USS Rochester, a 13,700-ton Oregon City class heavy cruiser, was built at Quincy, Massachusetts. Commissioned in December 1946, She performed her first three years' service in the Atlantic, making one deployment to the Mediterranean in 1948. Early in 1950, Rochester shifted to the Pacific, and was soon sent to the Far East to become Seventh Fleet flagship. She served there until January 1951, taking an active part in Korean War operations and the Formosa Straits patrol.

Rochester made two more Korean War combat tours during 1951-53. She was then modernized, receiving new anti-aircraft guns and other equipment. The rest of the 1950s saw her return to the Far East for five more Seventh Fleet deployments. Rochester's ninth, and final, Western Pacific cruise took place in April-October 1960. She was decommissioned in August 1961 and spent the next dozen years in reserve at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. USS Rochester was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in October 1973 and was subsequently sold for scrapping.