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USS Tucson (CL-98)
Encyclopedia
USS Tucson (CL-98) was a modified Atlanta-class
light cruiser
, sometimes referred to as "Oakland-class". She was laid down on 23 December 1942 in San Francisco, California
by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation; launched on 3 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Emmett S. Claunch, Sr.; and commissioned on 3 February 1945, Captain
Arthur D. Ayrault in command. She was named after Tucson, Arizona
.
on 8 May. She stopped at Pearl Harbor
on 13 May for three weeks of additional training before resuming her voyage west on 2 June. She stopped overnight at Ulithi
on 13 June and 14 June, then continued on to the Philippines
, and reached Leyte on 16 June. The cruiser was assigned to the screen of the Task Force 38
(TF 38), specifically to that of Rear Admiral
Gerald F. Bogan
's Task Group 38.3 (TG 38.3) built around , , , , and .
Tucson joined the fast carriers just in time to participate in their final rampage against the Japanese Empire and its inner defenses. On 1 July, she sortied from Leyte Gulf
with TF 38 and headed north to the Japan
ese home islands. On 10 July, the flattops launched planes against Tokyo
. On 14-15 July, TF 38's air groups struck Hokkaidō
and northern Honshū
. They returned to southern Honshū on the 17-18 July to blast Tokyo again and then left the area for almost a week. On 24 July and 28 July, she appeared with the carriers south of Shikoku
while their planes hit shipping in the Inland Sea. On 30 July, they zeroed in on Kobe
and Nagoya. After that, they retired south to fuel and replenish before striking out northward. By the second week of August, Tucson was off northern Honshū screening the carriers while their planes pounded the island once more. She then accompanied them south to pummel Tokyo again on 13 August. Two days later, Japan capitulated.
Though hostilities had ceased in mid-August and the Japanese had surrendered formally on 2 September, Tucson remained in the Far East
, steaming with TF 38 to the east of Honshū, covering the occupation forces moving into Japan. On 20 September, she cleared area and, two days later, stopped at Okinawa before shaping a course back to the United States
. En route, she called at Pearl Harbor and then arrived in San Francisco on 5 October. On 23 October, the warship headed down the coast to San Pedro, where she participated in the Navy Day
celebration on 27-28 October. On 29 October, she shifted to San Diego where she reported for duty with Pacific Fleet Training Command as an antiaircraft gunnery training ship. Between November 1945 and August 1946, the antiaircraft cruiser trained about 5,000 officers and men in the use of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm, and 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. She interrupted her training duties periodically to represent the Navy at special events held in various ports on the Pacific coast.
On 6 September, she entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
for a three-month overhaul to get ready for duty under the Commander, Destroyers, Pacific Fleet. For the next two months, Tucson trained out of San Diego in preparation for a fleet exercise to be conducted near Hawaii
. On 24 February 1947, the cruiser stood out of San Diego and cruised Hawaiian waters as an element of the force charged with the defense of the islands against an aggressor force moving in from the western Pacific. At the completion of the exercise, the warship put into Pearl Harbor on 11 March. However, she got underway again on 18 March to participate in the fruitless search to the northwest of Hawaii for survivors of the wrecked SS Fort Dearborn.
On 27 March, Tucson returned to San Diego and resumed normal west coast operations until late summer. She again departed the west coast on 28 July and proceeded, via Pearl Harbor, to the Far East, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, on the 15 August. For the next two months, the warship cruised the waters of the Yellow Sea
and the East China Sea
making observations during the Communist-Nationalist struggle for supremacy in Manchuria
and northern China
. During that period, she visited Shanghai
twice and Tsingtao
once. Tucson returned to Yokosuka on 19 October, stayed overnight, and sailed the next day for the United States, arriving at San Diego on 6 November. The cruiser resumed west coast operations and, for the brief remainder of her active career, remained so engaged.
On 9 February 1949, Tucson reported to Mare Island Naval Shipyard
to begin preparations for inactivation. On 11 June 1949, she was decommissioned and berthed with the San Francisco Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She remained in reserve at Mare Island until 1 June 1966 when her name was struck from the Navy list. The former warship served as a test hulk until 1970. On 24 February 1971, the hulk was sold to the National Metal & Steel Corp., of Terminal Island
, California, for scrapping.
The base of one of the rotating gun turrets was later surplussed to be used as the rotating mount of a giant Van de Graaf particle accelerator at the physics department of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. The beam line shot out by the accelerator was steered by rotating the entire accelerator assembly mounted on the turret base. It remained in use until the accelerator was decommissioned around 2005. The fact that a turret base of USS Tucson was surplussed to be used in Tucson, AZ is apparently a pure coincidence.
Atlanta class cruiser
The Atlanta-class cruisers were United States Navy light cruisers originally designed as fast scout cruisers or flotilla leaders, but later proved to be effective anti-aircraft cruisers during World War II. They were also known as the Atlanta-Oakland class. The lead ship Atlanta was sunk in action...
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...
, sometimes referred to as "Oakland-class". She was laid down on 23 December 1942 in San Francisco, 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...
by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation; launched on 3 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Emmett S. Claunch, Sr.; and commissioned on 3 February 1945, 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....
Arthur D. Ayrault in command. She was named after Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
Service history
Following outfitting at San Francisco and shakedown out of San Diego, Tucson sailed for the western PacificPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
on 8 May. She stopped 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 13 May for three weeks of additional training before resuming her voyage west on 2 June. She stopped overnight at 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 13 June and 14 June, then continued on to 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 reached Leyte on 16 June. The cruiser was assigned to the screen of the Task Force 38
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
(TF 38), specifically to that of 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"...
Gerald F. Bogan
Gerald F. Bogan
Gerald Francis Bogan was a United States Navy Admiral.Bogan authored a confidential memorandum that was leaked by Captain John G. Crommelin during the Revolt of the Admirals in September 1949. His memo described the situation in the Navy as follows, "The morale of the Navy is lower today than at...
's Task Group 38.3 (TG 38.3) built around , , , , and .
Tucson joined the fast carriers just in time to participate in their final rampage against the Japanese Empire and its inner defenses. On 1 July, she sortied from Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
with TF 38 and headed north to the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese home islands. On 10 July, the flattops launched planes against Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. On 14-15 July, TF 38's air groups struck Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
and northern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. They returned to southern Honshū on the 17-18 July to blast Tokyo again and then left the area for almost a week. On 24 July and 28 July, she appeared with the carriers south of Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
while their planes hit shipping in the Inland Sea. On 30 July, they zeroed in on Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
and Nagoya. After that, they retired south to fuel and replenish before striking out northward. By the second week of August, Tucson was off northern Honshū screening the carriers while their planes pounded the island once more. She then accompanied them south to pummel Tokyo again on 13 August. Two days later, Japan capitulated.
Though hostilities had ceased in mid-August and the Japanese had surrendered formally on 2 September, Tucson remained in 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,...
, steaming with TF 38 to the east of Honshū, covering the occupation forces moving into Japan. On 20 September, she cleared area and, two days later, stopped at Okinawa before shaping a course back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. En route, she called at Pearl Harbor and then arrived in San Francisco on 5 October. On 23 October, the warship headed down the coast to San Pedro, where she participated in the 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...
celebration on 27-28 October. On 29 October, she shifted to San Diego where she reported for duty with Pacific Fleet Training Command as an antiaircraft gunnery training ship. Between November 1945 and August 1946, the antiaircraft cruiser trained about 5,000 officers and men in the use of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm, and 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. She interrupted her training duties periodically to represent the Navy at special events held in various ports on the Pacific coast.
On 6 September, she entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
for a three-month overhaul to get ready for duty under the Commander, Destroyers, Pacific Fleet. For the next two months, Tucson trained out of San Diego in preparation for a fleet exercise to be conducted near 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 February 1947, the cruiser stood out of San Diego and cruised Hawaiian waters as an element of the force charged with the defense of the islands against an aggressor force moving in from the western Pacific. At the completion of the exercise, the warship put into Pearl Harbor on 11 March. However, she got underway again on 18 March to participate in the fruitless search to the northwest of Hawaii for survivors of the wrecked SS Fort Dearborn.
On 27 March, Tucson returned to San Diego and resumed normal west coast operations until late summer. She again departed the west coast on 28 July and proceeded, via Pearl Harbor, to the Far East, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, on the 15 August. For the next two months, the warship cruised the waters of the Yellow Sea
Yellow 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 China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
making observations during the Communist-Nationalist struggle for supremacy in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
and northern 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...
. During that period, she visited 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...
twice and Tsingtao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
once. Tucson returned to Yokosuka on 19 October, stayed overnight, and sailed the next day for the United States, arriving at San Diego on 6 November. The cruiser resumed west coast operations and, for the brief remainder of her active career, remained so engaged.
On 9 February 1949, Tucson reported to Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
to begin preparations for inactivation. On 11 June 1949, she was decommissioned and berthed with the San Francisco Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She remained in reserve at Mare Island until 1 June 1966 when her name was struck from the Navy list. The former warship served as a test hulk until 1970. On 24 February 1971, the hulk was sold to the National Metal & Steel Corp., of 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, for scrapping.
The base of one of the rotating gun turrets was later surplussed to be used as the rotating mount of a giant Van de Graaf particle accelerator at the physics department of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. The beam line shot out by the accelerator was steered by rotating the entire accelerator assembly mounted on the turret base. It remained in use until the accelerator was decommissioned around 2005. The fact that a turret base of USS Tucson was surplussed to be used in Tucson, AZ is apparently a pure coincidence.