She was originally classified as a scout cruiser. She was the second US Navy ship named for the city of Omaha, Nebraska , the first being Omaha , a screw sloop launched in Omaha spent most of her career in the Pacific.
At this time her primary mission was training, and she proved to be very capable by consistently winning fleet awards in gunnery and communications. She made many ports-of-call throughout the Pacific, Mediterranean and Caribbean during her peacetime cruises, displaying the Stars and Stripes. Nearly a month before the US entered the war she captured the German blockade runner SS Odenwald , for which her crew won an award in salvage from a federal court sitting as a court of admiralty.
After the US entered the war she continued her activities of guarding convoys in the Atlantic between South America and Western Africa. During this time she sank two German blockade runners and was responsible for rescuing many crewmen whose ships had been sunk by Axis submarines and merchant raiders.
In , she sailed for the Mediterranean to support Operation Dragoon , the invasion of the south of France. After the war she was quickly deemed surplus and scrapped at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in February She was launched on 14 December Omaha was sponsored by Louise Bushnell White, a descendant of David Bushnell , the inventor of the first documented submarine to be used in combat, Turtle.
Hanrahan in command. Omaha was feet meters long at the waterline with an overall length of ft 6 in Her standard displacement was 7, long tons 7, t and 9, long tons 9, t at full load. Omaha was powered by four Westinghouse geared steam turbines , each driving one screw , using steam generated by 12 Yarrow boilers. Omaha ' s main armament went through many changes while she was being designed. She carried two triple and two twin, above-water, torpedo tube mounts for inch mm torpedoes.
