USS Memphis (CL-13)
History of the USS Memphis Cruiser
The USS Memphis (CL-13) was ordered for the U.S. Navy after World War I. Her keel was laid down by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 14, 1920. She was launched on April 17, 1924 and commissioned on February 4, 1925 under the command of Captain Henry E. Lackey.
Early in her career, USS Memphis took part in the dedications of the American memorial gateway to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in Trinidad on April 13, 1925. She then made a South Pacific cruise from June until September, visiting Australia and New Zealand along the way. The cruiser then operated in the West Indies until returning to her homeport of New York City in April 1926.
On June 26, the USS Memphis arrived at St. Nazaire, France to serve as the flagship for the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe. During a month-long visit to Spain, she was visited by King Alfonso XIII. The cruiser embarked Captain Charles A. Lindbergh and his plane on June 3, 1927 following his nonstop flight from New York to Paris. She arrived back at Washington, D.C. to deliver Captain Lindbergh home.
USS Memphis spent the next few months conducting surveillance duty along the East Coast. The following January, she served as part of President Calvin Coolidge’s escort to the West Indies. She operated in the Caribbean for four months before proceeding to the Eastern Pacific.
During the next several years, the USS Memphis operated off Central America, providing peacekeeping services at Corinto, Nicaragua for the inauguration of President Juan B. Sacasa in 1932. In May 1933, she moved on to alternate duties on the West Coast and in the West Indies. The cruiser made a goodwill cruise to Australia in 1938 before rejoining the fleet for the Presidential Review at San Francisco, California on July 12, 1939. She sailed for Alaska the following month.
As World War II began in Europe, USS Memphis headed to the East Coast, departing Newport on April 24, 1941 to conduct neutrality patrol between Trinidad, Cape San Roque, and the Cape Verde Islands. She escorted two transports to Ascension Island in March 1942, where the U.S. Army 38th Engineer General Service Regiment built an airport to serve as a staging point for American aircraft headed for Africa. The cruiser then proceeded to Martinique to resume her patrols.
The USS Memphis served as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s flagship off Gambia during the Casablanca Conference from January 14-24, 1943. She moved on to patrol for blockade runners off Brazil from February until September. In January 1944, she welcomed President Amenzoga of Uruguay and President Getulio Vargas of Brazil for a tour, as their countries continued to help blockade the “Atlantic Narrows.”
On January 16, 1945, USS Memphis arrived at Naples. She became the flagship for Admiral Harold R. Stark, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe. Eleven days after her arrival, she headed for Malta for preliminary conferences that led up to the Yalta Conference the following month. During this time, she was visited by Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and Army General George C. Marshall.
In February, the USS Memphis sailed to Algiers for President Roosevelt’s last Allied conference. She continued to receive prominent leaders onboard for the next eight months. When the war ended on August 15, she took part in the first anniversary ceremonies of the Allied troop landings at St.Raphael and St. Tropez. The cruiser took part in Navy Day ceremonies on October 27 at Naples.
USS Memphis was decommissioned on December 17, 1945. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on January 8, 1946 and sold for scrap on December 18, 1946.
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
