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U.S.S. GALVESTON
(CL-93)Click to view crew list
USS GALVESTON (CL-93) - a Galveston class guided missile cruiser
In Commission 1958 to 1970CL-93 Deployments - Major Events
Add a CL-93 Shellback Initiation | Add a CL-93 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
APR | 1945 | - | Launch Date: 22 APR 1945 | ||
MAY | 1958 | - | Commissioned: 28 MAY 1958 | ||
MAR | 1967 | - | SEP | 1968 | Mediterranean |
CL-93 General Specifications
Class: Galveston class guided missile cruiser
Complement: 1276 Officers and Enlisted
Displacement: 10000 tons
Length: 608 feet 4 inches
Beam: 63 feet 7 inches
Draft: 25 feet
Final Disposition: Sold for scrap May 1975
USS GALVESTON (CL-93)
The second Galveston (CL-93) was launched by William
Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 22 April 1945: and
sponsored by Mrs. Clark Wallace Thompson. The cruiser's
construction was suspended when nearly complete 24 June
1946; and the hull assignedto
the Philadelphia Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was reclassified
CLG-93 on 4 February 1956; then reclassified to CLG-3 on 23 May 1957; and
commissioned at Philadelphia 28 May 1958,
Captain J. B. Colwell in command.
The warship departed Philadelphia on 30 June 1958 for
builder's trials out of Norfolk, Va., in the Virginia Capes
area, that included "highly successful" tests of her
new Talos missile and tracking gear. The deadly Talos supersonic surface-to-air missile weighs
nearly 3000 pounds, including a 40,000
horsepower ramjet engine; with a
range of over 65 miles and is designed to destroy enemy aircraft at high altitudes using either a
conventional or atomic warhead. She
finished out the year with operations in the Norfolk area.
Galveston arrived at San Juan,
Puerto Rico, 16 January 1959 for training and evaluation
operations in waters of the West Indies. She successfully fired the
first Talos missile ever shot at sea 24 February 1959. Termed by
Admiral Arleigh Burke as "the best antiaircraft missile in any
arsenal in the world," the Talos sent its payload off
in a trail of bright orange flame. Galveston reported the
shot "hot, straight and normal" as she proudly proved her capability
as one of the most mighty warships of the modern United States Navy. The
cruiser set course for Norfolk 17 March and a special yard period in
the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
In July 1959 Galveston conducted shakedown
and acceptance trials in the Virginia Capes area, followed by a refresher
training cruise to waters off Cuba and the testing of her radar and communications
in war games with the U.S. Air Force. On 4 January 1960 she
departed Norfolk for a visit to Charleston, S.C., and
operations off the Florida coast, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands. She then headed to her namesake city of Galveston,
arriving on 16 February for a Silver Service
presentation. Returning to Norfolk, the cruiser unloaded her
ammunition for shock tests off the Bahamas, then entered
the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 25 March 1960 for a yard
period that extended into the fall. During this time the cruiser entertained
more than 30,000 visitors. She headed for the Virginia Capes 24 October 1960,
successfully completing her first missile
transfer at sea.
On 6 January 1961 Galveston departed Norfolk
for more Bureau of Naval Weapons technical evaluation of
her Talos missile systems, including tests of the IV Talos, its
capabilities and potentials, in areas off Jacksonville, Fla., Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands. These evaluations completed 1 March, she
departed San Juan for refresher training and her final acceptance
trial out of Guantanamo Bay. The cruiser returned to Norfolk on 9
April, but soon steamed to Jacksonville, Fla., where on 8 May she began
duty under the Operational Technical Evaluation
Force that included extensive testing of her missile system and many Talos
firings. The effectiveness of the
system and the weapon were demonstrated by a new, long-range record as
well as a successful two-missile salvo shot.
The Talos missile cruiser entertained over 17,000 visitors at Cape
Canaveral on the Armed Forces weekend
celebration in May; completed later phases of her evaluation exercises in the Caribbean through 21 July; then visited Bayonne, N.J., where her missile
fire-control radars were removed
preparatory to overhaul in the Philadelphia
Naval Shipyard (30 August 1961-23 July 1962).
This overhaul included modifications to the fire control system of the Talos missile.
Galveston departed Philadelphia on
23 July 1962, transited the Panama Canal for San Diego, Calif.; and joined Cruiser-Destroyer
Flotilla 9, U.S. Pacific Fleet, on 24 August 1962. She operated
along the West Coast until October 1963 when she sailed for the Western Pacific
as flagship of the flotilla. During the next
6 months she operated in the Far East
with the 7th Fleet off Japan, Taiwan,
and Okinawa. She returned to San Diego 16 April 1964 and resumed West Coast training.
Following a 4-month overhaul from October 1964 to February
1965, Galveston departed San Diego 4 June for operations
off the coast of South Vietnam. She touched at Subic Bay, Philippines,
21 June, then sailed to join the 7th Fleet in the South China
Sea. During the next 5 months she ranged the Southeast Asian waters
from the Gulf of Thailand to the Gulf of Tonkin while
supporting the American effort to repel Communit aggression in South Vietnam. She
provided gunfire support during search-and-clear
operations at Chu Lai and at the Vun Tuong
Peninsula. In addition she provided air defense for 7th Fleet carriers in the South China Sea and conducted search and rescue operations in the Gulf of
Tonkin. She departed the Philippines 2 December and arrived San Diego 18 December.
Resuming operations early in January 1966, Galveston
operated out of San Diego to the Hawaiian Islands
and along the California coast while keeping her crew
and equipment in a peak state of readiness. From 31 July
to 4
November she underwent modernization overhaul, then she resumed training for the remainder of 1966. Early in 1967 she
departed San Diego for the East Coast, and at present she is assigned to the
Atlantic Fleet for duty in the Atlantic and
the Mediterranean.
[Note: The above USS GALVESTON (CL-93) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS GALVESTON (CL-93), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]