Columbus exposes an uneven conversion learning curve

Columbus provides the class's clearest before-and-after operational contrast. As a gun cruiser she patrolled the Taiwan Strait amid confrontation with Communist China; after conversion she spent a much quieter guided-missile career in the Pacific. Her comparatively short rebuild raises questions about the program's learning curve because the second conversion was faster while the third, Chicago, still took five years. Her Tall Lady nickname records how conspicuous the new superstructure was to sailors and observers.