USS Columbus ( CA - 74 ) The third USS " Columbus " ( CA - 74 ) , a " Baltimore " - class heavy cruiser , was the second ship of the United States Navy named for Columbus , Ohio . She was launched on 30 November 1944 by Bethlehem Steel Co . , Quincy , Massachusetts ; she was sponsored by Mrs . E . G . Meyers ; and commissioned on 8 June 1945 , Captain Allen Hobbs in command . History . As CA - 74 . 30 November 1944 – 8 May 1959 Joining the Pacific Fleet , " Columbus " reached Tsingtao , China , on 13 January 1946 for occupation duty . On 1 April , she helped to sink 24 Japanese submarines , prizes of war , and next day sailed for San Pedro , California . For the remainder of the year , she operated in west coast waters , then made a second Far Eastern cruise from 15 January to 12 June 1947 . After west coast operations and an overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , " Columbus " cleared Bremerton on 12 April 1948 to join the Atlantic Fleet , arriving at Norfolk , Va . , on 19 May . Columbus made two cruises as flagship of Commander - in - Chief , Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean , from 13 September 1948 to 15 December 1949 and from 12 June 1950 to 5 October 1951 , and one as flagship of Supreme Allied Commander , Atlantic , during parts of NATO Operation Mainbrace from 25 August to 29 September 1952 . She cruised in the Mediterranean from October 1952 through January 1953 , serving part of that time as flagship of the 6th Fleet . Now flagship of Cruiser Division 6 , she returned to the Mediterranean from September 1954 to January 1955 . Between deployments , " Columbus " received necessary overhauls and carried out training operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean . Reassigned to the Pacific Fleet , " Columbus " cleared Boston , Massachusetts , on 8 November 1955 for Long Beach , California , where she arrived on 2 December . Just a month later , on 5 January 1956 , she sailed for Yokosuka , Japan , and operated with the 7th Fleet until she returned to Long Beach on 8 July . " Columbus " made two more cruises to the Far East in 1957 and 1958 . During the late summer of 1958 , her presence was a reminder of American strength and interest as she patrolled the Taiwan Straits during the crisis brought on by the renewed shelling of the offshore islands by the Chinese communists . On 8 May 1959 , " Columbus " went out of commission at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to begin her conversion to a guided missile cruiser . As CG - 12 . 30 September 1959 – 31 January 1975 On 30 September 1959 , the USS Columbus was retrofitted as an " Albany " class Guided Missile Cruiser , joining the USS " Albany " ( CG - 10 ) and USS " Chicago " ( CG - 11 ) as the only three ships of this line , and reclassified CG - 12 . The USS " Columbus " ( CG - 12 ) was subsequently recommissioned on 1 December 1962 ( following a much shorter conversion period than either " Chicago " or " Albany " ) , and her first deployment was to the western Pacific in August 1964 . The 1959 " Albany " - class refit of the USS Columbus left CG - 12 with the following armaments : Flagship . The " Columbus " served as Flagship COMCRUDESFLOT throughout 1966 , after assignment to the Atlantic Fleet at the start of that year . From 1966 until 1974 , Columbus deployed to the Mediterranean seven times . Unlike the other members of the " Albany class " that had been converted to guided missile cruisers , the ship was not modernised in 1970 , instead receiving some heavy maintenance to keep her operational . Upon return from her final Mediterranean deployment on 31 May 1974 , she entered port and began preparations for deactivation and decommissioning . After serving for 29 . 5 years , " Columbus " was decommissioned on 31 January 1975 , stricken from the Navy List on 9 August 1976 and sold for scrapping on 3 October 1977 , to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp . , and scrapped in Port Newark , NJ .