USS San Juan (CL-54)
_off_Norfolk,_Virginia_(USA),_on_3_June_1942_(19-N-31525).jpg) The USS San Juan (CL-54) in June 1942 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Keel laying | May 15, 1940 |
| Launch | September 6, 1941 |
| 1. Period of service |
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| Commissioning | February 28, 1942 |
| Decommissioning | November 9, 1946 |
| Whereabouts | Wrecked in 1961 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
6,826 tons |
| length |
165.05 meters |
| width |
16 meters |
| Draft |
6.25 meters |
| crew |
820 |
| drive |
2 propellers, driven by 2 steam turbines; 75,000 hp |
| speed |
32.5 knots |
| Armament |
|
The USS San Juan (CL-54) was asked in February 1942 in service light cruiser of the United States Navy . The ship belonged to the Atlanta class and was in service during the Second World War , in which it was awarded a total of 13 Service Star . In 1946 the San Juan was added to the reserve fleet , followed by the demolition of the ship in 1961.
history
The San Juan was the fourth unit of the Atlanta class and was laid down on May 15, 1940 in the Fore River Shipyard belonging to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation . The launch took place on September 6, 1941. On February 28, 1942, the ship began service under the command of Captain James E. Maher.
After sea trials in the Atlantic, the San Juan joined the carrier combat group around the USS Wasp (CV-7) in June 1942 . The aim was to secure a convoy of troop transports to the Solomon Islands . On August 7, 1942, the ship gave fire support during the landing of US troops in Tulagi , before it took part in the battle of Savo Island from August 8 to 9 with Admiral Norman Scott on board . This mission of the San Juan ended with the escort of the now empty troop transports to Nouméa .
The ship then continued as an escort alongside the USS Wasp (CV-7) . After the Battle of the Eastern Solomon Islands , the San Juan escorted the damaged aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) to Pearl Harbor for repairs , where the ships arrived on September 10, 1942.
On October 5, 1942, the San Juan left for another mission in the South Pacific. After a stopover to deliver guns in Funafuti, she sank two Japanese patrol boats off the Gilbert Islands on October 16 . After unloading Japanese prisoners of war on Espiritu Santo , the ship joined the combat group of the USS Enterprise (CV-6) on October 23 . Two days later the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands began , in which the Enterprise suffered severe damage and the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) was sunk. A bomb hit on the stern caused the San Juan to suffer damage in the form of water ingress and a defective rudder. After repair work in Sydney , the ship returned to service on November 24, 1942.
From December 1942 to June 1943, the San Juan was used for patrol in the Coral Sea. In November 1943 the ship took part in the capture of Bougainville and Rabaul . In the same month the ship was used as escort for the USS Essex (CV-9) off Kwajalein .
On March 30 and April 1, 1944, the San Juan accompanied the aircraft carriers USS Yorktown (CV-10) and USS Lexington (CV-16) in attacks on Palau , the Yap Islands and Ulithi . Subsequently, from April 7, she became the escort ship of the USS Hornet (CV-12) during their missions off Jayapura and Chuuk . Attacks on Iwojima and Chichi-jima followed in June 1944 . In addition, the ship took part in the battle in the Philippine Sea. In July 1944, the San Juan conducted the carriers USS Wasp (CV-18) and USS Franklin (CV-13) on missions off Guam . On the side of the USS Lexington (CV-16) , the ship took part in the fighting off Formosa and Luzon in December 1944 .
In the spring of 1945, further missions followed as an escort ship for aircraft carriers. Among others who accompanied San Juan , the USS Hornet (CV-12) during air raids on Tokyo in February and was in April as escorts for carriers association whose planes the Japanese battleship Yamato sank. In July 1945, a mission to protect the USS Bennington (CV-20) followed during attacks on Japanese islands.
After the war ended, the San Juan took part in Operation Magic Carpet to repatriate US troops in December . On January 9, 1946, the ship arrived in San Pedro, California . In total, the San Juan received 13 Battle Stars for its war effort.
The inactivation phase of the San Juan began only a few days after its last use on January 24 , the official decommissioning took place on November 9, 1946. The following years the ship spent in the reserve fleet, before it was removed from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959 was deleted. In October 1961, the San Juan finally went to National Metal and Steel near Los Angeles for demolition .
Web links
- Entry on San Juan on navsource.org (English)
- Entry on San Juan on navysite.de (English)
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