Navy.mil Home Page

 
U.S. Navy - A Brief History of Cruisers

The Cruisers

A Brief History of U.S. Navy Cruisers
Part III - Korea, Vietnam and Cold War

All images below are hyperlinked to larger images for better viewing. All images are official Navy photographs.

Picture, caption follows. June 29, 1950 - Delivering the first naval gunfire support of the Korean war, USS Juneau (CL 119), Captain Jesse D. Sowell, shelled an enemy troop concentration at Okkye on the east coast.
Picture, caption follows. July 2, 1950 - The only pure naval action in which an American warship was involved in during the Korean War was fought off Chumunkin, on the east coast, when four North Korean torpedo boats attacked the cruisers USS Juneau (CL 119) and HMS Jamaica and the frigate HMS Black Swan. Three of the torpedo boats were destroyed; none of the allied ships were hit.
Picture, caption follows. July 11, 1950 - First Raid: After nightfall, Commander W.B. Porter led a party of 10 seamen and marines from the cruiser USS Juneau (CL 119) at successfully destroying a railroad tunnel at Rashin, North Korea. Many similar operations were carried out in the course of the conflict by US naval forces and US, British, and South Korean marines.
Picture, caption follows. Aug 16, 1950 - The 3rd Republic of Korea Division, encircled while fighting a delaying action near Yonghae, on the east coast of Korea, was evacuated by four landing ships covered by the cruiser USS Helena (CA 75) and escorting destroyers.
Picture, caption follows. Sep 18, 1950 - A detachment of 725 South Korean troops was evacuated from an unsuccessful east coast landing at Samchok by auxiliary vessels supported by the cruiser USS Helena (CA 75), battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) and four destroyers.
Picture, caption follows. April 7,1951 - Covered by fire from the cruiser USS St. Paul (CA 73) and two destroyers, 250 men of 41st Independent Commando, Royal Marines, destroyed a section of railroad near Chongjin, on the east coast of North Korea.
Picture, caption follows. April 21, 1952 - hirty men were killed by a powder fire in the No. 1 18-inch turret of the cruiser USS St. Paul (CA 73) off Kojo, North Korea.
Picture, caption follows. May 26, 1958 - Crewmen of USS Boston (CAG-1) render honors as the first casket is transferred to USS Canberra (CAG-2), prior to ceremonies on board Canberra to select the Unknown Serviceman of World War II. Two more caskets are still on board Boston, visible just aft of the starboard whaleboat davits. The ceremonies took place off the Virginia Capes on 26 May 1958.
Picture, caption follows. May 28, 1958 - USS Galveston (CLG 3, originally CL 93), the first cruiser equipped with the TALOS antiaircraft missile, was commissioned.
Picture, caption follows. Oct. 22, 1962 - President Kennedy made a nationally televised report that he was imposing a quarantine on Cuba effective Oct. 24. Cruisers USS Newport News (CA 148) and USS Canberra (CAG 2), along with other vessels imposed a quarantine of Cuba to block the entry of Soviet offensive weapons currently being manufactured on the island.
Picture, caption follows. May 13, 1964 - First nuclear-powered task group: In the Mediterranean, the Sixth Fleet formed the world's first task group of nuclear powered ships. Commanded by Rear Adm. Strean, it consisted of the attack carrier USS Enterprise (CVAN 65), the guided missile cruiser USS Long Beach (CGN 9) and the guided-missile frigate USS Bainbridge (DLGN 256).
  July 31, 1964 - All-nuclear Task Force One, which included the guided-missile cruiser USS Long Beach (CGN 9), departed Gilbraltar for a 30,565-nautical-mile unreplenished circumnavigation of the globe. The exercise concluded when the task force enters Charleston, SC, on October 1.
Picture, caption follows. Aug. 18, 1965 - Operation Starlite: The marines launched their first large-scale amphibious assault in Vietnam on the Van Tuong Peninsula 14 miles south of Chu Lai. Supported by marine air and naval gunfire from the cruiser USS Galveston (CLG 3) and two destroyers, 4,000 men of the Third, Fourth, and Seventh Marines go ashore over the beach and by helicopter. Regimental Landing Team 7 virtually destroyed the Viet Cong 1st Regiment, killing 964 of the enemy and taking 125 prisoners. This was the first major action between US troops and the Viet Cong main force and the largest battle Americans have fought since the Korean War. Marines losses were approximately 50 killed and 125 wounded.
Picture, caption follows. April 17, 1965 - Off Vietnam, the heavy cruiser USS Canberra (CAG 2) became the first US Navy vessel to relay operational message via communication satellite, using the Syncom III to reach the Naval Communications Station in Honolulu, 4,000 miles away.
  Mar. 9-11, 1967 - The heavy cruiser USS Canberra (CAG 2) and destroyers USS Ingersoll (DD 652) and USS Keppler (DD 765) engaged and silenced numerous shore batteries while they shelled coastal targets around Vinh, North Vietnam.
Picture, caption follows. June 16, 1968 - USS Boston (CAG 1) and the Australian guided-missile destroyer Hobart were slightly damaged and USAF planes that mistakenly took them for low-lying enemy helicopters which sank Swift Boat PCF 19.
Picture, caption follows. May 21, 1972 - Navy pilots had their best month of the war, downing a total of 16 MIGs. In addition, USS Chicago (CG 11) knocked down an unidentified enemy aircraft with a TALOS surface-to-air missile.
  May 8, 1972 - Rear Admiral Rembrandt C. Robinson, commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 11, became the first flag officer killed in the Vietnam War when his helicopter crashes in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Picture, caption follows. Oct 11, 1972 - Nineteen sailors were killed and ten wounded by an explosion in an 8-inch turret on the all-gun cruiser USS Newport News (CA 148) during a fire mission off the coast of Vietnam.

Last Update: 22 June 2009