USS Santa Fe (CL-60)

USS Santa Fe in December 1944
Overview
Type	Light cruiser
Order	1940
Keel laying	June 7, 1941
Launch	June 10, 1942
Namesake	Santa Fe , New Mexico
1. Period of service
Commissioning	November 24, 1942
Decommissioning	October 19, 1946
Whereabouts	scrapped
Technical specifications
displacement	11,744  ts
length	186.0 m
width	20.2 m
height	23.5 m chimney 34.5 m mast
Draft	7.5 m
crew	1384
drive	4 boilers, 4 steam turbines , 4 shafts , 100,000 hp
speed	32.5  kn
Range	11,000  nautical miles at 15 kn
Armament	1943 12 × 6 "(152 mm) L / 47 in 4 triplet towers 12 × 5 "(127 mm) L / 38 in 6 twin towers 12 - 28 × 40 mm L / 56 26 × 20 mm
Aircraft	3-4 Vought OS2U
Radio call sign	November - Whiskey - Bravo - Lima
Nickname	Lucky lady

The USS Santa Fe (CL-60) was a Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy . The cruiser named after the capital of New Mexico was the first ship of this name and was in service with the US Navy from 1942 to 1946. The "Lucky Lady" ( Engl. : Lucky lady ), as she was known by her crew took during almost all major operations Pacific War in part.

technology

For more information on technology, see Cleveland Class # Technology

General

The Santa Fe belonged to the first, unmodified assembly of the Cleveland-class, recognizable by the early round bridge and the position of the control devices. It was 186.0 meters long ( LOA ), a maximum of 20.2 meters wide and was at 7.5 meters depth maximum load displacement of 11,744 tons . The maximum armor thickness was 165 mm on the command tower, 127 for vertical armor and 76 mm for horizontal armor. The cruiser was driven by four propellers, which were driven by four geared turbines with a total output of 100,000 hp. The maximum speed was 32.5 knots , the maximum range at 15 knots was 11,000 nautical miles .

Armament

View of the front 152 mm towers and the superstructure of the Santa Fe

The main armament of the Santa Fe consisted of twelve 152 mm guns, 47 caliber length, which were housed in four triplet turrets. As medium artillery , at the same time heavy flak, there were six 127 mm twin towers L / 38. When it was commissioned in 1943, the light flak consisted of 12 40 mm flaks in two twin and two quadruple mounts in the midships area as well as 26 20 mm automatic cannons in individual mounts (eight amidships, two each on the forecastle and bulwark, four around the front and six around the aft turrets and two in the aft superstructure). The number of anti-aircraft guns remained unchanged in 1944, although two 20 mm guns were implemented. It was not until the lay period in spring 1945 that the light anti-aircraft armament was reinforced. In July 1945, Santa Fe then carried 28 40-mm anti-aircraft guns in four quadruplets amidships and six twins (two at the stern, two each on the sides of the turrets fore and aft) and a no longer precisely reconstructable but reduced number of 20 mm Automatic cannons in twin mounts. The cruiser did not carry torpedo tubes. There were also two seaplane catapults on board and usually three OS2U Kingfisher aircraft .

radar

In putting the leading Santa Fe as an air search radar SC-2/3 on the main mast, without patch IFF system , two Mk.8 radars for fire control of the heavy guns and two inflated established radars Mk.4 (FD) for the Mk .37 master transmitter of the 5-inch guns, plus the SG sea search radar on the foremast. From January 1944, the SK radar with attached BK for friend-foe identification on the foremast is on board for the air search, and there are two SG antennas, one each on the foremast pole and one on the main mast. In July 1945 the combinations Mk.12 / 22 replaced the Mk.4 on the Mk.37 fire control devices. The SK aerial search radar system is now combined with the new round SK-2 antenna on the foremast platform.

Camouflage paints

Santa Fe did not have a camouflage pattern in the strict sense . It was completed in the graded system according to Measure 22 according to the US Navy painting system , with a dark lower fuselage (navy blue 5-N) and a lighter upper fuselage and superstructures (in ocean gray = ocean gray 5-O). In 1944, the tapping changed to Measure 21 (sides navy blue = navy blue 5-N over all). The deck color was always black and blue (deck blue = 20-B). This paintwork remained unchanged until the end of the war.

history

Construction and commissioning

The Santa Fe was ordered in 1940 as the fifth ship of the first construction lot of the Cleveland class from New York Shipbuilding in Camden , New Jersey and laid down on June 7, 1941 . After only 368 days of construction, 6 months before planning, the ship was christened on June 10, 1942 by Caroline Trevelyan Chávez, the 14-year-old niece of the Senator from New Mexico, Dennis Chávez . After the launch , the cruiser was moved to the equipment pier, where the technical equipment was completed by the time it was commissioned on November 24, 1942. The Santa Fe's first in command was Captain Russell S. Berkey . After initial test drives on the US east coast, the cruiser left Philadelphia on March 1, 1943 for the Pacific, where it arrived in Pearl Harbor on March 23 .

Aleutian Islands

On April 15, 1943, the Santa Fe left Hawaii with other ships and sailed for the northern Pacific to recapture the Japanese-occupied Aleutian Islands . On April 20, the association arrived on Adak Island , where the Santa Fe was assigned to Task Group 16.6, an association of cruisers and destroyers . TG 16.6 left Kuluk Bay on Adak on April 21 and patrolled the sea area west of the islands. On April 26th, the association took Japanese positions on Attu under fire. On April 28, the association returned to bunkering at the base on Adak, and the next day patrols began again west of Attu. Twice, on May 1st and May 4th, the Santa Fe had contact with Japanese submarines , but was unable to attack them. On May 11, the cruiser was about 60 nautical miles west of Attu and secured the landing of American troops on the island. This mission was ended on May 26th after the cruiser had two more contact with Japanese submarines. On May 3, the Santa Fe left together with the Wichita , the San Francisco , the Louisville and four destroyers for the first patrol in the sea area north of Kiska , which lasted until June 18.

The Santa Fe somewhere in the sea around the Aleutian Islands

On June 27, another mission followed off Kiska, this time the cruisers and destroyers were accompanied by the battleships Mississippi and New Mexico . On July 6, the association set fire to the island of Kiska, and on July 13, the association returned to Kuluk Bay on Adak. A week later, on July 20, the association ran out again to fire Japanese positions on Kiska. On July 26th, the Santa Fe was involved in the so-called "Battle of Sitka Pip" when the association attacked decoy targets for several hours that were generated by radar reflections and could not be optically verified in the thick fog that prevailed in the region. Task Force George's battleships and heavy cruisers fired over 1,000 14- and 8-inch grenades at non-existent enemies. The Japanese had evacuated Kiska four days earlier, when the Americans landed on the island on August 13, they found her abandoned. Santa Fe completed her last mission in the northern Pacific on August 20th, and on August 25th she left the Aleutian Islands for Hawaii.

Gilbert Islands and Wake

The cruiser arrived in Pearl Harbor on September 1st, followed by a short stay in dry dock for overhaul from September 5th to 8th. After the work was completed, Rear Admiral Laurance Toombs DuBose made the Santa Fe the flagship of Cruiser Division 13, in which the ship operated together with sister ships Mobile and Birmingham . Together with Carrier Task Force 15, the cruisers left Pearl Harbor on September 11 for the Gilbert Islands , where the carriers' aircraft attacked Japanese positions on Tarawa on September 18 . On September 23, the association returned to Hawaii. The next mission took the Santa Fe and Cruiser Division 13 together with Carrier Task Force 14, which consisted of six aircraft carriers, two cruisers and about 20 destroyers, to Wake on September 29th . While the aircraft carrier's aircraft attacked Japanese positions on the island on October 5 and 6, the Santa Fe fought an artillery duel with a Japanese gun position on the island. On October 11th, the association returned to Pearl Harbor, where the cruisers of the Central Pacific Force were placed under the command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance . On October 21, the cruiser and the other ships left Hawaii for the New Hebrides, where exercises were being carried out. In early November, the Santa Fe was assigned to cover the landing of the US troops on Bougainville . After a short refueling stop on Esperitu Santo on November 4th, the association reached Cape Torokina, the northern end of the island, on the evening of November 8th. The cruisers of Cruiser Division 13 and the accompanying destroyers fended off several Japanese air strikes on the landing ships, on November 9th the ships left the sea area in the direction of the central Solomon Islands. On November 12, the Santa Fe left Purvis Bay, on November 13, fuel was bunkered again on Esperitu Santo, then the cruiser operated in the landing fleet that was supposed to conquer Tarawa and Betio. On November 20 and the following days, the Santa Fe provided fire support to the US Marines landing on Betio .

Marshall Islands

The Santa Fe leaves the US west coast for the Marshall Islands, January 13, 1944

The Santa Fe was assigned to Task Group 50.3 on November 26th together with the Mobile and left the Gilbert Islands two days later for the Marshall Islands. On December 4th and 5th, the aircraft of the US aircraft carriers attacked Japanese positions on Kwajalein and Wotje , the Santa Fe took over the security of the carriers against air attacks. On December 9, the cruiser ran into Pearl Harbor, six days later Captain Berkey was replaced as commanding officer of the Santa Fe by Jerauld Wright . After spending the Christmas days in Hawaii, the cruiser left the islands on December 28 for the US west coast. On January 1st, the ship entered San Pedro and took part in amphibious exercises in San Clemente and off Long Beach in the following days . On January 13, the Santa Fe left the US west coast as part of Task Force 53, whose task was the capture of Kwajalein, and ran via Hawaii, where fuel was bunkered on January 21, to the Marshall Islands. On January 29, a cruiser formation broke away from the main force to eliminate the threat posed by Japanese positions on Wotje. Around noon on January 30th, the ships rejoined the main formation, which began the attack on Kwajalein the following day. On February 1, the landing operation of the 4th Division of the US Marines began under the command of General Harry Schmidt .

On February 12, the left Santa Fe with the aircraft carriers of Task Force 58 , the Majuro Atoll in the direction of Truk , which was bombed by aircraft carrier on 15, 16 and 17 February. The association then returned to the Majuro Atoll. From March 12th to 15th, the Santa Fe bunkered on Esperitu Santo, then on March 20th it secured the landing on Emira in the Bismarck Archipelago . On March 27, the cruiser was reassigned as an escort for aircraft carrier associations and took part in the attacks on Palau on March 30, Yap on March 31 and Woleai on April 1. On April 6, the cruiser arrived back in the Majuro Atoll, a week later it then set sail with Task Force 58.1 in southwestern New Guinea .

New Guinea, Mariana Islands and Bonin Islands

On April 21st and 22nd, the Santa Fe secured the accompanying US carriers, while their planes were attacking the Japanese bases in Hollandia . On April 22nd, the Santa Fe shelled the island of Wakde with its 6-inch guns. After taking over fuel on April 23, the ships returned for another attack on Hollandia, and on April 26 the association left the area in the direction of Manus. After supplies and ammunition had been replenished, the task force set out on April 28 in the direction of Truk, where the Japanese base and the surrounding islands were attacked from the air and sea over the next three days. On May 4, the association entered the Kwajalein Atoll. On May 13, the Santa Fe then left Kwajalein to take part in anti-aircraft exercises in the sea area around Majuro. On June 6th, she left the atoll as part of Task Force 58.2 for the Mariana Islands. The first air strikes on Saipan , Tinian and Guam began on June 11th, and two days later the island was under fire from the ships. On June 15, the Marines began landing on Saipan . While a large part of Task Force 58 opposed a Japanese force on June 16 that was approaching from the Philippines, the Santa Fe remained with the aircraft carriers as security. As a result, she found herself in the battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19 and 20 and was able to shoot down some of the attacking Japanese planes with her anti-aircraft guns. On June 21, the association left the sea area, on June 27, the ships arrived on Eniwetok for bunkering.

On June 30, the task force left the atoll for the north, and on July 4, the sea and air bombing of the Bonin Islands Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima began. The following day, the task force returned south to begin the July 6 attack on Guam, preparing for the US Marines to land two weeks later. On July 25, Yap was again the target of air strikes by the association's carrier aircraft, after a brief stopover on Saipan on August 2, the association ran north again to attack Chichi Jima again on August 4. The Santa Fe and the accompanying US destroyer fought a sea battle with the Japanese destroyer Matsu , which was sunk by gunfire. Several Japanese landing and supply ships were also sunk by the combined gunfire of the cruisers and destroyers. The following day the task group expired and on August 11 the ships anchored in Eniwetok Atoll.

Philippines

After a few training missions in the sea area around Eniwetok, the Santa Fe ran as part of Task Force 38 in the direction of Palau, which was bombed by the carrier aircraft of the Task Force from September 6 to 8. On the evening of September 8, the unit headed west, and on September 9 the first air raids on Mindanao began . The Santa Fe attacked together with the cruiser Birmingham and the destroyers of Destroyer Division 110 a convoy of smaller cargo ships trying to escape from the sea area. After the bombardment of the island continued until September 10, the unit ran east to bunker. The TF 38.3 then continued on its way to support Operation Stalemate II , the landing on Peleliu and Angaur , from September 15 . Six days later, the association's planes attacked Manila for the first time , and attacks on Luzon lasted until September 24. On September 27th the association entered Palau, on October 1st the Ulithi Atoll became the new home base of the Santa Fe . On October 6, the cruiser with the task force ran north to attack Okinawa for the first time on October 10 . On October 11, the American federation came under heavy Japanese air raids, which continued in the following days. On October 12, US planes bombed Formosa and the Pescadores Islands . The following day, the heavy cruiser Canberra , which operated in Task Group 38.1 south of the Santa Fe , was hit by a torpedo and had to be towed by the Wichita . The Santa Fe secured the badly hit ship from further air strikes on its retreat. On October 14th, the Houston , a sister ship, was hit by a Japanese torpedo. On October 16, the Santa Fe itself was damaged when a downed Japanese torpedo bomber hit the water right next to her and burning jet fuel spilled onto the quarterdeck.

Leyte

The landing of the Americans on Leyte began on October 17, 1944 with the first landings on three advanced islands, the Santa Fe secured the Task Group 38.2, which was 300 kilometers east of Luzon and provided air cover for the landing troops. At the. On October 20th, at 10 o'clock, the first troops went ashore on Leyte itself. Four days later, the Santa Fe found itself in the sea ​​and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte when large Japanese bomber groups attacked the ships of Task Group 38.2. As part of a mixed group of twelve destroyers and the cruisers New Orleans , Wichita and Mobile , the Santa Fe ran north. In the afternoon, the heavily damaged Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda was sunk by gunfire from the cruisers. About an hour later, the further north-propelled American cruiser group met with Rear Admiral DuBose, led by two search planes of Essex , the Japanese air defense - United destroyers Hatsuzuki and two escort vessels. The Japanese destroyer fought a long tough battle with the far superior American combat group and could only be stopped after several hours by destroyer torpedoes and then sunk by the gunfire of the cruisers. The Santa Fe was the only American ship to receive some superficial hits from the Japanese 10 cm guns. DuBose withdrew immediately after the sinking of the Hatsuzuki , which turned out to be a happy decision, because the Japanese Admiral Ozawa was already on their calls for help with the two battleships Ise and Hyūga , his flagship Ōyodo and a destroyer on the march to intervene in the battle . But he only reached the place where the Hatsuzuki fell, after DuBose had already run south. The Americans definitely considered the sunk Japanese ship to be a "cruiser" because of its long resistance to an entire fleet. On October 30th, the Cruiser Division 13 entered the Ulithi Atoll. There Admiral DuBose was replaced as commander of the unit by Morton L. Deyo , on the Santa Fe Harold C. Fitz became the new commanding officer.

The Santa Fe rolls heavily during the December 18th typhoon

On November 1, the association ran again towards the Philippines, where a report of attacking Japanese ships turned out to be a false report. On November 5, Task Group 38.3 was attacked for the first time by Kamikaze planes hitting the Lexington and Ticonderoga . The carrier aircraft, meanwhile, continued the attacks on Luzon and Leyte. On November 17, the association arrived again in Ulithi Atoll, five days later the association ran again towards Luzon to support again air strikes. The mission lasted until December 2nd, on December 10th the association ran into the Philippine Sea for the third time, where it was badly hit by Typhoon Cobra on December 17th and 18th . The Santa Fe remained undamaged except for the loss of one of the aircraft on board, but rolled and pounded heavily in the storm-lashed sea. After further air strikes on Luzon, the association returned to Ulithi Atoll on December 24th.

Iwo Jima and Okinawa

The Santa Fe left the atoll on December 30th and accompanied the aircraft carriers of the Task Group, which attacked Formosa on January 3rd and 4th, Luzon two days later and Formosa again on January 9th. On January 15th, Hong Kong and Hainan were attacked from the air, on January 22nd, Okinawa. On January 26, the association returned to Ulithi. The Santa Fe was now under the 5th US fleet, on February 10th, Task Group 58.4 ran north to attack the Japanese mainland on February 16 for the first time since the Doolittle Raid . On February 18, the Santa Fe left the task group to support the landings on Iwo Jima . On the morning of February 19, the cruiser began bombarding coastal targets with its 6-inch guns. When the Santa Fe was detached from the battleship North Carolina on February 21 , it had fired 989 rounds from its 6-inch guns and 3,027 127-mm shells at Iwo Jima. On February 25, Tokyo was again the target of Task Group 58.4 air strikes, and Nagoya was bombed the following day. On March 1, the Santa Fe ran again in Ulithi Atoll, where Admiral Deyo made the Birmingham the flagship of the Cruiser Division 13.

The Santa Fe alongside the burning Franklin

On February 14, the porters, accompanied by the cruisers, left for Japan. On the morning of March 18, the ships reached their position about 125 nautical miles from Kyushu, and in the evening they sailed towards Shikoku . The air strikes on Honshu were due to begin on the morning of March 19 when, shortly after seven, a Japanese bomber dropped two armor-piercing bombs on the Franklin's aft flight deck . The porter was badly hit and burned, the Santa Fe rushed to assist with the fire-fighting and to pick up the crew of the porter, which was about to sink. The deck crews of the cruiser, which was within a few meters of the burning aircraft carrier, put out fires in the gun turrets and on the aft deck of the Franklin . In the meantime, 833 crew members have been brought to safety on the light cruiser, which separated from the Franklin an hour and a half after the attack . After the carrier had been towed by the Pittsburgh , the Santa Fe and other ships formed the fuse for the ailing Franklin , which was being towed to Ulithi Atoll. On March 24th, the ships arrived in the atoll, where the order was issued to the Santa Fe to go to the US west coast for a general overhaul. On March 27, the cruiser left the atoll with the Franklin for Hawaii, where they arrived on April 3. A day later the cruiser left Pearl Harbor for California.

End of the war and whereabouts

The Santa Fe after the overhaul work in front of San Pedro

On April 10, 1945, the Santa Fe ran into San Pedro Bay, where it was docked in Terminal Island Naval Shipyard for extensive overhauls. The work was originally supposed to take 47 days, i.e. until the end of May, but was extended to July 14, 1945 due to the large amount of work to be done. After the ship was operational again, the first exercises were held off the California coast, on July 26th the cruiser San Pedro left for Hawaii, where he arrived on August 1st. An anti-aircraft exercise south of Oahu followed from August 3 to 6, and on August 12, the Santa Fe left Hawaii with Task Group 12.3 in the direction of Wake. After the surrender of Japan , orders were received to cease all offensive operations. On August 19, the association docked in Eniwetok Atoll, then on August 26 in Buckner Bay, Okinawa. The Santa Fe , along with the Mobile, is one of the ships that entered Sasebo on September 20th and helped occupy Honshu and Hokkaido from October 17th to November 10th. On November 10, the first of two trips began as part of Operation Magic Carpet , during which the Santa Fe brought US soldiers back home from Saipan, Guam and Truk. After completing the transports, the cruiser arrived in Bremerton on January 26, 1946 , where it remained until it was decommissioned on October 19, 1946. After decommissioning, the Santa Fe was assigned to the reserve fleet , and on March 1, 1959, it was deleted from the US Navy ship's registers. The former cruiser was sold to the Citadel Corporation for scrapping on November 9, 1959.

The Santa Fe received 13 Battle Stars for its service during the Second World War , and the cruiser was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for its service during the rescue of the Franklin .

Additional information

literature

• Steve Jackson: Lucky Lady: The World War II Heroics of the USS Santa Fe and Franklin . Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1061-6
• Norman Friedman: US Cruisers - An Illustrated Design History . Arms & Armor Press, London a. a. 1985. ISBN 0-85368-651-3

Web links

Commons : USS Santa Fe (CL-60)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• usssantafe.net (engl.)
• Pictures of the Santa Fe at navsource.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Santa Fe in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , as of August 24, 2008
2. ↑ USS Santa Fe (CL-60) at navsource.org as of August 24, 2008
3. ↑ ^{a b} usssantafe.net: Battle of Sitka Pip , as of August 24, 2008
4. ↑ Pacific Typhoon, December 18, 1944: Aircraft Losses Suffered by Third Fleet, December 17-18, 1944 , as of September 13, 2008
5. ↑ usssantafe.net: Iwo Jima and Okinawa , as of August 28, 2008
6. ↑ usssantafe.net: War's End , as of August 24, 2008