Alaska

Design

The Alaska-class of large cruisers could be seen as an extension of the creative exercises undertaken by many navies during the treaty-era of ship construction in order to work around the imposed limitations. The impetus behind this specific class of cruisers were to counter the deployment of Germany’s Deutschland-class panzerschiffes and Japan’s Design B-65 cruisers under consideration in the late 1930s: ships that were designed to counter heavy cruisers. Subsequently, in 1938 the General Board of the Navy directed the Bureau of Construction and Repair to initiate studies into designing a ship with the directive to counter these “super cruisers”.

Although superficially resembling the doctrine behind the implementation of battlecruisers in European navies in the early 20th century, the US Navy officially considered this group of surface ships to be quite different. In their eyes, the battlecruisers of old were considered complementary capital ships to battleships; trading armor for speed in order to chase down combatants that the battleships couldn’t catch. These “large cruisers” were seen as up-scaled heavy cruisers; this doctrine showed its influence in the design process. Officially, the class used a unique designation — “CB” — to reflect their status. Furthermore, the proposed ships were named after US territories, reflecting their intermediate nature between cruisers and capital ships.

Due to the inexperience of never having previously designed a “large cruiser”, the entire process was wrought with uncertainty. One of the initial design targets considered was a standard displacement of 25,000 tons; a position between heavy cruisers and battleships. To expedite the process, a plethora of design cues were taken from heavy cruisers. The main armament arrangement was identical, plus the secondary and anti-aircraft suite was very similar to the Baltimore-class of cruisers (despite having a much larger hull). Akin to the New Orleans-class cruisers, the aviation facilities were placed in the center of the ship (as opposed to the stern, like on newer-generation heavy cruisers and battleships). Amusingly - like heavy cruisers - only a single large rudder was considered, which resulted in a poor turning circle bested by battleships and fleet carriers.

Other shortcuts were adopted, included replicating the propulsion machinery of the Essex-class carriers, since they were of similar displacement to the Alaska-class. The combination of 8 boilers and 4 turbines generated 150,000 shaft horsepower and propelled the ships to over 31 knots. The only design similarity to battleships would be the implementation of a columnar tower-style superstructure in order to place fire-control systems high enough to take advantage of the longer ranges attainable by the main armament.

The Alaska-class equipped nine 12-inch, 50 caliber Mark 8 rifles as the main armament, similar to the “cruiser killers” being implemented by the Axis navies. Designed solely for the Alaska-class, they took advantage of ballistic technology being implemented in the early 1940s. For instance, the implementation of a multistage powder hoist allowed for each rifle to hurl a 500kg shell upto 35,000m every twenty to twenty-four seconds. In accordance with the belief that the Alaska-class would be trading gunfire with other cruisers, the armor scheme centered around a nine-inch (228mm) armored belt that would ensure protection against shells up to 11” (279mm) in caliber. But in order to save tonnage, the decision was made to not equip the class with any underwater protection systems; instead, this luxury was reserved for carriers and battleships. This would render the class highly vulnerable to torpedoes, mines, and any short-falling shells. Truly, they were cruisers in the guise of battleships.

The design of the class was finalized in September 1940, and six were ordered as part of the naval expansion programs undertaken by the US Navy prior to their entry into World War II. USS Alaska (CB-1), named after the then-Territory of Alaska, was laid down ten days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at Camden, New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched 15 August 1943 and was formally commissioned into the US Navy on 17 June 1944.

Service

USS Alaska (CB-1) was the first of only two completed "large cruisers" designed primarily to counter Japanese heavy cruisers. Unfortunately, Alaska did not make it to the eastern Pacific in time to take part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the last large-scale sortie the Imperial Japanese Navy could muster. After commissioning, she sailed to the Caribbean for a shakedown cruise, trials, and exercises for the rest of 1944.

On 8 January 1945, Alaska departed California for Hawaii, reaching Pearl Harbor on the 13th. She joined Task Group 58.5, a part of the screening force for Task Force 58, the well-known Fast Carrier Task Force. Alaska was tasked with screening USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Saratoga (CV-3) as the fleet departed for Japan. Following air strikes on Tokyo on 10 February, Alaska was transferred to Task Group 58.4 and assigned to support the assault on Iwo Jima. She screened carriers off Iwo Jima for 19 days, then returning to Ulithi to replenish. Remaining with Task Group 58.4, her next mission was the Battle of Okinawa, where she was to screen USS Yorktown (CV-10) and USS Intrepid (CV-11). It was here that Alaska had her first taste of real combat; the Japanese launched a major retaliatory airstrike on the Allied fleet; Alaska was credited with shooting down two Japanese bombers, one as it attempted to crash into Intrepid. The next day, USS Franklin (CV-13) was crippled by bomb hits and a devastatingly successful kamikaze strike. Alaska — alongside her sister USS Guam (CB-2) and in conjunction with two other cruisers and several destroyers — detached to form Task Group 58.2.9 to escort Franklin back to the safety of Ulithi, after repairs were undertaken to ensure Franklin could make the journey. En route to Ulithi, Franklin again came under attack from another bomber, and her escorts failed to shoot it down. Gunfire from one of Alaska’s 5”/39 Mk 28 Mod 2s guns caused flash burns on nearby sailors, but none died. These constituted the only causalities suffered by Alaska during the war. Alaska took lead of the fleet escorting Franklin, and the following day, her air search radar helped Allied fighters intercept and destroy a Japanese heavy fighter. Alaska and her task force reached Ulithi on 22 March, and she detached to rejoin TG 58.4.

Returning to Okinawa,Alaska continued to screen for the aircraft carriers participating in the subjugation of the island. On 27 March she carried out her first bombardment on the island of Minamidaitou in southern Okinawa. After refueling, she returned to Okinawa to support the landings when they began on 1 April. Throughout April, Alaska claimed several confirmed aircraft kills and several more assists. She arrived back in Ulithi on 14 May to resupply, where she then joined Task Group 38.4, bound again for Okinawa, where Alaska resumed her anti-aircraft defense role. Alaska and Guam bombarded the southern Okinawan island of Oki Daitou, before the fleet steamed for Leyte Gulf for rest and maintenance until mid-July. Alaska then was assigned to Cruiser Task Group 95 alongside Guam, and she steamed for the East China and Yellow Seas to sink Japanese shipping vessels. Her last major wartime service was a raid into the estuary of the Yangtze River off Shanghai to strike Japanese airfields. Both these were met with limited success. Alaska returned to Okinawa, where she remained until the end of the war.

On 30 August 1945, Alaska departed Okinawa for Japan as part of the Seventh Fleet occupation forces. She sailed from Incheon, Korea, to Tsingtao, China, where she supported the 6th Marine Division in their occupation of the area until mid-November; she then returned to Incheon to embark soldiers as part of Operation Magic Carpet. After disembarking soldiers at San Francisco, she left for the Atlantic, returning to the Boston Navy Yard on 18 December 1945. She left Boston on 1 February 1946 for Bayonne, New Jersey, where she would be berthed in reserve. While she was removed from active service on the 13 August 1946, she was not decommissioned until mid-February 1947. There she remained largely forgotten for over a decade, until in 1958 the Bureau of Ships did two feasibility studies to see if Alaska and Guam were suitable for conversion to guided missile cruisers. The conversion process was deemed too expensive, and the proposal was abandoned. Both ships were stricken on 1 June 1960, and sold for scrap to on the 30th. Alaska was awarded four medals, including the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three battle stars.

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  USS Alaska (CB-1) underway.

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  A close-up of Alaska’s forward main gun turrets.

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  A view on Alaska’s hull shortly after her hull was launched.

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  Alaska shortly after the war.