The ships had the same dual-purpose main armament as USS Oakland (herself a modified Atlanta-class) with a much heavier secondary anti-aircraft battery, while the anti-submarine depth charge tracks and torpedo tubes were removed along with a redesigned superstructure to reduce weight and increase stability.

[1] Watertight integrity was improved by removing doors on the lowest decks of the ship between bulkheads.

[5][6] The class was powered by the same equipment as the Atlanta class: four 665 psi (4,590 kPa) boilers, connected to two geared steam turbines producing 75,000 hp (56 MW), and the ships could maintain a top speed of 33.6 knots (62 km/h).

[8] Spokane and Fresno were decommissioned in 1949 and 1950 prior to the start of the Korean War, but Juneau, at this point redesignated as an anti-aircraft cruiser CLAA-119, participated in the conflict.

On 2 July 1950, Juneau, along with HMS Jamaica, and HMS Black Swan were attacked by four torpedo boats and two motor gunboats of the North Korean Navy, and the combined firepower of the Anglo-American ships sank three enemy torpedo boats and both gunboats near Chumonchin Chan.