USS Duluth (CL-87)

Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristics

USS Duluth was a Template:Sclass light cruiser of the United States Navy, which were built during World War II. The class was designed as a development of the earlier Template:Sclasss, the size of which had been limited by the First London Naval Treaty. The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so the Clevelands used the same hull as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier. The Clevelands carried a main battery of twelve [[6"/47 caliber gun|Template:Convert guns]] in four three-gun turrets, along with a secondary armament of twelve [[5"/38 caliber gun|Template:Cvt]] dual-purpose guns. They had a top speed of Template:Convert.

She was launched 13 January 1944 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia; sponsored by Mrs. E. H. Hatch, wife of the Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota; and commissioned 18 September 1944, Captain Donald Roderick Osborn, Jr., US Naval Academy class of 1920, in command.

Design

File:USS Duluth (CL-87) underway off the US East Coast, circa in late 1944 (NH 50220).jpg

Duluth underway early in her career

The Cleveland-class light cruisers traced their origin to design work done in the late 1930s; at the time, light cruiser displacement was limited to Template:Cvt by the Second London Naval Treaty. Following the start of World War II in September 1939, Britain announced it would suspend the treaty for the duration of the conflict, a decision the US Navy quickly followed. Though still neutral, the United States recognized that war was likely and the urgent need for additional ships ruled out an entirely new design, so the Clevelands were a close development of the earlier Template:Sclasss, the chief difference being the substitution of a two-gun Template:Cvt dual-purpose gun mount for one of the main battery Template:Cvt gun turrets.Template:Sfn

Duluth was Template:Convert long overall and had a beam of Template:Convert and a draft of Template:Convert. Her standard displacement amounted to Template:Convert and increased to Template:Convert at full load. The ship was powered by four General Electric steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Rated at Template:Convert, the turbines were intended to give a top speed of Template:Convert. Her crew numbered 1285 officers and enlisted men.Template:Sfn

The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 6 in /47-caliber Mark 16 gunsTemplate:Efn in four 3-gun turrets on the centerline. Two were placed forward in a superfiring pair; the other two turrets were placed aft of the superstructure in another superfiring pair. The secondary battery consisted of twelve [[5"/38 caliber gun|Template:Cvt /38-caliber]] dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets. Two of these were placed on the centerline, one directly behind the forward main turrets and the other just forward of the aft turrets. Two more were placed abreast of the conning tower and the other pair on either side of the aft superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense consisted of twenty-eight [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors Template:Cvt guns]] in four quadruple and six double mounts and ten [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon Template:Cvt guns]] in single mounts.Template:Sfn

The ship's belt armor ranged in thickness from Template:Cvt, with the thicker section amidships where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. Her deck armor was Template:Cvt thick. The main battery turrets were protected with Template:Cvt faces and Template:Cvt sides and tops, and they were supported by barbettes 6 inches thick. DuluthTemplate:'s conning tower had 5-inch sides.Template:Sfn

Service history

Construction and World War II

File:USS Duluth (CL-87) at anchor in 1945.jpg

Duluth at anchor in 1945

The keel for Duluth was laid down in November 1942 at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, with the hull number CL-87. Her completed hull was launched on 13 January 1944, and fitting-out work was completed by September. The ship was commissioned on 18 September and thereafter began sea trials. Duluth operated as a training cruiser based in Newport, Rhode Island, from 14 December to 2 March 1945 as her crew familiarized themselves with the ship. She thereafter steamed to Norfolk, Virginia, for a short refit. On 7 April, Duluth got underway to join the war effort in the Pacific. After transiting the Panama Canal, she arrived in Pearl Harbor on 29 April.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Duluth left Pearl Harbor on 8 May to join 5th Fleet, which she met on 27 May.Template:Sfn While cruising with the fleet off Okinawa on 5 June, Duluth was damaged by a severe typhoon, along with a number of other vessels.Template:Sfn She had to sail south to Guam for repairs, which lasted for more than a month. She returned to the Fast Carrier Task Force on 21 July, which had by that time passed to 3rd Fleet, being renamed Task Force 38.Template:Sfn Duluth was assigned to the subordinate unit Task Group 38.1, along with five aircraft carriers, three fast battleships, four other cruisers, and several destroyers.Template:Sfn She served as part of the anti-aircraft screen that protected the carriers as they carried out a series of air strikes on various targets in Japan. These operations continued until the end of the war on 14 August.Template:Sfn

During this period, on 18 July, Duluth was temporarily transferred to Task Group 35.4, along with the cruisers Template:USS, Template:USS, and Template:USS and eight destroyers. The unit carried out a sweep for Japanese coastal shipping that night, but failed to locate any significant targets.Template:Sfn Duluth thereafter returned to TG 38.1 and remained with it for the next month during the initial occupation operations. The ships entered Sagami Bay on 27 August with the rest of TF 38 to begin preparations for the formal surrender of Japan, which took place aboard the battleship Template:USS on 2 September.Template:Sfn Duluth moved to Tokyo Bay on 16 September as part of the occupation effort. The ship got underway on 1 October to return home, arriving in Seattle, Washington, on 19 October, where she took part in Navy Day celebrations. The ship received two battle stars during her brief service during the war.Template:Sfn

Postwar career

File:USS Duluth (CL-87) at Melbourne 1947.jpg

Duluth in Melbourne in 1947

The ship was thereafter based in San Pedro, California, and was sent on a deployment to East Asian waters that lasted from 3 January 1946 to 27 September. The ship sailed to Pearl Harbor on 24 February 1947 for a lengthy visit to the port. Duluth went on a major cruise to the southern and western Pacific between May and July. During the voyage, she visited Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; Truk and Guam in the central Pacific, and Manila in the Philippines.Template:Sfn During the latter visit, Duluth cruised with the aircraft carrier Template:USS and a division of destroyers, and it was timed for the first anniversary of the Philippines' independence.Template:Sfn

The ship was then sent to the coast of China to patrol the region during the Chinese Civil War. Her deployment lasted from 22 September 1947 to 19 May 1948, which concluded with the transfer of Duluth to Long Beach, California, where she was based for the remainder of her career. In mid-1948, she embarked on a training cruise for NROTC midshipmen that included a visit to British Columbia. The ship took part in cold-weather training exercises held off Kodiak, Alaska, in February 1949, before being decommissioned on 25 June and assigned to the reserve fleet. She remained there for more than a decade, before being sold to ship breakers on 14 November 1960.Template:Sfn

References

• Template:Cite DANFS

External links

• Navy photographs of Duluth (CL-87) Template:Webarchive
• history.navy.mil: USS Duluth
• Template:Navsource
• hazegray.org: USS Duluth Template:Webarchive