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USS Astoria (CA-34)
Encyclopedia
The second USS Astoria (CA-34) was a United States Navy
New Orleans-class heavy cruiser
that participated in both the Battle of the Coral Sea
and the Battle of Midway
, but was then sunk in August 1942 at the Battle of Savo Island
. Originally, Astoria was the lead ship of her class as she was the first ship of that class to be laid down but received a later hull number than because she was launched second. The class was later to be known as the New Orleans-class after Astoria was sunk. Immediately following the Guadalcanal campaign
the remaining ships of the class would go through major overhauls in order to lessen top-heaviness of the ships due to new electrical and radar systems as well as more anti-aircraft weaponry which was being added as technology advanced. In doing so the ships took on a new appearance, most notable in the bridge area and then became known as the New Orleans-class.
, a member of the John Jacob Astor
expedition that founded Astoria, Oregon
), and commissioned on 28 April 1934, Captain
Edmund S. Root in command.
During the summer of 1934, Astoria conducted lengthy shake-down cruise in the course of which she voyaged extensively in the Pacific. In addition to the Hawaiian Islands
, the heavy cruiser also visited Samoa
, Fiji
, Sydney
Australia
, and Nouméa
on the island of New Caledonia
. She returned to San Francisco on 26 September 1934.
Island on 3 March 1939 and headed for Chesapeake Bay
. After taking on a capacity load of stores and fuel at Norfolk, Virginia
, the heavy cruiser proceeded north to Annapolis, Maryland
, where she embarked the remains of the former Japanese Ambassador to the United States, the late Hiroshi Saito
, for the voyage to Japan, a gesture that expressed America's gratitude to the Japanese for returning the body of the late United States Ambassador to Japan, Edgar A. Bancroft, in one of their warships in 1926. Astoria sailed from Annapolis on 18 March 1939, Saito's ashes accompanied by Naokichi Kitazawa, Second Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Washington.
Arriving in the Panama Canal Zone
soon thereafter, where "various high officials and a delegation from the Japanese colony in Panama Paid their respects to Saito's ashes," Astoria got underway for Hawaii
on 24 March. She moored at Honolulu on 4 April, the same day that Madame Saito and her two daughters arrived on board the passenger liner Tatsuta Maru. Two days later, the heavy cruiser left Diamond Head
in her wake as she proceeded westward across the Pacific.
Accompanied by the destroyers , , , Astoria steamed slowly into Yokohama
harbor on 17 April, United States ensign at half-staff and the Japanese flag at the fore. The warship fired a 21-gun salute which was returned by the light cruiser
. American sailors carried the ceremonial urn ashore that afternoon, and funeral ceremonies took place the following morning.
After the solemn state funeral
, the Japanese showered lavish hospitality on the visiting cruiser and her men. Captain Turner, for his part, pleased Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew by his diplomatic role in the proceedings; the naval attaché in Tokyo, Captain Harold M. Bemis, later recorded that the choice of Turner for that delicate mission was "particularly fortunate...." In grateful appreciation of American sympathy and courtesy a pagoda was later presented by Hirosi Saito's wife and child. That pagoda is located in front of Luce Hall at the United States Naval Academy
.
Astoria sailed for Shanghai
, China
on 26 April, and reached her destination on the morning of the 29th. She remained at Shanghai until 1 May. After receiving Admiral Harry E. Yarnell
, Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, on board for a courtesy call that morning, Astoria put to sea for Hong Kong
in the afternoon. Following the visit to Hong Kong, Astoria stopped briefly in the Philippines
before continuing on to Guam
. When she arrived at Guam early on the morning of 21 May, the heavy cruiser was called upon to assist and in their successful effort to refloat the grounded Army transport USAT U. S. Grant. Soon thereafter, Astoria joined the search for the noted author and adventurer Richard Halliburton
, and the companions with whom he had attempted the voyage from San Francisco for Hong Kong in his Chinese junk, Sea Dragon. The cruiser combed more than 162000 sq mi (419,578.1 km²) of the Pacific, without success, before she discontinued the search on 29 May.
. The following spring, she participated in Fleet Problem XXI, the last of those major annual exercises that brought the entire United States Fleet together to be conducted before World War II
engulfed the United States. The maneuvers took place in Hawaiian waters, and, instead of returning to the west coast at their conclusion, the bulk of the fleet joined Astoria and the Hawaiian Detachment in making Pearl Harbor its base of operations.
On 2 April 1941, Astoria departed Pearl Harbor for the west coast of the United States. She reached Long Beach, California
on 8 April and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard on the 13th. During her refit, she received quadruple-mount 1.1 in (27.9 mm)/75 cal anti-aircraft gun
s and a pedestal fitted at her foremast in anticipation of the imminent installation of the new air-search radar. Emerging from the yard on 11 July 1941, the heavy cruiser sailed for Long Beach on the 16th. Later shifting to San Pedro, Astoria sailed for Pearl Harbor on 24 July 1941.
Following her return to Hawaii on 31 July, Astoria operated between Oahu
and Midway through early September. That autumn, the specter of German raiders on the prowl in the Pacific prompted the Navy to convoy
its ships bound for Guam and the Philippines. Astoria escorted to Manila and thence to Guam, before returning to Pearl Harbor on 29 October. Local patrols and training, alternated with upkeep in port, occupied Astoria during the final five weeks of peace.
Husband E. Kimmel
, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet
/United States Fleet, ordered reinforcements, in the form of Marine Corps planes, to be ferried to Wake Island
and Midway. Astoria put to sea on 5 December in the screen of Rear Admiral
John H. Newton's Task Force 12 (TF 12) built around . Once the task force reached open sea, Lexingtons air group and the 18 SB2U-3 Vindicator
s from Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 231 (VMSB-231) bound for Midway landed on the carrier's flight deck
.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
on the morning of 7 December, Astoria was some 700 mi (1,126.5 km) west of Hawaii steaming toward Midway with TF 12. At 0900 the following day, the heavy cruiser , flagship
of Vice Admiral
Wilson Brown
, Commander, Scouting Force, joined up with TF 12, and Brown assumed command. Its ferry mission canceled, TF 12 spent the next few days searching an area to the southwest of Oahu, "with instructions to intercept and destroy any enemy ship in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor...."
The cruiser reentered Pearl Harbor with the Lexington force on 13 December, but she returned to sea on the 16th to rendezvous with and screen a convoy, the oiler and the seaplane tender
— the abortive Wake Island
relief expedition. When that island fell to the Japanese on 23 December, however, the force was recalled. Astoria remained at sea until the afternoon of 29 December, when she arrived back at Oahu. When Astoria was moored in Pearl Harbor, she had about 40 sailors from the battleship transferred to her ranks. They were survivors of 7 December, when California was sunk at Berth F4 on Battleship Row. One of these sailors was Machinist's Mate
1st Class
Martin W. Bender.
Astoria departed Pearl Harbor again on the morning of 31 December with TF 11, formed around , and remained at sea into the second week of January 1942. On 11 January, the Japanese submarine
torpedoed the carrier, forcing her retirement to Pearl Harbor. Astoria and her colleagues in the task force saw the crippled carrier safely into port on the morning of 13 January 1942.
After a brief respite at Pearl Harbor, Astoria returned to sea on 19 January with TF 11 — the carrier Lexington, escorted by heavy cruisers and , and nine destroyer
s — to "conduct an offensive patrol northeast of the Kingman Reef
-Christmas Island
line." On the afternoon of the 21st, however, TF 11 received orders to rendezvous with Neches, and then to conduct an air raid on Wake Island, followed by a surface bombardment "if practicable." Dispatches intercepted on the 23rd, however, revealed that Neches had fallen victim to a Japanese submarine, identified later as . Without the oiler's precious cargo of fuel, TF 11 could not execute the planned strike. Ordered back to Oahu, the task force reentered Pearl Harbor on the morning of 24 January.
. Initially, TF 17's orders called for operations in the vicinity of Canton Island. However, after the Japanese discovered TF 11 on its way to attack their important new base at Rabaul
and sent a determined raid which hit the Lexington task force off Bougainville
on 20 February, Vice Admiral Brown asked for a second carrier to strengthen his force for another crack at Rabaul. Accordingly, TF 17 received orders to aid Brown in that attempt, and Astoria steamed with Yorktown to a rendezvous with TF 11 that took place southwest of the New Hebrides
on 6 March.
The combined force, under Brown, stood toward Rabaul until the Japanese landings at Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea prompted a change of plans. Late on 8 March, Brown and his staff decided to shift objectives and attack the two new enemy beachheads by launching planes from the Gulf of Papua in the south and sending them across the width of New Guinea to the targets on the northern coast. Astoria, meanwhile, joined a surface force made up of heavy cruisers Chicago, Louisville, and , and destroyers Anderson, Hammann, , and Sims under the command of Rear Admiral John G. Crace, that Brown detached to operate in the waters off Rossel Island in the Louisiade Archipelago
. The heavy cruiser and the other warships of that force carried out a threefold mission. They secured the carriers' right flank during their operations in the Gulf of Papua
; they shielded Port Moresby
from any new enemy thrust; and they covered the arrival of Army troops at Nouméa.
The raids on Lae
and Salamaua
, conducted by 104 planes from Yorktown and Lexington on 10 March 1942 proved devastating to the Japanese, causing heavy damage to their already depleted amphibious forces by sinking three transports and a minesweeper, as well as damaging a light cruiser, a large minelayer
, three destroyers and a seaplane carrier. More importantly, the attack delayed the Japanese timetable for conquest in the Solomons and prompted them to send aircraft carriers to cover the operation. The delay, which also allowed the United States Navy time to marshal its forces, coupled with the dispatch of Japanese carriers led to the confrontation in the Coral Sea
.
, where she and the Yorktown force spent the week of 20–27 April.
About this time, intelligence reports convinced Admiral Chester Nimitz
that the enemy sought to take Port Moresby, on the southeastern coast of New Guinea
, and he resolved to thwart those designs. He sent TF 11, built around a refurbished Lexington and led by a new commander, Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch, to join Fletcher's TF 17 in the Coral Sea. Astoria returned to sea with TF 17 on 27 April to rendezvous with TF 11. The two carrier task forces met in the eastern Coral Sea early on the morning of 1 May.
Late in the afternoon of 3 May, Rear Admiral Fletcher received word of the Japanese occupation of Tulagi in the Solomons. Astoria screened Yorktown the following day as the carrier launched three raids on the enemy ships off Tulagi. Admiral Fletcher first considered sending Astoria and to finish off the crippled ships at Tulagi with surface gunnery, but demurred and kept his force concentrated in anticipation of further action.
Next came a two-day lull on 5–6 May, during which TF 17 fueled in preparation for the impending battle. Astoria screened Yorktown on the 7th as her planes joined those from Lexington in searches and strikes that located and sank the Japanese carrier . Japanese planes, however, located and sank the oiler and her escort, Sims.
Fletcher's carriers launched aircraft again early on the morning of 8 May, while Astoria and the other units of the screen prepared their antiaircraft batteries to meet the retaliation expected from Japanese carriers and . Enemy planes found TF 17 just before 1100 that morning and quickly charged to the attack. Almost simultaneously, planes from Yorktown and Lexington deployed to attack the enemy task force.
The Japanese aviators concentrated almost exclusively on the American carriers as the two drew apart with their respective screening ships, ultimately putting some 6 to 8 mi (9.7 to 12.9 km) of ocean between them by the end of the battle. Torpedo bomber
s opened the first phase of the attack, while torpedo and dive bomber
s coordinated attacks in the second phase.
The battle action on 8 May, as Astorias executive officer, Commander
Chauncey R. Crutcher, recounted, "was short and was accompanied by intense anti-aircraft fire against a determined enemy...." Astoria assisted in putting up a protective barrage over Lexington at the outset, and after the task forces separated, she shifted to the anti-aircraft umbrella over Yorktown. Her gunners claimed to have splashed at least four enemy planes in the attack that "seemed to end as suddenly as it had started."
At about 1245, Lexington — heavily damaged though apparently in satisfactory condition afloat and underway — suffered severe internal explosions that rang her death knell. Fires raged out of control and, by 1630, her engines stopped. Ninety minutes later, Captain Frederick C. Sherman
ordered the ship abandoned. Once rescue operations were completed, and Lexingtons end was hastened by torpedoes from , TF 17 began a slow retirement from the Coral Sea, having suffered heavy losses but also having inflicted a decisive strategic defeat on the Japanese by barring the Port Moresby invasion.
Astoria set course for Nouméa along with Minneapolis, , Anderson, Hammann, , and . That force reached its destination on 12 May but remained only overnight. On the 13th, she and the other warships got underway for Pearl Harbor, via Tongatapu, and arrived at Oahu on 27 May.
Battle of Midway
The heavy cruiser remained in Pearl Harbor only until the 30th. On that day, she returned to sea with the hastily repaired Yorktown to prepare to meet yet another major thrust by the Japanese fleet — this one aimed at Midway. Air searches from that island spotted the enemy's Midway Occupation Force — made up of transports, minesweepers, and two seaplane carriers — early on 3 June, but the enemy carrier force eluded detection until early in the morning of the 4th. The heavy cruiser screened Yorktown as the carrier began launching strike aircraft at about 0840. While the planes droned off to make their contribution to the destruction of the Japanese carrier force, Astoria and her colleagues prepared for the inevitable Japanese reply.
The counterstroke, however, did not come until a few minutes before noon as Yorktowns victorious aviators began to return to their ship. 18 Aichi D3A1
"Val" dive bombers came in to attack the carrier. F4F-4 Wildcat
fighter
s from Fighting Squadron 3
(VF-3) accounted for 10 of the intruders, but the remaining eight managed to penetrate the combat air patrol
(CAP). Astoria teamed up with Portland and the screening destroyers to splash another two of the attackers. The remaining six, however, succeeded in attacking Yorktown, and three of those scored hits. One of the three hit the carrier's stack, causing fires in her uptakes that literally smoked Rear Admiral Fletcher and his staff out of flag plot. At about 1310, he shifted his flag to Astoria.
Yorktowns damage control parties worked feverishly, and by 1340 she was again underway under her own power, albeit at only 18 kn (21.9 mph; 35.3 km/h). At about 1430, the second attack — composed of 10 Nakajima B5N2
"Kate" torpedo bombers escorted by six Zero
fighters — came in and eluded the weak CAP. Astoria and the other ships of the screen attempted to discourage attacks from four different directions by bringing every gun to bear and firing them into the sea to throw curtains of water into the path of the attackers. Nevertheless, four of the "Kates" made good their attack and released their torpedoes within 500 yd (457.2 m). Yorktown dodged two, but the other two scored hits which stopped the ship again. By 1500, the order to abandon ship went out. Astoria called away lifeboats to assist in the rescue of Yorktowns survivors. That night, the heavy cruiser retired east ward with the rest of the task force to await dawn, while a single destroyer, Hughes, stood by the stricken carrier.
The following day broke with Yorktown still afloat, and efforts began to salvage the battered warship. Though the Japanese had abandoned the Midway attack and had begun retiring toward Japan, submarine had been given orders to sink Yorktown. After a 24-hour search, the enemy submarine found her quarry on the 6th and attacked with a spread of four torpedoes. One torpedo missed completely, two passed under destroyer Hammann alongside the carrier and detonated in Yorktowns hull, while the fourth broke Hammanns back. The destroyer sank in less than four minutes. The carrier remained afloat until early on the morning of the 7th. At about dawn, she finally rolled over and sank.
Astoria remained as flagship for TF 17, as it operated north of Midway, until shortly after midday on 8 June when TF 11 arrived on the scene, and Rear Admiral Fletcher transferred his flag to Saratoga, On 11 June, Admiral Nimitz — satisfied that the major Japanese thrust had been thwarted — ordered his carrier task forces back to Hawaii, and Astoria reentered Pearl Harbor with them on 13 June. During the early summer of 1942, she completed repairs and alterations at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and carried out training in the Hawaiian operating area.
-Tulagi
landings. Early on the morning of 7 August, the heavy cruiser entered the waters between Guadalcanal and Florida Islands in the southern Solomons. Throughout the day, she supported the Marines as they landed on Guadalcanal and several smaller islands nearby. The Japanese launched air counterattacks on the 7th-8th, and Astoria helped to defend the transports from those attacks.
On the night of 8/9 August, a Japanese force of seven cruisers and a destroyer under Rear Admiral Gunichi Mikawa
snuck by Savo Island
and attacked the American ships. At the time, Astoria had been patrolling to the east of Savo Island in column behind and . The Japanese came through the channel to the west of Savo Island and opened fire on Chicago — force first at about 0140 on the morning of the 9th, hitting both cruisers with torpedoes and shells. They then divided — inadvertently — into two separate groups and turned generally northeast, passing on either side of Astoria and her two consorts. The enemy cruisers began firing on that force at about 0150, and the heavy cruiser began return fire immediately. She ceased fire briefly because her commanding officer temporarily mistook the Japanese force for friendly ships but soon resumed shooting. Astoria took no hits in the first four Japanese salvoes, but the fifth ripped into her superstructure turning her into an inferno amidships. In quick succession, enemy shells put her No. 1 turret
out of action and started a serious fire in the plane hangar that burned brightly and provided the enemy with a self-illuminated target.
From that moment on, deadly accurate Japanese gunfire pounded her unmercifully, and she began to lose speed. Turning to the right to avoid Quincys fire at about 0201, Astoria reeled as a succession of enemy shells struck her aft of the foremast. Soon thereafter, Quincy veered across Astorias bow, blazing fiercely from bow to stern. Astoria put her rudder over hard left and avoided a collision while her battered sister ship passed aft, to starboard. As the warship turned, 's searchlight illuminated her, and men on deck passed the order to No. 2 turret to shoot out the offending light. When the turret responded with Astorias 12th and final salvo, the shells missed Kinugasa but struck the No. 1 turret of .
Astoria lost steering control on the bridge at about 0225, shifted control to central station, and began steering a zig-zag course south. Before she made much progress, though, the heavy cruiser lost all power. Fortunately, the Japanese chose that exact instant to withdraw. By 0300, nearly 400 men, including about 70 wounded and many dead, were assembled on the forecastle deck.
Suffering from the effects of at least 65 hits, Astoria fought for her life. A bucket brigade battled the blaze on the gun deck and the starboard passage forward from that deck, and the wounded were moved to the captain's cabin where doctors and corpsmen proceeded with their care. Eventually, however, the deck beneath grew hot and forced the wounded back to the forecastle. The bucket brigade made steady headway, driving the fire aft on the starboard side of the gun deck, while a gasoline handy-billy rigged over the side pumped a small stream into the wardroom passage below.
came alongside Astorias starboard bow and, by 0445, took all of the wounded off the heavy cruiser's forecastle. At that point, a small light flashed from Astorias stern, indicating survivors on that part of the ship. Signaling the men on the heavy cruiser's stern that they had been seen, Bagley got underway and rescued men on rafts — some Vincennes survivors — and men who had been driven overboard by the fires blazing aboard Astoria.
With daylight, Bagley returned to the heavy cruiser and came alongside her starboard quarter. Since it appeared that the ship could be saved, a salvage crew of about 325 able-bodied men went back aboard Astoria, Another bucket brigade attacked the fires while the ship's first lieutenant investigated all accessible lower decks. A party of men collected the dead and prepared them for burial. came up to assist in the salvage effort at about 0700. After securing a towline, Hopkins proceeded ahead, swinging Astoria around in an effort to tow her to the shallow water off Guadalcanal. A second gasoline powered handy-billy, transferred from Hopkins, promptly joined the struggle against the fires. soon arrived on the scene, coming alongside the cruiser at about 0900 to pump water into the fire forward. Called away at 1000, Hopkins and Wilson departed, but the heavy cruiser received word that was on the way to assist in battling the fires and that was coming to tow the ship.
Astoria turned over on her port beam, rolled slowly, and settled by the stern, disappearing completely by 12:16. Buchanan lowered two motor whaleboats and, although interrupted by a fruitless hunt for a submarine, came back and assisted the men in the water. Alchiba, which arrived on the scene just before Astoria sank, rescued 32 men. Not one man from the salvage crew lost his life.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
New Orleans-class heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
that participated in both the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
and the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
, but was then sunk in August 1942 at the Battle of Savo Island
Battle of Savo Island
The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces...
. Originally, Astoria was the lead ship of her class as she was the first ship of that class to be laid down but received a later hull number than because she was launched second. The class was later to be known as the New Orleans-class after Astoria was sunk. Immediately following the Guadalcanal campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
the remaining ships of the class would go through major overhauls in order to lessen top-heaviness of the ships due to new electrical and radar systems as well as more anti-aircraft weaponry which was being added as technology advanced. In doing so the ships took on a new appearance, most notable in the bridge area and then became known as the New Orleans-class.
Construction and commissioning
Astoria was laid down on 1 September 1930 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, reclassified as a heavy cruiser CA-34 on 1 July 1931, launched on 16 December 1933, sponsored by Miss Leila C. McKay (a descendant of Alexander McKayAlexander MacKay (fur trader)
Alexander MacKay was a Canadian fur trader and explorer who worked for the North West Company and the Pacific Fur Company...
, a member of the John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
expedition that founded Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
), and commissioned on 28 April 1934, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Edmund S. Root in command.
During the summer of 1934, Astoria conducted lengthy shake-down cruise in the course of which she voyaged extensively in the Pacific. In addition to the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, the heavy cruiser also visited Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
on the island of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. She returned to San Francisco on 26 September 1934.
Inter-war period
Between the fall of 1934 and February 1937, she operated as a unit of Cruiser Division 7 (CruDiv 7), Scouting Force, based at San Pedro, California. In February 1937, the warship was reassigned to CruDiv 6, though she continued to serve as an element of Scouting Force based at San Pedro. In both assignments, she carried out normal peacetime maneuvers the culmination of which came in the annual fleet problem that brought the entire United States Fleet together in a single, vast exercise.Special duty: Hiroshi Saito's ashes
At the beginning of 1939, Fleet Problem XX concentrated the fleet in the West Indies, and at its conclusion Astoria made a hasty departure from CulebraCulebra, Puerto Rico
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
Island on 3 March 1939 and headed for Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. After taking on a capacity load of stores and fuel at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, the heavy cruiser proceeded north to Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, where she embarked the remains of the former Japanese Ambassador to the United States, the late Hiroshi Saito
Hiroshi Saito
is a former governor of Yamagata Prefecture. He was first elected in 2005. A native of Yamagata, Yamagata, he joined the Bank of Japan upon graduation from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1981. He also received MIPP in 1989 and MA in 1990 from Paul H...
, for the voyage to Japan, a gesture that expressed America's gratitude to the Japanese for returning the body of the late United States Ambassador to Japan, Edgar A. Bancroft, in one of their warships in 1926. Astoria sailed from Annapolis on 18 March 1939, Saito's ashes accompanied by Naokichi Kitazawa, Second Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Washington.
Arriving in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
soon thereafter, where "various high officials and a delegation from the Japanese colony in Panama Paid their respects to Saito's ashes," Astoria got underway for Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
on 24 March. She moored at Honolulu on 4 April, the same day that Madame Saito and her two daughters arrived on board the passenger liner Tatsuta Maru. Two days later, the heavy cruiser left Diamond Head
Diamond Head, Hawaii
Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...
in her wake as she proceeded westward across the Pacific.
Accompanied by the destroyers , , , Astoria steamed slowly into Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
harbor on 17 April, United States ensign at half-staff and the Japanese flag at the fore. The warship fired a 21-gun salute which was returned by the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
. American sailors carried the ceremonial urn ashore that afternoon, and funeral ceremonies took place the following morning.
After the solemn state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
, the Japanese showered lavish hospitality on the visiting cruiser and her men. Captain Turner, for his part, pleased Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew by his diplomatic role in the proceedings; the naval attaché in Tokyo, Captain Harold M. Bemis, later recorded that the choice of Turner for that delicate mission was "particularly fortunate...." In grateful appreciation of American sympathy and courtesy a pagoda was later presented by Hirosi Saito's wife and child. That pagoda is located in front of Luce Hall at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
.
Astoria sailed for Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
on 26 April, and reached her destination on the morning of the 29th. She remained at Shanghai until 1 May. After receiving Admiral Harry E. Yarnell
Harry E. Yarnell
Admiral Harry Ervin Yarnell was an American naval officer whose career spanned 51 years and three wars, from the Spanish-American War through World War II.-Early life and Naval career:...
, Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, on board for a courtesy call that morning, Astoria put to sea for Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in the afternoon. Following the visit to Hong Kong, Astoria stopped briefly in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
before continuing on to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. When she arrived at Guam early on the morning of 21 May, the heavy cruiser was called upon to assist and in their successful effort to refloat the grounded Army transport USAT U. S. Grant. Soon thereafter, Astoria joined the search for the noted author and adventurer Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
, and the companions with whom he had attempted the voyage from San Francisco for Hong Kong in his Chinese junk, Sea Dragon. The cruiser combed more than 162000 sq mi (419,578.1 km²) of the Pacific, without success, before she discontinued the search on 29 May.
Reassigned to Pearl Harbor
Assigned to the Hawaiian Detachment in October 1939, Astoria changed home ports from San Pedro to Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. The following spring, she participated in Fleet Problem XXI, the last of those major annual exercises that brought the entire United States Fleet together to be conducted before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
engulfed the United States. The maneuvers took place in Hawaiian waters, and, instead of returning to the west coast at their conclusion, the bulk of the fleet joined Astoria and the Hawaiian Detachment in making Pearl Harbor its base of operations.
On 2 April 1941, Astoria departed Pearl Harbor for the west coast of the United States. She reached Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
on 8 April and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard on the 13th. During her refit, she received quadruple-mount 1.1 in (27.9 mm)/75 cal anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
s and a pedestal fitted at her foremast in anticipation of the imminent installation of the new air-search radar. Emerging from the yard on 11 July 1941, the heavy cruiser sailed for Long Beach on the 16th. Later shifting to San Pedro, Astoria sailed for Pearl Harbor on 24 July 1941.
Following her return to Hawaii on 31 July, Astoria operated between Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
and Midway through early September. That autumn, the specter of German raiders on the prowl in the Pacific prompted the Navy to convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
its ships bound for Guam and the Philippines. Astoria escorted to Manila and thence to Guam, before returning to Pearl Harbor on 29 October. Local patrols and training, alternated with upkeep in port, occupied Astoria during the final five weeks of peace.
World War II
After rising tensions in the Pacific intensified his concern over the defenses of his outlying bases at the beginning of December 1941, AdmiralAdmiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Husband E. Kimmel
Husband E. Kimmel
Husband Edward Kimmel was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy. He served as Commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Because of the attack, he was removed from office and was reduced to his permanent two-star rank of rear admiral...
, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
/United States Fleet, ordered reinforcements, in the form of Marine Corps planes, to be ferried to Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
and Midway. Astoria put to sea on 5 December in the screen of Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
John H. Newton's Task Force 12 (TF 12) built around . Once the task force reached open sea, Lexingtons air group and the 18 SB2U-3 Vindicator
SB2U Vindicator
The Vought SB2U Vindicator was a carrier-based dive bomber developed for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Obsolescent at the outbreak of World War II, Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, all had been withdrawn...
s from Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 231 (VMSB-231) bound for Midway landed on the carrier's flight deck
Flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on the morning of 7 December, Astoria was some 700 mi (1,126.5 km) west of Hawaii steaming toward Midway with TF 12. At 0900 the following day, the heavy cruiser , flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Wilson Brown
Wilson Brown
Wilson Brown is the name of:* Wilson Brown , World War II naval commander* Wilson Brown , American Civil War sailor* Wilson Brown , Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, 1853–1855...
, Commander, Scouting Force, joined up with TF 12, and Brown assumed command. Its ferry mission canceled, TF 12 spent the next few days searching an area to the southwest of Oahu, "with instructions to intercept and destroy any enemy ship in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor...."
The cruiser reentered Pearl Harbor with the Lexington force on 13 December, but she returned to sea on the 16th to rendezvous with and screen a convoy, the oiler and the seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
— the abortive Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
relief expedition. When that island fell to the Japanese on 23 December, however, the force was recalled. Astoria remained at sea until the afternoon of 29 December, when she arrived back at Oahu. When Astoria was moored in Pearl Harbor, she had about 40 sailors from the battleship transferred to her ranks. They were survivors of 7 December, when California was sunk at Berth F4 on Battleship Row. One of these sailors was Machinist's Mate
Machinist's Mate
Machinist's Mate is a rating in the United States Navy's engineering community.- Description :According to the Bureau of Naval Personnel , the job of an MM is to "operate, maintain, and repair ship propulsion machinery, auxiliary equipment, and outside machinery, such as: steering engine,...
1st Class
Petty Officer First Class
Good conductvariation,12 years or moreof good conductPetty officerfirst classinsigniaU.S. Navy &U.S. Coast GuardPetty officer, first class is the sixth enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S...
Martin W. Bender.
Astoria departed Pearl Harbor again on the morning of 31 December with TF 11, formed around , and remained at sea into the second week of January 1942. On 11 January, the Japanese submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
torpedoed the carrier, forcing her retirement to Pearl Harbor. Astoria and her colleagues in the task force saw the crippled carrier safely into port on the morning of 13 January 1942.
After a brief respite at Pearl Harbor, Astoria returned to sea on 19 January with TF 11 — the carrier Lexington, escorted by heavy cruisers and , and nine destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s — to "conduct an offensive patrol northeast of the Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef is a largely submerged, uninhabited triangular shaped reef, east-west and north-south, located in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly half way between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa at...
-Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
line." On the afternoon of the 21st, however, TF 11 received orders to rendezvous with Neches, and then to conduct an air raid on Wake Island, followed by a surface bombardment "if practicable." Dispatches intercepted on the 23rd, however, revealed that Neches had fallen victim to a Japanese submarine, identified later as . Without the oiler's precious cargo of fuel, TF 11 could not execute the planned strike. Ordered back to Oahu, the task force reentered Pearl Harbor on the morning of 24 January.
Southwestern Pacific cruise: TF 17 (USS Yorktown)
On 16 February, Astoria put back to sea for what proved to be an extended cruise in the southwestern Pacific with TF 17, built around the carrier and comprising the heavy cruiser , destroyers , , and , and the oiler , all under the command of Rear Admiral Frank Jack FletcherFrank Jack Fletcher
Frank Jack Fletcher was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher was the operational commander at the pivotal Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway. He was the nephew of Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher.-Early life and early Navy career:Fletcher was born in Marshalltown, Iowa...
. Initially, TF 17's orders called for operations in the vicinity of Canton Island. However, after the Japanese discovered TF 11 on its way to attack their important new base at Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
and sent a determined raid which hit the Lexington task force off Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
on 20 February, Vice Admiral Brown asked for a second carrier to strengthen his force for another crack at Rabaul. Accordingly, TF 17 received orders to aid Brown in that attempt, and Astoria steamed with Yorktown to a rendezvous with TF 11 that took place southwest of the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
on 6 March.
The combined force, under Brown, stood toward Rabaul until the Japanese landings at Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea prompted a change of plans. Late on 8 March, Brown and his staff decided to shift objectives and attack the two new enemy beachheads by launching planes from the Gulf of Papua in the south and sending them across the width of New Guinea to the targets on the northern coast. Astoria, meanwhile, joined a surface force made up of heavy cruisers Chicago, Louisville, and , and destroyers Anderson, Hammann, , and Sims under the command of Rear Admiral John G. Crace, that Brown detached to operate in the waters off Rossel Island in the Louisiade Archipelago
Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread over an ocean area of between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to...
. The heavy cruiser and the other warships of that force carried out a threefold mission. They secured the carriers' right flank during their operations in the Gulf of Papua
Gulf of Papua
The Gulf of Papua is a 400 kilometer wide region on the south shore of New Guinea. Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River and Purari River, flow into the gulf, making it a large delta. While the western coast is characterized by swampy tidal...
; they shielded Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
from any new enemy thrust; and they covered the arrival of Army troops at Nouméa.
The raids on Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Salamaua
Salamaua
Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...
, conducted by 104 planes from Yorktown and Lexington on 10 March 1942 proved devastating to the Japanese, causing heavy damage to their already depleted amphibious forces by sinking three transports and a minesweeper, as well as damaging a light cruiser, a large minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
, three destroyers and a seaplane carrier. More importantly, the attack delayed the Japanese timetable for conquest in the Solomons and prompted them to send aircraft carriers to cover the operation. The delay, which also allowed the United States Navy time to marshal its forces, coupled with the dispatch of Japanese carriers led to the confrontation in the Coral Sea
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands...
.
Battle of the Coral Sea
Astoria rejoined TF 17 on 14 March and patrolled the Coral Sea for the rest of March. At sea continuously since 16 February, Astoria began to run low on provisions, so Rear Admiral Fletcher detached her to replenish from at Nouméa along with , Hughes and Walke. Arriving on 1 April, the cruiser remained there only briefly, returning to sea the following day. The warship marched and counter-marched across the Coral Sea for two weeks before TF 17 headed for TongatapuTongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents , 70.5% of the national population...
, where she and the Yorktown force spent the week of 20–27 April.
About this time, intelligence reports convinced Admiral Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
that the enemy sought to take Port Moresby, on the southeastern coast of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, and he resolved to thwart those designs. He sent TF 11, built around a refurbished Lexington and led by a new commander, Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch, to join Fletcher's TF 17 in the Coral Sea. Astoria returned to sea with TF 17 on 27 April to rendezvous with TF 11. The two carrier task forces met in the eastern Coral Sea early on the morning of 1 May.
Late in the afternoon of 3 May, Rear Admiral Fletcher received word of the Japanese occupation of Tulagi in the Solomons. Astoria screened Yorktown the following day as the carrier launched three raids on the enemy ships off Tulagi. Admiral Fletcher first considered sending Astoria and to finish off the crippled ships at Tulagi with surface gunnery, but demurred and kept his force concentrated in anticipation of further action.
Next came a two-day lull on 5–6 May, during which TF 17 fueled in preparation for the impending battle. Astoria screened Yorktown on the 7th as her planes joined those from Lexington in searches and strikes that located and sank the Japanese carrier . Japanese planes, however, located and sank the oiler and her escort, Sims.
Fletcher's carriers launched aircraft again early on the morning of 8 May, while Astoria and the other units of the screen prepared their antiaircraft batteries to meet the retaliation expected from Japanese carriers and . Enemy planes found TF 17 just before 1100 that morning and quickly charged to the attack. Almost simultaneously, planes from Yorktown and Lexington deployed to attack the enemy task force.
The Japanese aviators concentrated almost exclusively on the American carriers as the two drew apart with their respective screening ships, ultimately putting some 6 to 8 mi (9.7 to 12.9 km) of ocean between them by the end of the battle. Torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s opened the first phase of the attack, while torpedo and dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s coordinated attacks in the second phase.
The battle action on 8 May, as Astorias executive officer, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Chauncey R. Crutcher, recounted, "was short and was accompanied by intense anti-aircraft fire against a determined enemy...." Astoria assisted in putting up a protective barrage over Lexington at the outset, and after the task forces separated, she shifted to the anti-aircraft umbrella over Yorktown. Her gunners claimed to have splashed at least four enemy planes in the attack that "seemed to end as suddenly as it had started."
At about 1245, Lexington — heavily damaged though apparently in satisfactory condition afloat and underway — suffered severe internal explosions that rang her death knell. Fires raged out of control and, by 1630, her engines stopped. Ninety minutes later, Captain Frederick C. Sherman
Frederick C. Sherman
Frederick Carl Sherman was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II.Sherman was born in Port Huron, Michigan in 1888. His grandfather, Loren Sherman, was the longtime editor and publisher of The Daily Times in Port Huron...
ordered the ship abandoned. Once rescue operations were completed, and Lexingtons end was hastened by torpedoes from , TF 17 began a slow retirement from the Coral Sea, having suffered heavy losses but also having inflicted a decisive strategic defeat on the Japanese by barring the Port Moresby invasion.
Astoria set course for Nouméa along with Minneapolis, , Anderson, Hammann, , and . That force reached its destination on 12 May but remained only overnight. On the 13th, she and the other warships got underway for Pearl Harbor, via Tongatapu, and arrived at Oahu on 27 May.
Battle of MidwayBattle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
The heavy cruiser remained in Pearl Harbor only until the 30th. On that day, she returned to sea with the hastily repaired Yorktown to prepare to meet yet another major thrust by the Japanese fleet — this one aimed at Midway. Air searches from that island spotted the enemy's Midway Occupation Force — made up of transports, minesweepers, and two seaplane carriers — early on 3 June, but the enemy carrier force eluded detection until early in the morning of the 4th. The heavy cruiser screened Yorktown as the carrier began launching strike aircraft at about 0840. While the planes droned off to make their contribution to the destruction of the Japanese carrier force, Astoria and her colleagues prepared for the inevitable Japanese reply.The counterstroke, however, did not come until a few minutes before noon as Yorktowns victorious aviators began to return to their ship. 18 Aichi D3A1
Aichi D3A
The , Allied reporting name "Val") was a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It was the primary dive bomber in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participated in almost all actions, including Pearl Harbor....
"Val" dive bombers came in to attack the carrier. F4F-4 Wildcat
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
s from Fighting Squadron 3
VF-3
VF-3 or Fighter Squadron 3 was known as the Felix Cat Squadron, was a United States Navy strike fighter squadron now inactive.-History:A number of fighter squadrons have been designated VF-3, most before World War II. Officially, the U.S. Navy does not recognize a direct lineage with disestablished...
(VF-3) accounted for 10 of the intruders, but the remaining eight managed to penetrate the combat air patrol
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
(CAP). Astoria teamed up with Portland and the screening destroyers to splash another two of the attackers. The remaining six, however, succeeded in attacking Yorktown, and three of those scored hits. One of the three hit the carrier's stack, causing fires in her uptakes that literally smoked Rear Admiral Fletcher and his staff out of flag plot. At about 1310, he shifted his flag to Astoria.
Yorktowns damage control parties worked feverishly, and by 1340 she was again underway under her own power, albeit at only 18 kn (21.9 mph; 35.3 km/h). At about 1430, the second attack — composed of 10 Nakajima B5N2
Nakajima B5N
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgwater, H.C. and Peter Scott. Combat Colours Number 4: Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Guideline Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9539040-6-7....
"Kate" torpedo bombers escorted by six Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
fighters — came in and eluded the weak CAP. Astoria and the other ships of the screen attempted to discourage attacks from four different directions by bringing every gun to bear and firing them into the sea to throw curtains of water into the path of the attackers. Nevertheless, four of the "Kates" made good their attack and released their torpedoes within 500 yd (457.2 m). Yorktown dodged two, but the other two scored hits which stopped the ship again. By 1500, the order to abandon ship went out. Astoria called away lifeboats to assist in the rescue of Yorktowns survivors. That night, the heavy cruiser retired east ward with the rest of the task force to await dawn, while a single destroyer, Hughes, stood by the stricken carrier.
The following day broke with Yorktown still afloat, and efforts began to salvage the battered warship. Though the Japanese had abandoned the Midway attack and had begun retiring toward Japan, submarine had been given orders to sink Yorktown. After a 24-hour search, the enemy submarine found her quarry on the 6th and attacked with a spread of four torpedoes. One torpedo missed completely, two passed under destroyer Hammann alongside the carrier and detonated in Yorktowns hull, while the fourth broke Hammanns back. The destroyer sank in less than four minutes. The carrier remained afloat until early on the morning of the 7th. At about dawn, she finally rolled over and sank.
Astoria remained as flagship for TF 17, as it operated north of Midway, until shortly after midday on 8 June when TF 11 arrived on the scene, and Rear Admiral Fletcher transferred his flag to Saratoga, On 11 June, Admiral Nimitz — satisfied that the major Japanese thrust had been thwarted — ordered his carrier task forces back to Hawaii, and Astoria reentered Pearl Harbor with them on 13 June. During the early summer of 1942, she completed repairs and alterations at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and carried out training in the Hawaiian operating area.
The Solomons (Battle of Savo Island)
By the beginning of August, Astoria had been reassigned to Task Group 62.3 (TG 62.3), Fire Support Group L, to cover the GuadalcanalGuadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
-Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
landings. Early on the morning of 7 August, the heavy cruiser entered the waters between Guadalcanal and Florida Islands in the southern Solomons. Throughout the day, she supported the Marines as they landed on Guadalcanal and several smaller islands nearby. The Japanese launched air counterattacks on the 7th-8th, and Astoria helped to defend the transports from those attacks.
On the night of 8/9 August, a Japanese force of seven cruisers and a destroyer under Rear Admiral Gunichi Mikawa
Gunichi Mikawa
was a Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that carried out spectacular I.J.N. victory over the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of August 1942. In...
snuck by Savo Island
Savo Island
Savo Island is a volcanic island in the Solomon Islands group in the South Pacific ocean. It is located to the northeast of the northern tip of Guadalcanal Island at . Politically, Savo Island is a part of the Solomons' Central Province. The indigenous language of Savo is the Savosavo language.The...
and attacked the American ships. At the time, Astoria had been patrolling to the east of Savo Island in column behind and . The Japanese came through the channel to the west of Savo Island and opened fire on Chicago — force first at about 0140 on the morning of the 9th, hitting both cruisers with torpedoes and shells. They then divided — inadvertently — into two separate groups and turned generally northeast, passing on either side of Astoria and her two consorts. The enemy cruisers began firing on that force at about 0150, and the heavy cruiser began return fire immediately. She ceased fire briefly because her commanding officer temporarily mistook the Japanese force for friendly ships but soon resumed shooting. Astoria took no hits in the first four Japanese salvoes, but the fifth ripped into her superstructure turning her into an inferno amidships. In quick succession, enemy shells put her No. 1 turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
out of action and started a serious fire in the plane hangar that burned brightly and provided the enemy with a self-illuminated target.
From that moment on, deadly accurate Japanese gunfire pounded her unmercifully, and she began to lose speed. Turning to the right to avoid Quincys fire at about 0201, Astoria reeled as a succession of enemy shells struck her aft of the foremast. Soon thereafter, Quincy veered across Astorias bow, blazing fiercely from bow to stern. Astoria put her rudder over hard left and avoided a collision while her battered sister ship passed aft, to starboard. As the warship turned, 's searchlight illuminated her, and men on deck passed the order to No. 2 turret to shoot out the offending light. When the turret responded with Astorias 12th and final salvo, the shells missed Kinugasa but struck the No. 1 turret of .
Astoria lost steering control on the bridge at about 0225, shifted control to central station, and began steering a zig-zag course south. Before she made much progress, though, the heavy cruiser lost all power. Fortunately, the Japanese chose that exact instant to withdraw. By 0300, nearly 400 men, including about 70 wounded and many dead, were assembled on the forecastle deck.
Suffering from the effects of at least 65 hits, Astoria fought for her life. A bucket brigade battled the blaze on the gun deck and the starboard passage forward from that deck, and the wounded were moved to the captain's cabin where doctors and corpsmen proceeded with their care. Eventually, however, the deck beneath grew hot and forced the wounded back to the forecastle. The bucket brigade made steady headway, driving the fire aft on the starboard side of the gun deck, while a gasoline handy-billy rigged over the side pumped a small stream into the wardroom passage below.
came alongside Astorias starboard bow and, by 0445, took all of the wounded off the heavy cruiser's forecastle. At that point, a small light flashed from Astorias stern, indicating survivors on that part of the ship. Signaling the men on the heavy cruiser's stern that they had been seen, Bagley got underway and rescued men on rafts — some Vincennes survivors — and men who had been driven overboard by the fires blazing aboard Astoria.
With daylight, Bagley returned to the heavy cruiser and came alongside her starboard quarter. Since it appeared that the ship could be saved, a salvage crew of about 325 able-bodied men went back aboard Astoria, Another bucket brigade attacked the fires while the ship's first lieutenant investigated all accessible lower decks. A party of men collected the dead and prepared them for burial. came up to assist in the salvage effort at about 0700. After securing a towline, Hopkins proceeded ahead, swinging Astoria around in an effort to tow her to the shallow water off Guadalcanal. A second gasoline powered handy-billy, transferred from Hopkins, promptly joined the struggle against the fires. soon arrived on the scene, coming alongside the cruiser at about 0900 to pump water into the fire forward. Called away at 1000, Hopkins and Wilson departed, but the heavy cruiser received word that was on the way to assist in battling the fires and that was coming to tow the ship.
Sinking
Nevertheless, the fire below decks increased steadily in intensity, and those topside could hear explosions. Her list increased, first to 10° and then 15°. Her stern lowered in the dark waters, and her bow was distinctivley rising. All attempts to shore the shell holes — by then below the waterline due to the increasing list — proved ineffective, and the list increased still more. Buchanan arrived at 11:30, but could not approach due to the heavy port list. Directed to stand off the starboard quarter, she stood by while all hands assembled on the stern, which was now wet with seawater. With the port waterway awash at noon, Captain William Greenman gave the order to abandon ship.Astoria turned over on her port beam, rolled slowly, and settled by the stern, disappearing completely by 12:16. Buchanan lowered two motor whaleboats and, although interrupted by a fruitless hunt for a submarine, came back and assisted the men in the water. Alchiba, which arrived on the scene just before Astoria sank, rescued 32 men. Not one man from the salvage crew lost his life.
See also
- See List of U.S. Navy losses in World War II for other Navy ships lost in World War II.