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USS Little Rock (CL-92) became a late-World War 2 entry for the United States Navy (USN), arriving when victory over Japan in the Pacific was becoming an ever-greater possibility with each passing month. Her keel was laid down on March 6th, 1943 by Cramp Shipbuilding Company and the hull was launched on August 27th, 1944. Not formally commissioned until June 17th, 1945, the warship missed out on all actions related to the global conflict - instead becoming a critical USN player in the Cold War (1947-1991) that followed instead.

USS Little Rock belonged the Cleveland-class group of fighting surface warships, these hulls being "light cruisers" by definition and out of the fifty-two planned, just twenty-seven were completed. All twenty-seven went on to see retirement and, for her part, Little Rock saw a further evolution as a missile carrier before the end.

As built, the ship displaced 12,000 tons, had a length of 608 feet, a beam of 66.3 feet, and a draught down to 25.7 feet. Aboard was a crew of 1,255 personnel. Power was developed through 4 x Steam boilers feeding 4 x Geared turbines generating 100,000 horsepower to 4 x Shafts astern. This gave the warship speeds of 33 knots in open water (assuming ideal conditions) and the vessel could range out to 11,000 nautical miles giving her a good "legs" at sea. Armor protection reached up to 5" at the belt, 2" at the deck, 6" at the barbettes and turrets, and 5" at the conning tower. A pair of catapults were seated over the stern and this supported up to four recoverable floatplanes to be used for Over-the-Horizon (OtH) work - whether spotting for artillery, hunting submarines, or reconnoitering the ocean terrain ahead.

The armament suite comprised 12 x 6" (152mm) /47 caliber main guns set about four triple-gunned turrets. This was backed by 12 x 5" (127mm) /38 caliber secondary guns in six twin-gunned turrets. Following the frontline armament were 16 x 40mm Bofors automatic cannons in four quad-gunned emplacements and an additional 12 x 40mm guns in six twin-gunned emplacements. Up to 21 x 20mm Oerlikon Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns were situated across the exposed decks of the ship, giving the ship a lethal network of guns to meet any aerial threat.

Well-armed, reasonably fast, and well-protected, USS Little Rock was a warship to be reckoned with.

Because of her late entry onto the scene (World War 2 ended in August/September of 1945), USS Little Rock entered retirement with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in 1949. On May 23rd, 1957, her CL-92 hull classification was changed to "CLG-4" and the vessel was recommissioned into service on June 3rd, 1960. Now modified with nuclear-capable Mark 7 "Talos" Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) in a single twin-launcher unit (up to 46 reloads carried), Little Rock joined five other Cleveland-class cruisers in becoming dedicated guided-missile cruisers at a time when the missile was quickly becoming the prevalent ranged weapon of the future.

Her final weapons arrangement became 3 x 6" main guns, 2 x 5" secondary guns, and 1 x Talos SAM twin-launcher.

USS Little Rock's career spanned from 1961 until 1976 when she undertook a series of deployments, some involving NATO. In 1976, the USN gave up use of the Talos missile system which briefly opened the door for Little Rock (now classified as "CG-4") to be modernized with an all-new weapons set and propulsion system. However, after review, the plan was shelved and the warship decommissioned for good on November 22nd, 1976.

Unlike other warships of the World War 2 and early Cold War periods, USS Little Rock did not fall to the scrapman's torch. Instead, she was preserved as a floating museum alongside the wartime destroyer USS The Sullivans. Today she resides at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park.©MilitaryFactory.com

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