The third USS ''Northampton'' (CLC-1/CC-1) was a US Navy command light cruiser (

command ship Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities. An auxiliary command ship features ...

). She was laid down as an heavy cruiser (CA–125), on 31 August 1944 by the Fore River Yard, Bethlehem Steel Corp., Quincy, Massachusetts. Work suspended between 11 August 1945 and 1 July 1948; she was converted to a command cruiser under project SCB 13 and launched as CLC–1, on 27 January 1951; sponsored by Mrs. Edmond J. Lampron; and commissioned as CLC–1, on 7 March 1953.

History

Following shakedown, ''Northampton'' reported for duty to Commander Operational Development Forces, Atlantic Fleet. For seven months she conducted extensive tests of her new equipment. Evaluation completed in September 1954 and she reverted to the operational control of Commander Battleship Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet. She next demonstrated her capabilities as a tactical Command Ship by serving as flagship, first for Commander Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet (October–November 1954) and then for Commander 6th Fleet (December 1954–March 1955). Between 1 September and 22 October she served as flagship for Commander Strike Force, Atlantic, a position she was to hold frequently over the next fifteen years. On 24 February 1956, ''Northampton'' emerged from her first overhaul at the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard 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 ...

, Portsmouth, Virginia, and, after refresher training off

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, participated as a unit of the Navy’s first guided missile division afloat, CruDiv 6, in the first public demonstration of the

Terrier missile The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. It underwent significant upgrades while in service, starting with be ...

. In April, she steamed east for six months with the 6th Fleet, and, during the summer of 1957, resumed midshipmen training cruises. However, between that time and 1961, she infrequently returned to European waters. Deployed on occasion for

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 ...

and fleet exercises and People to People visits, the command ship was visited by high government officials of various European countries, including Kings

Baudouin of Belgium Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his de ...

and

Olav V of Norway Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Nor ...

Decommissioning

Redesignated CC–1 on 15 April 1961, ''Northampton'' remained in the western

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

until decommissioning in February 1970. Her cruises ranged from

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian waters as she extensively tested and evaluated new communications equipment and played host to visiting national and international dignitaries, including Presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

and Lyndon B. Johnson. The ship was eventually withdrawn from service, and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 December 1977 during the

Carter Administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican President ...

Other roles

Besides acting as a fleet command ship, ''Northampton'' was planned for or actually functioned in at least two other roles.

Pilotfish

When the first supercarrier USS ''United States'' (CVA-58) was being designed, it was thought she would not be able to have an island or masts for radar or other antennas. Therefore the ''Northampton'' was seen as a 'pilotfish', a ship that would escort the carrier and act not only as a radar picket (although from the center of the task force rather than the periphery as a true picket would), but also as the radar director of aircraft approach and landing on the carrier. The recent invention of the

angled flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopter ...

made it possible to install islands and radar on supercarriers, and so this role was eliminated from the ''Northampton''.Freidman, pp. 340

"Floating White House"

According to a ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' article on 29 July 2006, ''Northampton'' was part of the U.S. government's plan for

Continuity of Operations Continuity of operations can mean: *Continuity of government, defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event **Continuity of Government Commission, a nonpartisan think tank established ...

and reported to be a "floating

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

" to which the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

could be evacuated in the event of

nuclear attack Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

. As such she was designated as the National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA); ''Northampton'' was one of two ships to serve in the role, with the other being the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. The ship was modified with an extra deck, the tallest communications mast in the Navy and multi-link communications gear.

Gallery

File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) at Guantanamo Bay in 1954.jpg, ''Northampton'' at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1954. File:SPS-2 antenna aboard USS Northampton (CLC-1) c1954.jpg, Close up of ''Northampton''’s SPS-2 antenna . File:Sailors relaxing on fantail of USS Northampton (CLC-1) in 1957.jpg, ''Northampton''’s crews relaxing on the fantail of the ship in 1957. File:USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) leavin Norfolk in 1957.jpg, alongside ''Northampton'' at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

in 1957. File:USS Intrepid (CVA-11) with Valley Forge (CVS-45) at Norfolk 1957.jpg, ''Northampton'', and at Norfolk in 1957 File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) bow view c1958.jpg, Bow view of ''Northampton'' in 1958. File:USS Des Moines (CA-134) and USS Northampton (CLC-1) at Mallorca c1960.jpg, ''Northampton'' and at Mallorca . File:USS Northampton (CLC-1) with Polaris missile fountain at Portsmouth VA c1962.jpg, ''Northampton'' with Polaris Missile fountain at

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

. File:USS Alstede (AF-48) replenishes USS Northampton (CC-1) c1964.jpg, ''Northampton'' replenishing with ''Alsfeld'' . File:USS Northampton CLC-1.jpg, ''Northampton'' in her final configuration before decommissioning around early 1970. File:USS Northampton (CC-1), USS Robert L. Wilson (DD-847) and USS Albacore (AGSS-569) mothballed at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, in August 1976 (K-117037).jpg, ''Northampton'', and mothballed at

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 cit ...

in August 1976. File:USS Newport News (CA 148), USS Springfield (CLG 7) and USS Northampton (CC 1) await disposal.jpg, ''Northampton'', and await disposal at Philadelphia Naval Yard in October 1978.

Awards

* Navy Expeditionary Medal * National Defense Service Medal with 2 awards

References

Notes

Sources

* * "A White House Physician" by James Young, M.D., in ''Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out'' (Candlewick Press 2008)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/clc-1.htm

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton (Clc-1) Oregon City-class cruisers Cruisers of the United States Navy Cold War cruisers of the United States Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1951 ships Decommissioned command ships of the United States Navy Continuity of government in the United States