Okay, let’s take a break from carriers for a week (or however long it takes me to actually churn one of these out!). Meet USS Bremerton, a Baltimore-class Heavy Cruiser commissioned just before WWII ended, and which instead saw service in the Korean war, made a significant visit to Taiwan, and almost lived a second life as an Albany-class guided missile cruiser.
Of course, if you’re of a certain age and musical taste, the first thing you thought of on seeing the name Bremerton was MxPx’s song Move to Bremerton (what? It’s just me? Fine. I’m linking the YouTube video anyway, BECAUSE I CAN!).
But really, is this whole post just inspired by finding a great cosplay thread of Chinese cosplayer Benmomo wearing Bremerton’s “tennis” outfit? I’ll let you, the reader, make that determination.
In the real world, Bremerton (CA-130) was commissioned April 29, 1945. She made a shakedown cruise near Guantanamo Bay, then was used as a part of some experimental work near Maine through October 1945, by which time World War II was over. She was reactivated during the Korean War and provided fire support during 7th Fleet operations. Her primary armament was nine 8” guns set in three triple turrets, two forward and one aft.
In Azur Lane, OTOH, Bremerton and her sister Baltimore-class shipgirls are a core part of the Eagle Union’s advanced fleets that have been focused on taking down the Siren threat. She is often a part of New Jersey’s attack fleet, and likes to help out her commander whenever possible.
Perhaps at some point we’ll get a guided missile retrofit option for Bremerton. Then again, the real USS Bremerton was eventually succeeded by a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine, so maybe if Azur Lane gets that far in history, we’ll see a Bremerton II.
