Albany Class Cruiser - Weapons and Systems

Weapons and Systems

The weapon systems carried included the Mk 77 missile fire-control system with four AN/SPG-49 fire-control radars and two Mk 12 twin launchers for their armament of 104 Talos long-range surface-to-air missiles, one forward and one aft. These cruisers also carried an armament of 84 shorter-ranged Tartar missiles launched from two Mk 11 twin launchers, one to the port of and one to the starboard of the cruiser's main superstructure. The Tartar missiles were controlled by the Mk 74 missile fire-control system with four AN/SPG-51 fire-control radars. Some space was allocated amidships on these cruisers for the possible installation of eight Polaris missiles, but the concept to add these ballistic missiles were dropped in mid-1959.

For anti-submarine warfare (ASW), one eight-cell Mk 112 "matchbox" ASROC missile launcher was installed amidships on each of these cruisers, located between their two stacks. Also for ASW purposes, two triple Mk 32 torpedo tubes for the Mk 46 ASW torpedo were installed.

These cruisers were initially converted into all-missile warships with no naval guns, but later on, two open-mount Mk 24 5-inch 38 calibre guns were added to the port side and the starboard side, near their aft exhaust stacks.

In the late 1960s Chicago and Albany underwent major engineering overhauls and both the missile systems (Talos and Tartar) had new digital fire control system upgrades to handle the increasing threat from Soviet Navy anti-ship cruise missiles and aircraft. Columbus did not receive these missile system upgrades due to lack of funding. The Talos system was deactivated on the Albany class (leaving them with the Tartar as the only SAM system operational) and all other ships in the fleet that carried it during 1976.

In late 1979 the two surviving ships (Chicago and Albany) were scheduled for massive overhauls. SM-1 (MR) missiles (which were to replace the Tartar system), as well as 2 Phalanx CIWS and 2 four-cell Harpoon missile launchers were planned to be installed, as well as a major refitting of the ships machinery, structure, and electronics. The funding appropriated for this work was diverted however, to other ships and both cruisers were finally decommissioned in 1980.