ships named after local towns

I thought this might be a fun little thread for us to use as a gateway for learning more about some of the smaller and less publicised ships during WW2.


I will begin with two entries.
The first short one.

and then we have....

Both descriptions were copied from the DANFS
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

 

USS Northampton, named after the city in Massachusetts. Originally I thought it was named after the Hamptons (as I live on Long Island ). She was a Northampton-class Heavy Cruiser serving in the Pacific, lead ship of her class.

(oops, not within 30 miles of me... uhhh... *eats post*)

 

How in the world will people who don't have towns/cities within 30 miles of their homes of size enough to merit warships participate?

In Montana, there is only one name which has ever been used (from Montana alone), and that is Helena. It has been used multiple times, but it is the capitol of Montana, and since the Battleship Class Montana was cancelled that is a non-starter.

Heck, when I grew up on the Montana Hi-Line the largest town was sixty miles away, and it was under 9,000.

 

Well, I photographed this memorial on vacation with my now-lost digital camera: the USS San Diego.

"The Ship. The USS San Diego (CL-53) was christened at launching on July 26, 1941, by Grace Benbough, wife of the mayor of the ship's namesake city. Commissioned into service six months later--just a month after the Pearl Harbor attack--the San Diego soon joined the Pacific Fleet with which she served nearly continuously throughout World War II. The San Diego was a light cruiser--one of four of the Atlanta class--and the only one of her sisters to survive the war unscathed. Ships of this class could steam at over 30 knots and carried a main armament of sixteen 5-inch guns, which enabled them to provide formidable anti-aircraft defense for the fast carrier task forces that spearheaded the naval offensive in the Pacific.


A fortunate and well-run ship, always ready for action, the San Diego steamed over 300,000 nautical miles, engaged the enemy on 34 different occasions, and never lost a man. She earned 18 battle stars for her World War II service, more than any other ship except the famous carrier Enterprise (CV-6).

In recognition of her battle record and her long, reliable and steady service--from the darkest days of the war to the final victory, from Guadalcanal to the coast of Japan--Admiral William F. Halsey designated the San Diego to be the first allied warship to enter Tokyo Bay at the war's end.


Returning after the war to the city for which she was named, the San Diego received a tumultuous welcome and was the center of jubilant Navy Day celebrations. Barely a year later, a brief but action-filled career came to a close when she was decommissioned in November 1946.


USS San Diego (left) in Tokyo Bay: arriving to take possession of the Yokusuka Naval Base, August 27, 1945--the first major U.S. warship to enter the homeport of the Japanese Empire at the close of World War II."




More photos and text at Port of San Diego | U.S.S. San Diego (CL-53) Memorial by Eugene Daub & Louis Quaintance


I really liked the dedication at the monument too:




Great thread idea too!

 

Hello Clint. I went ahead and edited out the restriction, but I'm sure you understood the intent was to both provide and learn information on some of the less publicised vessels of the war.

 

HMS Birmingham

Steve W.

 

Since the rules were altered a bit, I'll post the only stuff I knew about the ships named for cities in my home state, Montana. The last surface ship named the USS Helena was the cruiser CA-75 which served with distinction at the end of WW2 and through the Korean war. For her service in the Korean conflict, she was presented the Presidential Unit Citation of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Service Medal with four stars.

This Helena had replaced her namesake the USS Helena CL-50 when that light cruiser was sunk in 1943 at the battle of Kula Gulf. That light cruiser was also present at the Pearl Harbor attack, and since she was moored where the BB Pennsylvania was supposed to be, she was one of the few smaller ships damaged in the attack. The CL-50 Helena was the first WW2 US warship to receive the Navy Unit Commendation. Her actions in the Battles off of Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, and Kula Gulf were named in the citation. Helena also earned the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign medal with seven battles stars.

See:

http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/cl50.txt

for photos see:

HyperWar: USS Helena (CL-50)

Today the name USS Helena is carried by the SSN-725.

See:

USS Helena (SSN 725)

There was another ship named for a "city" in Montana, but it was only renamed the Missoula as it was aging out and on the precipice of being struck from the records. She had been the Montana before hand. During the first months of the war (WW1), Montana conducted training exercises and transported supplies and men in the York River area and along the east coast. Assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force 17 July 1917, she did convoy and escort duty out of Hampton Roads; New York, N.Y.; and Halifax, Nova Scotia, through most of 1917 and 1918.

The armored cruiser also performed as a Naval Academy practice ship in the Chesapeake Bay area early in 1918. Ordered to France in December, between January and July 1919, Montana made six round trips from Europe, returning 8,800 American troops. Following her arrival at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Seattle, Wash., Montana remained there from 16 August 1919 through her decommissioning 2 February 1921. On 7 June 1920 Montana was renamed Missoula for a city of Montana and classified CA-13 on 7 June 1920. She was struck from the Navy list 15 July 1930 and sold to John Irwin, Jr., 29 September 1930. In October 1935 the armored cruiser was scrapped in accordance with the London Treaty for the reduction of naval armament of 31 December 1930.

See:

http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/acr13.txt

So there have been a few in the past, and the SSN still at sea carries a name from a Montana city.