USS Helena (CL-50)
History of the USS Helena Cruiser
The USS Helena (CL-50) was ordered for the U.S. Navy between World War I and World War II. Her keel was laid down at Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York on December 9, 1936. She was launched on August 27, 1939 and commissioned on September 18, 1939 under the command of Captain Max B. Demott.
USS Helena made her shakedown cruise in South American waters. On January 29, 1940, she arrived at Montevideo, where her crew members boarded the wreckage of the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee. She was then assigned to the Pacific Fleet.
On December 7, 1941, the USS Helena was moored at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. She took a torpedo hit to her starboard side, killing 20 of her crew members, but damage control and heavy antiaircraft fire kept her afloat and free of further damage. The cruiser had some preliminary repairs completed there before she sailed to Mare Island Navy Yard in California for permanent repairs.
Once her yard work was completed, USS Helena escorted an aircraft carrier and a detachment of Seabees to the South Pacific. She made two trips between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal before joining the task force that was built around the USS Wasp. As the task force supported troop transports bound for Guadalcanal on September 15, 1942, the USS Wasp was hit by three Japanese torpedoes. USS Helena rescued about 400 men and officers from the burning ship, carrying them to Espiritu Santo.
From there, the USS Helena moved on to support more transports bound for Guadalcanal. On October 11, during the Battle of Cape Esperance, the cruiser sank the Japanese cruiser Furutaka and the destroyer Fubuki. Nine days later, while patrolling the area between Espiritu Santo and San Cristobal, she was bracketed by exploding torpedoes but managed not to be hit.
After escorting a supply echelon between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal, USS Helena found herself in the middle of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Her task group successfully fought off the first air attack on November 13, though the second attack damaged two American ships. Eight Japanese planes were downed in eight minutes. The following day, the Japanese warships arrived. U.S. Forces prevailed, but at heavy cost to themselves. The cruiser, however, sustained only minor damage to her superstructure.
In January 1943, the USS Helena bombarded enemy positions at New Georgia. She continued to support operations on Guadalcanal until February. On February 11, one of her float planes shared in the kill of the Japanese submarine RO-102.
The USS Helena underwent overhaul at Sydney, then proceeded to Espiritu Santo in preparation for the pre-invasion bombardment of New Georgia. She arrived at Kula Gulf on the night of July 4 to begin the shore bombardment. The Battle of Kula Gulf began the next morning. As the cruiser opened fire on the incoming Japanese destroyers, she was struck by three torpedoes and began to jackknife before breaking up and sinking stern first. Her survivors were rescued from the water by the USS Nicholas, USS Radford, USS Gwin, and USS Woodworth; 168 men died. She was the first ship to ever receive the Navy Unit Commendation, and she was also awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
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
