USS St. Paul (CA-73)
History of the USS St. Paul Cruiser
The USS St. Paul (CA-73) was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Company in Massachusetts on February 3, 1943. She was launched on September 16, 1944 and commissioned on February 17, 1945 under the command of Captain Ernest H. von Heimburg.
USS St. Paul departed Boston, Massachusetts for Pearl Harbor on May 15, 1945. After training in Hawaii for the month of June, she joined Task Force 38 in July for the air strikes against Kure, Kobe, Tokyo, and Maizuru. Aside from screening the carriers during the strikes, she bombarded shore targets at Hammamatsu and Kamaishi. Typhoon warnings and Japan’s surrender canceled all further offensive operations in August.
After the end of World War II, the USS St. Paul sailed to Sagami Wan to support occupation forces on August 27. From there, she headed to Tokyo Bay on September 1 for the formal surrender ceremonies. She then returned to occupation duty until November 5, when she sailed for Shanghai to become the flagship of Task Force 73. The cruiser collided with Chinese landing craft LST-144 four days before Christmas, and she got underway for repairs at Terminal Island Naval Shipyard in California on January 7, 1946.
Once her yard work was completed, USS St. Paul cruised to Pearl Harbor and back. On August 1, she went in for overhaul, taking her to February 1947 to conduct refresher training out of San Diego. In March, she returned to Shanghai to serve as the flagship for Task Force 71. The next two years involved training cruises and Western Pacific deployments for the cruiser.
When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, the USS St. Paul was in the middle of a training cruise from San Francisco, California to Pearl Harbor. After disembarking her passengers, she headed to Formosa Strait in July to join Task Group 77.3. She patrolled between Formosa and China until November, when she was transferred to Task Force 77 for combat operations off Korea.
Over the next few months, USS St. Paul continued to support United Nations forces in Korea by providing shore bombardment and close fire support services. She headed back to San Francisco for overhaul between June and September 1951. The cruiser returned to Korea two more times before the war ended, taking up patrol duties following the cessation of hostilities.
After the Korean War, the USS St. Paul found herself in the Far East many more times. She served as the flagship of the Seventh Fleet in many of these deployments. Home in California, the cruiser found herself serving as the flagship of the First Fleet.
In the 1960s, USS St. Paul made several deployments to the Vietnam War zone, earning her several decorations. She was decommissioned on April 20, 1971, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 31, 1978, and sold for scrap in January 1980. The cruiser received one battle star for her service in World War II, eight battle stars for her service in the Korean War, and nine battle stars, a Navy Unit Commendation, and two Meritorious Unit Commendations 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 Saint Paul
