_underway_1938.jpg) USSBoise (July 1938) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Boise |
| Namesake | City ofBoise, Idaho |
| Ordered | 13 February 1929 |
| Awarded | 22 August 1934 |
| Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company,Newport News, Virginia |
| Cost | $11,650,000 (contract price) |
| Laid down | 1 April 1935 |
| Launched | 3 December 1936 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Salome Clark |
| Commissioned | 12 August 1938 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1946 |
| Stricken | 25 January 1951 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors & awards |   11 ×battle stars |
| Fate | Sold toArgentina, 11 January 1951 |
 Argentina | |
| Name | Nueve de Julio |
| Namesake | Independence of Argentina |
| Acquired | 11 January 1951 |
| Commissioned | 11 March 1952 |
| Decommissioned | 1979 |
| Identification | Hull symbol:C-5 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics (as built)[1] | |
| Class & type | Brooklyn-classcruiser |
| Displacement |
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| Length | |
| Beam | 61 ft 7 in (18.77 m) |
| Draft |
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| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 868 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Armor |
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| Aircraft carried | 4 ×SOC Seagullfloatplanes |
| Aviation facilities | 2 ×sterncatapults |
| General characteristics (1945)[2][3] | |
| Armament |
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USSBoise (CL-47) was alight cruiser of theBrooklyn class in theUnited States Navy. The cruiser was named forBoise, the capital city of the state ofIdaho.Commissioned in 1938, she saw extensive service duringWorld War II, taking part in fighting in theMediterranean andPacific theaters. Following the war the ship wasdecommissioned in 1946 and lay idle until sold to Argentina in 1951. RenamedARANueve de Julio, the ship remained in service with theArgentinian Navy until 1978, after which she was taken toBrownsville, Texas andscrapped in 1983.
Boise waslaunched on 3 December 1936 byNewport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company,Newport News, Virginia, sponsored by Miss Salome Clark, the daughter ofGovernor Clark ofIdaho. The ship commissioned on 12 August 1938 with CaptainBenjamin Vaughan McCandlish in command.[4]
In February 1939, following a shakedown cruise toMonrovia, Liberia andCape Town,Union of South Africa,Boise joined Cruiser Division 9 (CruDiv 9), Battle Force, atSan Pedro, California. Until November 1941, she operated alternately off the west coast and in Hawaiian waters. She then escorted a convoy toManila,Philippine Islands, arriving on 4 December.[4]
The outbreak of war on 8 December 1941 foundBoise offCebu Island.[5] On 9 January 1942 Task Force 5 (TF 5) was in northern Australian waters.[6]Boise with the task force commander,Rear Admiral Glassford aboard, departedDarwin that day withMarblehead and destroyersBarker,Parrott,Bulmer,Stewart andPope escorting the Dutch shipBloemfontein that was transporting hastily re-stowed supplies, artillery and artillerymen of the Headquarters Battery, 26th Field Artillery Brigade and the 1st Battalion, 131st Field Artillery that had arrived with thePensacola Convoy toSurabaya.[6][7][8] She rejoined the other elements of TF 5 in theEast Indies, but on 21 January 1942 she struck an “uncharted” shoal inSape Strait and had to retire toColombo,Ceylon;Bombay, India; andMare Island Navy Yard for repairs, which in essence saved her from being destroyed with the rest of the Allied ships during the various battles around Java. Her repairs completed, she sailed on 22 June to escort aconvoy toAuckland, New Zealand.[4]
Boise returned toPearl Harbor and was tasked to conduct a raiding cruise inJapanese waters in hopes of creating an impression, including generating radio traffic, of a striking force heading for Japan to draw attention away from preparations forGuadalcanal.Boise departed Pearl Harbor 27 July and was expected to begin this raid on the Japanesesampan patrol line guarding approaches toHonshu about 750 miles (1,210 km) east ofTokyo on 5 August. She completed the raid on 8 August. Twoseaplanes that had to land on the water at sunset were lost, one being found by the Japanese with indications this caused apprehension of a strike force preparing to attack Japan.[9][10]
In August, she escorted a convoy toFiji andNew Hebrides. From 14 to 18 September, she helped cover the landing of Marine reinforcements on Guadalcanal.[5]
On the night of 11–12 October 1942, during theBattle of Cape Esperance, the task force of whichBoise was part encountered a force of Japanese cruisers and destroyers to the west of Guadalcanal. In the engagementBoise was hit a number of times, twice by fire from a Japanese heavy cruiser from about 7,500 yards (6,900 m) range. One hit exploded upon impact on her armor causing little damage. The other penetrated under the waterline and exploded in the 6 in (152 mm) magazine located between number I and II turrets causing a powder fire and flooding, putting turrets I, II, and III out of action and causing a number of casualties[11] including 107 killed.[12]
Under the command of Captain "Mike" Moran, who was later awarded theNavy Cross for his leadership during the battle,[13]Boise made her way toPhiladelphia Navy Yard, where she underwent repairs from 19 November 1942 to 20 March 1943.[5] The gunfire damage was the first case available for completeBureau of Ships analysis.[11] It was discovered that one of the shells was of English manufacture.[14]
Boise departed on 8 June for theMediterranean, arriving atAlgiers, Algeria on 21 June. From 10 July to 18 August, she acted as a cover and fire support ship for theAmphibious Battle of Gela during theInvasion of Sicily. In September, she took part in the Italian mainland landings atTaranto (9–10 September) andSalerno (12–19 September). She returned to New York on 15 November, and once again steamed to the South Pacific, arriving atMilne Bay,New Guinea on 31 December.[4]
During January–September 1944, she took part in operations along the northern shore of New Guinea, including:Madang-Alexishafen bombardment (25–26 January);Humboldt Bay landings (22 April);shelling theWakde andSawar Airfields to neutralize the danger of air attack on newly won Allied positions (29–30 April);Battle of Wakde-Toem landings (15–25 May);Battle of Biak landings (25 May – 10 June);Battle of Noemfoor landings (1–2 July);Battle of Sansapor landings (27 July – 31 August);and theBattle of Morotai landings (1–30 September).The cruiser then moved north, as the battle front advanced into the Philippines, taking part in:Leyte invasion (20–24 October);Battle of Surigao Strait (25 October);Mindoro landings (12–17 December);Leyte-Mindoro covering action (26–29 December);Lingayen Gulf landings, with GeneralDouglas MacArthur embarked (4–13 January 1945);[15]Luzon covering force (14–31 January);Bataan-Corregidor occupation (13–17 February);andZamboanga landings (8–12 March).She then moved toBorneo for theTarakan landings (27 April – 3 May).[4]
From 3–16 June, she carried General MacArthur on a 3,500 miles (5,600 km) tour of the Central and Southern Philippines andBrunei Bay, Borneo, and then returned to San Pedro, California, arriving on 7 July. There she remained, undergoing overhaul and training until October. She sailed on 3 October for the east coast, arriving at New York on 20 October.Boise remained there until decommissioned on 1 July 1946.[4]
Boise was sold to Argentina on 11 January 1951,[4] along withPhoenix, where they were commissioned asNueve de Julio ("9 July", Argentina's Independence Day) andDiecisiete de Octubre (later renamedGeneral Belgrano) respectively.
During her years as an Argentinian warship, she took part of theRevolución Libertadora, shelling oil depots and military facilities around the coastal city ofMar del Plata, on 19 September 1955. She was accidentally rammed byGeneral Belgrano on exercises in 1956, which resulted in damage to both cruisers.[16]
Nueve de Julio remained in service with the Argentine Navy until 1978, when she was decommissioned and towed toBrownsville, Texas.[3]
Boise received 11battle stars for her service in World War II.[4]
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This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
 United States Navy | |
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 Argentine NavyGeneral Belgrano class |
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 Brazilian Navy |
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 Chilean Navy |
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