USS Minneapolis (CA-36)
History of the USS Minneapolis Cruiser
The USS Minneapolis (CA-36) was ordered for the U.S. Navy between World War I and World War II. Her keel was laid down at Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania on June 27, 1931. She was launched on September 6, 1933 and commissioned on May 19, 1934 under the command of Captain Gordon W. Haines.
In her early career, USS Minneapolis operated out of San Diego with Cruiser Division 7, Scouting Force. With the exception of a Caribbean cruise in 1939, she operated along the West Coast until she was transferred to Pearl Harbor in 1940.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS Minneapolis was conducting gunnery practice 20 miles away. She conducted patrol of the area until she joined a carrier task force in January 1942 for raids on the Gilberts and the Marshall Islands. The cruiser was screening the carrier USS Lexington when she helped splash three Japanese aircraft on February 1. She continued to screen the carriers for raids on February 20 and March 10 at Lae and Salamaua.
From May 4 until May 8, USS Minneapolis was involved in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Still screening the USS Lexington, she shot down three Japanese bombers. When the carrier sank, she rescued the survivors.
Her next key engagement was the Battle of Midway, and the USS Minneapolis protected the carriers from June 3 through June 6. This American victory sank four Japanese carriers and splashed 250 enemy planes.
USS Minneapolis headed to Pearl Harbor for repairs and replenishment. She then screened the carriers for the troop landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in early August. When the USS Saratoga was struck by a torpedo on August 30, the cruiser towed her to safety.
In September and October, the USS Minneapolis supported the troop landings at Lunga Point and Funafuti. On November 29, she was serving as the flagship of Task Force 67 as she moved to intercept Japanese forces carrying reinforcements for Guadalcanal. In the resulting Battle of Tassafronga, she helped sink the destroyer Takanami. The cruiser then took two torpedo hits, causing a loss of power. She was able to reach Tulagi and get under cover. She underwent temporary repairs before sailing to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California for permanent repairs.
Once her repairs were complete, USS Minneapolis returned to the Pacific battle zone in August 1943. Over the next 20 months, she was involved in every major operation except for Iwo Jima. On October 5, she bombarded Wake Island before moving on to support the assault on Makin the following month. The cruiser screened the carriers for pre-invasion air strikes on Kwajalein and Majuro in December.
The USS Minneapolis supported the capture of the Marshall Islands until February 1944. She screened the carriers as they raided the Palaus, Truk, Satawan, Ponape, and other Japanese targets through March and April in support of the troop landings at Hollandia.
On June 14, USS Minneapolis participated in the pre-invasion bombardment of Saipan. She then rejoined Task Force 58 to screen the carriers as they faced off with the large Japanese force in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The cruiser sustained minor damage from a bomb miss close aboard, but her crew made the necessary repairs.
From July into August, the USS Minneapolis provided fire support on Guam. In September and October, she moved on to support operations in the Palaus. She was involved in the pre-invasion bombardment of Leyte on October 17, shooting down five enemy planes during the exchange.
As the Battle of Leyte Gulf drew near, USS Minneapolis was assigned to Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf’s bombardment group. In the Battle of Surigao Strait, her group sank two Japanese battleships, three destroyers, and a heavy cruiser. She then moved on to screen the carriers and bombard shore targets in the Philippines.
USS Minneapolis supported the landings at Lingayen Gulf from January 4 until January 18, 1945 and the landings at Bataan and Corregidor from February 13 until February 18. In March, she took part in the pre-invasion bombardment of Okinawa, seized Kerama Retto, and covered the invasion forces on April 1 by bombarding the airfield at Naha.
On April 12, the USS Minneapolis was ready to sail back to Bremerton, Washington for repairs and overhaul, but a large air attack delayed her departure. She splashed four kamikazes before she was able to get underway for the West Coast. When her repairs were complete, the cruiser returned to Subic Bay, and hostilities had ended.
After the war, USS Minneapolis served as the flagship for Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid as he accepted the Japanese surrender of Korea in September. From there, she patrolled the Yellow Sea and covered the landings of occupation forces in China. The cruiser then helped repatriate American troops as part of Operation Magic Carpet, carrying them home to the West Coast.
The USS Minneapolis was decommissioned on February 10, 1947. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959 and sold for scrap on August 14, 1959. The cruiser earned 17 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
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships – USS Minneapolis
