Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
United States Navy — Light cruiser CL-106

USS Fargo (CL-106)

Fargo-class cruiser light cruiser

USS Fargo (CL-106)
Unknown author — U.S. Navy photo NH 98918 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate — CL-106 The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Fargo (CL-106) underway at sea on 8 May 1946. Fargo sailed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA), on 15 April 1946, for a goodwill cruise to Bermuda, Trinidad, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo, from which she took departure on 31 May for the Mediterranean Sea. Note that Fargo is still painted in wartime Camouflage Measure 22.

Service

  1. United States Navy as Fargo9 December 1945 — 14 February 1950
Full service history About 5,378 words
Fargo-class cruiser light cruiser Particulars
Name
USS Fargo
Pennant / hull number
CL-106
Namesake
City of Fargo, North Dakota
Builder
New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Laid down
23 August 1943
Launched
25 February 1945
Commissioned
9 December 1945
Decommissioned
14 February 1950
Struck
1 March 1970
Fate
Sold for scrap, 18 August 1971 (1971)
Status
Scrapped

Specifications

Displacement, standard
11,744 long tons (11,932 t)
Displacement, full load
14,131 long tons (14,358 t)
Length
185.93 m (610 ft) OA
Beam
20.12 m (66 ft)
Draught
7.62 m (25 ft)
Speed
32.5 knots (60.2 km/h, 37.4 mph)
Range
11,000 nmi (20,372 km)
Complement
1,255
Main gun
152 mm (6 in)

Named for the city in the state of North Dakota. The name had previously been assigned to a light cruiser, CL-85, but the ship had been re-ordered as a carrier, CV-27, and consequently renamed Langley ( q.v .)

Fargo (CL-106) was laid down on 23 August 1943 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on 25 February 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Stella G. Olsen, the wife of Fargo, N.D. mayor Fred O. Olsen; and commissioned on 9 December 1945 at the Philadelphia, (Pa.) Naval Shipyard, Capt. Wyatt Craig in command.

Fargo spent the rest of December 1945 and much of January 1946 fitting out at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, ultimately departing that port on 17 January 1946, and for a brief cruise to Norfolk, Va. On 24 January, Fargo steamed out of Norfolk bound for Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to begin her shakedown cruise—arriving at Guantánamo Bay that same day. The cruiser’s shakedown evolutions continued through February, but on 21 February she departed Guantánamo for San Juan, Puerto Rico, and then Culebra Island, Puerto Rico. Fargo returned to Guantánamo by 13 March, at which point her shakedown cruise was complete, and she stood out that day for Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, arriving at the latter on 16 March.

Continue to the full service history About 5,378 words

From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Fargo (CL-106)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 4 × geared turbines
  • 4 × screws
Power
  • 4 × 634 psi Steam boilers
  • 100000 shp
Armament
  • 4 × triple 6 in/47 caliber Mark 16 guns
  • 6 × dual 5 in/38 caliber anti-aircraft guns
  • 4 × quad 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns
  • 6 × dual 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns
  • 10 × single 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Armour
  • Belt: 3+1/2 - 5 in
  • Deck: 2 in
  • Barbettes: 6 in
  • Turrets: 1+1/2 - 6 in
  • Conning Tower: 2+1/4 - 5 in
Aircraft
  • 4 × floatplanes

Sister ships

Sources

  • Facts harvested from USS Fargo (CL-106) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Service history reproduced verbatim from Fargo (CL-106) , Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships — public domain, a work of the United States Government.
  • Photograph: Unknown author — U.S. Navy photo NH 98918 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons