Naval Historical Center #NH-715
| Tonnage | 9000 tons standard displacement |
| Dimensions | 600' by 66'1" by 18'11" 182.88m by 20.14m by 5.77m |
| Maximum speed | 32.8 knots |
| Complement | 621 |
| Aircraft | 2
catapults 4 seaplanes |
| Armament | 3x3 8"/55
guns 8x1 5"/25 AA guns 4x1 3"/50 AA guns 8x1 0.50 machine guns |
| Protection | 1057 tons: 3" (76mm) belt covering machinery spaces 3.75" (95mm) magazine sides 1" (25mm) deck covering machinery spaces 2" (51mm) magazine crowns 2.5"/2" (64mm/51mm) turret faces/roofs |
| Machinery |
4-shaft Parsons geared turbine
(107,000 shp) 8 White-Forster boilers |
| Bunkerage | 2108 tons fuel oil |
| Range | 10,000 nautical miles (18,500 km) at 15 knots |
| Sensors |
CXAM air search radar (Northampton, Chester, Chicago) |
| Modifications |
1942: 4x4 1.1"/75 AA guns added. Radar
added to units lacking it. 1942-8: 3" guns replaced with 12 20mm Oerlikon AA guns.
There was considerable variation from unit to unit. By war's end the standard light antiaircraft outfit was 4x4, 2x2
40mm Bofors AA guns
and 31x1 20mm guns. There continued to be considerable variation from
unit to unit. |
The Northamptons
were completed in 1930-31. The design dated back to 1926 and was a
modification of the preceeding Pensacola
class, with slightly heavier armor
and slightly
reduced armament. Instead of ten 8" guns mounted in
four turrets, the Northamptons
had nine 8" guns in three turrets, allowing a shorter and therefore
heavier armor belt. However, it was ruled impractical to provide
protection against 8" shells and the protection scheme was designed
against 6" shells only. The weight saved was used to improve overall
survivability and increase the aircraft handling capability.
Originally equipped with torpedoes,
the ships landed their tubes prior to the war in exchange for improved
antiaircraft protection. This
was probably a good decision
given the miserable
quality of U.S.
torpedoes.
The aircraft handling facilities included a proper
hangar around the aft funnel, which protected the seaplanes from gun
blast and the elements. In principle, six aircraft could be carried
(four in the hangars and two on the catapults) but in practice only
four were carried.
The ships cost about $12 million apiece.
| Sunk by gunfire and torpedoes 1942-2-28 off Sunda Strait | ||
|
Task Force 8 (Halsey, Enterprise) en route Oahu from Wake |
Torpedoed 1942-12-1 off Guadalcanal | |
|
Task Force 8 (Halsey, Enterprise) en route Oahu from Wake |
||
| Task Force 12 (Newton, Lexington)
en route Midway
from Oahu |
Sunk by aircraft 1943-1-30 off Rennell Island | |
| Off Rennell Island with convoy returning from Philippines |
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index
