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

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

heavy cruiser The 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 caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval T ...

, 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 roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

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 all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

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, by the

Bethlehem Steel Company The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

, 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 in the vicinity of

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its s ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

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

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

punctuated with cruises to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. 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 The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

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 north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, 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 relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

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 ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in January 1951. For two years, stretching at least until the autumn of 1955, ''Albany'' served as flagship 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 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 to be fitted with a new superstructure. ''Albany'' was recommissioned at Boston on 3 November 1962 with Captain Ben B. Pickett in command. For almost five years, she alternated deployments to European waters – both to the Mediterranean Sea and to the North Atlantic – 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 with Captain Allan P. Slaff in command. In 1973, the ship was again decommissioned for overhaul at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

. It was recommissioned in May 1974 and homeported in Norfolk, VA under the command of Captain John J. Ekelund. Shortly thereafter, it became the flagship of the

2nd Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast of the United States, East Coast and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In Septemb ...

. Between 1976 and 1980, ''Albany'' was the flagship of the 6th Fleet, and homeported in Gaeta,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

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 U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

. 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 5 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 resides at the Albany County Fairgrounds in Altamont, New York. 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. USS Albany's

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

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

bell A bell 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 made by an inte ...

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

Awards

* Navy Unit Commendation 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 Medal ribbon, service ribbo ...

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 is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

with 2 awards

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 and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

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 ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

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

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

in 1954. File:USS Albany (CA-123) at the Boston Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts (USA), circa in 1959.jpg, ''Albany'' at Boston Naval Shipyard 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, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History ...

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 ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

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 (; lat, Cāiēta; Neapolitan language#Distribution, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Napl ...

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