USS Galveston (CL-93)

History
USS Galveston (CLG-3), underway in the Mediterranean Sea, 10 May 1967.
United States
Name:	Galveston
Namesake:	City of Galveston, Texas
Builder:	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia
Laid down:	20 February 1944
Launched:	22 April 1945
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Clark Wallace Thompson
Commissioned:	28 May 1958
Decommissioned:	May 1970
Reclassified:	CLG-93, 4 February 1956 CLG-3, 23 May 1957
Struck:	21 December 1973
Identification:	Hull symbol:CL-93 Hull symbol:CLG-93 Hull symbol:CLG-3 Code letters:NBUV Call sign:Giant Killer
Fate:	Sold for scrap on 16 May 1975 for $828,291
Badge:
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Cleveland-class Light cruiser
Displacement:	11,744 long tons (11,932 t) (standard) 14,131 long tons (14,358 t) (max)
Length:	610 ft 1 in (185.95 m) oa 608 ft (185 m)pp
Beam:	66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)
Draft:	25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) (mean) 25 ft (7.6 m) (max)
Installed power:	4 × 634 psi Steam boilers 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × geared turbines 4 × screws
Speed:	32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h)
Range:	11,000 nmi (20,000 km) @ 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement:	1,255 officers and enlisted
Armament:	4 × triple 6 in (150 mm)/47 caliber Mark 16 guns 6 × dual 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber anti-aircraft guns 4 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 6 × dual 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 21 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Armor:	Belt: 3 ¹⁄₂–5 in (89–127 mm) Deck: 2 in (51 mm) Barbettes: 6 in (150 mm) Turrets: 1 ¹⁄₂–6 in (38–152 mm) Conning Tower: 2 ¹⁄₄–5 in (57–127 mm)
Aircraft carried:	4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities:	2 × stern catapults
General characteristics (1958 rebuild)
Class and type:	Galveston-class guided missile cruiser
Complement:	1,426 officers and enlisted
Armament:	2 × triple 6 in (150 mm)/47 caliber Mark 16 guns 3 × dual 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber anti-aircraft guns in Mark 32 mount 1 × twin-rail Mark 7 Talos SAM launcher, 46 missiles

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 & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia 22 April 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Clark Wallace Thompson. The cruiser's construction was suspended when nearly complete on 24 June 1946; and the hull assigned to the Philadelphia Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was reclassified CLG-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.

Refit as a Galveston-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 was 38 ft long, weighed nearly 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg), and was powered by a novel 20,053lbf ramjet engine, plus a solid-fuel rocket booster. With a range of over 65 miles (105 km) for early variants, and over 100 for later ones, and speeds of up to Mach 4, it 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, on 16 January 1959, for training and evaluation operations in the waters of the West Indies. She successfully launched the first Talos missile ever fired at sea on 24 February 1959. The Talos was termed by Admiral Arleigh Burke as "the best antiaircraft missile in any arsenal in the world". 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 on 17 March and a special yard period in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

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