USS Santa Fe (CL-60)
History of the USS Santa Fe Cruiser
The USS Santa Fe (CL-60) was ordered for the U.S. Navy before the United States entered World War II. Her keel was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in New Jersey on June 7, 1941. She was launched on June 10, 1942 and commissioned on November 24, 1942 under the command of Captain Russell S. Berkey.
USS Santa Fe arrived at Pearl Harbor on March 22, 1943. She proceeded to the Aleutian Islands, where she bombarded Attu on May 1. The cruiser patrolled the Alaskan waters for four months, bombarding Japanese installations on Kiska and preparing for the troop landings there. On September 1, she returned to Pearl Harbor.
From there, the USS Santa Fe joined Cruiser Division 13 to support the Fast Carrier Task Force. In September and October, she took part in the raids on Tarawa and Wake Island. She was detached to escort the transports carrying reinforcements, first to Bougainville and then to the Gilbert Islands. After the pre-invasion bombardment of Tarawa, she rejoined the carriers for the air strikes on Kwajalein.
In early 1944, USS Santa Fe headed back to San Pedro, California to conduct amphibious training. She sailed with her task force to bombard Wotje at the end of January and provide fire support for the troop landings on Kwajalein. The cruiser moved on to hit Truk and Saipan in February. March and April included the carrier raids on Palau, Yap, and Woleai.
On April 13, the USS Santa Fe helped cover the troop landings at Hollandia. Her task force moved on to strike at Wakde and Sawar the following week. She attacked Truk, Satawan, and Ponape at the end of the month. The next few months had the cruiser screening the carriers for air strikes on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam.
USS Santa Fe found herself in the midst of the Battle of the Philippine Sea in mid-June, helping the American forces declare victory. The cruiser turned on her lights to guide the U.S. planes back to the carriers, heedless of enemy submarines that may have been lurking.
June ended with air strikes on Pagan Island. In July, the USS Santa Fe bombarded Iwo Jima and screened the carriers for air strikes on Guam, Rota, Yap, and Ulithi. She and the other cruisers in her task group sank several vessels in a Japanese convoy on August 4, including the escort vessel Matsu. The cruiser bombarded Iwo Jima the next day before putting in at Eniwetok the following week.
Over the next few months, USS Santa Fe joined the screening force built around the aircraft carrier USS Essex. She supported operations on Peleliu, Mindanao, the Visayan Sea, Okinawa, and Formosa. When the USS Canberra and USS Houston were damaged in October, the cruiser was detached to serve in the escort to get them to safety. After she rejoined her task force on October 17, she provided support for the troop landings on Leyte.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf occurred in late October, and the USS Santa Fe helped Cruiser Division 13 take out the Japanese carrier Chiyoda and the destroyer Hatsuzuki in the Battle of Cape Engaño. In early November, she supported the air strikes on Leyte, encountering her first kamikaze attack on November 5.
When Japanese midget submarines attacked the USS Mississinewa on November 20 at Ulithi, USS Santa Fe sent out her float planes to rescue the survivors. She departed five days later for air strikes against the Philippines. The cruiser survived Typhoon Cobra on December 18-19 after supporting the landings on Mindoro.
The USS Santa Fe screened the carriers during their strikes against Formosa, Okinawa, and Luzon during the first week of January 1945. She moved on to support operations in the South China Sea, the coast of Indochina, Formosa, Okinawa, Tokyo, Iwo Jima, Kyushu, Kure, and Kobe.
On March 19, while the task force was striking at Kure and Kobe, the carrier USS Franklin was struck by two aerial bombs. USS Santa Fe came alongside the carrier to help fight the fires and rescue 833 survivors. The carrier was taken under tow, and the cruiser escorted her back to Pearl Harbor via Ulithi.
From Pearl Harbor, the USS Santa Fe proceeded to San Pedro for overhaul. Her work was completed by July 14. She arrived back at Pearl Harbor on August 1 and was sailing for a raid on Wake Island when word came of the Japanese surrender. The cruiser was diverted to Okinawa, and she spent the next few months bringing American veterans home as part of Operation Magic Carpet.
The USS Santa Fe was decommissioned on October 19, 1946. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959 and sold for scrap on November 9, 1959. The cruiser 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
