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USS Galveston (CLG-3)
Encyclopedia
The USS Galveston (CL-93/CLG-3) was a Cleveland class
light cruiser
of the United States Navy
that was later converted to a Galveston class guided missile cruiser
. She was launched by William Cramp and Sons
Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
., 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 assigned to the Philadelphia Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was reclassified CL-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.
-class guided missile light cruiser, 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 Talos supersonic surface-to-air missile weighed nearly 3000 pounds (1,400 kg), including a 40,000 horsepower (30 MW) ramjet engine; with a range of over 65 miles (105 km) and was 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 the 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, South Carolina
, 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.
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 1960; then visited Bayonne
, N.J., where her missile fire-control radars were removed in preparation for overhaul. Galveston was overhauled in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (30 August 1961 – 23 July 1962). This overhaul included modifications to the fire control system of the Talos missile.
The visit to Charleston was for electronic equipment repair. She had to go in at low tide, and lightning rods had to be lowered to pass under the Charleston bridge.
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.
. 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 Communist aggression in South Vietnam. She provided gunfire support during search-and-clear operations at Chu Lai
and at the Vung 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.
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 for much of the rest of that year was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet for duty in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
Cleveland class cruiser
The United States Navy designed the Cleveland class of light cruisers for World War II with the goal of increased range and AA armament as compared with earlier classes.A total of 52 ships of this class were projected and 3 canceled...
light cruiser
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...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
that was later converted to a Galveston class guided missile cruiser
Galveston class cruiser
Originally built as Cleveland-class light cruisers in the United States Navy during World War II, in 1957 three ships were re-designated as Galveston-class guided missile light cruisers and fitted with the Talos long-range surface-to-air missile system...
. She was launched by William Cramp and Sons
William Cramp and Sons
thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
., 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 assigned to the Philadelphia Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was reclassified CL-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.
1958-1960
Refit as a GalvestonGalveston class cruiser
Originally built as Cleveland-class light cruisers in the United States Navy during World War II, in 1957 three ships were re-designated as Galveston-class guided missile light cruisers and fitted with the Talos long-range surface-to-air missile system...
-class guided missile light cruiser, the warship departed Philadelphia on 30 June 1958 for builder's trials out of Norfolk, Va., in the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
area, that included "highly successful" tests of her new Talos missile
RIM-8 Talos
The 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 radar homing for terminal guidance...
and tracking gear. The Talos supersonic surface-to-air missile weighed nearly 3000 pounds (1,400 kg), including a 40,000 horsepower (30 MW) ramjet engine; with a range of over 65 miles (105 km) and was 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
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, 16 January 1959 for training and evaluation operations in the waters of the West Indies. She successfully fired the first Talos missile ever shot at sea 24 February 1959. Termed by Admiral Arleigh Burke
Arleigh Burke
Admiral Arleigh Albert '31-knot' Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.-Early life and naval career:Burke was born in Boulder,...
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
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. The cruiser set course for Norfolk 17 March and a special yard period in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
.
In July 1959 Galveston conducted shakedown and acceptance trials in the Virginia Capes area, followed by a refresher training cruise to waters off Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
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, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, and operations off the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
coast, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
. 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.
1961
On 6 January 1961 Galveston departed Norfolk for more Bureau of Naval WeaponsBureau of Naval Weapons
The Bureau of Naval Weapons was part of the United States Navy's material organization between 1959 and 1966, with responsibility for procurement and support of naval aircraft and aerial weapons. The bureau was established August 18, 1959, by an Act of Congress...
technical evaluation of her Talos missile systems, including tests of the IV Talos, its capabilities and potentials, in areas off Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, 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
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
. 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
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
on the Armed Forces weekend celebration in May; completed later phases of her evaluation exercises in the Caribbean through 21 July 1960; then visited Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, N.J., where her missile fire-control radars were removed in preparation for overhaul. Galveston was overhauled in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (30 August 1961 – 23 July 1962). This overhaul included modifications to the fire control system of the Talos missile.
The visit to Charleston was for electronic equipment repair. She had to go in at low tide, and lightning rods had to be lowered to pass under the Charleston bridge.
1962-1964
Galveston departed Philadelphia on 23 July 1962, transited the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
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
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and Okinawa. She returned to San Diego 16 April 1964 and resumed West Coast training.
1965
Following a 4-month overhaul from October 1964 to February 1965, Galveston departed San Diego 4 June for operations off the coast of South VietnamSouth Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. She touched at Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, 21 June, then sailed to join the 7th Fleet in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. During the next 5 months she ranged the Southeast Asian waters from the Gulf of Thailand
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...
to the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
while supporting the American effort to repel Communist aggression in South Vietnam. She provided gunfire support during search-and-clear operations at Chu Lai
Chu Lai
Chu Lai is a sea port, urban and industrial area in Dung Quat Bay, Núi Thành district, Quang Nam province of Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai Airport.-Vietnam War:...
and at the Vung 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.
1966-1967
Resuming operations early in January 1966, Galveston operated out of San Diego to the Hawaiian Islands and along the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
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 for much of the rest of that year was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet for duty in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.