USS Northampton (CA-26) was a Northampton-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, the ship whose name the class carried. Walter N. Vernou was her captain from 17 May 1930.
On 4 June 1942, in the Battle of Midway, Northampton served in the screen with the carriers Enterprise and Hornet. On 15 September 1942 she was in the force that came under attack from the Japanese submarine I-19.
At the Battle of Tassafaronga on 30 November 1942 she held the last place in Wright's cruiser line. Torpedoes hit her there and she sank, the last cruiser in that line to go down.
The ship that fired the torpedoes is not known, and the loss is not pinned to one Japanese destroyer. The name Northampton was later given to another United States Navy hull.
