USS Des Moines (CA-134)

USS Des Moines (CA-134)
Shipname	USS Des Moines (CA-134)
Shipclass	Des Moines-class heavy cruiser
Namesake	Des Moines, Iowa
Laid down	4 July 1945
Launched	2 February 1946
Commissioned	17 November 1948
Decommissioned	6 July 1961
Fate	Sold for scrapping 2006
Displacement	17,000 long tons (standard)
Length	716 ft
Beam	76 ft
Draft	26 ft
Propulsion	Steam turbines; 120,000 shp
Speed	33 kn
Complement	1,250 officers and enlisted
Armament	9 × 8 in/55 cal guns; 12 × 5 in/38 cal guns; Bofors and Oerlikon AA

USS Des Moines (CA-134) was the lead ship of the Des Moines-class heavy cruisers of the United States Navy commissioned in 1948. As the largest and last heavy cruiser completed for the United States Navy, she embodied late-World War II naval design advances and served during the early Cold War, conducting peacetime cruises, showing the flag, and participating in NATO and United Nations–related operations. Her design prioritized automatic 8-inch guns, advanced fire control, and extended endurance for global operations across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Design and construction

Designed under the late-World War II naval shipbuilding programs, Des Moines was part of a class conceived to counter Soviet Navy surface forces and to serve as fast, long-range surface artillery platforms alongside carriers of the United States Fleet. The class incorporated automatic 8-inch/55 caliber guns in Mk-16 turrets, offering a unique blend of heavy caliber and rapid-fire capability not seen in earlier cruisers such as the Baltimore-class or Cleveland-class. Keel laying at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts occurred on 4 July 1945, amid shipbuilding efforts that included contemporaries like Iowa-class and Alaska-class units. Launched on 2 February 1946, her hull incorporated improved armor distribution influenced by experiences from the Battle of the Atlantic and Pacific War, and her engineering plant reflected advances pioneered on USN steam turbine designs.

Commissioning and shakedown

Commissioned on 17 November 1948 under the command of Captain [see individual biographies in naval registers], Des Moines completed fitting out and trials along the New England seaboard prior to shakedown. During post-commission trials she worked with units from Atlantic Fleet task groups, including escort carriers such as USS Antietam (CV-36), and underwent gunnery exercises referencing fire-control developments from the Naval Ordnance Laboratory and the Bureau of Ships. Shakedown cruises took her near training ranges used by Naval Station Norfolk and through operational areas frequented by United States Sixth Fleet elements preparing for deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and showing presence in regions of interest to the NATO.

Service history

Des Moines operated extensively with the United States Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, joining port calls in Naples, Valletta, Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Gibraltar. She took part in midshipman cruises, goodwill visits to South America including Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, and NATO exercises alongside units from the Royal Navy, Marine Nationale, Marina Militare, Hellenic Navy, and Royal Netherlands Navy. During crises of the early Cold War she conducted freedom-of-navigation operations and presence missions related to events involving the Suez Crisis, tensions surrounding Cyprus, and political developments in Turkey and Greece. Des Moines also provided surface gunnery demonstrations in multinational exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy, Bundesmarine, Armada Española, and Royal Norwegian Navy.

Her peacetime deployments included training evolutions with carrier task forces such as those built around USS Midway (CV-41), and she hosted visits by political figures and naval officers from the Department of Defense and allied defense ministries. Des Moines was involved in fleet reviews and commemorative events associated with anniversaries of the Battle of Midway, D-Day, and other major 20th-century engagements, linking her to veterans’ organizations like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Throughout her service she operated in company with contemporary surface combatants such as USS Salem (CA-139), USS Newport News (CA-148), and destroyers from DesRon squadrons.

Modernization and armament

As the first major surface combatant to mount fully automatic 8-inch/55 Mk-16 guns, Des Moines represented a technological advancement over earlier heavy cruisers. Her main battery of nine 8-inch guns in three triple turrets used an autoloading mechanism developed with input from the Naval Ordnance Laboratory and integrated with the Mark 37 fire-control system and radar directors produced by firms like Xerox contractors and electronics providers tied to MIT Radiation Laboratory postwar projects. Secondary armament included 5-inch/38 cal dual-purpose guns in twin mounts, and close-in air defense originally comprised of 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon mounts, later augmented with lighter automatic weapons influenced by anti-aircraft doctrine developed after the Korean War. Engineering upgrades during routine overhauls improved propulsion reliability, electrical generation, and habitability modifications informed by Naval Training Center feedback.

Decommissioning and fate

Changing strategic priorities, defense budget constraints, and the advent of missile warfare and guided-missile cruisers such as the USS Long Beach (CGN-9) contributed to Des Moines’s decommissioning on 6 July 1961. Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet and later stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, she was held in reserve at facilities associated with the Maryland Reserve Fleet and other berthing sites. Proposals to convert her to a guided-missile cruiser or museum ship were considered but not executed, paralleling debates over preservation of contemporaries like USS Little Rock (CL-92/CLG-4) and USS Salem (CA-139). Ultimately sold for scrapping decades later, her hull was disposed of in the 2000s, a fate similar to several large postwar surface combatants retired before Carrier battle group concepts matured.

Legacy and preservation efforts

Des Moines’s legacy rests in naval architecture and ordnance advances embodied by the Des Moines class influencing later designs including automatic gun development and fire-control integration in cold war surface combatants. Artifacts, shipboard fittings, and archival records have been preserved by institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Naval History and Heritage Command, National Museum of the United States Navy, and regional museums in Iowa and Massachusetts. Veteran associations and local historical societies in Des Moines, Iowa and Quincy, Massachusetts have campaigned for memorials, plaques, and exhibits; some components were salvaged for display aboard museum ships like USS North Carolina (BB-55) and exhibits at Mariners' Museum. Scholarly analysis of Des Moines appears in publications from Naval Institute Press, articles in Proceedings and monographs held by the Library of Congress and Naval War College archives. Her influence is referenced in studies of postwar naval policy debates involving the United States Congress, Department of the Navy, and defense planners shaping surface combatant evolution.

Category:Des Moines-class cruisers