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USS Raleigh (CL-7)
Encyclopedia
USS Raleigh (CL-7) was an Omaha-class
light cruiser
of the United States Navy
. She was the third Navy ship named for the city of Raleigh, North Carolina
.
Raleigh was laid down by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts
on 16 August 1920; launched on 25 October 1922; sponsored by Miss Jennie Proctor; and commissioned in the Boston Navy Yard
on 6 February 1924, Captain
William Carleton Watts
in command.
. Final building yard alterations were completed at Quincy on 24 June. After shifting to Provincetown, Mass., Raleigh put to sea from that harbor on 30 July to join the Cruiser Division, Scouting Fleet, in northern European waters for duty in connection with the Army World Flight. After calling at ports in Norway
, Denmark
, and Scotland
, she took up her reconnaissance station on 31 July off Hvalfjörður
, Iceland
. She shifted her station to the east coast of Greenland
on 10 August and upon completion of duty with the flight operations, she returned to the Boston Navy Yard
on 3 September for voyage repairs.
She stood out from Boston Harbor on 16 October for maneuvers off the Virginia Capes, followed by operations and battle problems off Panama
, California
, and the Hawaiian Islands
. Steaming from Honolulu on 10 June 1925, she touched at San Diego with the Scouting Fleet and then returned to the Boston Navy Yard on 13 July. Raleigh continued to operate out of Boston for the next two years, spending most of the winter months with the Scouting Force in Cuban and Panamanian waters.
Clearing Boston Harbor on 1 February 1927, Raleigh embarked two detachments of Marines at Charleston, South Carolina
. After participating in maneuvers at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
, she transited the Panama Canal
for Corinto, Nicaragua
, arriving on 5 February to land the Marines
, who were needed to deal with the bandit-plagued countryside. The cruiser stood by for possible assistance until 23 March, when she returned to Boston and resumed Atlantic coastal operations.
During the spring of 1928, Raleigh operated off the California coast and in Hawaiian waters, returning to Boston on 26 June to prepare for European duty. Departing on 17 August, she steamed for Hampton Roads
, Va., where, on 15 September, she relieved as flagship of Vice Admiral
John H. Dayton, Commander, Naval Forces, Europe.
After touching at Boston, Raleigh made diplomatic calls to many principal European ports before returning to Hampton Roads, Va. on 4 September 1929. The next day, she hauled down the flag of Commander, Naval Forces, Europe.
Raleigh then rejoined Cruiser Division 3 (CruDiv 3) of the Scouting Force, operating for the next few years out of Boston for battle practice, maneuvers, and port calls. Based at San Diego, Calif. on 15 August 1933, she trained off the California coast, with occasional runs to the Caribbean
, as well as to Alaskan and Hawaiian waters. She departed San Diego on 27 April 1936 in company with the US Fleet, transited the Panama Canal, touched at Charleston, S.C., and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 15 June for overhaul.
As Raleigh repaired in the Norfolk Navy Yard, Squadron 40-T, a special temporary squadron, was organized for duty in Spanish waters to evacuate American nationals from the Spanish Civil War
areas. Rear Admiral
Arthur P. Fairfield
broke his flag in Raleigh at Norfolk on 17 September 1936. The next day, the cruiser steamed independently for Gibraltar, arriving on 27 September. , and , in company with Raleigh, initially comprised the Squadron. Together, the ships saved hundreds of Americans and other nationals from the dangers of the war in Spain
.
relieved Raleigh at Villefranche
on 28 April 1938, and two days later, Raleigh headed for Hampton Roads for overhaul in the Norfolk Navy Yard, arriving on 13 May.
Raleigh was next assigned to Flotilla One, Destroyer Squadron, US Battle Force. Clearing Norfolk on 16 August, she trained at Guantanamo Bay and then arrived at her new base of San Diego on 5 September. In early 1939, she participated in the fleet problem in the Caribbean, returning to San Diego in May to resume coastal operations. Next assigned to the Hawaiian Detachment, Raleigh steamed for Pearl Harbor on 5 October. As the flagship of Destroyer Flotilla One, she engaged in fleet maneuvers which took her from the central Pacific to the California coast.
, when the Japanese made their infamous or famous attack
. In the first attack wave a torpedo passed ahead and a second hit Raleigh portside amidships. The cruiser took such a list to port that it appeared she might capsize. As she fought to survive, jettisoning topside weight, her gunners helped to destroy five enemy planes. Her valiant men won her from the enemy and the sea in a struggle which almost miraculously, left her with only a few wounded.
The next day, yard craft and came alongside to render assistance, and Raleigh was towed into the Navy Yard for repairs on 22 December. She departed Pearl Harbor on 21 February 1942 as an escort of a five-ship convoy which arrived San Francisco on 1 March. After overhaul at Mare Island
, she cleared San Francisco Bay
on 23 July as a unit of Task Force 15 (TF 15) assigned to convoy escort duty between San Francisco, Hawaii
, Samoa
and the Fiji Islands.
Raleigh steamed from Pago Pago on 3 November to search out and destroy four Japanese picket ships reportedly operating between the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Finding no trace of the enemy, she touched at Pearl Harbor from 13-17 November, then steamed independently to Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Aleutians, arriving on 24 November. The following months were spent searching for enemy ships carrying reinforcements in the Rat and Near Islands and escorting troop and supply ships between Dutch Harbor and Kulak Bay.
Raleigh put to sea on 10 January 1943 with Task Group 8.6 (TG 8.6) to cover the occupation of Amchitka Island. On 12 January, she conducted patrols off Amchitka, with infrequent sweeps off Kiska
with her task group. Detached from the group on 10 February, she convoyed ships between Dutch Harbor and Kulak Bay, then entered Puget Sound Navy Yard on 23 March for repairs.
Sailing on 22 April, she arrived Adak on the 28th and joined TG 16.6, patrolling the approaches to the Near Islands and covering the southern approach to Kiska. Raleigh participated in the bombardment of Kiska on 2 August, blasting targets in Gertrude Cove, and shelled enemy positions again on 12 August, before heading for San Francisco and overhaul.
Raleigh stood out of San Francisco Bay on 15 September and resumed support of operations in the Aleutians, sweeping the ocean from Kiska to west of Attu. As part of TG 94.6, she steamed from Massacre Bay
, Attu on 1 February 1944. to bombard enemy installations in Kurabu Zaki, Paramushiru, Northern Kuriles. In the early morning darkness of 4 February, she took her bombardment station off that enemy shore to blast an area where two dual-purpose batteries were located. She also took an airfield under fire, destroying a hangar and several barracks buildings. Her gunners also scored hits on a small merchant ship anchored inshore. After touching at Attu on 5 February, Raleigh returned to Puget Sound Navy Yard on 1 March for a three-month overhaul.
Joining TF 94 at Massacre Bay on 6 June, she suffered a casualty to her number two main engine while en route to Matsuwa Island. After repairs at Puget Sound, Raleigh departed Seattle on 22 June, touched at San Pedro, California, thence proceeded via the Panama Canal to Hampton Roads and then to Norfolk. Calling at Annapolis, Md. on 1 July, she conducted two midshipman training cruises, in the Caribbean and along the east coast. There, she steamed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 29 September 1945, there decommissioned on 2 November, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 28 November. Her hulk was sold for scrap at Philadelphia on 27 February 1946.
Omaha class cruiser
The Omaha-class cruisers were a class of light cruisers built for the United States Navy. The oldest class of cruiser still in service with the Navy at the outbreak of World War II, the Omaha class was an immediate post-World War I design....
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...
of the United States Navy
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...
. She was the third Navy ship named for the city of Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
.
Raleigh was laid down by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
on 16 August 1920; launched on 25 October 1922; sponsored by Miss Jennie Proctor; and commissioned in the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
on 6 February 1924, 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....
William Carleton Watts
William Carleton Watts
William Carleton Watts was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, who served in the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II.-Early life and career:...
in command.
Inter-war period
Raleigh shifted to the New York Navy Yard on 26 February 1924 to complete fitting out and cleared that port on 16 April for shakedown off the Virginia CapesVirginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
. Final building yard alterations were completed at Quincy on 24 June. After shifting to Provincetown, Mass., Raleigh put to sea from that harbor on 30 July to join the Cruiser Division, Scouting Fleet, in northern European waters for duty in connection with the Army World Flight. After calling at ports in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, she took up her reconnaissance station on 31 July off Hvalfjörður
Hvalfjörður
Hvalfjörður is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide....
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. She shifted her station to the east coast of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
on 10 August and upon completion of duty with the flight operations, she returned to the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
on 3 September for voyage repairs.
She stood out from Boston Harbor on 16 October for maneuvers off the Virginia Capes, followed by operations and battle problems off Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and 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...
. Steaming from Honolulu on 10 June 1925, she touched at San Diego with the Scouting Fleet and then returned to the Boston Navy Yard on 13 July. Raleigh continued to operate out of Boston for the next two years, spending most of the winter months with the Scouting Force in Cuban and Panamanian waters.
Clearing Boston Harbor on 1 February 1927, Raleigh embarked two detachments of Marines at Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. After participating in maneuvers at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, she transited the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
for Corinto, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, arriving on 5 February to land the Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, who were needed to deal with the bandit-plagued countryside. The cruiser stood by for possible assistance until 23 March, when she returned to Boston and resumed Atlantic coastal operations.
During the spring of 1928, Raleigh operated off the California coast and in Hawaiian waters, returning to Boston on 26 June to prepare for European duty. Departing on 17 August, she steamed for Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, Va., where, on 15 September, she relieved as flagship 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...
John H. Dayton, Commander, Naval Forces, Europe.
After touching at Boston, Raleigh made diplomatic calls to many principal European ports before returning to Hampton Roads, Va. on 4 September 1929. The next day, she hauled down the flag of Commander, Naval Forces, Europe.
Raleigh then rejoined Cruiser Division 3 (CruDiv 3) of the Scouting Force, operating for the next few years out of Boston for battle practice, maneuvers, and port calls. Based at San Diego, Calif. on 15 August 1933, she trained off the California coast, with occasional runs to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, as well as to Alaskan and Hawaiian waters. She departed San Diego on 27 April 1936 in company with the US Fleet, transited the Panama Canal, touched at Charleston, S.C., and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 15 June for overhaul.
As Raleigh repaired in the Norfolk Navy Yard, Squadron 40-T, a special temporary squadron, was organized for duty in Spanish waters to evacuate American nationals from the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
areas. Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Arthur P. Fairfield
Arthur P. Fairfield
Arthur Philip Fairfield was an vice admiral in the United States Navy.-Biography:Born in Saco, Maine, Fairfield served on the protected cruiser during the Spanish–American War, before graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1901.In World War I, Commander Fairfield commissioned the...
broke his flag in Raleigh at Norfolk on 17 September 1936. The next day, the cruiser steamed independently for Gibraltar, arriving on 27 September. , and , in company with Raleigh, initially comprised the Squadron. Together, the ships saved hundreds of Americans and other nationals from the dangers of the war in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
relieved Raleigh at Villefranche
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
on 28 April 1938, and two days later, Raleigh headed for Hampton Roads for overhaul in the Norfolk Navy Yard, arriving on 13 May.
Raleigh was next assigned to Flotilla One, Destroyer Squadron, US Battle Force. Clearing Norfolk on 16 August, she trained at Guantanamo Bay and then arrived at her new base of San Diego on 5 September. In early 1939, she participated in the fleet problem in the Caribbean, returning to San Diego in May to resume coastal operations. Next assigned to the Hawaiian Detachment, Raleigh steamed for Pearl Harbor on 5 October. As the flagship of Destroyer Flotilla One, she engaged in fleet maneuvers which took her from the central Pacific to the California coast.
World War II
Raleigh was moored at berth F-12, on the east side of the north channel at 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...
, when the Japanese made their infamous or famous attack
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...
. In the first attack wave a torpedo passed ahead and a second hit Raleigh portside amidships. The cruiser took such a list to port that it appeared she might capsize. As she fought to survive, jettisoning topside weight, her gunners helped to destroy five enemy planes. Her valiant men won her from the enemy and the sea in a struggle which almost miraculously, left her with only a few wounded.
The next day, yard craft and came alongside to render assistance, and Raleigh was towed into the Navy Yard for repairs on 22 December. She departed Pearl Harbor on 21 February 1942 as an escort of a five-ship convoy which arrived San Francisco on 1 March. After overhaul at Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
, she cleared San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
on 23 July as a unit of Task Force 15 (TF 15) assigned to convoy escort duty between San Francisco, 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...
, 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...
and the Fiji Islands.
Raleigh steamed from Pago Pago on 3 November to search out and destroy four Japanese picket ships reportedly operating between the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Finding no trace of the enemy, she touched at Pearl Harbor from 13-17 November, then steamed independently to Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Aleutians, arriving on 24 November. The following months were spent searching for enemy ships carrying reinforcements in the Rat and Near Islands and escorting troop and supply ships between Dutch Harbor and Kulak Bay.
Raleigh put to sea on 10 January 1943 with Task Group 8.6 (TG 8.6) to cover the occupation of Amchitka Island. On 12 January, she conducted patrols off Amchitka, with infrequent sweeps off Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
with her task group. Detached from the group on 10 February, she convoyed ships between Dutch Harbor and Kulak Bay, then entered Puget Sound Navy Yard on 23 March for repairs.
Sailing on 22 April, she arrived Adak on the 28th and joined TG 16.6, patrolling the approaches to the Near Islands and covering the southern approach to Kiska. Raleigh participated in the bombardment of Kiska on 2 August, blasting targets in Gertrude Cove, and shelled enemy positions again on 12 August, before heading for San Francisco and overhaul.
Raleigh stood out of San Francisco Bay on 15 September and resumed support of operations in the Aleutians, sweeping the ocean from Kiska to west of Attu. As part of TG 94.6, she steamed from Massacre Bay
Massacre Bay
Massacre Bay is an inlet on the southeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.Massacre Bay was among the landing sites of United States Army troops in the Battle of Attu in May 1943, which led to the recapture of the island from the Japanese during World War...
, Attu on 1 February 1944. to bombard enemy installations in Kurabu Zaki, Paramushiru, Northern Kuriles. In the early morning darkness of 4 February, she took her bombardment station off that enemy shore to blast an area where two dual-purpose batteries were located. She also took an airfield under fire, destroying a hangar and several barracks buildings. Her gunners also scored hits on a small merchant ship anchored inshore. After touching at Attu on 5 February, Raleigh returned to Puget Sound Navy Yard on 1 March for a three-month overhaul.
Joining TF 94 at Massacre Bay on 6 June, she suffered a casualty to her number two main engine while en route to Matsuwa Island. After repairs at Puget Sound, Raleigh departed Seattle on 22 June, touched at San Pedro, California, thence proceeded via the Panama Canal to Hampton Roads and then to Norfolk. Calling at Annapolis, Md. on 1 July, she conducted two midshipman training cruises, in the Caribbean and along the east coast. There, she steamed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 29 September 1945, there decommissioned on 2 November, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 28 November. Her hulk was sold for scrap at Philadelphia on 27 February 1946.