The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so the Clevelands used the same hull as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier.

Following the start of World War II in September 1939, Britain announced it would suspend the treaty for the duration of the conflict, a decision the US Navy quickly followed.

Though still neutral, the United States recognized that war was likely and the urgent need for additional ships ruled out an entirely new design, so the Clevelands were a close development of the earlier Brooklyn-class cruisers, the chief difference being the substitution of a two-gun 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose gun mount for one of the main battery 6 in (152 mm) gun turrets.

[2] The ship's belt armor ranged in thickness from 3.5 to 5 in (89 to 127 mm), with the thicker section amidships where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces.

On 21 November, she reached Gulf of Paria, Trinidad, and cruised in the area until 21 December, when she sailed north for Boston, her initial shakedown complete.

[3] On 10 January 1945, Springfield left Boston for training to prepare her crew for combat operations during World War II.

Over the following ten days, the ship participated in further shooting practice in the Chesapeake, and her crew completed basic maintenance tasks while in port.

On the morning of 23 January, the ship left the harbor as part of Task Group 21.5, the escort for the heavy cruiser Quincy, which was carrying President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Malta, on his way to the Yalta Conference.

Five days later, the ships reached a point approximately 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) south of the Azores, and a second escort group relieved TG 21.5, permitting Springfield to be detached to join the Allied forces fighting Japan in the Pacific War.

[3] Springfield remained in Pearl Harbor for five days, loading ammunition, fuel, and other supplies in preparation for her deployment to the western Pacific.

On 18 and 19 March, the carriers raided the Japanese home islands of Kyushu and Honshu as part of the preparatory attacks before the upcoming invasion of Okinawa, further to the south.

These attacks included wide-spread use of the kamikaze suicide tactics, and Springfield's gunners shot down at least three aircraft attempting to crash into American ships.

During this period, on 13 and 14 May, she accompanied the carriers for raids on Japanese airfields on Kyushu, part of an attempt to neutralize the aircraft being used to attack the fleet.

She then departed to re-join the carriers in TF 38, which had begun a series of attacks on the Japanese home islands in anticipation of the invasion of Kyushu.

Springfield participated in a patrol for Japanese merchant shipping on the night of 14–15 July, before returning to cover the carriers for another round of strikes on Tokyo and Yokohama.

On 30 July, the Fast Carrier Task Force returned to strike Tokyo again, followed by another voyage north to attack northern Honshu and Hokkaido again on 9 and 10 August.

Springfield thereafter cruised in East Asian waters in the immediate postwar period as Japanese forces were demilitarized and returned from previously occupied countries.

She visited a number of ports, including Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan; Shanghai, Taku, Qingdao, and Qinhuangdao, China; and Jinsen, Korea.

She operated with that unit until mid-May, and during that period, she visited a number of ports in the region, including Sasebo, Kure, Hakodate, Otaru, and Okinawa, Japan; Qingdao and Shanghai, China; and British Hong Kong.

She made goodwill visits to numerous ports in the region, including Dubrovnik and Split, Yugoslavia; Famagusta, Cyprus; and Ajaccio, Corsica.

Because she was the fleet flagship, she also frequently hosted foreign visitors, including King Constantine II of Greece, Princess Grace of Monaco, ambassadors, and senior military and naval officers.

Shortly thereafter, she sailed for the Atlantic Fleet shooting practice grounds to participate in training exercises for her gun and missile crews.

The ship stopped in the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico to refuel before embarking on a major cruise to northern European ports.

She stopped first in Portsmouth, Great Britain, and thereafter visited Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Lisbon, Portugal; Barcelona, Spain; and Pollensa Bay on the island of Majorca.

[3] Springfield operated off the East Coast of the United States for most of 1968, participating in routine training exercises with the rest of the fleet based at Norfolk.

She sailed on 12 September to northern Europe to participate in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization training operation Silver Tower, which was held in the Norwegian Sea.

By 27 September, the exercises had been completed, and Springfield departed for another tour of European ports, including Oslo, Norway; Le Havre, France; Lisbon; Portsmouth; and Rota, Spain, where on 23 October she hosted a meeting between the commanders of 2nd and 6th Fleets.

Springfield cruised in the Mediterranean for the next four years, carrying out a routine similar to her previous tour in the region, visiting ports, hosting foreign dignitaries, and participating in training exercises.