[Coming soon] The USS Albany missile cruiser: a pioneer in conversion

USS Albany – the first US cruiser converted from a regular cruiser to a missile carrier!

Historical note

The USS Albany entered service with the US Navy in June 1946 as a light cruiser. During the first period of its service, it mainly performed representative and training functions, making regular voyages to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the 6th Fleet, along the east coast of the United States, and to the Caribbean.

A radical transformation of the ship began in 1958 in Boston. During the renovation, the cruiser was given a completely new design and modern RIM-8 Talos and RIM-24 Tartar missile systems. In 1962, the ship returned to service as CG-10, the lead ship in a new class of missile cruisers. Many experts consider this conversion from a regular ship to a missile carrier to be the first and most extensive of its kind.

After a second modernization in 1967-1968, Albany continued to serve actively, including as the flagship of the 2nd and 6th US Fleets, based in Gaeta, Italy. Despite serious plans to convert the ship into a museum in Albany, the last ship of this class was scrapped in 1990, ending its 44-year service history.

USS Albany (Rank VI)

The American USS Albany is unusual not only for its history, but also for its missiles: fundamentally new missiles will appear on this ship.

The USS Albany's main armament will be two twin Tartar missile launchers, unique in WTM. However, the two twin Talos missile launchers with combined guidance systems are capable of inflicting significantly greater damage. They are comparable in power to the Harpoon anti-ship missile.

Since the USS Albany will encounter other missile ships, electronic warfare systems will be deployed to suppress enemy missiles.

The USS Albany will be equipped with two 127-mm universal guns in single mounts, as well as two triple 324-mm torpedo tubes for close combat.

Despite its relatively large size and average maneuverability, the USS Albany is a very nimble ship. It is capable of launching swift attacks, quickly emerging from behind islands or rocks, and just as quickly disappearing from enemy sight.

The missile cruiser USS Albany will take its deserved place among the best ships of the US Navy in the game. The combination of automatic guidance, high missile damage, and good ship dynamics will make the USS Albany one of the main damage dealers in any battle!

*Vehicle specifications and camouflages are still work in progress and may differ on release.

The USS Albany (Rank VI) will be introduced in the upcoming seasonal update of War Thunder Mobile (WTM).