Editing Alaska-class cruiser (section)

{{Short description|Late WWII-era class of "large cruisers" of the U.S. Navy}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS Alaska (CB-1) underway in the Atlantic Ocean in August 1944 (80-G-K-5580).jpg
| Ship caption = ''Alaska'' during her shakedown cruise in August 1944
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = ''Alaska'' class
| Builders = [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation|New York Ship]], NJ (2)
| Operators = {{naval|United States}}
| Class before = 
| Class after = 
| Cost = 
| Built range = 17 December 1941 – 11 September 1944
| In service range = 
| In commission range = 17 June 1944&nbsp;– 17 February 1947
| Total ships planned = 6
| Total ships completed = 2
| Total ships cancelled = 4
| Total ships scrapped = 2
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Cruiser|Large cruiser]]
| Ship displacement = *{{cvt|29771|LT}} (standard)
*{{cvt|34,253|LT}} (full load)<ref name=Dulin184>Dulin and Garzke, 184.</ref>
| Ship length = *{{convert|808|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} overall<ref name=Dulin184/>
*{{convert|791|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} waterline
| Ship beam = {{convert|91|ft|9.375|in|m|abbr=on|sigfig=3}}<ref name=Dulin184/>
| Ship height = 
| Ship draft = {{convert|27|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}} (mean)<ref name="Alaska DANFS">{{cite DANFS | title = Alaska | url = http://hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/cb1.txt | access-date=14 October 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081026002852/http://hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/cb1.txt| archive-date= 26 October 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>
{{convert|31|ft|9.25|in|m|abbr=on|sigfig=3}} (maximum)<ref name=Dulin184/>
| Ship power = 
| Ship propulsion = *4-shaft General Electric steam turbines, double-reduction gearing,<ref name = "Fitzsimons 1 59">Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed., Volume 1, 59.</ref> 8 Babcock & Wilcox boilers<ref name="Conway's"/> 
*{{convert|150000|shp|abbr=on}}<ref name=Dulin184/>
| Ship speed = {{convert|33|kn}}<ref name="Guam DANFS">{{cite DANFS | title = Guam | url = http://hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/cb2.txt | access-date=14 October 2008|short=yes|link=no| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081026002859/http://hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/cb2.txt| archive-date= 26 October 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Conway's"/><ref name=Worth305/><ref name=Miller200>Miller, 200.</ref>
| Ship range = {{convert|12000|nmi}} at {{convert|15|kn}}<ref name=Dulin184/>
| Ship endurance = 
| Ship complement = 1,517<ref name="Conway's">Gardiner and Chesneau, 122.</ref><ref name=Miller200/>–1,799<ref name=Osbourne245>Osbourne, 245.</ref>–2,251<ref name="Alaska DANFS"/><ref name="Guam DANFS"/>{{efn-ua|Sources vary greatly on just how many people composed the complement of the ships.}}
| Ship sensors = 
| Ship EW = 
| Ship armament = *9 × [[12"/50 caliber Mark 8 gun|{{convert|12|in|mm|0|adj=on}}/50 caliber Mark 8]] guns<ref name= Dulin184/> (3 × 3)
*12 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on}}/38 caliber dual-purpose]]<ref name = "Fitzsimons 1 59" /> guns<ref name=Dulin184/> (6 × 2)<ref name = "Fitzsimons 1 59" />
*56 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] (1.57 in)<ref name=Dulin184/> Bofors (14 × 4)<ref name = "Fitzsimons 1 59" />
*34 × 20mm [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon]] (34 × 1)<ref name=Dulin184/><ref name = "Fitzsimons 1 59" />
| Ship armor = *Main side [[Belt armor|belt]]: {{convert|9|in|mm|abbr=on}} gradually thinning to {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}}, sloped at 10 degrees<ref name="Conway's"/>
*Armor [[Deck (ship)|deck]]: {{convert|3.8|-|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}<ref name="Conway's"/>
*Weather (main) deck: {{convert|1.4|in|mm|abbr=on}}<ref name=Dulin184/><ref name="Conway's"/>
*Splinter (third) deck: {{convert|0.625|in|mm|abbr=on}}<ref name="Conway's"/>
*[[Barbette]]s: {{convert|11|-|13|in|mm|abbr=on}}<ref name="Conway's"/>
*[[gun turret|Turret]]s: {{convert|12.8|in|mm|abbr=on}} face, {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}} roof, {{convert|5.25|-|6|in|mm|abbr=on}} side and {{convert|5.25|in|mm|abbr=on}} rear.<ref name="Conway's"/>
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|10.6|in|mm|abbr=on}} with {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}} roof<ref name="Conway's"/><ref name=Miller200/>
| Ship aircraft = 4 × [[OS2U Kingfisher]] or [[SC Seahawk]]<ref>Swanborough and Bowers, 148.</ref>{{efn-ua|The Seahawk made its operational debut upon ''Guam'' on 22 October 1944.}}
| Ship aircraft facilities = Enclosed hangar located amidships<ref name="Conway's"/><ref name="Global Security">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cb-1.htm |title=CB-1 ''Alaska'' Class |access-date =19 October 2008 |last=Pike |first=John |year=2008 |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081020120645/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cb-1.htm| archive-date= 20 October 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

The '''''Alaska''-class''' were six [[#.22Large cruisers.22 or .22battlecruisers.22|large cruisers]] ordered before [[World War II]] for the [[United States Navy]] (USN), of which only two were completed and saw service late in the war. [[United States ship naming conventions|The USN designation]] for the ships of this class was 'large cruiser' (CB), a designation unique to the ''Alaska''-class, and the majority of leading reference works consider them as such. However, various other works have alternately described these ships as [[battlecruisers]] despite the USN having never classified them as such, and having actively discouraged the use of the term in describing the class. The ''Alaskas'' were all named after territories or [[insular area]]s of the United States, signifying their intermediate status between larger [[battleship]]s (which were mostly named after states) and smaller [[heavy cruiser|heavy]] and [[light cruiser]]s (which were named after cities).{{efn-ua|With only one exception (USS ''Kearsarge''), USN battleships, such as {{USS|Nevada|BB-36|6}} or {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62|6}}, were named for states, while cruisers, like {{USS|Wichita|CA-45|6}}, were named for cities, in-line with [[United States ship naming conventions]]. Alaska and Hawaii were insular areas of the United States at the time; they became the forty-ninth and fiftieth States in 1959.}}

The idea for a large cruiser class originated in the early 1930s when the USN sought to counter the {{sclass|Deutschland|cruiser|0}} "[[pocket battleship]]s" being launched by Germany. Planning for ships that eventually evolved into the ''Alaska''-class began in the late 1930s after the deployment of Germany's {{sclass|Scharnhorst|battleship|2}}s and rumors that Japan was constructing a new large cruiser class, the [[Design B-65 cruiser|B-65 "super cruiser."]]<ref name=Worth305>Worth, 305.</ref>{{efn-ua|''[[Jane's Fighting Ships|Jane's]]'' thought that this... battlecruiser, the notional ''Chichibu''-class, would have six 12-inch guns and {{convert|30|kn}} speed packed into a 15,000-ton ship. See Fitzsimons, Volume 1, 58 and Worth, 305.}} To serve as "cruiser-killers" capable of seeking out and destroying these post-[[London Naval Treaty|treaty]] heavy cruisers, the class was given large guns of a new and expensive design, limited armor protection against 12-inch shells, and machinery capable of speeds of about {{convert|31|–|33|kn}}.

Of the six planned, {{USS|Alaska|CB-1|2}} and {{USS|Guam|CB-2|2}} were the only two to be commissioned; a third, ''Hawaii'', was close to completion at the war's end and had its construction suspended on 16 April 1947, while the remaining three were cancelled. ''Alaska'' and ''Guam'' served with the USN for the last year of World War II as bombardment ships and fast carrier escorts. They were decommissioned in 1947 after spending only 32 and 29 months in service, respectively.