USS Roanoke (CL-145)

The fourth USS Roanoke (CL-145) was one of two Worcester-class light cruisers completed for the U.S. Navy shortly after the end of World War II. Commissioned in 1949, she served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific before being decommissioned in 1958. She was sold for scrap in 1972.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Roanoke.
USS Roanoke (CL-145) in January 1950
History
United States
Name: Roanoke
Namesake: Roanoke, Virginia
Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey
Laid down: 15 May 1945
Launched: 16 June 1947
Commissioned: 4 April 1949
Decommissioned: 31 October 1958
Stricken: 1 December 1970
Identification: Hull symbol:CL-145
Motto: "NUNC PARATI SUMUS"
Fate: Sold to Levin Metals Corporation of San Jose, Calif. on 22 February 1972
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Worcester-class light cruiser
Displacement: 14,700 tons
Length: 679 ft
Beam: 70 ft
Draft: 25 ft
Propulsion:
  • General Electric turbines
  • 4 boilers
  • 4 shafts
  • 120,000 shp
Speed: 33 knots (38.0 mph; 61.1 km/h)
Complement: 1,401 officers and enlisted
Armament:

Construction and Commissioning

Roanoke was laid down on 15 May 1945 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey; launched 16 June 1947; sponsored by Miss Julia Ann Henebry; and commissioned at Philadelphia 4 April 1949.

Service

Following shakedown in the Caribbean, Roanoke undertook maneuvers in the Atlantic as a unit of the Battleship-Cruiser Force and on 6 January 1950 got underway to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean for her first extended deployment. Returning to the United States in May, she alternated 6th Fleet deployments with operations in the western Atlantic until the summer of 1952 when she added a midshipman's cruise to Europe and the Caribbean to her schedule. Continuing to operate in the Battleship-Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet until the fall of 1955, Roanoke completed her sixth Mediterranean deployment in May, then prepared for transfer to the Pacific Fleet.

On 22 September 1955, Roanoke departed Norfolk, Va., for the Panama Canal. Homeported at Long Beach, she conducted nine Naval Reserve cruises and completed three WestPac cruises, May to December 1956, September 1957 to March 1958, and September to October 1958, before decommissioning 31 October 1958. She was berthed at Mare Island in 1963 until sold to the Levin Metals Corporation of San Jose, California on 22 February 1972.

Her bell can be seen on displayed outside of Elmwood Park which Is inside Roanoke Public Library.[1]

USS Roanoke’s model is on display in Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, Virginia.[2]

Awards

References
  1. "CL-145 U.S.S. Roanoke - FineScale Modeler - Essential magazine for scale model builders, model kit reviews, how-to scale modeling, and scale modeling products". cs.finescale.com. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  2. "Roanoke, VA". www.roanokeva.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-27.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.


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