Service history USS Santa Fe (CL-60)

1 service history

1.1 1943
1.2 1944
1.3 1945

service history
1943

after shakedown on east coast, santa fe sailed pacific, arriving @ pearl harbor on 22 march 1943 transiting aleutians. on 25 april, 6 days after reaching alaska, bombarded attu. next 4 months occupied patrols off aleutians prevent japanese naval operations there. duty varied bombardments of kiska on 6 july , 22 july prepare invasion of island , gunfire support landings there on 15 august. santa fe departed aleutians on 25 august , arrived @ pearl harbor on 1 september.

the rest of cruiser s war service spent in cruiser division 13 (crudiv 13) fast carrier task forces, spearheaded allied advance across pacific. first escorted 2 carrier raids pearl harbor; 1 against tarawa on 18–19 september , 1 against wake island on 5–6 october. on latter attack, cruisers shelled wake, silencing return fire shore.

santa fe departed pearl harbor carrier force on 21 october, detached division cover transports carrying reinforcement bougainville. arrived on 7 november; and, next 2 days, fought off heavy enemy air attacks. after brief period in port, sailed espiritu santo on 14 november, escorting transport force gilbert islands , 20—22 november, bombarded enemy positions on tarawa support landings. on 26 november, rejoined fast carriers , escorted 3 of mighty flattops strikes on kwajalein on 4 december before returning pearl harbor 5 days later.

1944

late in year, busy cruiser returned united states devote first weeks of 1944 amphibious training off san pedro, california. sortied on 13 january task force invade marshall islands. cruisers moved ahead of main body on 29 january neutralize wotje in advance of landings. after morning of bombardment on 30 january, santa fe rejoined main force off kwajalein and, on 31 january – 1 february, provided gunfire support american troops fought key island. arrived @ majuro on 7 february.

five days later, sailed fast carrier force struck great enemy base @ truk on 16—17 february , hit saipan on 22 february. proceeded via majuro espiritu santo. got underway again on 15 march, escorting enterprise , belleau wood aircraft carriers supported landings on emirau island on 20 march , struck palau, yap, , woleai on 30 march – 1 april. on 13 april, sortied task group built around aircraft carrier hornet, support landings @ hollandia (currently known jayapura), new guinea. air strikes hit wakde , sawar on 21 april, , surface ships bombarded same islands next day neutralize them during hollandia landings. released covering duties on 28 april, carriers raided truk, satawan, , ponape 29 april 1 may before returning kwajalein on 4 may.

santa fe sortied marshalls group centered around aircraft carrier bunker hill, , guarded consorts during intense air strikes on saipan, tinian, , guam 11–16 june in support of landings on saipan. japanese fleet raced area make major effort save marianas. on morning of 19 june, swarms of japanese carrier aircraft attacked american 5th fleet. santa fe s guns contributed flak cover protected carriers while american naval aviators destroyed japan s naval air arm. through night , following day, 5th fleet pursued retiring enemy warships, located them @ mid-afternoon, , launched planes successful attack. night, santa fe, ignoring possible japanese submarines, turned on lights guide american planes carriers. after strikes on pagan island on 24 june, santa fe s group entered eniwetok replenishment on 27th.

three days later, cruiser rejoined hornet s group; and, after morning air strikes, carried out surface bombardment of iwo jima on 4 july. 6–21 july, carrier group alternated strikes between guam , rota prevent enemy use of airfields there; and, 25–28 july, while striking yap , ulithi, naval aircraft obtained invaluable photographic intelligence. after 6 hours @ anchor off saipan on 2 august, force struck again @ iwo jima on 4 , 5 august. on 4 august, cruisers engaged small japanese convoy, sinking several vessels including escort matsu; and, on 5 august, bombarded iwo jima. carrier group returned eniwetok on 11 august.

from 30 august 1944 26 january 1945, santa fe operated in carrier groups centered essex. first mission strike on peleliu in palaus 6—8 september , mindanao in philippines on 9–10 september. on 9 september, cruisers engaged second japanese convoy, sinking number of small vessels. further air strikes in visayan sea came between 12 , 14 september, , targets in philippines received attention 21–24 september before task force retired kossol passage in palaus on 27 september.

a new series of strikes neutralize japanese air power during invasion of philippines started attacks on okinawa , formosa 10—13 october. evening, friday 13 october, after canberra , houston had been damaged torpedoes, santa fe, birmingham, , mobile detached tow damaged cruisers out of danger. on 16 october, single engine torpedo plane slipped through in attempt hit santa fe, dropping torpedo wake, exploded. under fire santa fe , damaged, plane turned in attempt hit bow of santa fe. plane hit water off starboard bow, showering flaming gasoline , plane parts on 20 mm guns. 5 marines, 1 sailor , 2 houston survivors burned. on 17 october, santa fe rejoined carriers direct support leyte landings.

the essex group launched strikes on visayan airfields on 21 october; refueled next day; and, on 23–24 october, carried out searches japanese naval forces reported approaching philippines. on 24 october, heavy japanese air attack repulsed; single, undetected japanese plane followed american planes carriers , put bomb aircraft carrier princeton, later had sunk. later in afternoon, japanese carrier force located north of luzon, , american carriers raced north intercept. on 25 october, 6 battleships , 7 cruisers, including santa fe, sent ahead of carriers ready gun action; and, @ daybreak, carriers began launching strikes. late in morning, 1 carrier group, of battleships , cruisers, rushed south intercept japanese center force, had swept through san bernardino strait. remaining 4 cruisers, under commander of crudiv 13 in santa fe, continued north , in mid-afternoon opened fire on damaged japanese ships, sinking carrier chiyoda, , destroyer hatsuzuki in battle off cape engaño, before retiring night. santa fe rejoined carriers next day , arrived @ ulithi on 30 october after strikes on japanese stragglers in visayan sea on 27 october.

the essex group, santa fe, started manus upkeep on 1 november, diverted philippines because of report japanese surface units approaching leyte. although rumor proved false, carrier planes nevertheless needed cope heavy enemy air attacks on troops , shipping around leyte. friendly airfields not yet ready. santa fe s group struck @ manila on 5–6 november , experienced first kamikaze attack on 5 november. after additional strikes on philippines 11–14 november, cruisers arrived @ ulithi on 17 november. 3 days later, while cruiser replenishing in lagoon, japanese midget submarines got anchorage , torpedoed mississinewa. santa fe s floatplanes rescued of tanker s survivors.

the essex group, santa fe, got underway again on 22 november, carried out strikes on philippines on 25 november, , remained on station until 1 december. after stop @ ulithi, carrier group again @ sea supporting mindoro landings when typhoon cobra sank 3 destroyers on 18–19 december. after searching survivors, ships returned ulithi on 24 december.

santa fe during typhoon cobra, december 1944


1945

back @ sea on 30 december 1944, essex force struck formosa , okinawa on 3–4 january 1945, luzon on 6–7 january, , formosa again on 9 january, neutralize japanese air fields during landings on luzon lingayen gulf. ships entered south china sea, raided shipping along indochina coast on 12 january, , along china coast on 15–16 january. leaving south china sea on 20 january, carriers struck formosa on 21 january , okinawa on 22 january before returning ulithi on 26 january.

santa fe sailed yorktown , other units on 10 february; and, on 16–17 february, group launched strikes on air fields around tokyo destroy aircraft might interfere landings on iwo jima. santa fe detached carriers on 18 february, , bombarded iwo jima between 19–21 february, silencing japanese gun batteries on mt. suribachi , firing illumination missions @ night. rejoined carriers raid on tokyo on 25 february , retired ulithi on 1 march.

on 14 march, cruiser joined hancock group, launched strikes on kyūshū on 18 march , on japanese fleet units @ kure , kobe on 19 march. first strikes being launched on 19 march, single japanese plane dropped 2 bombs cluster of planes on franklin s deck, setting off immense explosions , fires. santa fe maneuvered alongside carrier, , despite hail of exploding ammunition, rescued survivors , fought fires. after cruiser had been alongside 3 hours, 833 survivors had been rescued, major fires under control, , cruiser pittsburgh ready tow carrier. santa fe escorted carrier ulithi; and, needing repairs herself, left ulithi on 27 march trip united states, escorting franklin far pearl harbor. received navy unit commendation part in salvage of franklin.

overhaul @ san pedro lasted 10 april 14 july. cruiser returned pearl harbor on 1 august , sailed there on 12 august carrier antietam , cruiser birmingham attack wake island. raid canceled when japan capitulated on 15 august, , ships diverted, first eniwetok , okinawa, anchoring in buckner bay on 26 august, santa fe arrived in sasebo on 20 september] and, 17 october 10 november, assisted in occupation of northern honshū , hokkaidō. reported magic carpet duty on 10 november , made 2 trips bringing troops home saipan, guam, , truk before arriving on 25 january 1946 @ bremerton, washington.

santa fe decommissioned on 29 october 1946 , attached bremerton group, pacific reserve fleet. struck naval vessel register on 1 march 1959 , sold on 9 november zidell explorations, inc., scrapping.