USS Wichita (CA-45)

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The Wichita in Scapa Flow, April 1942
The Wichita in Scapa Flow , April 1942
Overview
Keel laying October 28, 1935
Launch November 16, 1937
1. Period of service flag
Commissioning February 16, 1939
Decommissioning February 3, 1947
Whereabouts Wrecked in 1959
Technical specifications
displacement

10,759 tons

length

185.42 meters

width

18.82 meters

Draft

7.24 meters

crew

929

drive

4 propellers, driven by 4 steam turbines; 101,390 hp

speed

33 knots

Armament

The USS Wichita (CA-45) was a US Navy heavy cruiser that entered service in February 1939. The Wichita was an improved single design based on the hull and machinery of the older Brooklyn class . Here, the ship differed mainly in its stronger armament and armor. These improvements were later incorporated into the design of the subsequent Baltimore class .

After its commissioning, the Wichita was stationed for neutrality patrols in Europe . After the United States entered the war, she accompanied, among other things, northern sea convoys and other convoys. In November 1942, the ship took part in Operation Torch . From 1943 the Wichita was used in the Pacific War. Her missions there included the battle in the Philippine Sea and the sea ​​and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte in 1944. The ship's most important war mission was the following year, during the Battle of Okinawa .

After the war, the Wichita remained in active service until February 1947 and was then transferred to the reserve fleet . A planned conversion to a guided missile cruiser at the end of the 1940s did not take place. After being deleted from the Naval Vessel Register in January 1959, the ship went to Florida for demolition in August 1959 .

technology

View of the Wichita aircraft catapult in 1945

The Wichita was based on the hull of the older Brooklyn class, which came into service from 1937. She was 185.42 meters long, 18.82 meters wide and had a maximum draft of 7.24 meters. The displacement of the ship was 10,759 tons, fully loaded at 13,224 tons. The crew consisted of 929 men.

The Wichita's machinery was also based on the Brooklyn-class design. It was powered by four steam turbines from the manufacturer Babcock & Wilcox , which acted on four propellers with a total output of 101,390 hp. The ship could reach a top speed of up to 33 knots.

The Wichita had an armored belt up to 160 mm thick at the level of the waterline. Their deck had an armor of 57 mm, their turrets up to 203 mm. The main armament of the ship consisted of a total of nine 8-inch L / 55 rapid-fire guns , which were mounted in three triple gun turrets. Further armament included eight 5-inch L / 38 guns, 24 40-mm Bofors guns and eighteen 20-mm Oerlikon guns . Furthermore, the Wichita was equipped with four seaplanes that could take off from an airplane catapult at the stern of the ship.

Planning and construction

Launching of the Wichita , November 16, 1937

The Wichita was one of a series of heavy cruisers that were commissioned by the then United States Secretary of the Navy Curtis D. Wilbur in the early 1930s . She was the last heavy cruiser in the United States Navy that was designed according to the specifications of the London Fleet Treaty and should therefore have a tonnage of less than 10,000 tons.

Originally, the construction of the Wichita was to be based on the New Orleans class ships , but due to the better stability it was decided instead for the Brooklyn class. While the dimensions and technical performance of the Wichita were almost identical, it differed from the Brooklyn in its reinforced armor and better armament. It is therefore considered to be a kind of intermediate level between the Brooklyn class and the subsequent Baltimore class, which relied on many innovations of the Wichita .

The Wichita was laid down in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on October 28, 1935 and launched on November 16, 1937. Construction was completed by February 1938, but delivery was delayed due to technical problems. Since the ship exceeded the specified limit of 10,000 tons, it was initially only equipped with two of the eight 5-inch L / 38 guns. When these were retrofitted, the Wichita was too bulky . This was remedied by pig iron , which was installed in the fuselage for better stability.

On February 16, 1939, the Wichita was finally put into service under the command of Captain Thaddeus A. Thomson.

period of service

Early duty

The Wichita in May 1940

On April 20, 1939, the Wichita arrived in Houston from its place of origin, Philadelphia , to attend commemorative ceremonies at the San Jacinto Monument . The ship then set out on May 1 for its test voyage , which took it to the Virgin Islands , Cuba and the Bahamas . It then returned to Philadelphia for shipyard work.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the Wichita became part of Cruiser Division 7 on September 25, 1939, which was stationed in Hampton Roads . She completed her first neutrality patrol from October 4th to 9th. After an overhaul in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard , the ship broke into Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on December 4, 1939 , where it became part of a patrol through the Caribbean . In addition to the Wichita , this included the cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) and a total of five destroyers . After several training missions, the ship returned to Philadelphia in February 1940, from where it was used for further training missions until May.

In June 1940, the Wichita took part in a trip to South America with the USS Quincy (CA-39) , which led to Brazil , Argentina and Uruguay . Both units finished their voyage on September 24, 1940. Further training missions followed before the Wichita in April 1941, accompanied by the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) and the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37) on a patrol in the North Atlantic set off which led them to about 800 nautical miles off the coast of Ireland .

After an overhaul in the New York Navy Yard, the ship arrived in Iceland on July 27, 1941 as part of Task Force 16 and anchored on August 6 with the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) and the battleship USS Mississippi ( BB-41) in Reykjavík to unload troops and equipment. After the mission ended on August 20, the Wichita returned to Reykjavík on September 28. During the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the ship was in Hvalfjörður , from where it set out to patrol the Denmark Strait .

Use in the Atlantic War

The Wichita with the Wasp aircraft carrier in Scapa Flow, April 1942

On January 15, 1942, the Wichita was hit lying in Hvalfjörður by a severe storm that reached wind speeds of up to 150 km / h. Here the ship was damaged after it first collided with the cargo ship West Nohno and the trawler Ebor Wyke and then ran aground. The next few days, several leaks and damage to the hull from the bottoming were found, which is why the Wichita had to return to the New York Naval Yard, where it arrived on February 9. The repairs lasted until February 26th. The ship was not operational again until the beginning of March 1942.

On March 26, 1942, the Wichita set out from the United States for Scapa Flow, where it was to be used in support of the British Home Fleet . It was divided into Task Force 39, which included the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7), the battleship USS Washington (BB-56) , the cruiser USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37) and eight destroyers. After arriving in Scapa Flow, the Wichita took part in several exercises with the British units before it had its first joint mission on April 28, securing the Northern Sea Convoys QP 11 and PQ 15 .

From then on, the main task of the Wichita was to secure additional northern sea convoys, including convoy PQ 16 in May 1942 and convoy PQ 17 in July 1942.

In November 1942 the ship took part in Operation Torch and was subordinate to Task Group 34.1 under the command of Admiral H. Kent Hewitt . The same task group included the battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59) and the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37). The association took part in the destruction of the French battleship Jean Bart .

Use in the Pacific War

The Wichita in May 1944

After another overhaul in New York, the Wichita moved to Task Force 18 and was relocated to Guadalcanal . During its service in the Pacific War, the ship took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and in the sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte in 1944. During the Battle of Leyte, the Wichita participated in the sinking of the Japanese light aircraft carrier Chiyoda , after which there were probably no survivors.

From March 20, 1945, the ship took part in the Battle of Okinawa, where there was fire support and guarded anti-mine vehicles . After firing at positions on the mainland on March 25, the Wichita was attacked by Japanese planes, but remained undamaged. One of the Japanese planes was shot down. The ship gave further fire support during the landing of American troops on the Okinawa coast on June 1. The Wichita remained in service off Okinawa until the end of the war and was attacked several times in vain without ever being damaged.

The ship was awarded a total of 13 Battle Stars for its services in World War II .

Post-war period and retirement

After the end of the war, the Wichita remained in active service until February 3, 1947 and then moved to the reserve fleet in Philadelphia. In the late 1940s, the United States Navy planned to convert the ship into a guided missile cruiser, but this was not realized as the more modern USS Boston (CA-69) and USS Canberra (CA-70) were chosen instead. The Wichita was removed from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959 and sold to Union Minerals and Alloys Corp. for demolition in August 1959. sold in Florida.

literature

Web links

Commons : USS Wichita  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files