The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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|
 ONI 222 |
| Tonnage | 10,600
tons standard displacement |
| Dimensions | 608'3"
by 61'10" by 25' 185.39m by 18.85m by 7.62m |
| Maximum speed | 32.5 knots |
| Complement | 929 |
| Aircraft | 2
catapults 4 seaplanes |
| Armament | 3x3 8"/55 guns 8x1 5"/38 dual-purpose guns 2x4 1.1"/75 AA guns 8 0.50 machine guns |
| Protection | 1437 tons: 6" (152mm) belt backed by STS steel 6" (152mm) bulkheads 2.25" (57mm) deck 8"/3.75"/2.75" (203mm/95mm/70mm) turret front/side/roof 7" (178mm) barbettes 6" (152mm) conning tower |
| Machinery |
4-shaft Parsons geared
turbine
(100,000 shp) 8 Babcock & Wilcox boilers |
| Bunkerage | 1984 tons fuel oil |
| Range | 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) at 15 knots |
| Sensors |
Radar
(likely SC) |
| Modifications |
Radar regularly updated 1943-11: 1.1" guns replaced with 4x4, 2x2 40mm Bofors AA guns and 18x1 20mm Oerlikon AA guns 1945: 2x2 40mm guns added |
The Wichita was
completed in 1939 at Philadelphia Navy
Yard. She was an excellent design considering that she had to
live under the treaty
restrictions. She was basically an improved Brooklyn
with
8" guns and heavier armor than any of her foreign
counterparts. She had good range and improved antiaircraft arcs of fire,
and
she had conical barbettes to permit the use of turrets with wider
gun
separation without exceeding space and weight constraints. These
new
turrets reduced dispersion of shot, which had long been a problem
with
U.S. 8" gun turrets. However, like
too many American
designs, she ended up somewhat top-heavy, and her machinery
dispersal
was
inadequate. Her lack of stability restricted wartime
modifications.
Wichita was deployed to the Pacific in December 1942.
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References
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