USS Los Angeles (CA-135)
Encyclopedia
The third USS Los Angeles (CA-135) was a Baltimore class
Baltimore class cruiser
The Baltimore class cruiser was a type of heavy cruiser in the United States Navy from the last years of the Second World War. Fast and heavily armed, ships like the Baltimore cruisers were mainly used by the Navy in World War II to protect the fast aircraft carriers in carrier battle groups...
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...
, laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, on 28 July 1943 and launched on 20 August 1944. She was sponsored by Mrs. Fletcher Bowron and commissioned on 22 July 1945, with Capt. John A. Snackenberg in command.
1944–1948
After shakedownShakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
out of 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...
, Los Angeles sailed on 15 October for the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
via the west coast and arrived at 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 3 January 1946. During the next year she operated with the 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
along the coast of China and in the western Pacific to the Marianas. She returned to San Francisco, California, on 21 January 1947, and was decommissioned at Hunters Point
San Francisco Naval Shipyard
The San Francisco Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city...
on 9 April 1948, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
1951–1953
Los Angeles was recommissioned on 27 January 1951, Capt. Robert N. McFarlane in command. In response to the American efforts to thwart Communist aggression in the Republic of KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, she sailed for the Far East 14 May and joined naval operations off the eastern coast of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
on 31 May as flagship for Rear Adm. Arleigh A. Burke's CRUDIV 5. During the next six months she ranged the coastal waters of the Korean Peninsula from Hungnam
Hungnam
Hŭngnam was the third largest city in North Korea.It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan . The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers...
in the east to Haeju
Haeju
Haeju is a city located in South Hwanghae Province near Haeju Bay in North Korea. It is the administrative centre of South Hwanghae Province. As of 2000, the population of the city is estimated to be 236,000. At the beginning of 20th century, it became a strategic port in Sino-Korean trade...
in the west while her guns pounded enemy coastal positions. After returning to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on 17 December for overhaul and training, she made her second deployment to Korean waters on 9 October 1952 and participated on 11 October in a concentrated shelling of enemy bunkers and observation points at Koji-ni. During the next few months, she continued to provide off-shore gunfire support
Naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the term Naval Fires...
for American ground operations, and in addition she cruised the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
with fast carriers of the 7th Fleet. While participating in the bombardment of Wonsan
Wonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
late in March and early in April 1953, she received minor damage from enemy shore batteries, but continued operations until sailing for the west coast in mid-April. She arrived at Long Beach
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 15 May.
1953–1963
Between November 1953 and June 1963 Los Angeles made eight more deployments to the Far East where she served as a cruiser division flagship with the 7th Fleet in support of "keeping the peace" operations in that troubled part of the world. Her operations sent her from the coast of Japan to the Sea of Japan, the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
, and the East and South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
s; and with units of the 7th Fleet she steamed to American bases 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...
and Okinawa, as well as to Allied bases in South Korea, 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...
, 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 Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. During the Quemoy-Matsu crisis in 1956, she patrolled the Formosa Strait to help protect Formosa from possible invasion from Communist China. When not deployed in the western Pacific, Los Angeles operated out of Long Beach along the west coast and in the Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands. She returned to Long Beach from her final Far East deployment on 20 June 1963.
Decommissioning and sale
While some consideration was made to convert Los Angeles into a single-end TalosTalos
In Greek mythology, Talos or Talon was a giant man of bronze who protected Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders by circling the island's shores three times daily while guarding it.- History :...
missile cruiser, with flagship facilities (in essence a heavy cruiser version of the Oklahoma City) funds were not appropriated for this, (or for a general overhaul to enable her continued fleet service), so she was decommissioned at Long Beach on 15 November 1963 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego. Stricken on 1 January 1974, and sold on 16 May 1975 (sale #16-5049) to the National Steel Corporation
National Steel Corporation
The National Steel Corporation was a major American steel producer. It was founded in 1929 through a merger arranged by Weirton Steel with some properties of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation and M.A. Hanna Company. Despite a difficult market in Depression-setting 1930, the company reported USD...
for $1,864,380.21, and scrapped in San Pedro, California.
The flying bridge
Flying bridge
A flying bridge is a area on top of, or at the side of, a ship's pilothouse, or closed bridge, that serves as an operating station for the ship's officers in good weather or when maneuvering in port, where good views along the ship sides are important...
and a small portion of the bow section of the Los Angeles is on display at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum
Los Angeles Maritime Museum
The Los Angeles Maritime Museum is a non-profit museum.-The Museum:The Los Angeles Maritime Museum is located on the main channel in Los Angeles Harbor, San Pedro, California, in the former Municipal Ferry Terminal building. The ferry ceased after the Vincent Thomas Bridge was opened to traffic in...
in San Pedro, CA.
In media
USS Los Angeles was featured in the classic TintinThe Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
comic book The Red Sea Sharks
The Red Sea Sharks
The Red Sea Sharks is the nineteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero...
written and drawn by Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
. She is shown patrolling in the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
and is involved in the rescue of Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
and his friends from a post-war U-Boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
operated by slave traders.