The CLG:s of the Little Rock-class 1960-79

This is a trifle that I like to share with you. Darth Panda and Colosseum in a not too distant past drew the USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) as of 1978/79, i e her last year of commission. However, the u/w hull was (is wrong) and the omission of the ship's boats left something to be desired.
Thus, after some procrastination, but certainly encouraged by the lively discussion regarding another, unrelated missile cruiser in another of my topics, I've made the 'executive' decision to correct some of these flaws and also make the rest of the class, which constituted the Talos-armed USSs Little Rock (CLG-4), Oklahoma City (CLG-5), Providence (CLG-6) and Springfield (CLG-7). If the reactions to these meet with approval, I'll do the two others, non-flagship conversions: Galveston (CLG-3) and Topeka (CLG-8) later.

As for credits, I've kept Darth Panda's, but removed Colosseum, due to the discussion later in this thread about credits. Since I think I've altered sufficient amount of the drawing, and made individual period depiction, I believe it merits to affix my tag though; especially, since being done with the Talos ships, I'll start the Terrier-armed ones.
I've decided to keep all updates and addition on page one, and just adjusting the text accordingly. Thus here are the two Talos variants:

USS Little Rock (CLG-4) depicted at commissioning, 1960, shipping the enormous SPS-2 on the aft platform, the early SPS-39 3D on her main mast and the air/surface search SPS-17 on her foremast with an SPS-10 beneath. This is how the ship looked like during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when she was the flagship of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean:
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Her sister, USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) as she appeared in 1962. She missed the Cuban incident since she was, at the time, deployed on the US West Coast, undergoing a refit. The notable difference is the provision of the SPS-8B radar in lieu of the SPS-2. By 1964 she also carried the SPS-37A, a radar that Little Rock had received already in 1962:
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...and here the Okie Boat is shown as she appeared between 1963 to 76. She is noticible for carrying the enormously complicated, nightmarish, and, in the end, completely useless FAST-crane/refuelling station on top of the missile house. The Little Rock did have it too, but it disappeared from her "fast" enough (pun intentional!), by ca. 1970, only to be used thereafter most intermittently. Also, the COM Seventh Fleet's personal launch can be seen latched aside the Talos missile housing. It was during these years, 1965 to 1975 that she patrolled the so-called PIRAZ-station in the Bay of Tonkin, off the coast of Vietnam.
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Little Rock, again, but this time as she appeared between 1967-76. In that latter year she was decommissioned and later stricken off the Navy List, eventually becoming a museum ship at Buffalo, NY. Here she ships the SPS-37A, but on her aft platform she has the SPS-30 height finder. Noticable is the 40' Personnel boat she has stowed on her missile deck! This was the personal 'barge' of the Commander US Six Fleet (COM Sixth Fleet) Many of these cruisers sailed with one or even two extra boats in this fashion!
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Lastly I give you the Oklahoma City, or 'Okie Boat' as she was affectionately known as by her crew, during her last stint of service, 1978/79, as Flagship US Seventh Fleet.
She has the same electronics outfit as the Little Rock, save an ECM installation on an outrigger adjacent to the foremast. She also carries two satellite antennae; one is the square OE-82 on her bridge deck. Notice a reduction in bridge work, the removal of the Mk37 director and also a reduction in boats carried.
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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

I do not really see the need to change the underwater hulls, could you please tell me why it needed modification?
also, I have never seen these mentioned as little rock class, but as galveston, providence or simply still clevelant class ships. I agree they differ a lot, but it seems easier to keep the names as they were used operationally, don't you think?

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
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Actually Stefan Terzibaschitsch uses the classification "Little Rock-class"; some use, as you mentioned "Providence"-class, though the class-leader was the Little Rock. Considering the radical nature of their rebuilt, I don't think it's appropriate to term them anymore as "Cleveland"-class or even modified such. But, again, this is how I've interpreted the confusion regarding what to call this particular class.
As for the underwater hull, yes, there was a really urgent need to replace it! On the original Okie-boat, it's simply too, way too deep; has the wrong forefoot, doesn't depict the stern right and have too short stabiliser fins. I think especially Colo will agree with me here. There's a very good reason why he took the trouble to redraw the Clevelands; to achieve their correct dimensions!
Hence why I did it, but, really, in all honesty, I did it mainly for myself. I only wanted to share...

Actually there were two variants, the first Little Rock City which had Talos, and ghe second like the Providence which had Terrier. The two variants had noticeble differences in their radars and masts arrangements, and to add to the confusion each subtype had a flagship variant and plain ship variant.

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Thank you Kim for the crest

"Never fear to try on something new. Remember that the Titanic was built by professionals, and the Ark by an amateur"

Well, while you're technically correct there, my dear Novice, there's still considerable confusion reigning about the exact classification, since the aforementioned Terrier-armed, non-flagship conversion (Topeka (CLG-8)) is equally often lumped together with her Talos cousin, the Galveston! I'm following Terzibaschitsch's simplified classification: Little Rock-class and Galveston-class. And it's based on which (four) were rebuilt as flagships, regardless of their principal missile-armament, and which (two) were not.

bezo, note that I will expect an belowdeck drawing of the terrier system on board these ship

it should be the same size as the talos system on those ships, which I have already in the belowdeck parts thread.
I would also suggest an slightly darker wire colour near the boats.
the difference in hull size was of course not found on my qick comparision between the 2 drawings, so I understand it now. I suppose you took colo's hull here?

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin

Haha...you're all sooo funny, ace! I betcha I can do that though...though I don't have that layering fancy-pancy stuff that you've got. And, yup, I knicked Colo's terrific u/w hull. Not that it matter, since he is, after all, one of the original artists!

layering is not neccesary for anything I draw, except for own designs where I need to work with belowdeck stuff and calculation graphs, which are not on the final drawing. for all other, it comes handy but you can achieve the same.

also, I will already be quite happy with the system 'cut' from the ship, but best would be to have it with top view and magazine/assembly/finning spaces shown. as these ships are the only ones fitted with exaclty this launcher, I will not visit her myself, hence why I ask you....... and I think you can do it, as only a good knowledge and research is required, which you seem to handle fine most of the time

_________________
Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin

She looks good, but I have always seen the ships referred to as the Providence and the Galveston class ships - even though Galveston and Topeka were not refit with the command spaces.

On a side note, and this is as good of a time as any, I found the official colors for the US flag, and have rendered the Shipbucket US flag in said colors:

[ img ]

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The CLG:s of the Little Rock-class 1960-79

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