USS ''Little Rock'' (CL-92/CLG-4/CG-4) is a -class

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

and one of 27 completed for the

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 ...

during or shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She is one of six to be converted to

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 ...

s and the first US Navy ship to be named for

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. Commissioned in mid-1945, she was completed too late to see combat duty during World War II and was retired post-war, becoming part of the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

in 1949. In the late 1950s, she was converted to a guided-missile cruiser, removing her aft six-inch and five-inch guns to accommodate the

Talos In Greek mythology, Talos — also spelled Talus (; el, Τάλως, ''Tálōs'') or Talon (; el, Τάλων, ''Tálōn'') — was a giant automaton made of bronze to protect Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders. He circled the island's sh ...

missile system. Like three other of her sister ''Cleveland'' ships converted to missile ships, she was also extensively modified forward to become a flagship. This involved removal of most of her forward armament to allow for an enlarged superstructure and was recommissioned in 1960 as CLG-4 (redesignated CG-4 in 1975). In this configuration, she served in the Mediterranean, often as the Sixth Fleet flagship. She decommissioned for the final time in 1976 and is now a museum ship, located in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

Construction and Commissioning

''Little Rock'' was laid down by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, 6 March 1943; launched 27 August 1944, sponsored by Mrs Sam Wassell and commissioned 17 June 1945, with Capt. William E. Miller in command.

Service history

1945 to 1949

After

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

off Cuba and training along the Atlantic coast, ''Little Rock'' departed

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

on 21 October for South America. Following this five-month cruise, she returned to Norfolk on 23 March 1946. For the next two months, she performed exercises off the east coast and in the Caribbean, before sailing for Europe on 4 June. After operating with the 6th Fleet throughout the summer. ''Little Rock'' returned Norfolk on 27 September 1946. From November 21–27, 1946, was en route to

Davis Strait Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John ...

as part of Task Group 20.2, which also included the cruiser ''Little Rock'' and destroyer . Between November 27 and December 4, she participated in cold-weather exercises, between Greenland and Baffin Island, as part of Task Group 20.2. During the deployment, she was firing 5-inch star shells off the port side of ''Missouri'' for illumination, when there was a misfire. As the gunner began to point the barrel toward the water, as per standard procedure, the round cooked-off, (thermally induced firing) and struck ''Missouri'' on the signal bridge, killing Coxswain Robert Fountain and starting a fire involving an acetylene tank lashed to the railings. ''Missouri'' did not return to

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

until December 13, 1946. From September 1946 to 1949, she took part in east coast exercises and operated in the Caribbean and Mediterranean during 1947 and 1948 before being decommissioned 24 June 1949, joining the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at New York.

Conversion to guided missile cruiser

Reclassified CLG-4 on 23 May 1957, ''Little Rock'' began conversion to a guided missile light cruiser of the . This refit included replacing the aft six-inch turrets with a

Talos missile Bendix RIM-8 Talos was a long-range naval surface-to-air missile, and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Talos used radar beam riding for guidance to the vicinity of its target, and semiactive ...

battery. She recommissioned at

3 June 1960, with Capt. J. O. Phillips in command. The cruiser performed shakedown training in the Caribbean, test-firing her Talos missiles to prepare to join the Navy's fleet of guided missiles armed ships capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

1961 to 1976

Departing Philadelphia 9 February 1961, ''Little Rock'' sailed for her first European deployment in her new role. After six months operating with the 6th Fleet and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

units, she returned to Norfolk in September. While operating in the Caribbean, 18 November 1961, ''Little Rock'' was ordered to the waters off

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

to provide an element of stability during the uncertainty and unrest following the assassination of Rafael Trujillo. For the next four years ''Little Rock'' annually sailed to the Mediterranean, joining the 6th Fleet. as flagship from May to December 1963. Between deployments, she operated off the east coast, the Caribbean, and off northern Europe with other NATO countries, remaining on the east coast during 1966 for overhaul and refresher training. In 1967 she relieved as the Sixth Fleet flagship at Rota Spain and proceeded to her new homeport at Gaeta, Italy. In 1967 the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

broke out and she steamed to the eastern Mediterranean as NATO command ship. When Israeli forces mistakenly attacked , ''Little Rock'' went to her aid and provided medical assistance. During an exercise in mid-1970, she collided with the Greek destroyer ''Lonchi'' (D56), damaging her bow which was temporarily repaired 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 ...

. She returned to the United States in September for a major overhaul in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

from November 1970 to the following spring. Between 1970 and 1972, Raymond Edwin "Ray" Mabus, Jr. served aboard the Little Rock as a

surface warfare officer The surface warfare insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There are presently four classes of the surf ...

, achieving the rank of

Lieutenant Junior Grade Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

. In 2009, Mabus was appointed as the seventy-fifth

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, serving in the Obama administration. On 5 June 1975 ''Little Rock'' participated in the ceremonies marking the reopening of the Suez Canal, she transited the northern part of the Canal from Port Said to

Ismaïlia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

and made a port visit to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, Egypt. In the spring of 1976, all US Navy Talos SAM systems were deactivated. Plans and funding for ''Little Rock'' to be modernized with a new weapon fit, a survey revealed her propulsion system required extensive repairs. Given the age of the ship, minimal repairs were made to allow transit to Norfolk and after further inspections, she was decommissioned in the fall of 1976.

Museum ship

After her decommissioning, ''Little Rock'' was towed via the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...

, where she is open to the public at the Buffalo Naval & Military Park. On 16 December 2017, ''Little Rock'' was present for the commissioning of , the first time a U.S. Navy ship commissioned alongside her namesake. File:USS Little Rock (CL-92) Valparaiso 1946.jpg, ''Little Rock'' as light cruiser CL-92 at Valparaiso, 1946 File:USS Little Rock (CLG-4) fires a RIM-8 Talos missile on 4 May 1961 (NH 98953).jpg, ''Little Rock'' firing a

RIM-8 Talos Bendix RIM-8 Talos was a long-range naval surface-to-air missile, and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Talos used radar beam riding for guidance to the vicinity of its target, and semiactive r ...

in 1961 File:USS Liberty (AGTR-5) with USS Little Rock (CLG-4) 1967.jpg, ''Little Rock'' standing by the stricken , June 1967 File:USS Little Rock (CLG-4) Mediterranean Sea 1974.jpg, ''Little Rock'' in the Mediterranean Sea, 1974 File:Foredeck of USS Little Rock (CLG-4) on 5 June 1975 (NH 98966).jpg, ''Little Rock'' in the Suez Canal, 5 June 1975 File:U.S.S. Little Rock.jpg, ''Little Rock'' at the Buffalo Naval & Military Park, Buffalo, New York File:U.S.S. Little Rock, Buffalo New York - anothersaab.jpg, ''Little Rock'' at the Buffalo Naval & Military Park, Buffalo, New York File:RIM-8 Talos conveyor in the USS Little Rock.jpg, RIM-8 Talos missile loading conveyor aboard the ship File:RIM-8 Talos magazine racks in the USS Little Rock.jpg, RIM-8 Talos magazine racks in the ship File:USS Little Rocks.jpg, ''Little Rock'' alongside the

littoral combat ship The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...

of the same name File:USS Little Rock CG-4 Officer Barber Shop.jpg, alt=, ''Little Rock'' officer's barber shop, November 2021 File:Uss Little Rock lower engine room.jpg, alt=, Lower engine room ''Little Rock'', November 2021 File:Photo of USS Little Rock CL92 Cramp Shipbuilding Plaque..jpg, Photo of USS Little Rock CL-92 Cramp Shipbuilding Plaque. File:USS Little Rock on 06 March 2023 80 years after her keel was laid..jpg, Stern of the USS Little Rock CG-4 on 06 March 2023. 80 years earlier her keel was laid down in ceremony on Saturday 06 March 1943.

References

Bibliography

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External links

USS Little Rock Association
*

Photos on board the guided missile cruiser USS Little Rock in Buffalo, NY * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Rock Cleveland-class cruisers Galveston-class cruisers Cold War cruisers of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1944 ships Museum ships in New York (state) Museums in Buffalo, New York Military and war museums in New York (state)