USS Vincennes (CL-64)
History of the USS Vincennes Cruiser
The USS Vincennes (CL-64) was originally planned as the USS Flint. She was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down at the Fore River Shipyard in Massachusetts on March 7, 1942. She was launched on July 17, 1943 and commissioned on January 21, 1944 under the command of Captain Arthur D. Brown.
After shakedown, USS Vincennes became the flagship of Cruiser Division 14. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on May 6, 1944. From there, she proceeded to Majuro to join Task Force 58 to screen the carriers during their air strikes against the Bonin Islands. On June 10, she splashed her first Japanese bomber. The cruiser then moved on to support the strikes on Saipan, Pagan Island, and Iwo Jima.
During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the USS Vincennes helped bring down numerous Japanese aircraft. In July, she participated in the carrier strikes on Guam, Tinian, and Rota. The cruiser headed to the Bonins in August before putting in at Eniwetok for replenishment.
USS Vincennes joined Task Force 34 in late August and Task Group 38.2 in early September. After supporting the strikes on the Palau Islands, she bombarded Japanese installations on Ngesebus, Peleliu, and Angaur. On September 8, she headed for the Philippines to screen carrier operations on Mindanao, Negros, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, and Luzon.
Her replenishment period at Ulithi was interrupted by a typhoon in early October, but the USS Vincennes was able to return to service with Task Force 38 on October 6. She spent October screening the carrier strikes on Okinawa before moving along to Formosa. The cruiser fought off heavy aircraft fire, but when the Japanese still managed to damage the USS Canberra and USS Houston, she screened the withdrawal of the crippled ships.
After that, USS Vincennes screened the fast carriers in the Visayas. She became involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, helping to sink an enemy cruiser during the battle of San Bernardino Strait. In November, she supported operations on Luzon and the Caroline Islands. During her support of the air strikes on Luzon in December, her senior aviator was awarded the Air Medal for leading a rescue mission with cruiser-based floatplanes. Days later, she survived the destructive Typhoon Cobra without any serious damage.
In January 1945, the USS Vincennes returned to Formosa to screen the carriers there and attack enemy shipping in the South China Sea. She joined Task Group 58.1 on February 10 for gunnery exercises, during which time one of the target drones crashed into one of her gun mounts and started a fire. Four of her crew members earned commendations for throwing the debris overboard without regard to their own safety.
Once the minor damage from the fire was repaired, USS Vincennes headed for the Japanese home islands. She supported the carrier strikes on Tokyo, the Bonin Islands, Chichi Jima, and Okinawa. The cruiser joined in the bombardment of Okino Daito Shima on March 1, 1945 before spending the next two weeks at Ulithi.
From there, the USS Vincennes moved on to screen carrier operations on Kyushu and Okinawa until she departed the war zone on June 16 for overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard in California. Once her yard work was completed, she took part in Operation Magic Carpet, bringing American veterans home from World War II.
The USS Vincennes was decommissioned on September 10, 1946. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on April 1, 1966 and sunk as a target off the coast of Southern California in October 1969. The cruiser was awarded six 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
