USS Vicksburg (CL-86), a 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...

, was the third ship 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...

 named after the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

.

Vicksburg was first laid down as Cheyenne on 26 October 1942 at Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

, by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, but, exactly one month later, was renamed Vicksburg. The light cruiser was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 14 December 1943; sponsored by Miss Muriel Hamilton, the daughter of Mayor J. C. Hamilton, of Vicksburg, Mississippi; and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 12 June 1944, with 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 C. Vose in command. Vicksburg received two battle stars for her 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...

 service.

World War II

The ship was fitted out for sea at Norfolk, Virginia into July, and conducted the preliminary phases of her shakedown in 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...

 prior to sailing for the British West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

 on 7 August. The light cruiser, then operating out of Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, completed her shakedown training in the Gulf of Paria

Gulf of Paria

The Gulf of Paria is a shallow inland sea between the island of Trinidad and the east coast of Venezuela. This sheltered body of water is considered to be one of the best natural harbours on the Atlantic coast of the Americas...

 from 12–30 August, conducted shore bombardment exercises off Culebra, Puerto Rico

Culebra, 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...

, on 1 September, and on the following day, sailed 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...

 in company with and .

Returning to Hampton Roads soon thereafter, Vicksburg then conducted radar spotting practice at YAG-13 and at a battle raft on 9 September, and fired a drone practice off Cape May

Cape May

Cape May is a peninsula and island ; the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...

 on 10 September. She underwent a post-shakedown overhaul at 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...

 from 11–24 September, ran standardization trials off Rockland, Maine

Rockland, Maine

Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...

, and then took part in naval radiation laboratory tests in the vicinity of Deer Island

Deer Island (Massachusetts)

Deer Island is a peninsula in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Since 1996 it is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Although still an island by name, Deer Island has been connected to the mainland since the former Shirley Gut channel, which once separated the island from the...

 in Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...

. After availability at Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Vicksburg operated in Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...

, Block Island Sound

Block Island Sound

Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of Rhode Island in the United States...

, and Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

, serving as a pre-commissioning training vessel for crews of large combatant warships from 5–15 December.

Vicksburg returned to the Norfolk Navy Yard on 17 December, and remained there until she ran her post-repair trials in the Chesapeake Bay on the last two days of 1944. The warship departed 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...

 on 1 January 1945, and rendezvoused with and at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay to form Task Group (TG) 21.12. Vicksburg and her escorts arrived at Cristobal, 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...

, four days later, 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...

 that afternoon, and moored at NOB Balboa, Panama

Balboa, Panama

Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...

, where TG 21.12 was dissolved.

Vicksburg got underway for 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...

 on 6 January 1945, and arrived at Pearl Harbor

Pearl 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...

 on 17 January. The light cruiser then conducted exercises off 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...

, including aircraft tracking, firing at drones, fighter direction, radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 calibration, and long and short range battle practices, through the end of January.

Vicksburg departed Pearl Harbor at 0800 on 5 February, and arrived at Saipan

Saipan

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

, in the Marianas, on 13 February. There, she was fueled from and prepared for the ship's upcoming operation, and her baptism of fire, the bombardment of Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...

.

Iwo Jima

The following day, Vicksburg left Saipan and joined other units of TG 52.19 at sea. On 15 February, the light cruiser became part of Task Unit (TU) 54.9.2, movement group "Baker", consisting of herself, and , and , and several destroyers. That force soon split into two fire support units. Vicksburg joined Chester and Pensacola, and took station at 0651 to commence bombarding the shore. At 0709, Vicksburg catapult-launched the first of her plane sortie

Sortie

Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....

s and commenced fire. Directed by the ship's spotter in an OS2U Kingfisher, the light cruiser's 6 inch guns opened up from a range of 12,000 yards, shelling enemy installations on the northern end of the island of Iwo Jima.

Squalls cut down the visibility for the spotting aircraft, but occasionally, the aircrew managed to glimpse the target area. At 0808, Vicksburg completed the first phase of her bombardment mission and recovered her plane to refuel it. At 0947, the light cruiser commenced the second phase of her assigned mission. Still hampered by bad weather over the target, the spotters doggedly remained airborne and directed gunfire as well as they could through the spotty cloud cover. By afternoon, however, visibility had increased markedly, allowing the ship to assess her gunfire as landing "on target," in the third phase.

Vicksburg had launched her Kingfisher at 1249, piloted by Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 J. B. Nabors, Jr. At 1414, listeners on the radio circuit heard Nabors report that his aircraft was being fired upon by Japanese anti-aircraft guns. Shortly thereafter, an A6M Zero attacked the slower, more vulnerable Kingfisher. The ensuing air battle did not last long, however, and ended happily for the American side, when another Kingfisher, from Pensacola, bagged the Zero, enabling Vicksburgs plane to resume her air spotting activities unhindered by enemy interference in the air.

One-half hour later, Vicksburg completed Phase III of her gunfire assignment and recovered the Kingfisher. Shortly before 1600, the light cruiser again launched one of her brood of float planes, and, at 1618, commenced Phase IV from a range of 10,000 yards. After completing the firing at 1727 and subsequently recovering her aircraft, Vicksburg and her consorts were joined by the other fire support ships in retiring for the night at 14 knots.

Vicksburg remained off Iwo Jima, providing gunfire support for the landings, into March and headed for Ulithi

Ulithi

Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...

 on 5 March to replenish and provision before putting to sea again on 14 March in TG 58.1, part of the 5th Fleet's fast carrier striking arm, which was then undertaking air strikes to neutralize Japanese air power as the Allies prepared to invade Okinawa.

Vicksburgs first brush with the Japanese while engaged in that screening duty came on 18 March, 100 miles east of the Japanese home island of Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

. A Mitsubishi G4M

Mitsubishi G4M

The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...

 "Betty" made a torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 attack on the cruiser, dropping her "fish" while the ship was in the middle of a tight emergency turn. The torpedo churned by the bow, some 35 yards ahead of the ship, and proceeded parallel to the cruiser's port side. Within 20 minutes, another enemy plane closed, dropped flares, and departed, hurried along on its way by antiaircraft fire from the ships of TG 58.1.

Soon thereafter, Vicksburg, already at general quarters, opened fire with her 40 mm Bofors battery. The plane came in through the formation, and Vicksburgs Bofors guns began blasting the plane after it had already been set ablaze by fire from other ships. Moments later, it splashed.

At 0600, a Yokosuka P1Y

Yokosuka P1Y

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam 7 Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00033-1 ....

 "Frances" closed the formation and approached one of the carriers in the group from astern. It soon executed a wingover and dived on the carrier through a curtain of flak. The enemy never reached his destination, however, for the heavy wall of gunfire, probably from the carrier herself, knocked the "Frances" into the water.

Slightly less than two hours later, a Yokosuka D4Y

Yokosuka D4Y

The D4Y Navy Type 2 Carrier Dive bomber was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Its Allied reporting name was "Judy". The D4Y was one of the fastest dive-bombers of the war, and only the delays in its development hindered its service, while its predecessor, the slower fixed gear Aichi D3A...

 "Judy" bored in for a surprise attack and passed over Vicksburg. The light cruiser's battery blasted away at the intruder and scored three definite hits before 5 inch gunfire (probably from either or blasted the enemy from the sky.

Meanwhile, the carriers' planes battered Japanese targets ashore on the Japanese home islands. The cruisers and destroyers in the screen had no rest, for the Japanese came back again on the next day. At 0715, a Japanese plane dived toward and scored one bomb hit. Vicksburg soon opened fire on the enemy plane. As it turned, either to make another attack or to escape the American fighters from the combat air patrol, the Japanese plane was rocked by a proximity burst from one of Vicksburgs shells. The blast knocked off a wing and set the plane afire. It then spun into the sea, a confirmed "kill."

While she was supporting strikes against Japanese targets to weaken the enemy's ability to defend against the impending invasion of the Ryukyus, Vicksburg destroyed eight Japanese planes. In addition, one of the ship's Kingfishers rescued a Marine

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...

 aviator from the waters off the Japanese home islands.

Okinawa

Later detached from service with TG 58.1, Vicksburg shifted to a position off Okinawa for shore bombardment and close support duties. Highlighting the operation for the light cruiser was firing nearly 2,300 rounds of 6 inch and 5 inch projectiles in a six-hour time span, supporting an Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 advance up the southern part of the island. Some of her targets were only a few hundred yards ahead of the advancing troops, a situation that required accurate shooting. Vicksburgs guns blasted Japanese gun positions, caves, and strong-points during the ship's long hours of firing and loading ammunition on the veritable "front lines."

After leaving the Ryukyus late in the Okinawa campaign, Vicksburg supported a minesweeping operation in the China Sea

China Sea

The China Seas consist of the seas of the Western Pacific Ocean, around China:* Bohai Sea* Yellow Sea* East China Sea* South China SeaOther uses*China Seas , a 1935 American adventure film...

until 24 June, when she sailed for the Philippine Islands.

Vicksburg remained in Philippine waters through the Japanese capitulation on 15 August 1945. Five days later, on 20 August, the light cruiser departed San Pedro Bay

San Pedro Bay (Philippines)

San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...

, Leyte, as part of TU 30.3.7, in company with , , and . While the ships proceeded toward a point off the Japanese home islands, where they would rendezvous with a fast carrier striking force, Lowry sighted and exploded a drifting mine.

Vicksburg joined TG 38.2 on 24 August, part 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 McCain

John S. McCain, Jr.

John Sidney "Jack" McCain Jr. was a United States Navy admiral, who served in conflicts from the 1940s through the 1970s, including as the Commander, United States Pacific Command....

's task force, and was replenished and provisioned at sea. TG 38.2 covered the approaches to Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

 prior to, and during, the formal Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945. Three days later, Vicksburg entered Tokyo Bay.

Post-War

There, 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"...

 I. J. Wiltse, Commander, Cruiser Division 10, shifted his flag to Vicksburg, and on 20 September, the light cruiser departed Tokyo Bay as part of a 3rd Fleet task group under the command of Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth

John F. Shafroth

John Franklin Shafroth was a United States Representative and Senator from Colorado. Born in Fayette, Missouri, he attended the common schools and graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1875. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1876 and commenced practice in Fayette...

 and proceeded to Okinawa, where she anchored at Buckner Bay, on 23 September. There, 2,200 passengers came on board for transportation back to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Five days after arrival in Pearl Harbor on 4 October, Vicksburg led the sortie of the 3rd Fleet for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. On 15 October, the Fleet passed in review in 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...

, 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...

. Vicksburg remained in that port until 26 October, when she got underway to shift to Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....

, California, to take part in Navy Day

Navy Day

Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week .- Argentina...

 observances there on 27 October. The ship 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 31 October, but shifted to Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, on 6 November to participate in Armistice Day

Armistice Day

Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...

 services before returning to Long Beach on 16 November.

Placed in the Terminal Island Naval Shipyard in 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 17 January 1946 for availability, Vicksburg emerged from the overhaul and modernization as perhaps the most modern ship of her class. On 20 May 1946, Vicksburg became the flagship for Vice Admiral 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...

, Commander, 3rd Fleet, who shifted his flag from on that date. Two days later, the ship moved to San Diego, where she moored at the Naval Air Station (NAS). She remained there into September, when she became the temporary flagship of Vice Admiral A. E. Montgomery.

Vicksburg was ultimately decommissioned on 30 June 1947 at San Francisco, California. She remained "mothballed" until struck from the Navy list on 1 October 1962. Sold to the National Metal and Steel Corporation, Terminal Island

Terminal Island

Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...

, California, on 25 August 1964, she was then scrapped.