Warship Class - Northampton - Cruiser - Heavy Cruiser

History: The Northampton-class cruisers were a group of six heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy, and commissioned between 1928 and 1931. The Northamptons saw much action in World War II. Three (Northampton, Chicago, and Houston) were lost during the war. The other three were decommissioned soon after the end of the war, and scrapped in 1959–1961.

The design of the ships was heavily influenced by the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited cruisers to a maximum of 10,000 tons displacement and a maximum main battery caliber of 8 inches (203 mm). The Northamptons were a reaction to the weight and cost of the immediately preceding Pensacola class, differing in several ways. The Pensacolas mounted a main battery of 10 8-inch (203 mm) guns in four turrets, a twin and superfiring triple fore and aft. In contrast, the Northamptons mounted 9 8-inch (203 mm) guns in three triple turrets, two forward and one aft, the layout followed in all subsequent U.S. heavy cruisers. Although armor was increased, the Northamptons turned out to be lighter than the Pensacolas, and nearly 1,000 tons below the treaty limitations. Freeboard was increased in the Northamptons by adopting a high forecastle, which was extended aft in the last three for use as flagships. These ships were also the first U.S. ships to adopt a hangar for aircraft, and bunks instead of hammocks. Their lighter than expected weight caused them to roll excessively, which necessitated the fitting of deep bilge keels. The immediately following Portland class was essentially a modified Northampton

Information: A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term has been in use for several hundred years, and has had different meanings throughout this period. During the Age of Sail, the term cruising referred to certain kinds of missions—independent scouting, commerce protection, or raiding—fulfilled by a frigate or sloop-of-war, which were the cruising warships of a fleet.

Information: The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. The heavy cruiser is part of a lineage of ship design from 1915 through the early 1950s, although the term "heavy cruiser" only came into formal use in 1930. The heavy cruiser's immediate precursors were the light cruiser designs of the 1900s and 1910s, rather than the armoured cruisers of the years before 1905. When the armoured cruiser was supplanted by the battlecruiser, an intermediate ship type between this and the light cruiser was found to be needed—one larger and more powerful than the light cruisers of a potential enemy but not as large and expensive as the battlecruiser so as to be built in sufficient numbers to protect merchant ships and serve in a number of combat theaters.

History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.

Item Links: We found: 3 different collections associated with Northampton - Cruiser - Heavy Cruiser

• Collection War at Sea: 2 different items.
• Collection Warship Classes: 3 different items.
• Collection Warships: 6 different items.