U.S.S. Oregon City

**In a sense born from the demise of the famed U.S.S. OREGON , came a subsequent combatant to bear the name "Oregon".**

Around the second week of December 1942 local papers in Oregon reported that the scrap value of the museum ship Oregon was too great for the navy to ignore. Hard pressed for raw materials, the scrapping of the Oregon was in the best interest of national security. While this blow was still being absorbed by the local populace of Portland, Oregon. Up the Willamette river in Oregon City, Mayor W. G. H. Krueger received a letter from Secretary of the Navy, Frank G. Knox informing him that the name "Oregon City " would be assigned to a heavy cruiser ordered from Bethlehem steel Co. of Fall River Mass .

Since the name Oregon couldn't be assigned to a battleship as the last battleship to be made had already been named (battleships are usually named for states). And since cruisers are named for cities, "Oregon City" was the name selected for the heavy cruiser. It's the smallest city ever to have a cruiser named for it.

In Oregon City the Chamber of Commerce was eager to comply with the traditions associated with having a naval namesake. President J.B. Caldwell appointed a committee to ascertain what in the way of naval tradition was expected from the city as far as launching and outfitting a naval cruiser. O.D. Eby headed the committee as chairman with Alden Miller, R. Morris Holman and D. Thomas Hoxle as assistants. Later in early 1946 when R. Morris Holman headed the committee he announced that the gift to the Oregon City had been installed. The gift was a complete broadcasting and loudspeaker system that was housed in it's own compartment (as rooms are called aboard ships) along with a record player and various records. This system was separate from the "1MC" official communication system and is for the entertainment of the crew.

When the Oregon City was launched it was 673'5" long (almost twice as long as the Oregon) and over 70' wide. She displaced 17,070 tons when fully loaded (13,000 empty) and could carry 1,142 officers and men. Her draft was 26'4" and her top speed was 32.6 knots (about 36 mph). Her armament included 9 eight inch guns, 12 five inch guns, forty-eight 40mm and twenty 20mm. She was also the namesake of the newest class of cruisers the Oregon City class. Her two sister ships were the Albany and the Rochester. Present at the launching in Quincy, Mass. was Mrs. Raymond Caufield who as sponsor christened the ship. Mrs. Caufield was selected by the city council and the chamber of commerce for this honored task.

No official representatives from Oregon City were able to attend the commissioning of the Oregon City, that occurred eight months later on 16 February 1946. Capt. Burnett K. Culver of Knoxville, Iowa took command. A message sent to the commissioning ceremony to be read was from City Commissioner and former Mayor William G. H. Krueger. It read:

"The citizens of Oregon City take great pride in the commissioning of the U.S.S. Oregon City. Accept our congratulations and best wishes, and extend to your men our sincere assurance of continuing interest in their travels and welfare."

Although the Oregon City was the largest and most advanced cruiser at the time, it was launched too late to participate in the war. Also, after the war new technologies were finding their way onto the drafting tables of naval engineers. Some of these technologies were implemented in the next successive class of heavy cruiser the Des Moines class. All of the Des Moines classes' guns were fully automatic for example. In addition after the war military cutbacks had to be made. So, unfortunately the Oregon City's active duty life was a short one. She participated in a few training exercises before being decommissioned in Philadelphia on the 15th of December 1947. She remained berthed in Philadelphia until she was sold for scrap on August 17, 1973. Prior to that she was stricken from the Naval Register on November 1, 1970.