CUS Honolulu (CL-1938)
Back to Commonwealth Union of America ship list:
With the Wichita class laid down and in production the CUA heard of the Japanese and British building cruisers armed with 15-16 6" guns. Not to be outdone and realising that ships so armed would be real destroyer 'killers' the CUA Navy ordered a squadron of their own. Using the same hull and layout as the Wichita class with the five triple 6" replacing the three triple 8". The trade off was the removal of the two twin 4.5" turrets from C and X positions, reducing the secondary armament to eight guns instead of twelve.
The Honolulu class proved to be tough and durable in service, they were exceptionally good in ship-to-ship combat and excelled in shore bombardment where their 15 shells arriving in the same area deluged the enemy with steel. The light AA armament was fitted from the start with the 40mm and 20mm becoming available before the class completed. The term "light cruiser" was made purely on gun size.
| Displacement | 12,750 tons std 15,400 tons full load |
| Length | 610 ft |
| Breadth | 62 ft |
| Draught | 23 ft |
| Machinery | 4 shaft steam turbines 100,000shp |
| Speed | 33 knots |
| Range | 10,000 miles at 15 knots |
| Armour | 5" Belt, 3" Turrets, 2" Deck |
| Armament | 15 x 6" (5x3) 8 x 4.5" (4x2) 24 x 40mm (6x4) 22 x 20mm (22x1) |
| Aircraft | 4-5 |
| Torpedoes | nil |
| Complement | 1050 |
| Notes | CUS Honolulu |
Honolulu on bombardment duties in the Mediterranean 1942/43.