USS Des Moines ( CA - 134 ) The second USS " Des Moines " ( CA - 134 ) was the lead ship of the " Des Moines " - class heavy cruiser s in the United States Navy . Construction . " Des Moines " was launched 27 September 1946 by Bethlehem Steel Company , Fore River Shipyard , Quincy , Massachusetts ; sponsored by Mrs . E . T . Meredith , Jr . ; and commissioned 16 November 1948 , Captain A . D . Chandler in command . She became the first of her class to mount the semi - automatic Mark 16 8 inch turrets and carry the new Sikorsky HO3S - 1 utility helicopter s in place of seaplane s . It was named after the capital of the state of Iowa . Naval Service . In a varied operating schedule designed to maintain the readiness of the Navy to meet the constant demands of defense and foreign policy , " Des Moines " cruised from her home port at Newport , Rhode Island and after 1950 , from Norfolk , Virginia on exercises of every type in the Caribbean , along the East Coast , in the Mediterranean Sea , and in $ 3 waters . Annually between 1949 and 1957 she deployed to the Mediterranean , during the first seven years serving as flagship for the 6th Task Fleet ( known as the 6th Fleet from 1950 ) . In 1952 , and each year from 1954 to 1957 , she carried midshipmen for summer training cruises , crossing to Northern European ports on the first four cruises . She also sailed to Northern Europe on NATO exercises in 1952 , 1953 , and 1955 . On 18 February 1958 , she cleared Norfolk for the Mediterranean once more , this time to remain as flagship for the 6th Fleet until July 1961 when was placed out of commission in reserve . Through her Mediterranean services " Des Moines " contributed significantly to the success of the 6th Fleet in representing American power and interests in the countries of Southern Europe , Northern Africa , and the Near East . She made this contribution through such activities as her participation in NATO Mediterranean exercises ; her call to seldom - visited Rijeka , Yugoslavia , in December 1950 and Dubrovnik , Yugoslavia , in May 1960 , and to many other ports as a regular feature of her schedule ; her cruising in the eastern Atlantic during the wake of the Suez Crisis of 1956 ; and service on patrol and as control center for American forces in the Lebanon crisis of 1958 . Film footage of her cruising with other ships of the United States 6th Fleet was used in the introduction and conclusion of the movie : " John Paul Jones " starring Robert Stack ( Warner Brothers - 1959 ) . Decommissioning . After decommissioning in 1961 she was mothballed in the South Boston Naval Annex and eventually laid up in the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Philadelphia in maintained reserve . In 1981 Congress directed that the Navy conduct a survey to determine if she and sistership USS Salem could be reactivated to support the 600 ship fleet proposed by the Reagan Administration . After an attempt to turn her into a museum ship in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , failed , she was towed to Brownsville , Texas , for scrapping , and arrived there 7 September . By July 2007 , she had been completely broken up . Her status officially changed to " disposed of by scrapping , dismantling " on 16 August 2007 . Two of her dual 5 " / 38 gun mounts were donated to the museum in Corpus Christi , TX , where they can now be seen on display . Her sister ship was scrapped in New Orleans in 1993 . The third " Des Moines " - class ship , the , is a museum ship in Quincy , Massachusetts .