aircraft fire. The ships would primarily operate in the Pacific, but some did operate in the Atlantic. Very rarely were the ships assigned anything other than carrier escort, with limited operations in shore bombardment and no surface engagements.
Quincy took part in operations in the Atlantic and the Pacific before the end of WW2, after which she was decommissioned. Recommissioned in 1952, she was present in a minor role for Korea, but was again decommissioned soon after. She would remain in reserve until 1973, when she was stricken from the Navy List, and sold for scrap in 1974. For her service in WW2 and Korea, she would earn 5 battle stars.
Service History
Following commissioning, and a shakedown cruise, Quincy was assigned to Task Force 22 in March, 1944. She would soon steam to Belfast, Northern Ireland, with part of the Task Group, arriving on the 14th of May and joining the 12th Fleet. While in Belfast, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, Dwight D. Eisenhower, inspected the ship along with several other high ranking allied officers. During a speech to the crew following the inspection, General Eisenhower said that he had “looked forward to the time when (he) could be on board a warship of the USN again,” after having been in the European Theater for a year and a half.
From May to June, Quincy would train and prepare for the upcoming Operation Overlord. Her floatplane artillery observer pilots were temporarily assigned to VOS-7, flying Spitfires from RNAS Lee-on-Solent.
In the early hours of the 6th of June, 1944, Quincy would be witness to the opening air assaults of Operation Overlord. She reached her position at 0300, and the landing craft passed her shortly thereafter. At 0530, she came under fire from a shore emplacement, and at 0537 she opened fire against the shore batteries and other installations around Utah Beach. Between the 6th and the 17th, the ship would engage targets such as mobile artillery batteries, concentrations of troops and equipment, and stationary heavy batteries.
After a visit to Portland, England, to resupply, Quincy was back in the shore bombardment role for the bombardment of Cherbourg, on the 25th of June. During the battle, Quincy entered into a gunnery duel with an 11-inch shore battery, narrowly escaping several hits. Despite fierce and accurate fire from the shore defenses of Cherbourg, the heavy fire from the bombardment fleet knocked out 19 of the 21 primary targets, and the city was captured by the 26th.
Quincy seen from the cruiser HMS Enterprise, engaging shore batteries during the bombardment of Cherbourg.
Following the bombardment of Cherbourg, Quincy would make her way to the Mediterranean. She would participate in various exercises and training around Italy and Malta. On the 13th of August, Quincy, in company with a small fleet of British and a single French cruiser, departed Malta in preparation for Operation Dragoon. Arriving on the 15th, she would remain in the area, providing shore bombardment support, until the 23rd. On the 24th, she departed to support minesweepers in the Marseilles area, before returning to the United States.
She would undergo a minor refit, and some training, before calling at Newport News, Virginia. There, Quincy embarked President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on the 23rd of January, 1945, for passage to Malta. She arrived on the 2nd of February, where Roosevelt would disembark, to continue to Crimea by air for the Yalta Conference. Quincy departed Malta on the 6th, and would steam towards the Great Bitter Lake, on the Suez Canal, arriving by the 8th.
On the 12th, the President and staff returned from the Yalta Conference, and the next day received King Farouk, of Egypt, and Emperor Selassie, of Ethiopia, aboard the Quincy. The following day, Quincy received another guest, this time King Abdul Aziz, of Saudi Arabia, for what would become the “Quincy Agreement” - military security for the Saudis in exchange for American access to Saudi oil.
Following this, Quincy then called at Alexandria, where President Roosevelt would meet Prime Minister Winston Churchill, before returning to the US, arriving in Newport News by the 27th of February.
FDR and King Farouk of Egypt aboard Quincy.
Quincy’s next assignment was the Pacific, and on the 5th of March, she left Hampton Roads and steamed to Pearl Harbor, and then Ulithi, where she joined the 5th Fleet on the 11th of April. She joined Cruiser Division 10 operating with the Fast Carrier Task Force, screening the carriers during attacks on Okinawa. She would return to Ulithi on the 30th for resupply, departing on the 9th of May to waters off Kyushu. She arrived on the 12th, and on the 14th, she shot down an attacking twin engined plane at about 0400. The ship remained on alert, proving to be a wise decision. At 0645, additional planes would probe the attack force, and Quincy assisted in downing three more planes. Over the next few weeks, she would screen the carriers and act in a unique role - deploying a target drone for the other ships in the Task Force to practice AA on. On the 4th and 5th of June, 1945, the Task Force would weather a typhoon, and Quincy sustained minor damage, and the loss of one floatplane damaged beyond repair.
After departing the area on the 13th of June, the Task Force was once again off the Japanese coast by the 9th of July for a period of strikes against the Japanese home islands that would last until V-J Day. On the 14th of July, Quincy, and other ships of the Task Force, opened fire on a bombardment mission against the port and steelworks of Kamaishi, Honshu, marking the first gunfire attack on the Japanese home islands by Allied heavy warships. On the 16th, the American fleet was reinforced by elements of British Pacific Squadron, and they would continue to conduct fire missions along the coast, bombarding airfields, port facilities, and heavy industry, along with supporting airstrikes launched from the Allied carriers.
Firing on the Kamaishi Ironworks, 14th of July, 1945.
On the 15th of August, Japan surrendered, and by the 27th, Quincy and several other ships entered Sagami Bay, and anchored there to await the surrender. The crew noted that, “the enemy did not resist, many Japanese troops and civilians stopped their activities and watched the fleet enter the bay, while others continued with their daily tasks.” Nonetheless, the ships would stay on alert until the next day, as the carriers (further offshore) conducted reconnaissance sweeps. On the 30th, Quincy supported occupation troops landing, and again crew noted that, “all news received throughout the day indicated an orderly, bloodless occupation. There is no need for active fire support at any time.” Quincy would relocate to Tokyo Bay for the formal surrender on the 1st of September, and remained in the bay as part of occupation forces.
On the 20th of September, Quincy joined Task Force 53, Eastern Japan Force, basing out of Tokyo Bay. She continued participating in demilitarization until late November. On the 26th of November, 1945, Quincy began her journey to the United States, passing under the Golden Gate Bridge on the 8th of December.
Quincy in San Francisco Bay, 1945-46.
Soon after, she was moved to the Bremerton Navy Yard, where she would be decommissioned on 19th of October, 1946.
Quincy was recommissioned on the 31st of January, 1952, to join the 7th Fleet in support of UN Forces in Korea. Once refitted, and retrained, the cruiser would arrive off Korea by July 25th, 1953. By now, the Korean War had mostly ended, and so Quincy remained screening the carriers until the 1st of December, when she was recalled.
She would be decommissioned, and placed in reserve, on the 2nd of July, 1954, once again in Bremerton. She would remain there until being stricken from the Navy List on the 1st of October, 1973, and sold for scrap the next year.
Overall, she had received four battle stars for her service in WW2, and one battle star for her service in the Korean Theater.
Drawing prepared by the Bureau of Ships of Measure 31-32-33, Design 18D, worn by Quincy after commissioning.
Specifications
1943-44
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Displacement | 17,275 tons (full load) |
| Length | 673ft 5in (205.26m) |
| Beam | 70ft 10in (21.59m) |
| Draft | 20ft 6in (6.25m) |
| Speed | 33kts (61.5kph) |
| Complement | 1560 officers and enlisted |
| Sensors | |
|---|---|
| SK-1 | Air Search |
| SG-1 | Surface Search |
| Mk 34 with Mk 13 Radar | Fire Control (Main Battery |
| Mk 37 with Mk 12 and Mk 22 Radar | Fire Control (Secondary Battery) |
| Mk 51 with Mk 14 Gunsight | Fire Control (Anti-Air Battery) |
| Gun | Turret/Mount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9 × 8"(203mm)/55 Mk 15 | 4 × Triple | |
| 12 × 5"(127mm)/38 Mk 12 | 6 × Mk 32 Twin | |
| 48 x 40mm/56 Bofors Mk 1/2 | 12 x Quad | |
| 24 x 20mm/70 Oerlikon Mk 2 | 24 x Single | |
| 4 x OS2U-3 Kingfisher Floatplane | 2 x Aircraft Catapult at Stern | 2 kept in hangar bay |
| 8" (203mm) Ammunition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designation | Mass | Bursting Charge | Muzzle Velocity | Notes | |
| AP Mk 21 | 335lbs (152kg) | 5.03lbs (2.3kg) Exp. D | 2,500f/s (762m/s) | Super-Heavy Shell | |
| AP Mk 19 | 260lbs (118kg) | 3.64lbs (1.7kg) Exp. D | 2,700f/s (823m/s) | ||
| SP Common Mk 17 | 260lbs (118kg) | 10.38lbs (4.7kg) Exp. D | 2,700f/s (823m/s) | ||
| AAC Mk 24 | 260lbs (188kg) | 21.34lbs (9.7kg) Exp. D | 2,700f/s (823m/s) | HC fuses could be loaded with PD (Point Detonating) or MT (Mechanical Time) fuses, and were considered AAC rounds if using MT. What would ordinarily be called HC Mk 24 is designated AAC Mk 24 here, for this reason. | |
| HC Mk 25 | 260lbs (188kg) | 21.37lbs (9.7kg) Exp. D | 2,700f/s (823m/s) | Essentially the same as the preceding AAC Mk 24, but instead using a PD fuse. |
| Armor | |
|---|---|
| Belt | 4-6" (102-152mm) |
| Deck | 2.5" (64mm) |
| Turrets | 1.5-8" (38-203mm) |
| Barbettes | 6.3" (160mm) |
| Conning Tower | 6.5" (165mm) |
| Bulkheads | 6" (152mm) |
Conclusion
Overall, I think Quincy would be a good ship to add. The current Baltimore-class in the tree, USS Pittsburgh, lacks the volume of fire of the event ship USS Baltimore. Pittsburgh is present in a 1950s refit, when she had received 3"/50RF guns and improved radar in exchange for all of the smaller Bofors and Oerlikons, whereas Baltimore is present as built, capable of spitting out a wall of anti-aircraft fire. Quincy, as outlined here, is similar to Baltimore, with a large amount of AA guns. She would be an excellent alternative to Pittsburgh, losing advanced radar for more small-gun AA.
Sources
Wikipedia - USS Quincy (CA-71)
Wikipedia - Baltimore-class cruiser
Naval-Encyclopedia - Baltimore-class heavy cruiser
History.Navy - USS Quincy III
NavSource - USS Quincy (CA-71)
Navweaps - 8"/55 Mk 15
Navweaps - 5"/38 Mk 12
Navweaps - 40mm/56 Mk 1/2
Navweaps - 20mm/70 Mk 2
Navweaps - WW2 Radar USN