The United States Navy's ''Boston'' class were the first

guided missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of Propulsion, self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a targ ...

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 sea ...

s in the world. Both ships in this experimental class were originally

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 ...

s that had been decommissioned after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but were redesignated as guided missile heavy cruisers (CAGs) and entered refit in 1952. The lengthy conversion and modernization project (aka SCB 48) involved replacing the aft triple 8-inch gun turret and its supporting structure with two twin launchers for

Terrier Terrier () is a Dog type, type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many Dog breed, breeds or landraces of the terrier Dog type, type, which are typically small, wiry, Gameness, game, and fearless. There are fi ...

anti-aircraft guided missiles. The forward two 8-inch gun turrets remained unchanged. The forward

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 ...

was modified to include the Terrier's associated

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s and

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

, the aft superstructure was completely replaced, and the ''Baltimore'' class's two

funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

were trunked to one.Friedman, Cruisers, pp. 377 Owing to the ''Boston'' class's experimental nature, the ships were only partially converted, with a full conversion to be carried out if the new weapon systems were successful. Had the ships been fully converted, the forward 8-inch turrets would have been replaced with additional Terrier launchers. In 1968 both ''Boston''-class guided missile heavy cruisers were reclassified back to heavy cruisers (CAs), in part due to the extensive use of their 8-inch guns for shore bombardment during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. While they had retained their Terrier missiles, the swift advance of

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

had made these pioneering weapons obsolete after little more than a dozen years' service, and the ships' main battery was once again their six remaining 8-inch guns in the forward turrets. Various proposals for limited modernization or complete reconstruction (including SCB 003.68)Friedman, Cruisers, pp. 380 were considered but ultimately rejected. In 1970 both ''Boston'' class ships were decommissioned for the final time, eventually struck 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 ...

Ships in class

See also

References

Notes

Sources

External links