- Yes
- No
- 5.0
- 5.3
- 5.7
- 6.0
- I said no
USS Northampton underway at sea, 26 June 1962 (source: NH 106503 USS Northampton)
The USS Northampton (CLC-1) command light cruiser, not to be confused with the older Northampton-class heavy cruisers, was a modified Oregon City-class heavy cruiser designed to serve as a fleet command ship. As such, her armament was significantly reduced, but her internal space was increased by an extra deck, and she was installed with an incredible amount of electronic equipment.
She underwent continuous modification during her career, which unfortunately isn’t well documented, but this suggestion is for the configuration in which her offensive armament was at the greatest (according to sources, she was in this configuration as early as 1960 and as late as 1962). At this time, she was armed with four 5-inch/54-caliber Mark 42 (also designated Mark 18) guns and four twin 3-inch/70-caliber Mark 26 guns (both can already be found in-game on the USS Wilkinson). Sources disagree on whether she carried additional .50 HMGs or 20 mm autocannons. She also boasted an extremely powerful AN/SPS-2 radar on the forward tower and an AN/SPS-3 radar on the aft tower that allegedly could feed targeting information to her guns. She very likely retained parts of the original armour scheme of the Oregon City-class (6-inch belt, 2.5-inch deck) and has a large crew size of about 1500.
This poses a conundrum for balancing in War Thunder. Her firepower is similar to that of Rank III destroyers while her survivability is close to that of Rank V cruisers. Though not as extreme as the gunnery training refit of USS Wyoming, she still risks becoming indestructible in downtiers and impotent in uptiers. Nevertheless, the Northampton would be an interesting addition to the game.
History
The USS Northampton was originally laid down as an Oregon City-class heavy cruiser with the hull number CA-125 on 31 August 1944. However, work was stopped on 11 August 1945 when she was more than 50% complete (sources disagree on the exact percentage) and almost ready for launch, as the end of World War II was imminent. She sat in limbo as the Navy debated what to do with her. However, at the time the need for a dedicated command ship was emerging. During World War II, fleet commanders used existing warships or converted landing and auxiliary vessels as their flagships. However, existing warships lacked the space to house staff and, with the increasing complexity of future warfare, the computers and electronic equipment to plan and direct fleet operations. On the other hand, converted landing and auxiliary vessels had poor protection and lacked the speed to keep up with battle fleets. Additionally, as it was expected that the new supercarriers might not have an island, an additional “pilot ship” may be needed to remotely control the carrier (although this was later solved by the angled deck). Therefore, it was decided that a warship should be fully converted to become a dedicated fleet command vessel, and the incomplete USS Northampton was chosen. Designers tried to keep structural modifications to a minimum, but it soon became obvious that even as a heavy cruiser the Northampton might not be big enough. Therefore, an extra deck was added to increase space. The armament was significantly reduced, but still enough to provide anti-air self-defence.
Work resumed in 1948 and the Northampton was commissioned as CLC-1 on 7 March 1953. After her shakedown cruise, she first spent a few months testing her new equipment before finally beginning to perform her flagship duties. First assigned to the Commander Battleship-Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet, she later served as command ship for Commander Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet (October-November 1954) and then for Commander 6th Fleet (December 1954-March 1955). She finally settled as the flagship for Commander Strike Force, Atlantic, and held this position intermittently over the next 15 years. During her service, she often received high-ranking officers and officials, as well as foreign dignitaries. King Baudouin of the Belgians, King Olav V of Norway, and Presidents Kennedy and Johnson had all visited the ship.
Starting from the 1960s, she began serving as a National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA) platform and was given the new designation CC-1.The idea was that in the event of an all-out nuclear strike on the US, the president and government and military staff could be flown out to USS Northampton or other NECPA ships where they could safely direct second strike efforts and the ensuing total war. To this end, she was fitted with more and more electronics, and her armament was gradually removed to reduce maintenance requirements. She was decommissioned in February 1970, by which time her only armament was a single 5-inch gun. She was stricken from the Naval Register in 1977 and was presumably scrapped later.
Specifications
Where sources conflict, priority is given to data available in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, followed by Friedman
Compliment: 1675
Displacement: 12,320 t (light); 13,500 t (standard); 16,500 t (full)
Length: 206 m
Beam: 21.4 m
Draft: 5.8 m (average)
Max speed: 33 kt (61 km/h)
Propulsion: steam turbine; 120,000 hp; 4 boilers, 4 shafts
Armour: unknown. However, since the ship was over 50% complete and was almost ready for launch, it’s likely that the 6-inch belt armour was already fitted with the near complete hull and unlikely to be removed (as the aim was to make minimal modifications to reduce costs). Stille also says that “most of the armor was retained”.
Armament:
- 4x 5-inch/54-caliber Mark 42
- 4x 3-inch/70-caliber Mark 26 (twin mount, 8 guns total)
- 6x twin mounted .50 or 20 mm (disputed)
Electronics:
- AN/SPS-2 radar
- AN/SPS-3 radar
- AN/SPS-8 radar
More pictures
Bow view of the USS Northampton; note that the main guns are offset from the centre to avoid the antennas (source: File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) bow view c1958.jpg - Wikimedia Commons).
_bow_view_c1958.jpg){kind=link}
USS Des Moines (CA-134), flagship of the U.S. 6th Fleet, and USS Northampton (CLC-1), flagship of the 2nd Fleet, moored at Palma de Mallorca, Spain, circa 1960. Notice how close the two are in size (source: File:USS Des Moines (CA-134) and USS Northampton (CLC-1) at Mallorca c1960.jpg - Wikimedia Commons)
_and_USS_Northampton_(CLC-1)_at_Mallorca_c1960.jpg){kind=link}
Sources
- Northampton III (CLC-1)
- USS Northampton (CLC-1, later CC-1)
- https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1960/july/page-new-navy-uss-northampton-clc-1
- “U.S. cruisers : an illustrated design history” by Friedman, Norman
- “US Heavy Cruisers, 1943–1975 Wartime and Post-war Classes” by Stille, Mark