USS Roanoke (CL-145)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Roanoke.

USS Roanoke underway, circa the early 1950s
History
United States
Name	Roanoke
Namesake	Roanoke, Virginia
Builder	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down	15 May 1945
Launched	16 June 1947
Commissioned	4 April 1949
Decommissioned	31 October 1958
Stricken	1 December 1970
Identification	Callsign: NIQE Hull number: CL-145
Motto	Nunc Parati Sumus (Now we are prepared)
Honors and awards	See Awards
Fate	Scrapped, 22 February 1972
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Worcester-class light cruiser
Displacement	14,700 long tons (14,936 t) (standard) 17,997 long tons (18,286 t) (full)
Length	664 ft (202 m) wl 679 ft 6 in (207.11 m) oa
Beam	70 ft .5 in (21.3 m)
Draft	25 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion	4 × Westinghouse 620 psi boilers 4 × geared steam turbines 4 × screws 125,000 Horsepower
Speed	33 knots
Boats & landing craft carried	2-4 × lifeboats
Complement	1,560 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-10 surface-search radar AN/SPS-6 air-search radar AN/SPS-8A height-finding radar AN/URD-4 radio direction finder AN/URN-3 TACAN AN/SLR-2 ECM Receiver
Armament	Early: 6 × dual 6"/47cal guns 11 × dual 3"/50 caliber Mark 33 guns 2 × single 3"/50 caliber Mark 34 guns Later: 6 × dual 6"/47cal guns 10 × dual 3"/50 caliber Mark 33 guns 2 × single 3"/50 caliber Mark 34 guns
Armor	belt: 3–5 in (76–127 mm) deck: 3.5 in (89 mm) (max) turrets: 2–6.5 in (51–165 mm) barbettes: 5 in (127 mm) conning tower: 4.5 in (114 mm)
Aviation facilities	2 × aircraft catapults

USS Roanoke (CL-145) was the second ship of the 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.

Construction and Commissioning

Roanoke in early 1949

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

Following a shakedown cruise 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 on 31 October 1958.

Decommissioning

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 display outside of Elmwood Park which is inside Roanoke Public Library. Roanoke’s model is on display in the Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, Virginia.

Awards

• Navy Occupation Medal with (Europe clasp)
• National Defense Service Medal

Gallery

• 
  Aft view of Roanoke underway, circa in 1949
• 
  Roanoke underway in January 1950
• 
  Roanoke at anchor off Famagusta on 22 February 1950
• 
  Roanoke off Sasebo, in 1956
• 
  HUP Retriever landing aboard Roanoke in 1956

References

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

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Roanoke at NavSource Naval History