_underway_off_New_York_City_on_31_May_1934_(NH_715).jpg) USSChicago (CA-29), underway off New York City, during the fleet review on 31 May 1934. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Chicago |
| Namesake | City ofChicago, Illinois |
| Ordered | 18 December 1924 |
| Awarded |
|
| Builder | Mare Island Naval Shipyard,Vallejo, California |
| Cost | $11,100,000 (limit of cost) |
| Laid down | 10 September 1928 |
| Launched | 10 April 1930 |
| Sponsored by | Miss. E Britten |
| Commissioned | 9 March 1931 |
| Reclassified | CA-29, 1 July 1931 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors and awards |  3 ×battle stars |
| Fate | Sunk by air attack during theBattle of Rennell Island, 30 January 1943 |
| General characteristics (as built)[1][2] | |
| Class & type | Northampton-classcruiser |
| Displacement | 9,300 long tons (9,449 t) (standard) |
| Length | |
| Beam | 66 ft 1 in (20.14 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 32.7 kn (37.6 mph; 60.6 km/h) |
| Range | 10,000 nmi (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
| Capacity | 1,500 short tons (1,400 t)fuel oil |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors & processing systems | CXAM radar from 1940 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
| Aircraft carried | 4 ×SOC Seagull scout-observationfloatplanes |
| Aviation facilities | 2 ×Amidshipcatapults |
| General characteristics (1942)[3] | |
| Armament |
|
USSChicago (CL/CA-29) was aNorthampton-classcruiser of theUnited States Navy that served in thePacific Theater in the early years ofWorld War II. She was the second US Navy ship to be named after the city of Chicago. After surviving amidget submarine attack atSydney Harbour and serving in battle at theCoral Sea andSavo Island in 1942, she was sunk by Japaneseaerial torpedoes in theBattle of Rennell Island, in theSolomon Islands, on 30 January 1943.
Chicago waslaunched on 10 April 1930 byMare Island Naval Shipyard under the supervision of Naval constructorCharles W. Fisher Jr., sponsored by Miss E. Britten; andcommissioned on 9 March 1931.[4] She was originally classified as alight cruiser, CL-29, because of her thin armor. From 1 July 1931,Chicago was redesignated aheavy cruiser, CA-29, because of her 8-inch guns in accordance with the provisions of theLondon Naval Treaty of 1930.[5]
After ashakedown cruise toHonolulu,Tahiti andAmerican Samoa,Chicago departedMare Island on 27 July 1931 and sailed to the east coast, arriving atFort Pond Bay, New York, on 16 August. There, she becameflagship of Commander, Cruisers,Scouting Force, and operated with that force until 1940.[4]
In February 1932,Chicago conducted gunnery exercises with other ships of the Scouting Force preliminary toFleet Problem XIII off the California coast. The fleet was based on the West Coast thereafter and, until 1934, operated in the Pacific, from Alaska to thePanama Canal Zone and theHawaiian Islands.[4]
_Mare_Island_Navy_Yard_25_Oct_1933.jpg)
On 24 October 1933,Chicago collided with the British freighterSilver Palm in dense fog offPoint Sur, California. Three officers aboardChicago were killed in their quarters during the collision, and an enlisted man's arm had to be amputated as well.Silver Palm penetrated around 18 feet (5.5 m) into the cruiser's port bow, forward of the Number 1 gun mount.[6] At the time of the incident damage was estimated to be around $200,000 ($4.86 million today).[7] The vessel was repaired at theMare Island Naval Shipyard, departing there on 24 March 1934.[8]
In 1934, the annual fleet exercises were held in theCaribbean, followed in May 1934 by thePresidential Fleet Review in New York Harbor. The Scouting Force operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean until October and then returned to base atSan Pedro, California.Chicago was one of six ships to receive the newRCACXAM radar in 1940.[9]Chicago continued to operate out of San Pedro until 29 September 1940, when she sailed toPearl Harbor.[4]
During the next 14 months,Chicago operated out of Pearl Harbor, exercising with various task forces to develop tactics and cruising formations, and cruising to Australia and to the west coast.[4]
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941,Chicago was at sea with Task Force 12 and the Force immediately began a five-day sweep in theOahu-Johnston-Palmyra triangle in an effort to intercept the enemy. The Force returned to Pearl Harbor on 12 December; from 14–27 December,Chicago operated withTask Force 11 on patrol and search missions.[4]
On 2 February 1942,Chicago departed Pearl Harbor forSuva, where she joined the newly formedANZAC Squadron, later redesignated asTask Force 44. During March and April, the cruiser operated off theLouisiade Archipelago, covering the attacks onLae andSalamaua,New Guinea. In a position to intercept enemy surface units which attempted to attackPort Moresby,Chicago also provided cover for the arrival of American troops onNew Caledonia.[4]
On 1 May,Chicago was ordered fromNouméa to join Commander, Southwest Pacific, and on the 4th she supportedYorktown in her strike against the Japanese onTulagi, Solomon Islands during theBattle of the Coral Sea. On 7 May, she proceeded, with the Support Group, to intercept and attack the Japanese Port Moresby invasion group. The following day, the group underwent several Japanese air attacks, during whichChicago suffered several casualties from strafing, but drove off the planes and proceeded ahead until it was clear that the Japanese force had been turned back.[4]
_1942.jpg)
On the night of 31 May – 1 June, while in port inSydney Harbour, Australia,Chicago fired on anattacking Japanese midget submarine.Chicago's captain, Howard D. Bode, was ashore when his ship opened fire. After coming back aboard on his ship, he initially accused all the officers of being drunk. Shortly afterwards, the presence of the submarine was confirmed.[10] Three Japanese midget submarines had attacked Sydney Harbour. One became entangled in ananti-submarine boom net, and two were able to pass through. One was then disabled by depth charges, but the other managed to fire two torpedoes atChicago. One torpedo passed nearChicago and destroyed the converted ferryHMAS Kuttabul, nearby, killing 21 sailors, while the second torpedo failed to detonate, and skidded ashore ontoGarden Island.[11]
During June and July 1942,Chicago continued to operate in the Southwest Pacific. From 7–9 August, she supported the initial landings onGuadalcanal and others of the Solomon Islands, beginning the second US counter-offensive after New Guinea against Japan. On 9 August, she engaged in theBattle of Savo Island. Early in the engagement a hit from a Japanese destroyer'storpedo caused significant damage to the ship's bow.Chicago fought damage while continuing to engage until contact with the enemy was lost.[4] Capt. Bode's actions during the engagement were questioned in an inquiry headed by AdmiralArthur Japy Hepburn. Though the report was not intended to be made public, Bode learned of its findings and shot himself on 19 April 1943, dying the next day.[12]
After Savo Island,Chicago was repaired at Nouméa, Sydney, and San Francisco, where she arrived 13 October.[4][13]
_low_in_the_water_on_30_January_1943.jpg)
Early in January 1943,Chicago departed San Francisco, action-bound once more. On 27 January, she sailed from Nouméa to escort a Guadalcanal convoy. On the night of the 29th, as the ships approached that bitterly contested island, Japanese aircraft attacked the force and theBattle of Rennell Island was underway. During the attacks, two burning Japanese planes silhouettedChicago, providing enough light for further torpedo attacks; two hits caused severe flooding and loss of power. By the time the attack ended, work by the crew had checkedChicago's list.Louisville took the disabled ship in tow, and was relieved byNavajo the following morning. Fighters from the nearby carrierEnterprise provided CAP for the wounded cruiser as she tried to make her way away from the battle area. During the afternoon, the Japanese attacked again with 20G4M “Betty” bombers. The ship was hit by four torpedoes, one forward of the bridge and three others in her engineering spaces. The patrolling fighters downed 8 of the attacking planes, but the damage was done. Captain Ralph O. Davis gave the order to abandon ship shortly beforeChicago sank stern first, 20 minutes later at11°25′S160°56′E / 11.417°S 160.933°E /-11.417; 160.933 (Approximate location of the wreck of USS Chicago).Navajo and the escorting destroyers rescued 1,049 survivors fromChicago,[14] but 62 of her crew died.[15] A final attack force of Japanese torpedo bombers failed to find the remaining U.S. ships.[16]
The Japanese widely publicized the results of the engagement, claiming to have sunk two battleships and three cruisers. In reality they sank only the heavy cruiserChicago on 30 January (two days later they also sank the destroyerUSS De Haven much farther north in an air attack off Savo Island).[17] The U.S. did not report the loss ofChicago to the public for some time, with AdmiralChester Nimitz—commander in chief of Allied Pacific forces—threatening to shoot any of his staff who leaked the loss to the press.[18] The loss of the cruiser was published in a US newspaper on 16 February 1943.[19]
Chicago received threebattle stars for World War II service.[4]
Chicago Avenue, nearCoral Sea Park inMaroubra, New South Wales, is named after USS Chicago (CA-29).[20]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1933 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1943 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
