Brooklyn - class cruiser The " Brooklyn " - class cruisers were seven light cruiser s of the United States Navy that served during World War II . Armed with 5 ( three forward , two aft ) triple turret s mounting 6 - inch guns , they and their two near sisters of the " St . Louis " class mounted more heavy - caliber guns than any other US cruisers . The " Brooklyn " s were all commissioned during 1937 and 1938 in the time between the start of the war in Asia and before the outbreak of war in Europe . They served extensively in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters during World War II . Though some were heavily damaged , all survived the war . All were decommissioned shortly after the end of the war , and five were transferred in 1951 to South American navies , where they served for many more years . One of these , the " General Belgrano " , formerly the , was sunk during the Falklands War in the 1980s . The " Brooklyn " - class ships were a strong influence on US cruiser design . Nearly all subsequent US cruisers , heavy and light , were directly or indirectly based on them . Design . The " Brooklyn " s arose from the London Naval Treaty of 1930 , which limited the construction of heavy cruisers , i . e . , ships carrying guns with caliber s between 6 . 1 inches and 8 inches . The United States did not favor this outcome , being of the opinion that the heavier - gunned ships more suited its Pacific needs . Design started in 1930 , with the first four of the class ordered in 1933 and an additional three ships in 1934 . Basic criteria had been that speed and range should match heavy cruisers and , when the Japanese " Mogami " - class cruiser s carrying fifteen six - inch main guns appeared , the new U . S . ships would match their weaponry . Various combinations of armor and power plants were tried in the efforts to stay below the Treaty 10 , 000 ton limit . The six - inch guns were of a new design , the Mk 16 which could fire a 130 - pound shell up to 26 , 100 yards ( nearly 23 , 900 metres ) . The intention to mount 1 . 1 inch anti - aircraft guns was frustrated and the requirement was not fully met until 1943 : interim solutions had to be accepted . From 1942 , the bridge structure was lowered and radar was fitted . Increased anti - aircraft weaponry was specified ( four quadruple plus four twin 40 mm mountings ) but not met . In practice there were varied mixes of 20 mm and 40 mm mountings , 28 40 mm ( 4x4 , 6x2 ) and twenty 20 mm ( 10x2 ) being the most common . The two ships of the " St . Louis " - class were modified " Brooklyn " s ( exploiting new boiler design , redesigned armor , and secondary armament placed to four twin mounts ) , while was a heavy cruiser version ( as permitted by the London Treaty ) . The two wartime cruiser classes , " Baltimore " and " Cleveland " , were based on the " Wichita " - class and the " St . Louis " - class , respectively . Also derived from the " Brooklyn " design were the " Fargo " , " Oregon City " , and " Des Moines " cruisers . Thus the vast majority of cruisers built by the United States during World War II are derived from the " Brooklyn " design . In addition the " Independence " class of light aircraft carriers , which were converted from " Cleveland " class cruisers , and the " Saipan " light carriers used the basic form of the " Baltimore " class cruiser design . War service . Several " Brooklyns " were seriously damaged during the war , but all of the cruisers survived . was severely damaged by a shell in her forward turret magazine during the Battle of Cape Esperance on 11 October 1942 , suffering many casualties but luckily the shell did not explode . was hit by a " kamikaze " attack on 13 December 1944 off Mindoro which killed or wounded 310 crewmen . was torpedoed at the Battle of Kolombangara on July 12 – 13 , 1943 , as was her near - sister . After being repaired in the United States , " Honolulu " returned to service only to be torpedoed by a Japanese aircraft on 20 October 1944 during the invasion of Leyte . On 11 September 1943 was hit by a German Fritz X radio guided bomb which penetrated her # 3 turret and blew out the bottom of the ship . Skillful damage control by her crew saved her from sinking . While under repair in the United States , " Savannah " was rebuilt with a bulged hull that increased her beam by nearly 8 feet and her 5 inch guns were reinstalled as four twins . Post - war . All ships of the class were deactivated by early 1947 . Except for " Honolulu " and " Savannah " , which were deemed unsuitable due to wartime damage and sold for scrap in 1959 and 1966 , respectively , the rest were sold to South American countries in the early 1950s and served for many more years : " Brooklyn " and " Nashville " to Chile , " Philadelphia " to Brazil , and " Boise " and " Phoenix " to Argentina . ARA " General Belgrano " ( ex - " Phoenix " ) , was torpedoed and sunk by during the Falklands War , while " O ' Higgins " ( ex - " Brooklyn " ) remained in service with the Chilean Navy until 1992 . She sank under tow ( on her way to the scrappers ) in the mid Pacific in 1994 .