USS ''Albany'' (CA-123) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

, later converted to the

guided missile cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to s ...

CG-10. The converted cruiser was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the new ''Albany'' guided missile cruiser class. She was the fourth ship to carry the name ''Albany''. The ship was laid down on 6 March 1944 at

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, by the

Bethlehem Steel Company The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...

, launched on 30 June 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth F. Pinckney, and commissioned on 15 June 1946 at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

Service history

Following outfitting and a

shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair, refit or overhaul. The shakedown ...

in the vicinity of

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an bay, open bay of the Gulf of Maine on the coast of Maine in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chart for Casco Bay marks the dividing line between the bay and the Gulf of Maine as running from ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, ''Albany'' began operations along the east coast of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

punctuated with cruises to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. During the ensuing months, the cruiser made a number of voyages for the purpose of training naval reservists and

NROTC The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 1924 ...

midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afric ...

. ''Albany'' continued to perform such duty until 11 September 1948, when she stood out of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

for her first tour of duty with the American naval forces operating in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, recently made a permanent establishment as the 6th Fleet. That deployment set the tone for the next decade. The cruiser alternated five assignments to the 6th Fleet with operations along the east coast of the United States and in the West Indies and made three cruises to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n ports. During one of the South American voyages, ''Albany'' carried the official United States representative to the inauguration of the President of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in January 1951. For two years, stretching at least until the autumn of 1955, ''Albany'' served as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

for Commander, Battleship-Cruiser Force, Atlantic.

Conversion to guided missile cruiser

On 30 June 1958, ''Albany'' was placed out of commission at the

Boston Naval Shipyard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

to begin conversion to a

. On 1 November 1958, she was redesignated CG-10. The warship spent the next four years at Boston undergoing very extensive modifications as part of the conversion; stripped down to her

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

to be fitted with a new

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. ''Albany'' was recommissioned at Boston on 3 November 1962. For almost five years, she alternated deployments to European waters – both to the Mediterranean Sea and to the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

– with operations along the east coast and in the

. During that time, the cruiser visited many foreign ports and participated in a number of exercises with units of friendly navies. On 1 March 1967, she was decommissioned at the Boston Naval Shipyard once again to undergo extensive modifications. Some 20 months later, on 9 November 1968, ''Albany'' was placed back in commission at Boston. In 1973, the ship was again decommissioned for overhaul at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

. It was recommissioned in May 1974 and homeported in Norfolk, VA. Shortly thereafter, it became the flagship of the 2nd Fleet. Between 1976 and 1980, ''Albany'' was the

of the 6th Fleet, and homeported in

Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Decommissioning and disposal

''Albany'' was decommissioned on 29 August 1980 and laid up on the Elizabeth River across from the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...

. She was stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 30 June 1985, but she remained at her berth and held for possible donation as a museum ship in her name sake city for a further five years. Though there was serious interest in saving the ship, a feasible museum and financial plan was never realized, and she was sold for scrapping on 12 August 1990.

Commemoration

A portion of ''Albany''s

bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

resides at the Albany County Fairgrounds in Altamont,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The original 14-foot-long ( 1:48 scale) brass model of the ship built by the

to help determine where antenna arrays would go on the actual-size ships was restored in 2013 and is on display at the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center. ''Albany''s

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

equipments like the ship wheel, clock, window, telephone, dining silver sets, items from crew members, shipbuilder plaque,

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

, and more are all on display a
USS Albany Heritage Exhibit

Awards

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

with 2 awards *

Navy "E" Ribbon The Navy "E" Ribbon or Battle Efficiency Ribbon (informally the Battle "E" ribbon) was authorized on March 31, 1976, by Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf as a unit award for battle efficiency competition. The service ribbon replaced t ...

with 3 awards * World War II Victory Ribbon * World War II Occupation Medal with "Europe" clasp *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

with 2 awards Battenburg Cup

Gallery

File:Launch of USS Albany (CA-123) at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts (USA), on 30 June 1945.jpg, ''Albany'' at

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree, Massachusetts, Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on ...

on 30 June 1945. File:HO3S landing on turret of USS Albany (CA-123) c1951.jpg, HO3S landing on turret of ''Albany'' in c1951. File:USS Albany (CA-123) at Copenhagen, in June 1951 (NH 96634).jpg, ''Albany'' at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in June 1951. File:USS Albany (CA-123) anchored off Cannes 1954.jpg, ''Albany'' anchored off

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

in 1954. File:USS Albany (CA-123) at the Boston Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts (USA), circa in 1959.jpg, ''Albany'' at

in 1959. File:USS Albany (CG-10) in Boston harbor, 26 November 1968 (NH 96627).jpg, ''Albany'' in

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...

on 26 November 1968. File:HMS London (D16), USS Albany (CG-10) and USS Lawrence (DDG-4) at anchor at Malta, in 1971.jpg, , USS ''Albany'' and anchored at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in 1971. File:USS Albany (CG-10) and USS Columbus (CG-12) at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, in 1972.jpg, USS ''Albany'' and at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico in 1972. File:USS Little Rock (CG-4) and USS Albany (CG-10) docked at the refueling pier at Geata, Italy, 1976.jpg, and USS ''Albany'' docked at the refueling pier at

Gaeta, Italy Gaeta (; ; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played a conspicuous part in mi ...

in 1976.

References

Bibliography

External links

USS ''Albany'' Association homepage
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albany (Ca-123) Oregon City-class cruisers Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1945 ships Albany-class cruisers Cold War cruisers of the United States