USS Des Moines (CA-134)

USS Des Moines (CA-134): The Ultimate Gun Cruiser

Commissioned on 16 November 1948, USS Des Moines was the lead ship of the most powerful gun cruisers ever constructed by any navy. Her three triple automatic-loading 8-inch gun turrets could deliver ten rounds per gun per minute, more than three times the rate of the manually-loaded turrets on the Baltimore class. She was 21,000 tons full load, 716 feet long, and the fastest, most heavily armed conventional gun cruiser ever built by any nation. She was also, in the cruelest irony of naval history, commissioned at precisely the moment the guided missile was making everything she represented obsolete.

The Des Moines class emerged directly from Pacific War combat analysis. Conventional 8-inch gun cruisers couldn't fire fast enough to respond to fast-moving aircraft, multiple simultaneous targets, or the close-quarters engagements where rapid fire correction was essential. The automatic loading system that solved those problems produced a main battery so capable that Des Moines could deliver more 8-inch shells per minute than two conventional heavy cruisers combined. The Navy had finally built exactly what the Pacific War proved it needed, right as the war ended and missiles took over.

She served as Sixth Fleet flagship in the Mediterranean during the early Cold War, the most visible American naval presence in the waters bordering NATO's southern flank and the Soviet Mediterranean access routes. In that role, her size, armament, and presence sent an unambiguous message about American commitment to the NATO alliance. Two battle stars reflect her Cold War Mediterranean operations.

Des Moines was decommissioned on 14 January 1961. Efforts to preserve her as a museum ship failed and she was eventually scrapped, a genuine loss for American naval heritage. She was the apex of 500 years of naval gunnery tradition. When she went, the era she represented went with her. Tactically Acquired's USS Des Moines (CA-134) collection honors Iowa's ship and the absolute pinnacle of what a gun cruiser could be.