USS Baltimore (CA-68)
History of the USS Baltimore Cruiser
The USS Baltimore (CA-68) was ordered for the U.S. Navy before World War II began. Her keel was laid down by the Fore River Shipyard in Massachusetts on May 26, 1941. She was launched on July 28, 1942 and commissioned on April 15, 1943 under the command of Captain Walter Carson Calhoun.
In her first combat action of World War II, USS Baltimore provided fire support to cover the landing at Makin Island from November 20 to December 4, 1943. She moved on to support the invasion of Kwajalein in January 1944 and in the raid on Truk the following month. From there, the cruiser covered the seizure of Eniwetok and the attacks on various locations in the Mariana Islands.
From March 30 until April 1, the USS Baltimore took part in the raids on Palau, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai. Several weeks later, she covered the troop landing at Hollandia. After that, she supported the raids on Truk, Satawan, and Ponape. Her next mission was to protect the carriers during the air strikes on Marcus Island and Wake Island near the end of May.
USS Baltimore covered the invasion of Saipan in mid-June. Later that month, she became involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Following this busy schedule, the cruiser returned home to the United States in July.
Once in the United States, the USS Baltimore took aboard President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his party. She transported him to Pearl Harbor for a meeting with Admiral Chester Nimitz and General Douglas MacArthur. From there, she carried the President to Alaska, where he disembarked on August 9.
The USS Baltimore returned to the Pacific war zone in November as part of the Third Fleet. She took part in the Luzon attacks in both December and in January. In January 1945, she also supported operations at Formosa, the coast of China, and Okinawa.
On January 26, USS Baltimore joined the Fifth Fleet. She helped attack Honshu on February 16-17. Two days later, she supported the invasion of Iwo Jima. Her final major operation involved the raids supporting Allied efforts on Okinawa.
After World War II, the USS Baltimore took part in Operation Magic Carpet, carrying American troops home from war. She then served as part of the occupation in Japan from November 29 until February 17, 1946. Upon her return to the United States, the cruiser was decommissioned on July 8, 1946.
USS Baltimore was recommissioned on November 28, 1951 to serve with the Atlantic Fleet. Though she was never deployed to the Korean War zone, North Korea claimed to have sunk her on July 2, 1950. Over the next several years, she made a series of Mediterranean deployments with the Sixth Fleet. The cruiser represented the U.S. Navy at the Coronation Naval Review at Spithead, England in June 1953. She was transferred to the Pacific Fleet on January 5, 1955 and deployed to the Far East with the Seventh Fleet from February until August.
The USS Baltimore was decommissioned for the final time on May 31, 1956. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on February 15, 1971 and sold for scrap on May 10, 1972. The cruiser earned nine battle stars for her service in World War II.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.
Sources include:
Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences, by John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed
