USS San Diego (CL-53)
History of the USS San Diego Cruiser
The USS San Diego (CL-53) was ordered for the U.S. Navy before the United States entered World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Company in Massachusetts on March 27, 1940. She was launched on July 26, 1941 and commissioned on January 10, 1942 under the command of Captain Benjamin F. Perry.
USS San Diego arrived at the city of her namesake on May 16, 1942. From there, she escorted the carrier USS Saratoga to Midway, but arrived too late to join the battle there. On June 15, she shifted to cover the USS Hornet, supporting the invasion of Guadalcanal. During her support of operations, the cruiser witnessed the sinking of the USS Wasp in September and the USS Hornet in October.
During the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November, the USS San Diego protected the USS Enterprise. After putting in at Auckland for replenishment, she joined the screen around the USS Saratoga at Nouméa, the only U.S. carrier available in the South Pacific at the time. With the USS Saratoga and the HMS Victorious, the cruiser supported the invasions of Munda and Bougainville.
In November 1943, USS San Diego supported the USS Saratoga and USS Princeton as they raided Rabaul. She then took part in Operation Galvanic to capture Tarawa. When the USS Lexington was damaged by a torpedo, she escorted the carrier to Pearl Harbor for repairs. The cruiser then proceeded to San Francisco, California for overhaul and modernization.
The USS San Diego joined Vice Admiral Mitscher’s Fast Carrier Task Force in January 1944 at Pearl Harbor. During Operation Flintlock, she supported the carriers for the capture of Majuro and Kwajalein. She then moved on to Operation Catchpole, the invasion of Eniwetok. After a brief return to San Francisco to upgrade her radar, the cruiser returned to the task force for their raids on Wake Island and Marcus Island.
From there, USS San Diego covered the invasion of Saipan and took part in the carrier strikes on the Bonin Islands. On June 19-20, she was involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, a decisive American victory. After replenishment at Eniwetok, the cruiser supported the invasion of Guam and Tinian. She then struck at Palau and raided the Philippines before screening the carriers that provided close air support during the troop landings on Peleliu.
In September, the USS San Diego supported the strike on Manila Bay. When the carriers of Task Force 38 attacked Okinawa in October, she helped splash two Japanese aircraft and drive off several others. When the USS Houston and USS Canberra were damaged, she escorted them to Ulithi. Upon her return to the task force, the cruiser weathered a violent typhoon in mid-December.
Along with Task Force 38, USS San Diego sailed to the South China Sea in January 1945 to attack Formosa, Luzon, Indochina, and the southern Chinese mainland. She helped strike at Okinawa before replenishing at Ulithi. The cruiser then moved on to support carrier strikes on the Japanese home islands and at Iwo Jima.
USS San Diego bombarded Okino Daijo Island on March 1 in support of the troop landings at Okinawa. She then supported operations at Kyushu, Minami Daito Jima, and Okinawa before putting in at Samar Island for repairs. When her work was completed, the cruiser operated with her task force in the Japanese home islands until the war ended. She entered Tokyo Bay on August 27, supported the occupation of Yokosuka, and witnessed the surrender of the Japanese battleship Nagato.
After World War II, the USS San Diego carried American veterans home from war as part of Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned on November 4, 1946 and redesignated as CLAA-53 on March 18, 1949. The cruiser was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959 and sold for scrap in December 1960. She earned 18 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
