USS Denver (CL-58)

USS Denver (CL-58) circa December 1942
History
United States
Name	Denver
Namesake	City of Denver, Colorado
Builder	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Laid down	26 December 1940
Launched	4 April 1942
Sponsored by	Miss L. J. Stapleton
Commissioned	15 October 1942
Decommissioned	7 February 1947
Stricken	March 1959
Identification	Hull symbol:CL-58 Code letters:NADG
Honors and awards	battle stars Navy Unit Commendation
Fate	Scrapped in 1960
General characteristics
Class and type	Cleveland-class light cruiser
Displacement	11,744 long tons (11,932 t) (standard) 14,131 long tons (14,358 t) (max)
Length	610 ft 1 in (185.95 m) oa 608 ft (185 m)pp
Beam	66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)
Draft	25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) (mean) 25 ft (7.6 m) (max)
Installed power	4 × 634 psi Steam boilers 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × geared turbines 4 × screws
Speed	32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h)
Range	11,000 nmi (20,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement	1,255 officers and enlisted
Armament	4 × triple 6 in (150 mm)/47 caliber Mark 16 guns 6 × dual 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber anti-aircraft guns 4 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 8 × dual 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 17 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Armor	Belt : 3+1⁄2–5 in (89–127 mm) Deck: 2 in (51 mm) Barbettes: 6 in (150 mm) Turrets: 1+1⁄2–6 in (38–152 mm) Conning Tower: 2+1⁄4–5 in (57–127 mm)
Aircraft carried	4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities	2 × stern catapults
Service record
Operations:	World War II
Awards:	battle stars

USS Denver (CL-58) was a

Denver sailed from Philadelphia on 23 January 1943, and arrived at Efate, New Hebrides on 14 February. Thomas Darden was in command.^[2] The new cruiser first saw combat in the bombardment of Vila on Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands, on 6 March. During this action her force engaged and sank the Japanese destroyers Minegumo and Murasame in the Battle of Blackett Strait. Continuing her operations in the Solomons, Denver joined the bombardment of Ballale Island on 29–30 June in conjunction with the invasion landings on New Georgia, then remained in the area on patrol.^[1]

On the last day of October 1943, Denver sortied from Port Purvis with Task Force 39 (TF 39) to intercept an enemy force attempting to disrupt the landings at Cape Torokina, Bougainville. In the resulting battle of Empress Augusta Bay on the night of 1/2 November, the American ships sank one enemy light cruiser and a destroyer and damaged two heavy cruisers and two destroyers, while the four other enemy ships broke off the action and retired. During the heavy firing Denver was hit by three 8-inch (203 mm) shells which fortunately did not explode. She shared in the Navy Unit Commendation awarded her division for its outstanding performance in this battle.^[1]

Denver covered the support landings on Cape Torokina on 10–11 November 1943, and two days later she was attacked by the lone No.321 Rikko of the 702st ''Kōkūtai'', piloted by Hidezumi Maruyama, attacked Denver's taskforce at night and torpedoed Denver, badly damaging her. Maruyama's plane was perforated 380 times by anti-aircraft fire but managed to return to base. She was towed by Sioux to Port Purvis and then by Pawnee to Espiritu Santo for temporary repairs, then sailed to Mare Island for permanent repairs, arriving on 2 January 1944.^[1]

Denver returned to the forward area at

Continuing her service in Leyte Gulf, she fought off numerous attacks; during the one of 28 October, a bomb released from one of the planes she shot down exploded nearby causing minor damage and slight flooding. She screened reinforcement landings in November and fought off a kamikaze attack on 27 November, suffering four men wounded from fragments of a bomb which exploded 200 yards (180 m) off the starboard quarter. She joined the heavy covering group, for the Mindoro landings of 13–16 December, then returned to Manus on 24 December.^[1]

Returning to

On 7 June, Denver sailed from Subic Bay for the amphibious assaults on Brunei Bay, Borneo, and later at Balikpapan. She covered the pre-invasion work of minesweeping units and underwater demolition teams, and provided fire support for the invading troops until returning to San Pedro Bay, Leyte on 4 July for brief overhaul.^[1]

Denver got underway for

Denver arrived at Norfolk on 21 November, and after overhaul, reported to Newport, Rhode Island, in January 1946 for duty training men of the Naval Reserve, and a good-will visit to Quebec, Canada. In April, she arrived at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 7 February 1947. Stricken on 1 March 1959, ex-Denver was sold on 4 February 1960 to Union Minerals and Alloy Corp., New York City, for $260,689.89, and broken-up at Kearny, New Jersey, during November 1960.^[1]

In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation, Denver received 11

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Denver (CL-58).

• Photo gallery of USS Denver at NavSource Naval History
• USS Denver Deck Log & War Diary, 1942-45
• May 1943 Deck Log:
  Havannah Harbor