_off_the_Philadelphia_Navy_Yard_on_30_July_1944.jpg) USS Alaska | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSAlaska |
| Namesake | Territory of Alaska |
| Ordered | 9 September 1940 |
| Builder | New York Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down | 17 December 1941 |
| Launched | 15 August 1943 |
| Commissioned | 17 June 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 17 February 1947 |
| Stricken | 1 June 1960 |
| Honors & awards | Threebattle stars for World War II service |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Alaska-classlarge cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 808 ft 6 in (246.4 m) |
| Beam | 91 ft 1 in (27.8 m) |
| Draft | 31 ft 10 in (9.7 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 33knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) |
| Range | 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Crew | 1,517 |
| Armament | |
| Armor |
|
| Aircraft carried | 4 |
USSAlaska was thelead ship of theAlaska-class "large cruisers" which served with theUnited States Navy during the end ofWorld War II. She was the first of two ships of her class to be completed, followed only byGuam; four other ships were ordered but were not completed before the end of the war.Alaska was the third vessel of the US Navy to be named after what was then the territory ofAlaska, and was assigned thehull number CB-1. She was laid down on 17 December 1941, ten days after the United States entered the war, was launched in August 1943 by theNew York Shipbuilding Corporation, inCamden, New Jersey, and was commissioned in June 1944. She was armed with a main battery of nine 12 in (305 mm) guns in three tripleturrets and had a top speed of 33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph).
Due to being commissioned late in the war,Alaska saw relatively limited service. She participated in operations offIwo Jima andOkinawa in February–July 1945, including providing anti-aircraft defense for various carrier task forces and conducting limited shore bombardment operations. She shot down several Japanese aircraft off Okinawa, including a possibleOhka piloted missile. In July–August 1945 she participated in sweeps for Japanese shipping in the East China and Yellow Seas. After the war, she assisted in the occupation of Korea and transported a contingent of US Army troops back to the United States. She was decommissioned in February 1947 and placed in reserve, where she remained until she was stricken in 1960 and sold forscrapping the following year.
Alaska was 808 feet 6 inches (246.43 m)long overall and had abeam of 91 ft 1 in (27.76 m) and adraft of 31 ft 10 in (9.70 m). Shedisplaced 29,779long tons (30,257 t) as designed and up to 34,253 long tons (34,803 t) atfull load. The ship had aflush deck with a flaredbow and a roundedcruiser stern. She had a largesuperstructure that included an armoredconning tower with a tall tower mast, along with a smaller, secondary conning position further aft.[1] She carried fourOS2U Kingfisher orSC Seahawkfloatplanes,[2] with a pair ofcatapults mountedamidships.[3]
The ship was powered by four sets ofGeneral Electric gearedsteam turbines, each driving ascrew propeller. Steam for the turbines was generated by eight oil-firedBabcock & Wilcoxwater-tube boilers, which were vented through a largefunnel located amidships. The propulsion system was rated to produce 150,000shaft horsepower (110,000 kW), generating a top speed of 33knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 12,000nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at a speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).[1][4]
The ship was armed with amain battery of nine12 in (305 mm) L/50 Mark 8 guns in three triplegun turrets, two in asuperfiring pair forward and one aft of the superstructure.[a] Thesecondary battery consisted of twelve5 in (127 mm) L/38dual-purpose guns in six twin turrets. Two were placed on thecenterline superfiring over the main battery turrets, fore and aft, and the remaining four turrets were placed on the corners of the superstructure. The light anti-aircraft battery consisted of 56 quad-mounted40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns and 34 single-mounted20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon guns.[1] A pair of Mk 38 gun directors aided gun laying for the main battery,[5] while two Mk 37 directors controlled the 5-inch guns and a Mk 57 director aided the 40 mm guns.[6]
The mainarmor belt was 9 inches (229 mm) thick in the central portion of the hull, where it protected the propulsion machinery spaces and the ammunitionmagazines, thinning to 5 inches at either end. The main armordeck was 4 in (102 mm) thick. Her conning tower received 10.6 inches (270 mm) of armor plate on the sides. The gun turrets had 12.8-inch (325 mm) thick faces.[1]
Alaska was authorized under the Fleet Expansion Act on 19 July 1940, and ordered on 9 September.[7] On 17 December 1941 she waslaid down atNew York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey. She waslaunched on 15 August 1943, sponsored byDorothy Smith Gruening, the wife of GovernorErnest Gruening of Alaska, after whichfitting-out work was effected. The ship was completed by June 1944, and wascommissioned into the US Navy on 17 June, under the command of Captain Peter K. Fischler.[8]
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After her commissioning,Alaska steamed down toHampton Roads, escorted by the destroyersSimpson andBroome. The ship was then deployed for ashakedown cruise, first in theChesapeake Bay and then into the Caribbean, offTrinidad. On the cruise, she was escorted by the destroyersBainbridge andDecatur. After completing the cruise,Alaska returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for some minor alterations, including the installation of four Mk 57 fire control directors for her 5-inch guns. On 12 November, she left Philadelphia in the company of the destroyer-minelayerThomas E. Fraser, bound for two weeks ofsea trials offGuantánamo Bay, Cuba. On 2 December, she left Cuba for the Pacific, transiting thePanama Canal two days later, and reachingSan Diego on 12 December. There her gun crews trained for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft fire.[8]
On 8 January 1945,Alaska left California for Hawaii, arriving inPearl Harbor on 13 January. There she participated in further training and was assigned to Task Group 12.2, which departed forUlithi on 29 January. The Task Group reached Ulithi on 6 February and was merged into Task Group 58.5, part of Task Force 58, theFast Carrier Task Force. Task Group 58.5 was assigned to provide anti-aircraft defense for theaircraft carriers;Alaska was assigned to the carriersEnterprise andSaratoga. The fleet sailed for Japan on 10 February to conduct air strikes against Tokyo and the surrounding airfields. The Japanese did not attack the fleet during the operation.Alaska was then transferred to Task Group 58.4 and assigned to support the assault onIwo Jima. She served in the screen for the carriers off Iwo Jima for nineteen days, after which time she had to return to Ulithi to replenish fuel and supplies.[8]
Alaska remained with TG 58.4 for theBattle of Okinawa. She was assigned to screen the carriersYorktown andIntrepid; the fleet left Ulithi on 14 March and reached its operational area southeast ofKyushu four days later. The first air strikes on Okinawa began that day, and claimed 17 Japanese aircraft destroyed on the ground. Here,Alaska finally saw combat, as the Japanese launched a major air strike on the American fleet. Her anti-aircraft gunners destroyed aYokosuka P1Y bomberattempting to crash intoIntrepid. Shortly thereafter,Alaska was warned that American aircraft were in the vicinity. About ten minutes later, her gunners spotted an unidentified aircraft, approaching in what they thought was a threatening manner; they shot down what turned out to be aGrumman F6F Hellcat fighter, though the pilot was uninjured. Later that afternoon,Alaska shot down a second Japanese bomber, aYokosuka D4Y.[8]
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The following day, the carrierFranklin was badly damaged by several bomb hits and a kamikaze.Alaska and her sisterGuam, two other cruisers, and several destroyers were detached to create Task Group 58.2.9 to escort the crippledFranklin back to Ulithi. On the voyage back to port, another D4Y bomber attackedFranklin, though the ships were unable to shoot it down. Gunfire from one of the 5-inch guns accidentally caused flash burns on several men standing nearby; these were the only casualties suffered by her crew during the war.Alaska then took on the role of fighter director; using her air search radar, she vectored fighters to intercept and destroy aKawasaki Ki-45 heavy fighter. On 22 March, the ships reached Ulithi andAlaska was detached to rejoin TG 58.4.[8]
After returning to her unit,Alaska continued to screen for the aircraft carriers off Okinawa. On 27 March, she was detached to conduct a bombardment ofMinamidaitō. She was joined byGuam, two light cruisers, and Destroyer Squadron 47. On the night of 27–28 March, she fired forty-five 12-inch shells and three hundred and fifty-two 5-inch rounds at the island. The ships rejoined TG 58.4 at a refueling point, after which they returned to Okinawa to support the landings when they began on 1 April. On the evening of 11 April,Alaska shot down one Japanese plane, assisted in the destruction of another, and claimed what might have been anOhka piloted rocket-bomb. On 16 April, the ship shot down another three aircraft and assisted with three others. Throughout the rest of the month, her heavy anti-aircraft fire succeeded in driving off Japanese bombers.[8]
Alaska then returned to Ulithi to resupply, arriving on 14 May. She was then assigned to TG 38.4, the reorganized carrier task force. The fleet then returned to Okinawa, whereAlaska continued in her anti-aircraft defense role. On 9 June, she andGuam bombardedOki Daitō. TG 38.4 then steamed toSan Pedro Bay inLeyte Gulf for rest and maintenance; the ship remained there from 13 June until 13 July, when she was assigned to CruiserTask Force 95 along with her sisterGuam, under the command of Rear AdmiralFrancis S. Low.[9] On 16 July,Alaska andGuam conducted a sweep into theEast China andYellow Seas to sink Japanese shipping vessels. They had only limited success, however, and returned to the fleet on 23 July. They then joined a major raid, which included three battleships and threeescort carriers, into the estuary of theYangtze River off Shanghai. Again, the operation met with limited success.[10] In the course of her service during World War II,Alaska was awarded threebattle stars.[8]
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On 30 August,Alaska left Okinawa for Japan to participate in the 7th Fleet occupation force. She arrived inIncheon, Korea, on 8 September and supported Army operations there until 26 September, when she left forQingdao, China, arriving the following day. There, she supported the6th Marine Division until 13 November, when she returned to Incheon to take on Army soldiers as part ofOperation Magic Carpet, the mass repatriation of millions of American servicemen from Asia and Europe.Alaska left Incheon with a contingent of soldiers bound for San Francisco. After reaching San Francisco, she left for the Atlantic, via the Panama Canal, which she transited on 13 December. The ship arrived in theBoston Navy Yard on 18 December, where preparations were made to place the ship in reserve. She left Boston on 1 February 1946 forBayonne, New Jersey, where she would be berthed in reserve. She arrived there the following day, and on 13 August, she was removed from active service, though she would not be decommissioned until 17 February 1947.[8]
In 1958, theBureau of Ships prepared two feasibility studies to see ifAlaska andGuam were suitable to be converted to guided missile cruisers. The first study involved removing all of the guns in favor of four different missile systems. At $160 million this was seen as too costly, so a second study was conducted. This study left the forward batteries—the two 12-inch triple turrets and three of the 5-inch dual turrets—in place and added a reduced version of the first plan for the aft. This would have cost $82 million, and was still seen as too costly.[11] As a result, the conversion proposal was abandoned and the ship was instead stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 June 1960. On 30 June, she was sold to the Lipsett Division of Luria Brothers to be broken up for scrap.[8]
