_coming_out_of_a_turn%2c_circa_1944_(NH_97131).jpg) USSGuam in 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Guam |
| Namesake | Guam |
| Ordered | 9 September 1940 |
| Builder | New York Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down | 2 February 1942 |
| Launched | 12 November 1943 |
| Commissioned | 17 September 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 17 February 1947 |
| Stricken | 1 June 1960 |
| Identification | Hull number: CB-2 |
| Honors & awards | 2battle stars |
| Fate | Scrapped in May 1961 |
| 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 |
USSGuam was anAlaska-classlarge cruiser which served with theUnited States Navy during the last year ofWorld War II. She was the second and last ship of her class to be completed. The ship was the second vessel of the US Navy to be named after the island ofGuam, an American territory in the Pacific, and she was assigned thehull number CB-2. Due to her commissioning late in the war,Guam saw relatively limited service during the war. She participated in operations offOkinawa in March–July 1945, including providing anti-aircraft defense for the carrier task force and conducting limited shore bombardment operations. She participated in sweeps for Japanese shipping in the East China and Yellow Seas in July–August 1945. After the end of 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.
The ship 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, housed in twohangars,[2] with a pair ofaircraft catapults 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.[Note 1] 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 34 gun directors aided gunlaying for the main battery, while two Mk 37 directors controlled the 5-inch guns and a Mk 57 director aided the 40 mm guns.[5]
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]
Guam was authorized under the Fleet Expansion Act on 19 July 1940, and ordered on 9 September.[6] She waslaid down on 2 February 1942 at theNew York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey. She waslaunched on 12 November 1943 with the sponsorship ofAnnabel McMillin, wife of former Governor of GuamGeorge J. McMillin (who was being held by the Japanese as a prisoner of war at the time), after whichfitting-out work was effected. The ship was completed by September 1944, and she wascommissioned into the US Navy on 17 September, under the command of Captain Leland Lovette.[7][8] She was the second vessel of the US Navy to be namedGuam; the first, agunboat, was still in service but had been renamedWake in January 1941 to free the name for the new cruiser.[9]
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Guam left Philadelphia on 17 January 1945, after completing her shakedown cruise offTrinidad. She proceeded through thePanama Canal to join theUnited States Pacific Fleet inPearl Harbor, which she reached on 8 February. While there,Secretary of the NavyJames Forrestal visited the ship. On 3 March, she departed Hawaii forUlithi, where she joined her sisterAlaska on 13 March. Shortly thereafter,Guam and the rest ofTask Force 58, the main strike force of the US Navy under the command of AdmiralArthur W. Radford, departed for a raid on the mainland Japanese islands ofKyushu andShikoku. Task Force 58 arrived off Japan on the morning of 18 March and was quickly attacked by Japanesekamikazes and bombers.Guam was detached from the unit to escort the badly damaged carrierFranklin back to port, which lasted until 22 March.[10]
Guam then returned to Task Force 58, assigned to Cruiser Division 16, part of Task Group 58.4, and steamed toOkinawa. On the night of 27–28 March,Guam and the rest of Cruiser Division 16 bombarded the airfield onMinamidaitō. After concluding the bombardment,Guam returned to the carrier screen while they conducted operations offNansei Shoto until 11 May. The ship then steamed to Ulithi for periodic maintenance and to replenish ammunition and supplies. She then returned to Okinawa, assigned to Task Group 38.4 ofWilliam Halsey'sThird Fleet. She continued to provide anti-aircraft defense for the carriers while they launched fighter sweeps of Kyushu.Guam andAlaska bombardedOki Daitō for an hour and a half on 9 June, after which they steamed toSan Pedro Bay inLeyte Gulf, arriving on 13 June.[11]
After returning to Okinawa in July,Guam was assigned to CruiserTask Force 95, where she served as theflagship,[10] along with her sisterAlaska, under the command of Rear AdmiralFrancis S. Low.[12] On 16 July,Guam andAlaska conducted a sweep into theEast China andYellow Seas to sink Japanese shipping. 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 offShanghai. Again, the operation met with limited success,[13] and they returned to Okinawa by 7 August.[10]
Shortly after returning to Okinawa,Guam became the flagship of the North China Force, again commanded by Rear Admiral Low. The unit was tasked withshowing the flag in the region, including the ports ofQingdao,Port Arthur, andDalian. On 8 September,Guam enteredJinsen, Korea, to assist in the occupation of the country. She left Jinsen on 14 November bound for San Francisco, carrying a group of Army soldiers back to the United States. She arrived in port on 3 December and departed two days later forBayonne, New Jersey, arriving on the 17th. She remained there until she was decommissioned on 17 February 1947. She was then assigned to theAtlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained until she was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 June 1960. She was sold on 24 May 1961 for $423,076 to the Boston Metals Company in Baltimore. She was towed to theshipbreakers on 10 July 1961.[14]Guam had served only 29 months on active duty.[15]
