USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5)
History of the USS Oklahoma City Cruiser
The USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) was originally designated as CL-91. She was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 8, 1942. She was launched on February 20, 1944 and commissioned on December 22, 1944 under the command of Captain C.B. Hunt.
USS Oklahoma City arrived at Pearl Harbor on May 2, 1945. She rendezvoused with Carrier Task Group 38.1 on June 6 at Ulithi. The cruiser screened the carriers during aerial operations throughout June and July in support of the Okinawa campaign.
On July 18, the USS Oklahoma City joined a bombardment group with other cruisers and destroyers. Once their mission was carried out, she rejoined Task Group 38.1 for their attacks on the Japanese home islands. After the war ended, she conducted patrol duty off the coast of Japan, entering Tokyo Bay on September 10 for occupation duty.
When USS Oklahoma City returned to the United States on Valentine’s Day in 1946, she remained in San Francisco, California. She was decommissioned on June 30, 1947. Ten years later, she underwent conversion as a Galveston-class guided missile light cruiser, receiving the new hull classification CLG-5 on May 23, 1957. Once her conversion was complete, she was recommissioned on September 7, 1960 under the command of Captain Ben W. Sarver.
The USS Oklahoma City conducted training exercises as the flagship of Cruiser Division 3 and Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla 9 until she headed out for a Western Pacific Deployment on December 1. Upon her arrival at Yokosuka on Christmas Eve, the cruiser became the flagship for the Commander of the Seventh Fleet. She conducted SEATO training operations and a goodwill cruise to several Far East ports, earning two awards for operational excellence.
Arriving at Long Beach, California on June 12, 1962, USS Oklahoma City conducted local operations for the next several months. She entered Long Beach Naval Shipyard in California for overhaul on December 14.
After refresher training in 1964, the USS Oklahoma City returned to Yokosuka on July 7 to resume her duties as flagship of the Seventh Fleet. Following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, she went on alert, but it wasn’t until June 1965 that she took part in fire support missions off Vietnam. The cruiser was involved in Operation Piranha, Operation Double Eagle, Operation Deckhouse IV, and Operation Hastings II before she returned to San Francisco for overhaul on December 15, 1966.
Once her yard work was done, USS Oklahoma City returned to a schedule of exercises and Vietnam War deployments for the next several years. She fired the first successful combat surface-to-surface missile in United States Navy history in 1971, destroying a North Vietnamese mobile air control radar van. The cruiser was damaged by a MiG in 1972 but remained on station.
The USS Oklahoma City was decommissioned on December 15, 1979 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day. She was sunk as a target in 1999. The cruiser earned two battle stars for her service in World War II, as well as 13 battle stars, a Navy Unit Commendation, and a Meritorious Unit Commendation for her service in the Vietnam War.
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 Oklahoma City
