USS Memphis (CL-13)

Last updated

USS Memphis (CL-13) at anchor in Australian waters, in the 1920s (SLV H91.325.415).jpg
USS Memphis (1925)
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameMemphis
NamesakeCity of Memphis, Tennessee
Ordered1 July 1918
Awarded24 January 1919
Builder William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Yard number503
Laid down14 October 1920
Launched17 April 1924
Sponsored byMiss Elizabeth R. Paine
Completed1 April 1922
Commissioned4 February 1925
Decommissioned17 December 1945
Stricken8 January 1946
Identification
FateScrapped at Baltimore, 1947
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type Omaha-class light cruiser
Displacement
Length
  • 555 ft 6 in (169.32 m) oa
  • 550 ft (170 m) pp
Beam55 ft (17 m)
Draft14 ft 3 in (4.34 m) (mean)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
  • 33.7 knots (62.4 km/h; 38.8 mph) (Estimated speed on Trial)
Crew29 officers 429 enlisted (peace time)
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 3 in (76 mm)
  • Deck: 1+12 in (38 mm)
  • Conning Tower: 1+12 in
  • Bulkheads: 1+12-3 in
Aircraft carried2 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities
General characteristics (1945)
Armament

USS Memphis (CL-13) was an Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, of the United States Navy. She was the fourth Navy ship named for the city of Memphis, Tennessee.

Contents

Built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Memphis was authorized on 1 July 1918, and assigned to William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia on 24 January 1919. [1] [2] She was laid down on 14 October 1920, and launched on 17 April 1924, sponsored by Miss Elizabeth R. Paine, daughter of Mayor Rowlett Paine of Memphis. Memphis was commissioned on 4 February 1925, with future Admiral, Captain Henry E. Lackey in command. [3]

Memphis was 550 feet (170 metres) long at the waterline with an overall length of 555 feet 6 inches (169.32 metres), her beam was 55 feet 4 inches (16.87 metres) and a mean draft of 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 metres). Her standard displacement was 7,050 long tons (7,160 t) and 9,508 long tons (9,661 t) at full load. [1] [4] Her crew, during peace time, consisted of 29 officers and 429 enlisted men. [5]

Memphis was powered by four Parsons steam turbines geared steam turbines, each driving one screw, using steam generated by 12 White-Forster boilers. The engines were designed to produce 90,000 indicated horsepower (67,000 kW) and reach a top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). [1] She was designed to provide a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), but was only capable of 8,460 nautical miles (15,670 km; 9,740 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) [4]

Memphis's main armament went through many changes while she was being designed. Originally she was to mount ten 6 in (150 mm)/53 caliber guns; two on either side at the waist, with the remaining eight mounted in tiered casemates on either side of the fore and aft superstructures. After America's entry into World War I the US Navy worked alongside the Royal Navy and it was decided to mount four 6-in/53 caliber guns in two twin gun turrets fore and aft and keep the eight guns in the tiered casemates so that she would have an eight gun broadside and, due to limited arcs of fire from the casemate guns, four to six guns firing fore or aft. Her secondary armament consisted of two 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber anti-aircraft guns in single mounts. Memphis was initially built with the capacity to carry 224 mines, but these were removed early in her career to make way for more crew accommodations. She also carried two triple and two twin, above-water, torpedo tube mounts for 21 in (530 mm) torpedoes. The triple mounts were fitted on either side of the upper deck, aft of the aircraft catapults, and the twin mounts were one deck lower on either side, covered by hatches in the side of the hull. [1] [6] [7]

The ship lacked a full-length waterline armor belt. The sides of her boiler and engine rooms and steering gear were protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armor. The transverse bulkheads at the end of her machinery rooms were 1.5 inches (38 mm) thick forward and three inches thick aft. The deck over the machinery spaces and steering gear had a thickness of 1.5 inches. The gun turrets were not armored and only provided protection against muzzle blast and the conning tower had 1.5 inches of armor. [7] Memphis carried two floatplanes aboard that were stored on the two catapults. Initially these were probably Vought VE-9s until the early 1930s when the ship may have operated OJ-2 until 1935 and Curtiss SOC Seagulls until 1940 when Vought OS2U Kingfishers were used on ships without hangars. [5]

Armament changes

During her career Memphis went through several armament changes, some of these changes were to save weight, but others were to increase her AA armament. The lower torpedo tube mounts proved to be very wet and were removed, and the openings plated over, before the start of World War II. Another change made before the war was to increase the 3-inch guns to seven, all mounted in the ship's waist. After 1940, the lower aft 6 in (150 mm) guns were removed and the casemates plated over for the same reason as the lower torpedo mounts. [5] [6] The ship's anti-aircraft armament were augmented by two twin 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns along with 12 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons by the end of the war. [7]

Inter-war period

The Memphis catapults a Vought O2U Corsair floatplane during fleet maneuvers on 10 May 1933. USS Memphis (CL-13) launches Vought O2U on 10 May 1933 (80-G-455864).jpg
The Memphis catapults a Vought O2U Corsair floatplane during fleet maneuvers on 10 May 1933.

Late in February, Memphis got underway for a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean. On 13 April, the cruiser participated in the dedication of an American memorial gateway to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry at Port of Spain, Trinidad. [8] [9] [10] Six years after the indomitable Perry had defeated the British on Lake Erie on 10 September 1813, he died on board frigate John Adams at Port–of–Spain and was interred there until his remains were removed to Newport, R.I. seven years later. In June, Memphis joined ships of a scouting fleet off Honolulu, Hawaii, for a cruise to the South Pacific through September, with visits to Australia and New Zealand. From October 1925 to April 1926, she again operated in the West Indies before returning to her home port, New York City. [3]

Memphis next sailed for Europe, arriving off St. Nazaire, France on 26 June 1926, and relieved Pittsburgh as the flagship of Commander, US Naval Forces in Europe on 4 July. The new Commander, US Naval Forces in Europe was Vice-Admiral Guy Burrage. [11] Vice-Admiral Burrage served as Commander, US Naval Forces in Europe from 1926 to 1928. Memphis operated in European waters into 1927. During a stay at Santander, Spain from 31 July to 31 August 1926, the ship was visited by King Alfonso XIII. [3]

On 3 June 1927, Memphis embarked Captain Charles A. Lindbergh and his aeroplane 'Spirit of St Louis' at Southampton, England, following his nonstop flight from New York to Paris. The next day the cruiser departed Cherbourg, France, arriving Washington, D.C., on 11 June, to debark her famous passenger at the Washington Navy Yard. For the rest of the year she performed surveillance duty along the Atlantic coast. [3]

In January 1928, Memphis acted as part of an escort group for President Calvin Coolidge on a cruise to the West Indies. After four months of Caribbean operations, [3] she served in the western Pacific as part of Light Cruiser Division TWO attached to the Asiatic Fleet along with Milwaukee and Trenton. [12]

On 5 June, the cruiser arrived at Balboa, Canal Zone for duty off Central America to May 1933. Memphis operated in a peacekeeping capacity at Corinto, Nicaragua, during the inauguration of President Juan Bautista Sacasa in 1932. In the next five years she alternated duty along the west coast with patrols to the troubled area of the West Indies. [3]

After a good will cruise to Australia in January 1938, Memphis reached Honolulu on 1 April, to rejoin the fleet for operations until she participated in the presidential review off San Francisco on 12 July 1939. In August, she sailed to Alaska, operating there until early 1941. [3]

World War II

As the time of US involvement in World War II approached, Memphis sailed to the east coast. She departed Newport on 24 April 1941, to take part in the neutrality patrol of the ocean triangle Trinidad–Cape San RoqueCape Verde Islands, arriving Recife, Brazil, on 10 May. She continued operations in the South Atlantic for most of the war. In March 1942, the ship escorted two Army transports in convoy to Ascension Island, where the Army's 38th Engineer General Service Regiment debarked to construct an airport as staging point for planes flying from the United States to Africa. By May, she was on patrol near the entrance to Fort-de-France, Martinique. [3]

The Anfa-Hotel, Casablanca Lot 11568-18 (24122218694).jpg
The Anfa-Hotel, Casablanca

In January 1943, the cruiser flew President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's flag off Bathurst, Gambia, during the Casablanca Conference from 14 to 24 January. The President and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill outlined plans at that time for the invasion of Sicily and Italy. [13] From February–September, Memphis was once more on patrol duty against blockade runners, mostly off Bahia and Recife, Brazil. [3]

President Amenzoga of Uruguay, and President Getúlio Vargas of Brazil toured the ship in January 1944, while their countries continued to give valuable aid in blockading the "Atlantic Narrows". The following year Memphis sailed for Europe, arriving Naples, Italy, on 16 January 1945. On 27 January, as flagship for Admiral Harold R. Stark, Commander, US Naval Forces in Europe, she got underway for Valletta, Malta, scene of preliminary Allied conferences prior to the Yalta Conference in February. Before the end of January the cruiser had two important visitors: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and General of the Army George C. Marshall. [3]

On 18 February, Memphis arrived at Algiers for President Roosevelt's last Allied conference before his return to the United States. For the next eight months, she continued to receive distinguished leaders. She participated in the first anniversary ceremonies of the Allied landings at St. Raphael and St. Tropez, southern France on 15 August, and the Navy Day festivities at Naples, Italy, on 27 October. Late in November, Memphis departed Tangier for Philadelphia, where she decommissioned on 17 December. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 January 1946, and sold to Patapsco Scrap Co., Bethlehem, Pa. on 18 December, for scrapping following delivery on 10 January 1947. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>New York</i> (BB-34) Dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy

USS New York (BB-34) was a United States Navy battleship, the lead ship of her class. Named for New York State, she was designed as the first ship to carry the 14-inch (356 mm)/45-caliber gun.

USS <i>Newark</i> (C-1) Protected cruiser

The first USS Newark (C-1) was a United States Navy protected cruiser, the eighth protected cruiser launched by the United States. In design, she succeeded the "ABC" cruisers Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago with better protection, higher speed, and a uniform 6-inch gun armament. Four additional protected cruisers were launched for the USN prior to Newark.

USS <i>New York</i> (ACR-2) Second United States Navy armored cruiser so designated

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.

Japanese battleship <i>Hiei</i> Imperial Japanese Navy warship (1914–1942)

Hiei was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, she was the second launched of four Kongō-class battlecruisers, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1911 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Hiei was formally commissioned in 1914. She patrolled off the Chinese coast on several occasions during World War I, and helped with rescue efforts following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.

<i>Atlanta</i>-class cruiser Class of light cruisers of the United States Navy

The Atlanta-class cruisers were eight United States Navy light cruisers which were designed as fast scout cruisers, flotilla leaders, or destroyer leaders, but which proved to be effective anti-aircraft cruisers during World War II. They were also known as the Atlanta-Oakland class. The Atlanta class originally had 16 x 5-inch (127 mm)/38 caliber guns in eight two-gun turrets, arranged with three superfiring turrets forward, three more superfiring aft and two waist mounts, one port and one starboard, giving the first four Atlanta-class cruisers the heaviest anti-aircraft armament of any cruiser of World War II. The last four ships of the class, starting with Oakland, had a slightly revised armament with a reduced main gun battery - the waist turrets being deleted - as they were further optimized for anti-aircraft fire in light of war experience.

USS <i>Marblehead</i> (CL-12) Omaha-class light cruiser

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.

<i>Portland</i>-class cruiser Class of ships designed and constructed by the United States Navy in 1930

The Portland class of heavy cruisers was a class of ships designed and constructed by the United States Navy in 1930. The two ships of the class, Portland and Indianapolis, saw extensive service during the Pacific War in World War II.

Japanese battleship <i>Kongō</i> Kongō-class Japanese warship

Kongō was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. She was the first battlecruiser of the Kongō class, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Her designer was the British naval engineer George Thurston, and she was laid down in 1911 at Barrow-in-Furness in Britain by Vickers Shipbuilding Company. Kongō was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan. She was formally commissioned in 1913, and patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I.

USS <i>Omaha</i> (CL-4) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Omaha (CL-4) was the lead ship of the Omaha-class light cruiser of the United States Navy. She was originally classified as a scout cruiser. She was the second US Navy ship named for the city of Omaha, Nebraska, the first being Omaha, a screw sloop launched in 1869.

USS <i>Milwaukee</i> (CL-5) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Milwaukee (CL-5) was an Omaha-class light cruiser built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. The ship spent most of her early career assigned to the Asiatic and Battle Fleets. In 1941, she was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol until she was refitted in New York in late 1941. She escorted a troop convoy to the Pacific in early 1942 before returning to the South Atlantic where she patrolled for German commerce raiders and blockade runners. In November, she intercepted one of the latter, but it scuttled itself before it could be captured. In 1944, she was temporarily transferred to the Soviet Navy and commissioned as Murmansk. The ship was returned by the Soviets in 1949 and sold for scrap in December.

USS <i>Cincinnati</i> (CL-6) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Cincinnati (CL-6), was the third Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, built for the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, the first being Cincinnati, an ironclad commissioned in 1862, during the Civil War, and the second being Cincinnati, a protected cruiser, that was decommissioned in 1919.

USS <i>Concord</i> (CL-10) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Concord (CL-10) was an Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, of the United States Navy. She was the fourth Navy ship named for the town of Concord, Massachusetts, the site of the first battle of the American Revolution. She spent the first nine years of her career in the Atlantic as part of the Scouting Force. Concord transferred to the Pacific in 1932 and spent the rest of her career, except for the winter of 1938–1939, stationed there. Her home port moved to Pearl Harbor in April 1940, but she escaped the attack on Pearl Harbor because she was in San Diego for an overhaul.

USS <i>Detroit</i> (CL-8) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Detroit (CL-8) was an Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, of the United States Navy. She was the fourth Navy ship named for the city of Detroit, Michigan. She spent her first eight years as part of the Scouting Fleet either in the Atlantic or Mediterranean. Her first duty was to assist in the USAAS's first aerial circumnavigation of the world in 1924 and transported the United States Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg, in 1927, from Ireland to France for the negotiations that led to the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact. In 1931 she joined the Battle Force, where her home port was San Diego until moving to Pearl Harbor in 1941. Detroit was moored next to her sister Raleigh when the Japanese attacked on the morning of 7 December 1941.

USS <i>Trenton</i> (CL-11) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Trenton (CL-11) was an Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for the city of Trenton, New Jersey. She spent most of her pre-war career moving between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Trenton joined the Special Service Squadron in 1934, for a good-will tour of Latin America. In May 1939, she would join Squadron 40-T in protecting American interests during the Spanish Civil War and not return to the US until July 1940, when she carried the royal family of Luxembourg, fleeing from the Nazi occupation of their country.

USS <i>Raleigh</i> (CL-7) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Raleigh (CL-7) was the fourth Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, built for the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, the first being the protected cruiser Raleigh, commissioned in 1894, and decommissioned in 1919.

USS <i>Richmond</i> (CL-9) Omaha-class light cruiser

USS Richmond (CL-9) 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 city of Richmond, Virginia.

<i>Omaha</i>-class cruiser Class of American naval ships

The Omaha-class cruisers were a class of light cruisers built for the United States Navy. They were the oldest class of cruiser still in active service with the Navy at the outbreak of World War II, being an immediate post-World War I design.

Russian battleship <i>Navarin</i> Russian pre-dreadnought battleship

Navarin was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The ship was assigned to the Baltic Fleet and spent the early part of her career deployed in the Mediterranean and in the Far East. She participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 before returning to the Baltic Fleet in 1901. Several months after the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904, she was assigned to the 2nd Pacific Squadron to relieve the Russian forces blockaded in Port Arthur. During the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, she was sunk by Japanese destroyers which spread twenty-four linked mines across her path during the night. Navarin struck two of these mines and capsized with the loss of most of her crew.

<i>Tennessee</i>-class cruiser Class of American naval ships

The Tennessee-class cruisers were four armored cruisers built for the United States Navy between 1903 and 1906. Their main armament of four 10-inch (254 mm) guns in twin turrets was the heaviest carried by any American armored cruiser. Their armor was thinner than that of the six Pennsylvanias which immediately preceded them, a controversial but inevitable decision due to newly imposed congressional restraints on tonnage for armored cruisers and the need for them to be able to steam at 22 knots. However, the fact their armor covered a wider area of the ship than in the Pennsylvanias and their increased firepower caused them to be seen by the Navy as an improvement.

SMS <i>Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia</i> Armored cruiser of the Austro-Hungarian Navy

SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was an armored cruiser used by the imperial Austro-Hungarian Navy from 1895 to 1917; she was the first ship of that type built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The ship was a unique design, built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste; she was laid down in July 1891, launched in April 1893, and completed in November 1894. Armed with a main battery of two 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns and eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, the ship provided the basis for two subsequent armored cruiser designs for the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ships' Data, U. S. Naval Vessels". US Naval Department. 1 July 1935. pp. 24–31. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  2. "Cramp Shipbuilding, Philadelphia PA". ShipbuildingHistory.com. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Memphis (CL-13)". Naval History and Heritage Command. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 Rickard, J (30 January 2014). "USS Memphis (CL-13)". Historyofwar.org. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Terzibashitsch, Stefan (1988). Cruisers of the US Navy 1922-1962. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-87021-974-X.
  6. 1 2 Rickard, J (1 January 2014). "Omaha Class Cruisers". Historyofwar.org. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Toppan, Andrew (22 January 2000). "US Cruisers List: Light/Heavy/Antiaircraft Cruisers, Part 1". Hazegray.org. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  8. U.S.S. Memphis
  9. "Papers of Rear Admiral Henry E. Lackey (1899–1940)". Washington, D.C.: Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  10. "USS Memphis". historycentral.com. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  11. "Myers, Burrage, Graham Papers" (PDF). Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  12. "NH 80491 USS Memphis (CL-13)". U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. October 1928. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  13. Forward, FDR-Archive