USS Pittsburgh (CA-72)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pittsburgh (CA-72)
period of service USN Jack
Ordered:
Keel laying: February 3, 1943
Launch: February 2, 1944
Commissioning: October 10, 1944
Decommissioning: August 28, 1956
Painted: July 1, 1973
Fate: Disassembled
Technical specifications
Displacement: 17,031 ts
Length: 205.3 meters
Width: 21.6 meters
Draft: 7.3 meters
Drive: 4 propellers, driven by 4 steam turbines; 120,000 shaft horsepower
Crew: circa 1500

The USS Pittsburgh (CA-72) was a heavy cruiser of the United States Navy and was one of Baltimore class at.

history

Second World War

The Pittsburgh was laid down at the Fore River Shipyard in 1943 and launched a year later. The official commissioning followed on October 10, 1944.

From Boston , the Pittsburgh carried out test drives until the end of the year, and on January 13, 1945, it left Boston for the Pacific. In February, she was assigned to Task Group 58.2 around the carrier USS Lexington (CV-16) and provided escort to the carrier while its aircraft were conducting air strikes on airfields near Tokyo. Attacks on facilities in Kyūshū followed in March . When the carrier USS Franklin (CV-13) was in flames after being hit by a bomb on March 19, the Pittsburgh steamed to the scene with full force and only rescued 34 men from the water before she took the carrier in tow and towed it for so long until he got his own machines up and running again. Operations in support of the Battle of Okinawa followed well into May .

Pittsburgh with the bow torn off

On June 4, 1945, the Pittsburgh was caught in a strong typhoon . The entire bow suddenly detached itself in waves 21 meters high, but there were no victims. With the forecastle open, the ship now had to weather the storm on the one hand and avoid ramming the demolished bow section on the other hand, thereby further damaging the ship. The forecastle was held out of the waves while the forward hull bulkheads were supported. After seven hours, the storm subsided and the Pittsburgh crawled at six knots to Apra Harbor on Guam , where an emergency repair was made, with which she crossed the rest of the Pacific and received a full repair in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . The tug USS Munsee (ATF-107) later salvaged the old bow and brought it to Guam, but the Pittsburgh was already on her way to the American west coast.

on March 7, 1945 the ship was decommissioned for the first time.
on September 25, 1951 it was put into service again

Korean War

In 1951, the Pittsburgh was reactivated to strengthen the fleet , which was heavily involved in the Korean War . First, however, there were two trips to the Mediterranean by 1953. This was followed by an overhaul and another trip in the Mediterranean in 1954. In the fall she was relocated to the Pacific. In November she reached Yokosuka , from where she took part in exercises and eventually accompanied the evacuation of the national Chinese from the Dachen Islands . On August 28, 1956, it was assigned to the reserve fleet, in which it remained until 1973, when it was sold and dismantled.

Web links

Commons : USS Pittsburgh (CA-72)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

literature