_underway_at_sea%2c_circa_in_1947_(NH_98423).jpg) USSAstoria (CL-90), circa 1947. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Astoria |
| Namesake | City ofAstoria, Oregon |
| Builder | Cramp Shipbuilding Co.,Philadelphia |
| Laid down | 6 September 1941 |
| Launched | 6 March 1943 |
| Commissioned | 17 May 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1949 |
| Stricken | 1 November 1969 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 12 January 1971 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Cleveland-classlight cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 610 ft 1 in (185.95 m) |
| Beam | 66 ft 4 in (20.22 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 32.5knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) |
| Range | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 1,285 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
| Aircraft carried | 4 ×floatplanes |
| Aviation facilities | 2 ×sterncatapults |
The thirdUSSAstoria was aCleveland-classlight cruiser of theUnited States Navy, which were built duringWorld War II. Theclass was designed as a development of the earlierBrooklyn-class cruisers, the size of which had been limited by theFirst London Naval Treaty. The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so theClevelands used the samehull as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier. TheClevelands carried amain battery of twelve6-inch (152 mm) guns in four three-gunturrets, along with asecondary armament of twelve5 in (127 mm)dual-purpose guns. They had a top speed of 32.5knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph).
The ship was laid down on 6 September 1941 atWilliam Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company,Philadelphia, asWilkes-Barre. It was subsequently renamed toAstoria in honor of the heavy cruiserAstoria (CA-34) which was sunk on 9 August 1942 during theBattle of Savo Island.Astoria was launched on 6 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Robert Lucas (wife of the editor of theAstorian-Budget), and commissioned at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard on 17 May 1944.
TheCleveland-classlight cruisers traced their origin to design work done in the late 1930s; at the time, light cruiserdisplacement was limited to 8,000long tons (8,100 t) by theSecond London Naval Treaty. Following the start ofWorld War II in September 1939, Britain announced it would suspend the treaty for the duration of the conflict, a decision theUS Navy quickly followed. Though still neutral, the United States recognized that war was likely and the urgent need for additional ships ruled out an entirely new design, so theClevelands were a close development of the earlierBrooklyn-class cruisers, the chief difference being the substitution of a two-gun 5 in (127 mm)dual-purpose gun mount for one of themain battery 6 in (152 mm)gun turrets.[1]
_off_the_Mare_Island_Naval_Shipyard_on_21_October_1944_(NH_98414).jpg)
Astoria was 610 feet 1 inch (186 m)long overall and had abeam of 66 ft 4 in (20.22 m) and adraft of 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m). Herstandard displacement amounted to 11,744 long tons (11,932 t) and increased to 14,131 long tons (14,358 t) atfull load. The ship was powered by four General Electricsteam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four oil-firedBabcock & Wilcox boilers. Rated at 100,000shaft horsepower (75,000 kW), the turbines were intended to give a top speed of 32.5knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph). Her crew numbered 1285 officers and enlisted men.[2]
The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve6 in /47-caliber Mark 16 guns[a] in four 3-gun turrets on the centerline. Two were placed forward in asuperfiring pair; the other two turrets were placed aft of thesuperstructure in another superfiring pair. The secondary battery consisted of twelve5 in (127 mm) /38-caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets. Two of these were placed on the centerline, one directly behind the forward main turrets and the other just forward of the aft turrets. Two more were placed abreast of theconning tower and the other pair on either side of the aft superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense consisted of twenty-eightBofors 40 mm (1.6 in) guns in four quadruple and six double mounts and tenOerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) guns in single mounts.[2]
The ship'sbelt armor ranged in thickness from 3.5 to 5 in (89 to 127 mm), with the thicker sectionamidships where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. Her deck armor was 2 in (51 mm) thick. The main battery turrets were protected with 6.5 in (170 mm) faces and 3 in (76 mm) sides and tops, and they were supported bybarbettes 6 inches thick.Astoria's conning tower had 5-inch sides.[2]
Astoria waslaid down at theCramp Shipbuilding shipyard inPhiladelphia on 6 September 1941 and waslaunched on 6 March 1943. She was originally namedWilkes-Barre, but during construction, she was renamedAstoria forAstoria, Oregon, with thehull number CL-90. After completingfitting-out, she wascommissioned for active service on 17 May 1944. The ship thereafter embarked on hershakedown cruise along the western Atlantic, as far south asBermuda, which lasted from 6 June to 23 July. She then returned to Philadelphia for an overhaul before departing to join thePacific Fleet on 19 September. She passed through thePanama Canal and arrived inSan Diego, California, on 3 October.Astoria later moved to theMare Island Navy Yard before sailing forPearl Harbor on 25 October. She arrived five days later and remained there through 16 November.[3][4]
_underway_at_sea_on_22_July_1944.jpg)
On 16 November,Astoria left Pearl Harbor to join Task Force 38, thefast carrier task force, which was at that time based inUlithi in the westernCaroline Islands. She stopped inEniwetok in theMarshall Islands while en route and reached Ulithi on 25 November. After arriving, she was assigned to Task Group 38.2, one of thecarrier battle groups that formed TF 38.[4] At that time, the unit also included Theaircraft carriersLexington,Hancock,Hornet,Independence, andCabot, thefast battleshipsNew Jersey,Iowa, andWisconsin, the light cruisersPasadena,Vincennes,Miami, andSan Juan, and twentydestroyers.[5]Astoria was assigned the role of anti-aircraft escort for the fleet's aircraft carriers. The American fleet sortied on 11 December to support theinvasion of Mindoro; the carriers conducted a series of raids from 14 to 16 December before poor weather on the 17th grounded the aircraft. That night,Typhoon Cobra struck the fleet and inflicted significant damage to a number of ships, sinking three destroyers, thoughAstoria was not seriously damaged. The fleet searched for two days for survivors from the destroyers that sank before returning to Ulithi.[4]
TF 38 sortied from Ulithi again on 30 December to cover theinvasion of Luzon, striking Japanese positions on the islands from 6 to 9 January 1945.[4] By this time, TG 38.2 had been reduced toLexington,Hancock, andHornet, covered byNew Jersey,Wisconsin,Astoria,Pasadena,San Juan, the cruiserWilkes-Barre, and fifteen destroyers.[6] Late on the 9th, the fleet began theSouth China Sea raid to attack Japanese holdings in China andSoutheast Asia.Astoria escorted the carriers over the next two weeks as they struck various targets in Japanese occupied China, includingHong Kong,Guangzhou,Hainan, andFormosa, andFrench Indochina, including the naval base atCam Ranh Bay. The fleet returned to Ulithi on 25 January.[4]
By early February, command of the fast carrier task force had passed to5th Fleet, and so the unit was re-numbered TF 58.[4] At that time,Astoria,Wilkes-Barre, andPasadena were transferred to TG 58.3, which includedCabot, the carriersBunker Hill andEssex, the battleshipsSouth Dakota andNew Jersey, the large cruiserAlaska, and fourteen destroyers.[7] The fleet, includingAstoria, sortied early that month to conduct a series of air attacks on the Japanesehome islands, which began on 18 February. Later that day, the fleet sailed south to support theinvasion of Iwo Jima, andAstoria was detached to conduct shore bombardment on 21 February. She thereafter rejoined the carriers for another round of strikes on the Japanese capital,Tokyo, and thereafter returned to Ulithi on 3 March.[4] TF 58 got underway again on 14 March to begin air strikes to prepare for the upcominginvasion of Okinawa.Astoria once again served in the anti-aircraft screen for the carriers of TG 58.3 during these operations.[8] Over the course of the next three months of sustained combat,Astoria's gunners claimed credit for eleven Japanese aircraft and partial credit for several others.Astoria returned toLeyte in the Philippines on 1 June for periodic maintenance that lasted for a month.[4]
On 1 July, she sailed to return to the fast carrier task force for another major operation against the Japanese home islands.[4] By that time, Third Fleet had resumed control of the force, so unit to whichAstoria returned had reverted to the designation TG 38.3.[9] During this period, she served in Cruiser Division 17, and she was twice detached to conduct patrols for Japanese vessels offHonshu. These were carried out on 17–18 and 24–25 July.[4] For the first of these,Astoria joinedPasadena,Wilkes-Barre, and theirsister shipSpringfield, along with six destroyers, to create Task Group 35.1. They were sent to carry out a sweep for Japanese vessels off northern Honshu and in theKii Channel, but they failed to locate any targets.[10] For the latter operation,Astoria was again detached to join the bombardment force TG 35.3 on 24 July, along withWilkes-Barre,Pasadena, andSpringfield. The ships shelled theseaplane base atKushimoto that evening and later bombardedCape Shionomisaki.[11] TF 38's operations off Japan continued through the end of July and into the first two weeks of August. On 15 August, Japan agreed to surrender and TF 38 ceased offensive operations, though the fleet continued to patrol off the coast of Japan.Astoria remained with the fleet until 3 September, when she received orders to return home. For her wartime service,Astoria received fivebattle stars.[4]
Astoria reachedSan Pedro, California, on 15 September, anchoring there until she departed to return to Pearl Harbor on 24 November. Arriving there six days later, she took part in training exercises over the following days. She left to return to San Pedro on 10 December, arriving five days later. Over the course of the following ten months, the ship cruised along the western coast of North America, as far north asVancouver,British Columbia, and as far south as San Diego. The ship got underway for a lengthy voyage to the central Pacific on 15 October 1946, which included stops inGuam andSaipan in theMarianas Islands. On 17 February 1947, she left Guam to return home by way ofKwajalein and Pearl Harbor, arriving in San Diego on 24 March. She resumed her peacetime cruises along the west coast through September 1948.[4]
The ship departed for another overseas cruise on 1 October, this time headed to East Asian waters. She stopped in Pearl Harbor for three days while en route and then resumed her voyage across the Pacific, arriving inQingdao, China, on 29 October.Astoria visited a number of ports in the area over the next three and a half months, includingInchon andPusan in Korea,Sasebo andYokosuka in Japan, andShanghai, China. The ship left Yokosuka on 16 February 1949, bound for the United States. She stopped in Pearl Harbor on the way and arrived in San Francisco on 8 March. While there on 1 July,Astoria was decommissioned and assigned to the San Francisco Group,Pacific Reserve Fleet. She remained in the Navy's inventory until 1 November 1969, when she was struck from thenaval register. She was sold forscrap to the Nicolai Joffe Corp. on 12 January 1971 and subsequentlybroken up.[4]
