The 5th hull of the Alaska class had been launched, but no move to complete the ship was taken till 1946, when a new set of drawings were produced. The new layout was to give a command ship to the three Des Moines class heavy cruisers with their 9x8" automatic 8" guns. The Virgin Islands was to be armed with the first all automatic armament in US history. The 8", 5" and 3" were all of the latest automatic weapons introduced into the Navy since the end of WW2. These were the first large US ships completed without aircraft handling facilities of their own. Space was made for a helicopter landing area.
Displacement: 32,000 tons standard, 37,500 tons full load
Dimensions: 807 x 94 x 28 feet
Machinery: 4 shaft, geared turbines, 150,000shp
Speed: 32-33 knots
Endurance: 12,000 miles at 15 knots
Armour: 9" belt, 4" deck, 6/4/3" turrets
Armament:
12 x 8" (4x3)
8 x 5" (8x1)
20 x 3" (10x2)
Aircraft: nil
Crew: 1450