USS Rochester (CA-124)
USS Rochester in February 1956
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Rochester |
Namesake | Rochester, New York |
Builder | Bethlehem Steel Corporation |
Laid down | 29 May 1944 |
Launched | 28 August 1945 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. M. Herbert Eisenhart |
Commissioned | 20 December 1946 |
Decommissioned | 15 August 1961 |
Stricken | 1 October 1973 |
Identification |
|
Honours and awards | See Awards |
Fate | Scrapped, 24 September 1974 |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Oregon City-class heavy cruiser |
Displacement | 13,700 tons |
Length | 674 ft 11 in (205.71 m) |
Beam | 70 ft 10 in (21.59 m) |
Draft | 20 ft 7 in (6.27 m) |
Speed | 33 kn (61 km/h) |
Complement | 1,142 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 4 |
The third USS Rochester (CA-124), an
Rochester departed
1940s
Upon completion of her ninth reserve training cruise in the second week of January 1948, Rochester prepared for
After shore bombardment exercises at Bloodsworth Island in early October 1948, Rochester reported to the South Boston Naval Shipyard for her first overhaul which included removal of her catapults and conversion of her aviation section from seaplanes to helicopters. Her new aviation detachment consisted of four Sikorsky HO3S-1 utility helicopters.
She then operated in the Caribbean and along the North Atlantic coast until she stood out from Narragansett Bay on 5 January 1950 and steamed for the west coast, and a new homeport, Long Beach, California.
Transfer to Pacific
In April 1950, Rochester departed Long Beach for the South Pacific. After calling at
Korean War Service
She was at
Vice Admiral Struble's flagship, commanded by Capt. Edward L. Woodyard, Rochester's guns provided support for the troops that landed at
Just before daylight at 0550 on 17 September, a North Korean
During the months of October, November, and December, Rochester operated continuously along the Korean coast for 81 days, providing gunfire support to troops ashore and serving as a mobile helicopter base. Helos were kept aloft constantly to aid the minesweepers in opening the ports of
During 198 days of operations against the Communist forces in Korea, she steamed over 25,000 miles and expended 3,265 eight-inch and 2,339 five-inch projectiles. Rochester then called at
During refresher training in the Long Beach-
She then ranged the entire northeastern Korean coastline, bombarding ground targets, while her helicopters flew rescue missions for Task Force 77 aviators. Into the spring she continued harassment and interdiction missions along the eastern coast of Korea.
In early April 1952, she spent a week as flagship of the Blockading and Escorting Forces on Korea's west coast, and in late April, she steamed for her homeport. May through October was given over to in-port time at Long Beach and to coastal training operations. In November, the cruiser departed for another WestPac tour, arriving back on station as a unit of Task Group 77.1 (Support Group) in the waters off eastern Korea 7 December.
After spending the winter months in harassment and interdiction missions and other operations with the fast carrier task force, Rochester steamed home, arriving Long Beach, 6 April 1953.
Post-Korean War and fate
During her regularly scheduled yard period at Mare Island, 4 May to 7 September 1953, her 20 mm. and 40 mm. batteries were replaced with 3 inch/50 rapid-fire guns. Coastal refresher training was followed by a 5 January 1954 departure for Western Pacific (WestPac). The normal exercises and port calls of a WestPac deployment ended with her departure from Yokosuka 29 May for the west coast.
In February 1955, Rochester served on her fifth WestPac deployment, completing that cruise 6 August and arriving at her homeport the 22d. An overhaul at the
The first week of June 1957 found Rochester in San Francisco, where she acted as flagship for Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz as he reviewed the 1st Fleet. Returning to Long Beach the 18th, she resumed local operations and exercises until her departure on 3 September for her seventh WestPac deployment. She returned to Long Beach 24 March 1958. Two more WestPac deployments followed, 6 January to 17 June 1959 and 5 April to 29 October 1960.
While planning was in place to convert her into the
Awards
- World War II Victory Medal
- Combat Action Ribbon
- Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
- Navy Occupation Service Medal with "Europe" clasp
- National Defense Service Medal
- Korean Service Medal with 6 awards
- Korean War Service Medal
- United Nations Service Medal
Gallery
-
USS Rochester off Korea 1951.
-
USS Awatobi (YTB-264) assists USS Rochester in departing Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 20 September 1953.
-
USS Rochester during a port visit in Saigon in late November 1957.
-
USS Rochester passing the Golden Gate Bridge in 1958.
-
USS Rochester in Sydney in May 1958.
-
USS Rochester firing its 8-inch main guns during an exercise in 1958.
-
One of USS Rochester's 3-inch/50 caliber dual gun mounts in 1959.
-
HUP Retriever from USS Rochester in flight in 1959.
-
USS Rochester jacket patch 1959.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Rochester
- navsource.org: USS Rochester
- hazegray.org: USS Rochester
- ussrochester.org USS Rochester Association
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.