USS Honolulu (CL-48)
History of the USS Honolulu Cruiser
The USS Honolulu (CL-48) 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 September 10, 1935. She was launched on August 26, 1937 and commissioned on June 15, 1938 under the command of Captain Oscar Smith.
In her early career, USS Honolulu took part in the annual Fleet Problem in the Caribbean before her assignment to the Pacific Fleet. She arrived at San Pedro, California on June 14, 1939, operating from there to conduct exercises for the rest of the year. The cruiser was overhauled at Puget Sound in Washington the following year before being transferred to Pearl Harbor on November 5, 1940.
USS Honolulu was moored at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. She received only minor damage to her hull from a near miss. Repairs did not take long, and the cruiser sailed to escort a convoy to San Francisco, California from January 12 to January 21, 1942. Her escort duty then took her to Australia, Samoa, and back to the United States over the next few months.
On May 29, the USS Honolulu headed to Alaska, operating out of Kodiak for two months. She then began bombardment of Kiska on August 7. Two weeks later, she screened the troop landings on Adak. From there, she proceeded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California for overhaul.
Once her yard work was completed, USS Honolulu departed on November 3 to escort a convoy to Nouméa. At the end of the month, she moved to intercept a convoy carrying Japanese reinforcements to Guadalcanal. The cruiser became engaged in the Battle of Tassafaronga shortly before midnight on November 30. During the exchange, one Japanese destroyer sank, but the USS Northampton also sank, with three other cruisers damaged by enemy torpedoes.
In early 1943, the USS Honolulu served with Task Force 67, looking to engage enemy shipping, nicknamed the Tokyo Express. She bombarded New Georgia in May and other islands in the Solomons at the end of June. On July 4, she supported the troop landings on New Georgia before taking out a Japanese destroyer in the Battle of Kula Gulf.
On July 13, USS Honolulu took part in the Battle of Kolombangara, engaging Japanese cruisers and destroyers in New Georgia Sound. She set one enemy cruiser on fire and sank a destroyer before she was struck by a torpedo on her starboard side. The cruiser headed to Tulagi for temporary repairs before sailing first to Pearl Harbor then to Mare Island Naval Shipyard for permanent repairs.
The USS Honolulu was ready for action on November 17, arriving at Espiritu Santo on December 11. Sixteen days later, she bombarded enemy targets on Bougainville Island. During the first few months of 1944, the cruiser conducted patrols and bombardments in the Solomon Islands, screening the troop landings on Green Island the day before Valentine’s Day.
From there, USS Honolulu moved on to support operations in the Mariana Islands. In June, she helped bombard Saipan and Guam, interrupted briefly to intercept the Japanese fleet. The cruiser then provided gunfire support and other services for the invasion of Guam, remaining on station for three weeks. After a brief return to Purvis Bay on August 18, she moved on to offer her fire support for the landings at Peleliu and Angaur in the Palau Islands.
On October 12, the USS Honolulu departed Manus to take part in the invasion of Leyte. One week later, she conducted pre-invasion bombardment then screened the troop landings. While supporting the landing troops on October 20, she was struck by an enemy torpedo on her port side. The cruiser returned to Manus for temporary repairs before heading to Norfolk, Virginia for permanent repairs via Pearl Harbor, San Diego, and the Panama Canal. Her repair work kept her at Norfolk until the war was over.
After World War II, USS Honolulu headed to Newport, Rhode Island to serve as a training ship. She was decommissioned on January 8, 1946 and sold for scrap on November 17, 1949. The cruiser earned eight 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
