Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 34:23-35:36

Why sister ships Omaha and Memphis differed

USS Omaha and the later USS Memphis did not have identical standard displacement even though their full-load figures were nearly the same.

Omaha Class CruisersUS NavyUSS MemphisUSS OmahaWarship Construction
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Question

Were there differences between USS Omaha and USS Memphis?

Short answer

Yes. Their published standard displacements differed despite nearly identical full-load figures, and variation is unsurprising across a large class built over time.

Notes

USS Omaha and USS Memphis were not truly identical. Published figures place Omaha at about 7,620 tons standard and the later Memphis around 7,163 tons, even though their full-load displacements were almost identical at roughly 9,660 tons. Memphis was the last ship completed in a large class, so construction and recorded characteristics could diverge from the lead ship. A class name describes a design family rather than guaranteeing that every sister ship has precisely the same measured displacement or details.