USS Albany (CA-123)

USS Albany (CG-10): The Full Missile Conversion

Commissioned on 15 June 1946 as CA-123, USS Albany began life as an Oregon City-class heavy cruiser, and eventually became one of the most thoroughly transformed ships in American naval history. Converted to CG-10 in 1962, she emerged as a fully missile-armed guided missile cruiser with no guns whatsoever: Talos long-range missiles forward and aft, Tartar medium-range missiles amidships, ASROC anti-submarine rockets. All four 8-inch gun turrets removed. She was the most capable anti-aircraft surface combatant in the U.S. Navy when she recommissioned.

The Albany-class CG conversions, Albany, Chicago, Columbus, represented the Navy's most ambitious attempt to transform World War II heavy cruiser hulls into Cold War missile platforms. Where earlier CAG conversions like Boston and Canberra hedged by retaining forward gun turrets, Albany went fully missile. It was a bet that guided weapons technology had matured enough to be the sole armament of a major combatant. That bet proved correct.

As CG-10, Albany served extensively in the Western Pacific during the Vietnam War. Eleven Vietnam battle stars reflect years of sustained combat deployments in the Gulf of Tonkin, one of the highest totals of any ship in that entire conflict. Her Talos systems provided the long-range anti-aircraft umbrella for the carrier task forces she screened through the war's most intense years. When North Vietnamese aircraft approached the carriers Albany was protecting, they knew the Talos was waiting.

Albany was decommissioned on 29 August 1980 after three and a half decades of service spanning gun cruiser and missile cruiser eras. Eleven Vietnam battle stars alone. Tactically Acquired's USS Albany (CA-123) collection honors New York State's ship across two technological eras and one of the finest Vietnam War combat records in the surface fleet.