Editing USS Northampton (CLC-1)

{{Short description|US Navy command light cruiser (1953–1970)}}
{{other ships|USS Northampton}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=August 2017}}
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{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = [[File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) underway c1959.jpg|300px|USS Northampton]]
| Ship caption = USS ''Northampton'' underway in 1959
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1970}}
| Ship name = ''Northampton''
| Ship namesake = [[Northampton, Massachusetts]]
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship awarded = 
| Ship builder = [[Bethlehem Steel Corporation]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship yard number = 
| Ship way number = 
| Ship laid down = 31 August 1944
| Ship launched = 27 January 1951
| Ship sponsor = Mrs. Edmond J. Lampron
| Ship christened = 
| Ship completed = 
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 7 March 1953
| Ship reclassified = *CLC-1, 27 January 1951
*CC-1, 15 April 1961
| Ship decommissioned = 8 April 1970
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship renamed = 
| Ship refit = 
| Ship struck = 1 December 1977
| Ship identification = *[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: NTBX
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Bravo}}{{ICS|Xray}}
*[[Hull number]]: CA-125
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship homeport = 
| Ship motto = 
| Ship nickname = 
| Ship honors = [[USS Northampton (CLC-1)#Awards|See ''Awards'']]
| Ship captured = 
| Ship fate = *[[Ship breaking|Scrapped]], December 1977
| Ship notes = Bell at the Northampton Human Resources
| Ship badge = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = {{sclass|Oregon City|cruiser}}
| Ship displacement = {{convert|13700|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
| Ship length = {{convert|674|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = 
| Ship draft = 
| Ship propulsion = Steam turbines, {{convert|120000|shp|MW|abbr=on}}, 4 boilers, 4 shafts
| Ship speed = {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship sensors = *1 × [[AN/SPS-2]]
| Ship complement = 2,000
| Ship armament = *4 × [[5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun]]s (4×1)
*8 × [[3"/70 Mark 26 gun|3 in/70]] caliber guns (4×2)
| Ship armor = *[[Belt armor|Belt]]: {{convert|6|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|2.5|in|mm|abbr=on}}
| Ship aircraft = 
| Ship aircraft facilities = landing pad available for one [[helicopter]]
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
The third '''USS ''Northampton'' (CLC-1/CC-1)''' was a US Navy command light cruiser ([[command ship]]). She was laid down as an {{sclass|Oregon City|cruiser|0}} [[heavy cruiser]] (CA–125), on 31 August 1944 by the Fore River Yard, Bethlehem Steel Corp., Quincy, Massachusetts. Work suspended between 11 August 1945 and 1 July 1948; she was converted to a command cruiser under project [[Ship Characteristics Board|SCB 13]] and launched as '''CLC–1''', on 27 January 1951; sponsored by Mrs. Edmond J. Lampron; and commissioned as CLC–1, on 7 March 1953.

== History ==
Following shakedown, ''Northampton'' reported for duty to Commander Operational Development Forces, Atlantic Fleet. For seven months she conducted extensive tests of her new equipment. Evaluation completed in September 1954 and she reverted to the operational control of Commander Battleship Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet. She next demonstrated her capabilities as a tactical Command Ship by serving as flagship, first for Commander Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet (October–November 1954) and then for Commander 6th Fleet (December 1954–March 1955). Between 1 September and 22 October she served as flagship for Commander Strike Force, Atlantic, a position she was to hold frequently over the next fifteen years.

On 24 February 1956, ''Northampton'' emerged from her first overhaul at the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]], Portsmouth, Virginia, and, after refresher training off [[Cuba]], participated as a unit of the Navy’s first guided missile division afloat, CruDiv&nbsp;6, in the first public demonstration of the [[RIM-2 Terrier|Terrier missile]]. In April, she steamed east for six months with the 6th Fleet, and, during the summer of 1957, resumed midshipmen training cruises. However, between that time and 1961, she infrequently returned to European waters. Deployed on occasion for [[NATO]] and fleet exercises and People to People visits, the command ship was visited by high government officials of various European countries, including Kings [[Baudouin of Belgium]] and [[Olav V of Norway]].

== Decommissioning ==
Redesignated '''CC–1''' on 15 April 1961, ''Northampton'' remained in the western [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] until decommissioning in February 1970. Her cruises ranged from [[Canada|Canadian]] to [[Panama]]nian waters as she extensively tested and evaluated new communications equipment and played host to visiting national and international dignitaries, including Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. The ship was eventually withdrawn from service, and was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 31 December 1977 during the [[Carter Administration]].

The ship's bell is preserved at the war memorial in front of Memorial Hall, in the ship's namesake city of [[Northampton, Massachusetts]].

==Other roles==
Besides acting as a fleet command ship, ''Northampton'' was planned for or actually functioned in at least two other roles.

===Pilotfish===
When the first supercarrier [[USS United States (CVA-58)|USS ''United States'' (CVA-58)]] was being designed, it was thought she would not be able to have an island or masts for radar or other antennas. Therefore the ''Northampton'' was seen as a 'pilotfish', a ship that would escort the carrier and act not only as a [[radar picket]] (although from the center of the [[task force]] rather than the periphery as a true picket would), but also as the radar director of aircraft approach and landing on the carrier. The recent invention of the [[angled flight deck]] made it possible to install islands and radar on supercarriers, and so this role was eliminated from the ''Northampton''.<ref>Freidman, pp. 430</ref>

==="Floating White House"===
{{See also|National Emergency Command Post Afloat}}
According to a ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' article on 29 July 2006, ''Northampton'' was part of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government's]] plan for [[Continuity of government|Continuity of Operations]] and reported to be a "floating [[White House]]" to which the [[President of the United States|President]] could be evacuated in the event of [[nuclear warfare|nuclear attack]].  As such she was designated as the [[National Emergency Command Post Afloat]] (NECPA); ''Northampton'' was one of two ships to serve in the role, with the other being the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Wright|CVL-49|6}}. The ship was modified with an extra deck, the tallest communications mast in the Navy and multi-link communications gear.

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths=180 caption="USS Northampton Lifecycle">
File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) at Guantanamo Bay in 1954.jpg|''Northampton'' at [[Guantánamo Bay|Guantanamo Bay, Cuba]] in 1954.
File:SPS-2 antenna aboard USS Northampton (CLC-1) c1954.jpg|Close up of ''Northampton''’s [[AN/SPS-49|SPS-2 antenna]] {{circa|1954}}.
File:Sailors relaxing on fantail of USS Northampton (CLC-1) in 1957.jpg|''Northampton''’s crews relaxing on the fantail of the ship in 1957.
File:USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) leavin Norfolk in 1957.jpg|{{USS|Ticonderoga|CV-14|2}} alongside ''Northampton'' at [[Norfolk, Virginia]] in 1957.
File:USS Intrepid (CVA-11) with Valley Forge (CVS-45) at Norfolk 1957.jpg|''Northampton'', {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}} and {{USS|Valley Forge|CV-45|2}} at Norfolk in 1957
File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) bow view c1958.jpg|Bow view of ''Northampton'' in 1958.
File:USS Des Moines (CA-134) and USS Northampton (CLC-1) at Mallorca c1960.jpg|''Northampton'' and {{USS|Des Moines|CA-134|2}} at Mallorca {{circa|1960}}.
File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) with Polaris missile fountain at Portsmouth VA c1962.jpg|''Northampton'' with Polaris Missile fountain at [[Portsmouth, Virginia]] {{circa|1962}}.
File:USS Alstede (AF-48) replenishes USS Northampton (CC-1) c1964.jpg|''Northampton'' replenishing with ''Alsfeld'' {{circa|1964}}.
File:USS Northampton CLC-1.jpg|''Northampton'' in her final configuration before decommissioning around early 1970.
File:USS Northampton (CC-1), USS Robert L. Wilson (DD-847) and USS Albacore (AGSS-569) mothballed at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, in August 1976 (K-117037).jpg|''Northampton'', {{USS|Robert L. Wilson|DD-847|2}} and {{USS|Albacore| AGSS-569|2}} mothballed at [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] in August 1976.
File:USS Newport News (CA 148), USS Springfield (CLG 7) and USS Northampton (CC 1) await disposal.jpg|''Northampton'', {{USS|Springfield|CL-66|2}} and {{USS|Newport News|CA-148|2}} await disposal at [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|Philadelphia Naval Yard]] in October 1978.
</gallery>

==Awards==
*[[Navy Expeditionary Medal]]
*[[National Defense Service Medal]] with 2 awards

== See also ==
*[[USS Saipan (CVL-48)]]
*[[USS Wright (CVL-49)]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{citation|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Cruisers: an illustrated design history|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|year=1984|isbn=0-87021-718-6|oclc=10949320}}
* "A White House Physician" by James Young, M.D., in ''Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out'' (Candlewick Press 2008)
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/clc-1.htm http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/clc-1.htm]

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{navsource|04/125/04125|USS Northampton}}

{{DANFSNVR}}
{{Oregon City class cruiser}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton (Clc-1)}}
[[Category:Oregon City-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Cruisers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Cold War cruisers of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1951 ships]]
[[Category:Decommissioned command ships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Continuity of government in the United States]]
Ghosts of the East Coast: Doomsday Ships https://coldwarveteran.us/