USS Pensacola (CA-24)
History of the USS Pensacola Cruiser
The USS Pensacola (CA-24) 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 October 27, 1926. She was launched on April 25, 1929 and commissioned on February 6, 1930 under the command of Captain Alfred G. Howe.
In her early career, USS Pensacola cruised to South America before spending the next four years operating off the East Coast and in the Caribbean. She joined the Pacific Fleet on January 30, 1935 at her new homeport in San Diego, California. Over the next several years, the cruiser took part in the annual Fleet Problems and conducted other maneuvers before shifting her homeport again. This time, she was transferred to Pearl Harbor on October 5, 1939.
On November 29, 1941, the USS Pensacola departed for Operation Plum, escorting a convoy of reinforcements bound for the Philippines, which was also known as the Pensacola Convoy. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, the convoy was diverted to Brisbane, arriving there three days before Christmas.
USS Pensacola returned to Pearl Harbor on January 19, 1942. She left in early February to patrol the approaches to Samoa, rendezvousing with Task Force 11 on February 17. Three days later, she helped fight off Japanese aerial attacks, during which none of the ships were damaged. Only one of their 18 attackers escaped being shot down.
Patrolling the Coral Sea, the USS Pensacola guarded the carrier USS Lexington until the task force was joined on March 6 by the USS Yorktown. She then joined the screen around the USS Yorktown, patrolling with that force until April 8. The cruiser returned to Pearl Harbor on April 21.
From there, USS Pensacola carried Marine Fighting Squadron 212 to Efate. On her return trip to Pearl Harbor, she escorted the USS Enterprise. She sailed with the USS Enterprise on May 28 for a rendezvous with Task Force 17.
On June 4, the USS Pensacola found herself involved in the Battle of Midway. She left the USS Enterprise to come to the aid of the USS Yorktown, which had been hit hard by enemy torpedoes. The cruiser shot down four Japanese torpedo bombers, but it was not enough to save the carrier. She returned to screen the USS Enterprise in pursuit of the retreating enemy ships.
Later that month, USS Pensacola escorted the USS Enterprise to deliver Marine Aircraft Group 22 from Pearl Harbor to Midway. After conducting patrols and training exercises in Hawaii, she joined the screen of the USS Saratoga, USS Hornet, and USS Wasp. The USS Saratoga was damaged on August 31 and the USS Wasp sank on September 15.
In early October, the USS Pensacola sailed with the USS Hornet to attack Santa Isabel and Guadalcanal. By the end of the month, her task group joined that of the USS Enterprise for the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. On October 26, she helped rescue 188 survivors when the USS Hornet was sunk, carrying them to Nouméa four days later.
From there, USS Pensacola escorted transports from Nouméa to Guadalcanal as they carried reinforcements. She screened the USS Enterprise during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 12-13.
The USS Pensacola headed to Espiritu Santo, where she joined Task Force 67. On the night of November 30, she became involved in the Battle of Tassafaronga. As some of the American ships burned, the cruiser was lit up as a target for the Japanese. She suffered a torpedo hit that flooded her engine room and took out three of her gun turrets. Her crew managed to save the ship, and she put in at Tulagi with fires still burning. The attack killed 125 of her crew members and injured 68 others.
After making hasty repairs while camouflaged at Tulagi, USS Pensacola headed to Espiritu Santo for emergency repairs. She then got underway for Pearl Harbor on January 7, 1943 for permanent repairs. She didn’t return to action until November 8, when she departed to screen the Southern Attack Force as they attacked Betio and Tarawa later that month.
The rest of the year had the USS Pensacola screening carriers as they covered the transport of reinforcements to the Gilbert Islands. In late January 1944, she attacked Tarao and Wotje in support of the landings on Kwajalein and Majuro. The cruiser remained in the Marshall Islands through the end of March, providing protection during the carrier raids on Palau, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai in the Carolines from March 30 until April 1.
USS Pensacola arrived at Kulak Bay in the Northern Pacific on May 27. She spent the summer attacking shipping and shore targets in the Kuril Islands, departing for Pearl Harbor on August 8. From there, she sailed to bombard Wake Island in September.
In October, the USS Pensacola bombarded Marcus Island and helped serve as a decoy Third Fleet to trick the Japanese into believing the Americans would be invading the Bonin Islands next, when the real targets were Okinawa and Formosa. After the Battle of Formosa, she helped escort the damaged USS Canberra and USS Houston to Ulithi before joining the Fast Carrier Task Group built around the USS Wasp.
On October 20, USS Pensacola supported the invasion of Leyte and screened the carriers that launched air strikes on Luzon. Five days later, she took part in the Battle of Cape Engaño before screening her carriers as they sailed south. In November, she bombarded Iwo Jima and helped prepare for the invasion there, splashing a number of Japanese aircraft.
After returning to bombard Iwo Jima a few more times, the USS Pensacola moved on to hit targets on Chichi Jima and Haha Jima, taking her into the end of January 1945. She joined the task force led by Rear Admiral B.J. Rodgers, returning to Iwo Jima in February for more shore bombardment. On February 17, return fire from Japanese shore installations killed 17 crew members and injured 119 others. The cruiser withdrew to make temporary repairs before returning to her station. She remained there to support the invasion forces until March 3, when she departed for Ulithi.
Later that month, USS Pensacola headed out to support the invasion of Okinawa, conducting pre-invasion shore bombardment. She narrowly avoided two torpedo hits on March 27. On April 1, she began direct bombardment support for the troop landings, keeping it up until April 15.
From there, the USS Pensacola headed to Mare Island Navy Yard in California via Guam and Pearl Harbor for overhaul. When her work was completed, she departed on August 3 for Adak, Alaska, where she remained until the war ended later that month. She then joined Cruiser Division 5 to anchor at Ominato, Japan on September 8.
The USS Pensacola brought American soldiers home from war as part of Operation Magic Carpet, arriving home at San Diego, California on January 9, 1946. On April 29, she left California to take part in Operation Crossroads, the atomic testing at Bikini Atoll. The cruiser survived the two atomic test blasts in July and was towed to Kwajalein. She was decommissioned on August 26, 1946, studied by Joint Task Force One, and sunk as a target off the coast of Washington on November 10, 1948. USS Pensacola earned 13 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
