San Diego file photo [3819]

San Diego

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassAtlanta-class Light Cruiser
BuilderBethlehem Fore River Shipyard
Laid Down27 Mar 1940
Launched26 Jul 1941
Commissioned10 Jan 1942
Decommissioned4 Nov 1946
Displacement6,000 tons standard
Length542 feet
Beam53 feet
Draft24 feet
Speed32 knots
Crew796
Armament16x5in, 16x1.1in, 8x21in torpedo tubes

Contributor:

ww2dbaseWith Captain Benjamin F. Perry in command, light cruiser San Diego had her shakedown and training cruises in Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States. She reached San Diego, California on 16 May 1942 via the Panama Canal and then escorted carrier Saratoga toward the Hawaiian Islands. Reaching the destination just after the Battle of Midway, she joined Hornet's task group in the South Pacific. In Aug 1942, she supported operations in the Solomon Islands area, and witnessed the sinkings of carrier Wasp on 15 Sep and carrier Hornet on 26 Oct after Battle of Santa Cruz Islands. In Nov 1942, San Diego acted as a part of the anti-aircraft screen for carrier Enterprise during the First and the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. In Nov 1943, she escorted carriers Saratoga and Princeton as their aircraft struck Rabaul, then later that month covered the landing operations against Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands group. In Dec, she escorted the damaged carrier Lexington back to Pearl Harbor for repairs, then continued to sail for San Francisco, California for installation of radar, a Combat Information Center, and new anti-aircraft guns. In Jan 1944, she returned to service as a part of the Fast Carrier Task Force. During the Marshall Islands Campaign, she covered the landings at Majuro and Kwajalein Atolls in late Jan-early Feb 1944 and Eniwetok Atoll in mid- to late-Feb 1944. After receiving additions to her radar at San Francisco, she covered carriers during raids on Wake and Marcus Islands in Jun and the landing operations on Saipan, Guam, and Tinian of the Mariana Islands, where she also participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19-20 Jun 1944. She went on to screen carriers as their aircraft attacked Japanese positions at the Philippine Islands, Peleliu, Okinawa, Taiwan, Indochina, Southern China, Okinawa, Kyushu, and Iwo Jima until Feb 1945. On 1 Mar, San Diego and other cruisers were temporarily detached from the Fast Carrier Task Force to bombard Okino Daijo Jima, then again on 27-28 Mar to bombard Minami Daito Jima. During the Okinawa Campaign, she continued to protect carriers operating off the Japanese island. She escorted carriers off the Japanese home islands from 10 Jul until the end of the war. On 27 Aug, she was the first major Allied warship to enter Tokyo Bay as she moved in to carry out occupation duties at the Yokosuka Naval Base and the battleship Nagato. After service during Operation Magic Carpet which brought American servicemen home, she was decommissioned at Bremerton, Washington, United States.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Jun 2007

Light Cruiser San Diego Interactive Map

Photographs

Grace Legler Benbough christened San Diego during launching ceremonies at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, 26 Jul 1941San Diego sliding down her shipways during her launching at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, 26 Jul 1941USS San Diego and USS San Juan, Fore River shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, Jan 1942San Diego in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, United States, 10 Jan 1942
See all 26 photographs of Light Cruiser San Diego

San Diego Operational Timeline

10 Jan 1942 USS San Diego was commissioned into service with Captain Benjamin Perry in command.
17 Aug 1942 USS Hornet and Task Force 17 departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for the South Pacific.
5 Oct 1942 Task Force 17 (USS Hornet, Northampton, Pensacola, Juneau, San Diego, 3 destroyers) struck Japanese installations around the southern end of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands (Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid).
19 Mar 1943 Captain Lester Hudson was named the commanding officer of USS San Diego.
13 Jul 1944 Captain Williams Mullen was named the commanding officer of USS San Diego.
18 Dec 1944 Many ships from the United States Third Fleet, Task Force 38 sailed into Typhoon Cobra in the Philippine Sea. Three destroyers and 790 men were lost.
14 Mar 1945 USS Yorktown (Essex-class), USS Enterprise, USS Intrepid, USS Langley (Independence-class), USS Flint, USS San Diego, and USS St. Louis departed Ulithi, Caroline Islands to resume raids on Japan in support of the Okinawa operations.
18 Mar 1945 USS Yorktown (Essex-class), USS Enterprise, USS Intrepid, USS Langley (Independence-class), USS Flint, USS San Diego, and USS St. Louis arrived in the operating area off Japan and began launching strikes on airfields on Kyushu, Honshu, and Shikoku. The task group came under air attack almost as soon as operations began. Yorktown and Enterprise were struck by single bombs that resulted in minimal casualties and minimal damage.
19 Mar 1945 USS Yorktown (Essex-class), USS Enterprise, USS Intrepid, USS Langley (Independence-class), USS Flint, USS San Diego, and USS St. Louis continued air operations against the three southernmost islands of Japan.
30 Aug 1945 USS San Diego arrived at Yokosuka, Japan.
14 Sep 1945 USS San Diego arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States for a scheduled overhaul.
1 Nov 1945 USS San Diego entered drydock No. 2 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
15 Nov 1945 USS San Diego exited drydock No. 2 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
22 Nov 1945 USS San Diego completed her scheduled overhaul and departed Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
4 Nov 1946 San Diego was decommissioned from service.




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More on San Diego
Event(s) Participated:
» Guadalcanal Campaign
» Solomon Islands Campaign
» Gilbert Islands Campaign
» Marshall Islands Campaign
» Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot
» Palau Islands and Ulithi Islands Campaigns
» Philippines Campaign, Phase 2
» Typhoon Cobra
» Raid into the South China Sea
» Battle of Iwo Jima
» Okinawa Campaign

Light Cruiser San Diego Photo Gallery
Grace Legler Benbough christened San Diego during launching ceremonies at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, 26 Jul 1941
See all 26 photographs of Light Cruiser San Diego


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