USS Brooklyn (1939) | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Brooklyn |
Namesake | Borough of Brooklyn, New York City, New York |
Ordered | 13 February 1929 |
Awarded |
|
Builder | Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York |
Laid down | 12 March 1935 |
Launched | 30 November 1936 |
Sponsored by | Miss Kathryn Jane Lackey |
Commissioned | 30 September 1937 |
Decommissioned | 3 January 1947 |
Stricken | 22 January 1951 |
Identification |
|
Honors and awards | 4 × battle stars |
Fate | Sold to Chile in 1951 |
O'Higgins (CL-02) | |
Chile | |
Name | O'Higgins |
Namesake | Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme |
Commissioned | 9 January 1951 |
Decommissioned | 14 January 1992 |
Identification | CL-02 |
Fate |
|
General characteristics (as built) [1] | |
Class and type | Brooklyn-class cruiser |
Displacement |
|
Length | |
Beam | 61 ft 7 in (18.77 m) |
Draft |
|
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h) |
Complement | 868 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
|
Armor |
|
Aircraft carried | 4 × floatplanes |
Aviation facilities | 2 × stern catapults |
General characteristics (1945) [2] [3] | |
Beam | 69 ft (21 m) (with blisters) |
Armament |
|
USS Brooklyn (CL-40) was a light cruiser, the lead ship of her class of nine, and the third United States Navy ship to bear its name. Commissioned in 1937, she served in the Atlantic during World War II, as a convoy escort and as fire support for amphibious landings.
Decommissioned in 1947, she was transferred to the Chilean Navy in 1951, where she served for another 40 years. She sank under tow to a scrapyard in 1992.
She was launched on 30 November 1936 by New York Navy Yard; sponsored by Miss Kathryn Jane Lackey, daughter of Rear admiral F. R. Lackey; and commissioned on 30 September 1937. [4]
Designed and built under the terms of the 1922 Washington Naval Arms Limitation Treaty and the 1930 London Naval Arms Limitation Treaty, the Brooklyn-class light cruisers were authorized by Congress in 1933. The treaty restrictions, which limited the size and armament of major warships in an attempt to avoid a naval arms race, meant the light cruiser designs were kept under 10,000 tons and armed with six-inch guns. Built in response to heavily armed light cruisers laid down by the Japanese, the Brooklyn-class warships had five triple six-inch gun turrets, three forward and two aft with turrets II and IV in super-firing (mounted above turrets I and III) position. This was the same layout as the Japanese Mogami-class cruiser warships. The Brooklyn-class was also noticeable for its flush-deck hull, with its high transom and built-in hangar aft. [4]
Following shakedown training out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Brooklyn joined the fleet in the Panama Canal Zone during the latter part of 1938. She was assigned to Cruiser Division 8 (CruDiv 8) and attended to routine duties with the fleet until April 1939. In mid-April, she returned to the United States where she participated in the opening of the New York World's Fair on 30 April 1939. On 23 May, Brooklyn was ordered to the scene of the Squalus disaster, 6 mi (9.7 km) south of the Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire. Until 3 June, she acted as a base ship during the salvage and rescue operations. Brooklyn then steamed to the west coast, where she joined the Pacific Fleet and participated in the opening of the Golden Gate International Exposition on 18 February 1940. She served on the west coast until March 1941, when she departed on a good-will and training tour of the South Pacific. In May, she left Pearl Harbor for the east coast where she joined the Atlantic Squadron. From 1–7 July 1941, she escorted the convoy carrying Marines to Reykjavík, Iceland. During the remainder of 1941, Brooklyn engaged in convoy escort and Neutrality Patrol in the western Atlantic. [4]
With the entry of the United States into World War II, Brooklyn got underway from Bermuda to patrol the Caribbean Sea. In April 1942, she was assigned convoy escort duty between the United States and the United Kingdom. On 3 September, during one of the trans-Atlantic crossings, the troopship Wakefield caught fire and was abandoned. Brooklyn rescued 1,173 troops who had been embarked onboard the troopship. Although severely damaged by the fire, Wakefield was towed to safety and repaired. [4]
On 24 October 1942, Brooklyn departed Norfolk, Virginia, for North Africa. On 8 November, she bombarded shore installations to cover the Fedhala landing of Operation Torch. Unhappily, it was later determined Brooklyn fired upon friendly troops (Seventh Infantry) before the nearby French fort surrendered. French warships then sortied from Casablanca, and Brooklyn and Augusta took destroyer Milan under fire. During the action, Brooklyn was struck by small caliber fire. Brooklyn also assisted in damaging Brestois and may have damaged the light cruiser Primauguet. Both French warships were later beached or sank from the damage. Unbeknownst to the cruisers' crew, Brooklyn was also attacked by French second-class submarine Amazone, but her torpedoes missed wide of the mark. Later in the day, Brooklyn bombarded French artillery positions near Casablanca. While engaged, she was hit by a dud projectile from a coastal gun, which damaged two of the cruiser's guns and wounded five of her crew. [4]
Following the Naval Battle of Casablanca Brooklyn departed Casablanca for the east coast on 17 November 1942. From January–July 1943, she made three convoy escort voyages between the east coast and Casablanca and then steamed to the Mediterranean where she carried out screening and fire support duties during the invasion of Sicily (10–14 July). [4]
Remaining in the Mediterranean, Brooklyn next covered the Anzio-Nettuno landings (22 January – 9 February 1944), also known as Operation Shingle. From 13 to 23 May, she participated in the bombardment of the Formia-Anzio area and then carried out exercises in preparation for the invasion of southern France. On 15 August, Brooklyn furnished part of the heavy naval gunfire which preceded the landing of Allied troops on the coast of southern France. She remained on duty in the Mediterranean until 21 November, when she departed Sicily for New York, arriving on 30 November. [4]
Comedian Lenny Bruce, who joined the navy at 17, served aboard Brooklyn during the period between 1942 and 1944 as a forward turret shell passer and saw combat in the Mediterranean.[ citation needed ]
From December 1944 to May 1945, Brooklyn underwent extensive overhaul and alteration at New York Navy Yard. From May–September 1945, she exercised along the eastern seaboard and then reported to Philadelphia Navy Yard for her pre-inactivation overhaul. She went in commission in reserve on 30 January 1946 and out of commission in reserve on 3 January 1947. [4]
On 9 January 1951, Brooklyn was transferred under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program to Chile, [4] where she was renamed O'Higgins after one of Chile's founding fathers, Bernardo O'Higgins, and she served for 40 years. She was sold for scrap in 1992, but foundered and sank off Pitcairn Island while under tow to shipbreakers in India. One of her turrets is preserved at the Chilean Navy base at Talcahuano.
USS Phoenix (CL-46), was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn-class cruiser family. She was the third Phoenix of the United States Navy. After World War II the ship was transferred to Argentina in 1951 and was ultimately renamed General Belgrano in 1956. General Belgrano was sunk during the Falklands War in 1982 by the British nuclear-powered submarine HMS Conqueror, the only ship to have been sunk in combat by a nuclear-powered submarine during wartime.
USS Boise (CL-47) was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn class in the United States Navy. The cruiser was named for Boise, the capital city of the state of Idaho. Commissioned in 1938, she saw extensive service during World War II, taking part in fighting in the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters. Following the war the ship was decommissioned in 1946 and lay idle until sold to Argentina in 1951. Renamed Nueve de Julio, the ship remained in service with the Argentinian Navy until 1978, after which she was taken to Brownsville, Texas and scrapped in 1983.
USS Nebraska (BB-14) was a Virginia-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy, the second of five members of the class, and the first ship to carry her name. She was built by the Moran Brothers shipyard in Seattle, Washington, with her keel laying in July 1902 and her launching in October 1904. The completed ship was commissioned into the US Navy in July 1907. The ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 19 knots.
USS New Orleans (CL/CA-32) was the lead New Orleans-class cruiser in service with the United States Navy. The New Orleans-class cruisers were the last U.S. cruisers built to the specifications and standards of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Such ships, with a limit of 10,000 long tons (10,160 t) standard displacement and 8-inch (203-millimetre) calibre main guns may be referred to as "treaty cruisers." Originally classified a light cruiser, because of her thin armor, she was reclassified, soon after being laid down, a heavy cruiser, because of her 8-inch guns. The term "heavy cruiser" was not defined until the London Naval Treaty in 1930.
USS New York (ACR-2/CA-2) was the second United States Navy armored cruiser so designated; the first was the ill-fated Maine, which was soon redesignated a second-class battleship. Due to the unusually protracted construction of Maine, New York was actually the first armored cruiser to enter U.S. Navy service. The fourth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state of New York, she was later renamed Saratoga and then Rochester. With six 8-inch guns, she was the most heavily armed cruiser in the US Navy when commissioned.
USS Arkansas (BB-33) was a dreadnought battleship, the second member of the Wyoming class, built by the United States Navy. She was the third ship of the US Navy named in honor of the 25th state, and was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was laid down in January 1910, launched in January 1911, and commissioned into the Navy in September 1912. Arkansas was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns and capable of a top speed of 20.5 knots.
USS Whipple, a Clemson-class destroyer was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of Captain Abraham Whipple (1733–1819), who served in the Continental Navy.
USS Honolulu (CL-48) of the United States Navy was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser active in the Pacific War. Honolulu was launched in 1937 and commissioned in 1938. The ship served in the Battle of Tassafaronga, the Battle of Kula Gulf, the Battle of Kolombangara and the Battle of Peleliu. She was taken out of action by serious torpedo damage just before the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She was repaired, but not in time to rejoin the war. She was decommissioned in 1947 and was held in reserve until she was scrapped in 1959.
USS Wichita was a unique heavy cruiser of the United States Navy built in the 1930s. The last American cruiser designed to meet the limits of the London Naval Treaty, she was originally intended to be a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser, accordingly with the maximum main armament of three triple 8-inch (203 mm) gun turrets. These were instead placed on an improved hull derived from the Brooklyn-class light cruisers, with increased armoring. This design would go on to form the basis for the later World War II–era heavy cruisers such as the Baltimore-class cruisers. The ship was authorized by the 1929 Cruiser Act, laid down at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in October 1935, launched in November 1937, and commissioned into the US Navy in February 1939.
USS Nashville (CL-43) was a Brooklyn-class cruiser. She was laid down on 24 January 1935 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. She was launched on 2 October 1937, sponsored by Misses Ann and Mildred Stahlman and commissioned on 6 June 1938.
USS Philadelphia (CL-41) was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser of the United States Navy. She was the fifth ship named for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the 1950s, she was commissioned into the Brazilian Navy as Almirante Barroso.
USS Savannah (CL-42) was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn-class that served in World War II in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres of operation. Savannah conducted Neutrality Patrols (1941) and wartime patrols in the Atlantic and Caribbean (1942), and supported the invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch. She sought German-supporting blockade runners off the east coast of South America (1943), and supported the Allied landings on Sicily and at Salerno (1943). Off Salerno on 11 September 1943, a German radio-controlled Fritz X glide-bomb caused extensive casualties aboard and serious damage to Savannah, requiring emergency repairs in Malta and permanent repairs at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. After repairs and upgrades, she served in the task force that carried President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in early 1945.
USS Marblehead (CL-12) was an Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, of the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship named for the town of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
USS Tacoma (C-18/PG-32/CL-20) was a Denver-class protected cruiser in the United States Navy during World War I. She was the second Navy ship named after the city of Tacoma, Washington.
USS Knight (DD-633), a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral Austin M. Knight.
HMS Bonaventure was the lead ship of the Dido-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy (RN) during the 1930s and during the Second World War. Completed in 1940, Bonaventure was assigned to the Home Fleet and participated in Operation Fish, the evacuation of British wealth from the UK to Canada in July. The ship made one short patrol in August into the North Atlantic to search for German blockade runners and followed that up by escorting an aircraft carrier as it conducted air strikes in Southern Norway in September. The next month she was tasked to provide cover for anti-shipping raids off the Norwegian coast. Bonaventure participated in the unsuccessful search for the German commerce raider Admiral Scheer in November and sustained weather damage that caused her to spend time in a dockyard for repairs. She was part of the escort force for Convoy WS 5A in December and helped to drive off another German commerce raider. While searching for stragglers from the convoy, the cruiser sank a German blockade runner.
USS Benson (DD-421) was the lead ship of her class of destroyers in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Admiral William S. Benson (1855–1932).
USS Murphy (DD-603) was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Lieutenant John McLeod Murphy.
Kako (加古) was the second vessel in the two-vessel Furutaka class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was named after the Kako River in Hyogo prefecture, Japan.
The Naval Battle of Casablanca was a series of naval engagements fought between American ships covering the invasion of North Africa and Vichy French ships defending the neutrality of French Morocco in accordance with the Second Armistice at Compiègne during World War II.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.