USS Des Moines (CL-17)

USS Des Moines (CL-17) USS Des Moines (CL-17) was an Omaha-class cruiser of the United States Navy commissioned in 1923 and named for the capital of Iowa. She served during the interwar period on the United States East Coast, in the Caribbean Sea, and with the Asiatic Fleet before being decommissioned under arms limitation treaties. The ship's design reflected lessons from World War I naval construction and naval architects balanced speed, armament, and range amid postwar strategic debates involving the Washington Naval Treaty and evolving cruiser doctrine.

Design and construction

Conceived during the closing months of World War I, Des Moines was ordered as part of an enlargement of cruiser forces influenced by planners at the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Steam Engineering. Built at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation yard at Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, her hull and machinery embodied the transitional thinking of naval engineers such as Rear Admiral Bradley A. Fiske and theorists in the Naval War College. The Omaha-class intended to combine the scouting functions championed by advocates like Alfred Thayer Mahan with reconnaissance roles envisaged by proponents of fast cruisers during contests with the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Royal Navy. Laid down in 1918 and launched on 23 April 1920, Des Moines completed fitting out with mixed coal and oil-fired boilers and a high-pressure turbine arrangement influenced by contemporary designs of William H. Bates and yards like New York Shipbuilding Corporation.

Service history

Upon commissioning on 9 February 1923, Des Moines reported to the Cruiser Force, United States Fleet and undertook shakedown and training exercises with units of the Atlantic Fleet including maneuvers with divisions named after senior flag officers from the Scouting Fleet concept. Her early assignments included diplomatic and presence missions to ports such as Havana, Guantanamo Bay, Panama, and Caribbean stations where she cooperated with the United States Marine Corps detachments and United States Coast Guard patrols during periods of political unrest in Nicaragua and Honduras. In the mid-1920s Des Moines deployed with the Asiatic Fleet, operating out of Cavite and visiting treaty ports like Shanghai and Tsingtao while protecting American interests amid instability involving the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Warlord Era. She participated in fleet problems and exercises overseen by commanders from the Battle Fleet and the Fleet Training Division, contributing to intelligence gathering and fleet scouting doctrine refinements.

Notable operations and engagements

Although Des Moines saw no combat like battles of World War II, her operational record included notable peacetime missions and responses to regional crises that involved coordination with other nations and organizations. She conducted show-the-flag visits during the Coolidge administration's Caribbean policy and took part in Fleet Problem III and subsequent fleet problems that tested fleet logistics, underway replenishment theories advocated by planners at the Naval War College, and tactics later analyzed by historians such as Samuel Eliot Morison. During her Asiatic deployment, Des Moines stood ready during the 1927 Shanghai Incident and operations tied to the Northern Expedition, cooperating with diplomats from the State Department and warships of the Royal Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy in multinational port visits and evacuations of civilians.

Decommissioning and fate

Rising naval arms-control pressures embodied in the Washington Naval Treaty and fiscal constraints during the late 1920s led to reductions in cruiser numbers. Des Moines was placed in reserve and decommissioned on 6 June 1930 at Philadelphia Navy Yard under policies implemented by Secretary of the Navy Charles F. Adams and influenced by congressional appropriations debates in United States Congress committees such as the Senate Naval Affairs Committee. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 November 1930, she was sold for scrapping in 1931 to the Boston Iron and Metal Company in compliance with treaty terms and national demobilization efforts that paralleled disarmament conferences attended by delegations from Great Britain, France, and Japan.

Ship characteristics and armament

Designed as a fast light cruiser, Des Moines displaced approximately 7,050 long tons standard and measured 555 feet overall, with a 55-foot beam and shallow draft to enhance speed and range for scouting missions emphasized by strategists like Julian S. Corbett. Propulsion consisted of steam turbines fed by mixed coal and oil-fired boilers that generated speeds up to 35 knots, enabling her to operate with destroyer screens and battle squadrons in scouting roles reflected in doctrine taught at the Naval War College. Her main battery comprised ten 6-inch/53 caliber guns in casemates and open mounts, supplemented by anti-aircraft weapons including 3-inch/50 caliber guns and 1-pounder guns for air defense doctrines evolving after experiences in World War I. Torpedo armament included triple 21-inch torpedo tube mounts consistent with cruiser designs of the era. Armor was light—belt armor around 3 inches and a thin armored deck—reflecting trade-offs between protection and speed argued by contemporaries such as Eugene Ely and ship designers at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Category:Omaha-class cruisers Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts Category:1920 ships Category:Interwar naval ships of the United States