USS Chicago (CA-29)
History of the USS Chicago Cruiser
The USS Chicago (CA-29) was ordered for the U.S. Navy between World War I and World War II. Her keel was laid down at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California on September 10, 1928. She was launched on April 10, 1930 and commissioned on March 9, 1931 under the command of Captain Manley Hale Simmons.
In her early career, USS Chicago served as the flagship for the Commander Cruisers Scouting Force off the East Coast. She sailed to the West Coast in February 1932 for gunnery exercises with the Scouting Force before Fleet Problem XIII. The Scouting Force remained there, now based on the West Coast. The cruiser operated from Alaska to Hawaii to the Panama Canal Zone for the next two years.
The annual Fleet Problem was held in the Caribbean in 1934. In May, the USS Chicago sailed to New York Harbor for the Presidential Fleet Review. After operating along the East Coast and in the Caribbean until October, she returned home to San Pedro, California, where she received the new RCA CXAM RADAR in 1940.
USS Chicago operated out of San Pedro until she was transferred to Pearl Harbor on September 29, 1940. She spent the next year conducting exercises, aiding in the development of tactics, and cruising to both Australia and the West Coast.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS Chicago was sailing with Task Force 12 in the Pacific. She began a sweep of the area between Oahu, Johnston Atoll, and Palmyra to intercept the Japanese, returning to Pearl Harbor on December 12. For the next two weeks, she conducted patrol and search missions with Task Force 11.
The USS Chicago departed Pearl Harbor on February 2, 1942, operating near the Louisiade Archipelago in March and April to cover the attacks on Lae and Salamaua. She also covered the troop landings at New Caledonia. On May 4, she joined the screening group built around the USS Yorktown for the air strikes on Tulagi. Three days later, she joined the attack on the Japanese Port Moresby invasion group. On May 8, several of her crew members were killed by enemy strafing, but she remained in action until the Japanese had been indeed turned back.
While moored at Sydney Harbor on May 31, USS Chicago fired upon an attacking Japanese midget submarine, one of three that attempted to enter the harbor with a failed primary mission to sink the cruiser. She operated in the Southwest Pacific throughout June and July.
On August 7, the USS Chicago began her support of the troop landings on Guadalcanal and elsewhere in the Solomon Islands. Two days later, she became involved in the Battle of Savo Island, in which a torpedo hit from a Japanese cruiser damaged her bow.
USS Chicago received temporary repairs for her battle damage at Nouméa and Sydney before she proceeded to San Francisco for permanent repairs. Once her repairs were complete, she returned to the war zone in January 1943.
On January 27, the USS Chicago departed to escort a convoy from Nouméa to Guadalcanal. Two nights later, she became involved in the Battle of Rennell Island. Burning Japanese planes lit up the cruiser, allowing the enemy to score two torpedo hits. Though she lost power and experienced severe flooding, damage control kept her afloat. While under tow by the USS Louisville, she was caught in another attack the following day. Four more torpedo hits sank the ship on January 30, 1943. The cruiser earned three 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
