In the crucible of the Second World War, the United States Navy found itself rapidly evolving to meet the challenges of a global conflict. A striking product of this transformation was the creation of the Alaska-class cruisers, a trio of warships that stirred debate from their inception to their early retirement and continue to fascinate naval historians and enthusiasts to this day.
During the period leading up to the Japanese strike at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the US Navy was racing to build a fleet capable of taking on the Germans in the Atlantic and the Japanese in the Pacific. There were real concerns that the Americans would have to fight both at the same time and possibly alone if the Allies were defeated before the United States entered the war. Although a few small naval construction bills had made it through an isolationist US Congress during the 1930s, it took the Germans overrunning France in six weeks and the Japanese threatening American possessions across the Pacific to get the government to react. On July 19, 1940, the US passed the Vinson-Walsh Act, better known as the Two-Ocean Navy Act, which immediately increased the size of the US Navy by 70 percent. Among the most notable provisions of this legislation were the construction of 18 aircraft carriers, seven battleships, and six Alaska-class cruisers.
The Alaska-class cruisers were conceived in response to rumors of Japanese and German cruisers that could outgun and outrun American heavy cruisers. These ships were dubbed “cruiser-killers,” designed to escort the US Navy’s new fast carrier task forces and protect them against enemy surface combatants or aircraft. Compared to the standard American heavy cruiser design at the time, the Alaska class was a behemoth. Measuring 808 feet long and weighing 29,771 tons, they were armed with nine 12-inch guns, as opposed to the nine 8-inch guns of a Baltimore-class cruiser, providing them with a significant firepower advantage.
Despite this, the Alaska-class cruisers were not without their shortcomings. They lacked a torpedo defense system, leaving them vulnerable to attacks by German U-boats or the infamous Japanese Type 93 “Long Lance” torpedoes, which posed a constant worry. Nevertheless, they were designated as “large cruisers” with the hull classification symbol “CB” and were named after US territories, not states or cities, reflecting their unique status.
As the war progressed, the reality of naval combat quickly changed. The importance of aircraft carriers became increasingly evident, and as a result, the Alaska-class cruisers’ primary mission evolved.
Once commissioned, the Alaska and Guam saw service in the Pacific, joining up with Task Force 58 at the Ulithi Atoll fleet anchorage in early 1945. By this point, the Imperial Japanese Navy had been largely decimated, so the Alaska-class ships provided anti-aircraft defense for the aircraft carriers and took part in shore bombardment missions during the campaigns of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Though they were built for surface combat against enemy cruisers, they never had the opportunity to fulfill this role. The closest they came to action was during the battles against Japanese kamikaze suicide planes, where they demonstrated formidable air defense capabilities.
Post-war, Alaska, and Guam were relegated to Operation Magic Carpet duties, carrying American servicemen back from the Pacific. With the conflict over, the Navy found itself with a surplus of ships. Consequently, the Alaska-class cruisers were considered relics of a bygone era, obsolete before their service truly began. They were placed in reserve in New Jersey, sitting idle until scrapped in the 1960s.
The Alaska-class cruisers had very short service careers and combat history, with Alaska being active for 32 months and Guam for only 29. Their existence and usefulness were hotly debated then, and the debate continues even today.
Relevant articles:
– Not Really a Cruiser, Not Really a Battleship, but Never a Battlecruiser: The Story of the US Navy’s Alaska-Class, The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, Apr 14, 2020
– Alaska class large cruisers (1943), Naval Encyclopedia, Apr 29, 2023
– Alaska-Class: The Battlecruisers the U.S. Navy Should Never Have Built, The National Interest, Nov 22, 2023
– American battlecruisers of the Alaska class, TracesOfWar.com, Aug 6, 2023