USS Albany (CA-123)
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| Career | 
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|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 6 March 1944 |
| Launched: | 30 June 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 15 June 1946 |
| Decommissioned: | 29 August 1980 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1990 |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,700 tons |
| Length: | 673 ft 5 in |
| Beam: | 70 ft 10 in |
| Draught: | 26 ft 4 in |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 32.6 knots |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 1,969 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 9 x 8 in, 12 x 5 in, 40 x 40 mm, 20 x 20 mm guns |
| Aircraft: | |
| Motto: | |
The fourth USS Albany (CA-123) was a United States Navy Oregon City-class heavy cruiser, later converted to the guided missile cruiser CG-10.
The ship was laid down on 6 March 1944 at Quincy, Massachusetts, by the Bethlehem Steel Company, launched on 30 June 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth F. Pinckney, and commissioned on 15 June 1946 at the Boston Navy Yard, Capt. Harold A. Carlisle in command.
Following outfitting and a shakedown cruise in the vicinity of Casco Bay, Maine, Albany began operations along the east coast of the United States punctuated with cruises to the West Indies. During the ensuing months, the cruiser made a number of voyages for the purpose of training naval reservists and NROTC midshipmen. Albany continued to perform such duty until 11 September 1948 when she stood out of Chesapeake Bay for her first tour of duty with the American naval forces operating in the Mediterranean Sea, 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 American ports. During one of the South American voyages, Albany carried the official United States representative to the inauguration of the President of Brazil in January 1951.
On 30 June 1958, Albany was placed out of commission at the Boston Naval Shipyard to begin conversion to a guided missile cruiser. 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. The ship was recommissioned at Boston on 3 November 1962, Captain Ben B. Pickett in command. For almost five years, she again alternated deployments to European waters - both to the Mediterranean Sea and to the North Atlantic - with operations along the east coast and in the West Indies. 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, the guided missile cruiser was placed back in commission at Boston, Captain Robert C. Peniston in command.
Between 1976 and 1980, Albany was the flagship of the 6th Fleet, and homeported in Gaeta, Italy.
She was decommissioned 29 August 1980.
External link
- USS Albany Association homepage (http://www.ussalbany.org)
- Photos of Albany (http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/04123.htm)
- More Albany details (http://www.ussalbany.com/4th_uss_albany1.htm)
- More Albany details, CG-10 (http://www.ussalbany.com/new_page_3.htm)
See USS Albany for other Navy ships of the same name.
This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and the Naval Vessel Register.
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