Description and Construction
Guam was authorized under the Fleet Expansion Act on 19 July 1940, and ordered on 9 September. She was laid down on 2 February 1942 at the New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey. She was launched on 12 November 1943, after which fitting-out work was effected. The ship was completed by September 1944, and she was commissioned into the US Navy on 17 September, under the command of Captain Leland Lovette. She cost the US Navy $67,053,828 at her completion.
The ship was 808 feet 6 inches (246.43 m) long overall and had a beam of 91 ft 1 in (27.76 m) and a draft of 31 ft 10 in (9.70 m). She displaced 29,779 long tons (30,257 t) as designed and up to 34,253 long tons (34,803 t) at full combat load. The ship was powered by four General Electric geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller, and eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers rated at 150,000 shaft horsepower (110,000 kW) and a top speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at a speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph). She carried four floatplanes, housed in two hangars, with a pair of aircraft catapults mounted amidships.
The ship was armed with a main battery of nine 12 inch L/50 Mark 8 guns in three triple gun turrets, two in a superfiring pair forward and one aft of the superstructure. The secondary battery consisted of twelve 5-inch L/38 dual-purpose guns in six twin turrets. Two were placed on the centerline superfiring over the main battery turrets, fore and aft, and the remaining four turrets were placed on the corners of the superstructure. The light anti-aircraft battery consisted of 56 quad-mounted 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns and 34 single-mounted 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon guns. A pair of Mk 34 gun directors aided gunlaying for the main battery, while two Mk 37 directors controlled the 5-inch guns and a Mk 57 director aided the 40 mm guns. The main armored belt was 9 in (229 mm) thick, while the gun turrets had 12.8 in (325 mm) thick faces. The main armored deck was 4 in (102 mm) thick.
Guam was laid down on 2 February 1942 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, in Camden, New Jersey, launched on 12 November 1943, and commissioned on 17 September 1944. She received the first operational SC Seahawk floatplanes in October.
Read more about this topic: USS Guam (CB-2)
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