USS San Diego (CL-53)

	USS San Diego (March 1944)
History
United States
Name	San Diego
Namesake	City of San Diego, California
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down	27 March 1940
Launched	26 July 1941
Sponsored by	Grace Legler Benbough
Commissioned	10 January 1942
Decommissioned	4 November 1946
Reclassified	CLAA-53, 18 March 1949
Stricken	1 March 1959
Identification	Hull symbol:CL-53; Hull symbol:CLAA-53; Code letters:NCDF; ;
Honors and; awards	battle stars
Fate	Sold for scrap December 1960
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Atlanta-class light cruiser
Displacement	6,718 long tons (6,826 t) (standard); 8,340 long tons (8,470 t) (max);
Length	541 ft 6 in (165.05 m) oa
Beam	53 ft (16 m)
Draft	20 ft 6 in (6.25 m) (mean); 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) (max);
Installed power	4 × Steam boilers ; 75,000 shp (56,000 kW);
Propulsion	2 × geared turbines; 2 × screws;
Speed	32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h)
Complement	796 officers and enlisted
Armament	16 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber Mark 12 guns (8×2); 16 × 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 anti-aircraft guns (4×4); 8 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons; 8 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 × depth charge projectors; 2 × depth charge tracks;
Armor	Belt: 1.1–3+3⁄4 in (28–95 mm); Deck: 1+1⁄4 in (32 mm); Turrets: 1+1⁄4 in (32 mm); Conning Tower: 2+1⁄2 in (64 mm);
General characteristics (1945)
Armament	16 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber Mark 12 guns (8×2); 4 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns; 13 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons; 8 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 × depth charge projectors; 2 × depth charge tracks;
Service record
Part of:	Fast Carrier Task Force
Operations:	Solomon Islands campaign; Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign; Mariana and Palau Islands campaign; Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign;
Awards:	18 battle stars

The USS San Diego (CL-53) was an

Bofors 40 mm

AA guns, the Atlanta-class cruisers had one of the heaviest anti-aircraft broadsides of any warship of World War II.

San Diego was one of the

most decorated US ships of World War II, being awarded 18 battle stars, and was the first major Allied warship to enter Tokyo Bay^[3] after the surrender of Japan

. Decommissioned in 1946, the ship was sold for scrapping in December 1960.

Construction

San Diego was laid down on 27 March 1940 by

San Diego), launched on 26 July 1941, and acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 10 January 1942.^[3]

The City of San Diego selected U. S. Representative

Edouard V. M. Izac (D-California), a retired lieutenant commander, to present a silver service set for use on the cruiser.^[4]

After shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay, San Diego sailed via the Panama Canal to the west coast, arriving at her namesake city on 16 May 1942. Escorting Saratoga at best speed, San Diego barely missed the Battle of Midway. On 15 June, she began escort duty for Hornet in operations in the South Pacific. Early in August, she supported the first American offensive of the war, the invasion of the Solomons at Guadalcanal. With powerful air and naval forces, the Japanese fiercely contested the American thrust and inflicted heavy damage; San Diego witnessed the sinking of Wasp on 15 September and of Hornet on 26 October.^[3]

San Diego gave antiaircraft protection for Enterprise as part of the decisive three-day Naval Battle of Guadalcanal from 12–15 November 1942. After several months of service in the dangerous waters surrounding the Solomon Islands, San Diego sailed via Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, to Auckland New Zealand, for replenishment.^[3]

At

antiaircraft guns to replace her obsolete 1.1 in (27 mm) batteries.^[3]

1944

She joined Vice Admiral

Kwajalein, and "Catchpole", the invasion of Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands from 31 January to 4 March. During this period, Task Force 58 (TF 58) delivered a devastating attack against Truk, the Japanese naval base known as the "Gibraltar of the Pacific."^[3]

San Diego steamed back to San Francisco for more additions to her radar and then rejoined the carrier force at

Palau Islands.^[3]

On 21 September, the Task Force struck at the Manila Bay area. After replenishing at Saipan and Ulithi, she sailed with TF 38 in its first strike against Okinawa. From 12–15 October, the carriers pounded the airfields of Formosa while San Diego's guns shot down two of the nine Japanese attackers in her sector and drove the others away; however, some enemy planes got through and damaged Houston and Canberra. San Diego helped escort the two crippled cruisers out of danger to Ulithi. After rejoining the fast carrier force, she successfully rode out Typhoon Cobra in December, despite heavy rolling of the ship.^[3]

1945

In January 1945, TF 38

Indochina, and southern China. The force struck Okinawa before returning to Ulithi for replenishment.^[3]

San Diego next participated in carrier operations against the home islands of Japan, the first since the Doolittle Raid of 1942. The carrier force finished the month of February with strikes against Iwo Jima.^[3]

On 1 March, San Diego and other cruisers were detached from the carrier force to bombard Okino Daijo Island in support of the landings on

Samar Island, Philippines, for repairs and maintenance.^[3]

She then served once more with the carrier force operating off the coast of Japan from 10 July until hostilities ceased. On 27 August, San Diego was the first major Allied warship to enter Tokyo Bay since the beginning of the war, and she helped in the occupation of the Yokosuka Naval Base and the surrender of the Japanese battleship Nagato. After having steamed over 300,000 mi (480,000 km) in the Pacific, she returned to San Francisco on 14 September 1945. San Diego gave further service as part of "Operation Magic Carpet" in bringing American troops home.^[3]

Decommissioning and sale

San Diego was decommissioned and placed in the

Pacific Reserve Fleet on 4 November 1946, berthed at Bremerton, Washington. She was redesignated CLAA-53 on 18 March 1949. 10 years later, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register, on 1 March 1959.^[3] She was sold in December 1960 to Todd Shipyards, Seattle, Washington. Her bell is on the current San Diego (LPD-22).^[5]

Awards

USS San Diego (CL-53) received 18

Most decorated US ships of World War II

.

Following is a list of the campaigns participated in:^[8]

Guadalcanal Capture
Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid
Santa Cruz Islands
Guadalcanal (Third Savo)
Rennel Island Jan.
New Georgia-Rendova-Vaugunu
Buka-Bonins Strike
Gilbert Islands Occupation
Kwajelein-Wotje
Truk Attack, February 16–17, 1944
Saipan-Pagan Attacks
Southern Palau Islands
Southern Palau Islands, Philippine Islands Assaults
Okinawa Attack
Formosa Attacks
China Coast Attacks
Iwo Jima, February 15 To March 16, 1945
Okinawa Assault And Occupation March, 17 To June 11, 1945
Philippine Liberation

References

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

^ ^a ^b Rickard, J (13 January 2015). "Atlanta Class Cruisers". Historyofwar.org. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
^ ^a ^b "US Cruisers List: US Light/Heavy/AntiAircraft Cruisers, Part 2". Hazegray.org. 24 April 2000. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "San Diego II CL-53". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
^ Associated Press, “Swift Cruiser Commissioned”, The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Sunday 11 January 1942, Volume 48, page 3.
^ "Two Bells Not Forgotten on USS San Diego". NHHC. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
^ "USS San Diego (LPD-22) Crest". US Navy – USS San Diego (LPD-22). Retrieved 14 October 2015.
^ US NHC Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships lists 15 battle stars, for meritorious participation in or for having suffered damage at, 15 of the 18 battles shown at the San Diego's memorial.
^ Whitmore, Fred. "USS San Diego (CL-53)". USS San Diego (LPD-22). Retrieved 14 October 2015.

External links

Photo gallery of USS San Diego at NavSource Naval History
USS San Diego Memorial Association
USS San Diego (CL-53) Memorial

[history-1] Rickard, J (13 January 2015). "Atlanta Class Cruisers". Historyofwar.org. Retrieved 22 November 2015.

[haze-2] "US Cruisers List: US Light/Heavy/AntiAircraft Cruisers, Part 2". Hazegray.org. 24 April 2000. Retrieved 23 October 2015.

[DANFS-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "San Diego II CL-53". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 14 October 2015.

[4] Associated Press, “Swift Cruiser Commissioned”, The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Sunday 11 January 1942, Volume 48, page 3.

[5] "Two Bells Not Forgotten on USS San Diego". NHHC. Retrieved 2023-07-23.

[6] "USS San Diego (LPD-22) Crest". US Navy – USS San Diego (LPD-22). Retrieved 14 October 2015.

[Star_Note-7] US NHC Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships lists 15 battle stars, for meritorious participation in or for having suffered damage at, 15 of the 18 battles shown at the San Diego's memorial.

[Whitmore-8] Whitmore, Fred. "USS San Diego (CL-53)". USS San Diego (LPD-22). Retrieved 14 October 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[8]

v t e Atlanta-class cruisers
Atlanta Juneau San Diego San Juan Oakland Reno Flint Tucson
Preceded by: Brooklyn class Followed by: Cleveland class
List of cruisers of the United States Navy