World War II USS San Francisco (CA-38)

1 world war ii

1.1 pearl harbor attack
1.2 1942

1.2.1 battle of cape esperance
1.2.2 naval battle of guadalcanal


1.3 1943–1944
1.4 1945

world war ii

on 1 september 1939, world war ii started, , on 14 september, san francisco moved south naval station norfolk join neutrality patrol. cruiser carried freight , passengers san juan, puerto rico, thence sailed patrol of west indies far south trinidad. on 14 october, completed patrol @ san juan , headed norfolk, remained january 1940. on 11 january, headed guantanamo bay, relieved flagship wichita, returned pacific.

transiting panama canal in late february, called @ san pedro and, in march, continued on new home port, pearl harbor, rejoined crudiv 6. in may 1940, steamed northwest puget sound navy yard overhaul, during received 4 3 in (76 mm) guns. on 29 september, returned pearl harbor. in may 1941, became flagship of crudiv 6; and, @ end of july, moved east cruise long beach, california, returning hawaii on 27 august. in september, flag of crudiv 6 hauled down; , on 11 october, san francisco entered pearl harbor navy yard overhaul scheduled completion on 25 december.

pearl harbor attack

on 7 december 1941, san francisco in pearl harbor , awaiting docking , cleaning of heavily fouled bottom. engineering plant largely broken down overhaul. ammunition 5 in (130 mm) , 8 in (200 mm) guns had been placed in storage. 3 in (76 mm) guns had been removed permit installation of 4 1.1 in (28 mm) quadruple mounts. 1.1 in (28 mm) mounts had not been installed. .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns being overhauled. small arms , 2 .30 in (7.6 mm) machine guns available. moreover, number of san francisco s officers , men absent.

at 0755, japanese planes began bombing dives on ford island, , 0800, surprise attack on pearl harbor underway. men in san francisco secured ship watertightness , began looking opportunities fight back. crossed new orleans man anti-aircraft batteries on ship. others began using available rifles , machine guns. ammunition .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns transferred tracy use.

san francisco not bombed or damaged during japanese air raid. after attack over, work resumed make san francisco seaworthy , combat-ready.

on 14 december, cruiser left yard; scaling of keel had been postponed in favor of more necessary repairs on other ships. on 16 december, sortied task force 14 (tf 14) relieve wake island. force moved west marine fighter squadron onboard saratoga , marine battalion embarked in tangier. however, when wake island fell japanese on 23 december, tf 14 diverted midway atoll reinforced. on 29 december, force returned pearl harbor.

1942

on 8 january 1942, san francisco again moved west. in tf 8, steamed toward samoa rendezvous with, , cover off-loading of, transports carrying reinforcements tutuila, samoa. there, joined task force 17 raids on japanese installations in gilbert , marshall islands. san francisco arrived in samoan area on 18 january, , on 24th detached continue coverage transports while remainder of task force , tf 17 conducted offensive operations northwest.

on 8 february, san francisco departed tutuila. on 10th, rejoined crudiv 6, in tf 11, , set course area northeast of solomon islands strike rabaul. however, american force sighted , attacked 2 waves of mitsubishi g4m betty medium bombers. sixteen of planes destroyed, since element of surprise had been lost, tf 11 retired eastward.

during next few days, tf 11 – centered around lexington — conducted operations in south pacific area, headed new guinea participate tf 17 in raid against japanese shipping , installations.

on 7 march, 1 of san francisco s scout planes reported missing , not found.

on night of 9–10 march, tfs 11 , 17 entered gulf of papua, whence, @ dawn, lexington , yorktown launched aircraft cross owen stanley range , attack japanese @ salamaua , lae.

the next day, missing plane sighted minneapolis , recovered san francisco. had landed on water, had been unable communicate. pilot, lieutenant j. a. thomas, , radioman, o. j. gannan, had headed australia, sailing plane backwards tended head prevailing east wind. in 5 days , 21 hours, had covered approximately 385 miles (715 km) on course within 5 degrees of intended.

san francisco returned pearl harbor on 26 march. on 22 april, cruiser departed oahu san francisco in escort of convoy 4093. @ end of may, headed west, escorting convoy pw 2076, made of transports carrying 37th army division, destined suva, , special troops bound australia. cruiser remained in escort force far auckland, new zealand. there steamed hawaii, arriving @ pearl harbor on 29 june.

san francisco steamed west laffey , ballard escort convoy 4120 fiji islands. there, got underway rendezvous solomon islands expeditionary force.

operation watchtower — guadalcanal-tulagi offensive – opened on morning of 7 august. through day , remainder of month, san francisco helped cover american forces in area. flag of rear admiral norman scott, commanding cruisers attached tf 18, shifted san francisco.

on 3 september, san francisco s force put nouméa, new caledonia, fuel , provisions. on 8 september, ships departed island cover reinforcements moving guadalcanal. on 11th, san francisco s force, tf 18, rendezvoused tf 17, hornet group, , next day, both groups refueled @ sea. on 14 september, reinforcement convoy departed new hebrides. tf 61 commenced covering operations tf 17, operating east of tf 18 , conforming movements.

at 1450 on 15 september, wasp torpedoed on starboard side. fires broke out on carrier. explosions multiplied fires. admiral scott took command of tf 18. san francisco , salt lake city prepared take carrier in tow, 1520, fires out of control , destroyers began taking on survivors. lansdowne torpedoed burning hulk. tf 18 headed espiritu santo.

on morning of 17 september, san francisco, juneau, , 5 destroyers put sea rendezvous tf 17 , resume coverage of reinforcement convoys. other units of tf 18 had headed nouméa wasp survivors.

on 23 september, san francisco, salt lake city, minneapolis, chester, boise, , helena, , destroyer squadron 12 (desron 12) became tf 64, surface screening , attack force under command of admiral scott in san francisco. next day, force headed new hebrides.

battle of cape esperance

on 7 october 1942, tf 64 (minus chester , minneapolis) departed espiritu santo, new hebrides, , moved solomons cover allied reinforcements , intercept similar operations japanese. on 11 october, @ 1615, ships commenced run northward rennel island, intercept enemy force of 2 cruisers , 6 destroyers reported heading guadalcanal buin-faisi, bougainville island area. force continued north approach savo island in slot southwest.

by 2330, when warships approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) northwest of savo island, turned make further search of area. few minutes after setting new course, radar indicated unidentified ships west, several thousand yards distant. @ 2345, battle of cape esperance began.

initial confusion caused both sides momentarily check fire in fear of hitting own ships. then, battle reopened , continued until 0020 on 12 october, when surviving japanese ships retired toward shortland islands. salt lake city, boise, duncan , farenholt, had been damaged. later, duncan went down. furutaka , destroyer had been sunk during surface action. 2 more enemy destroyers sunk on 12 october marine planes henderson field. after engagement, tf 64 retired espiritu santo.

on 15 october, san francisco resumed operations in support of guadalcanal campaign. on evening of 20 october, group ordered espiritu santo. @ 2119, submarine s torpedoes reported. chester hit amidships on starboard side continued under own power. 3 other torpedoes exploded: 1 off helena s starboard quarter; second between helena , san francisco; , third 1,200 yd (1,100 m) off san francisco s port beam. 2 others sighted running on surface.

san francisco reached espiritu santo on night of 21 october, departed again on 22 october intercept enemy surface units approaching guadalcanal north , cover friendly reinforcements. on 28 october, admiral scott transferred atlanta. next day, san francisco returned espiritu santo, , on 30 october, rear admiral daniel j. callaghan, commanding officer of san francisco when united states entered war, returned ship , raised flag commander, task group 64.4 (tg 64.4) , prospective tf 65.

naval battle of guadalcanal

on 31 october 1942, newly designated tf 65 departed espiritu santo, ships again headed solomon islands cover troop landings on guadalcanal. bombardment missions in kokumbona , koli point areas followed. on 6 november, transport group completed unloading, , force retired, arriving @ espiritu santo on 8 november. on 10 november, san francisco, flagship tg 67.4, got underway again toward guadalcanal.

just before noon, japanese twin-float reconnaissance plane began shadowing formation.

the force arrived off lunga point on 12 november, , transports commenced unloading. mid-afternoon, approaching japanese air group reported. @ 1318, ships got underway. @ 1408, 21 enemy planes attacked.

san francisco (center) after being hit japanese plane in naval battle of guadalcanal, 12 november 1942. ship @ left president jackson.

at 1416, already-damaged torpedo bomber dropped torpedo off san francisco s starboard quarter. torpedo passed alongside, plane crashed san francisco s control aft, swung around structure, , plunged on port side sea. 15 men killed, 29 wounded, , 1 missing. control aft demolished. ship s secondary command post, battle two, burned out reestablished dark. after anti-aircraft director , radar put out of commission. 3 20 mm mounts destroyed.

the wounded transferred president jackson, before approach of enemy surface force reported. covering force escorted transports out of area, reassembled , returned. @ midnight, san francisco, in company heavy cruiser uss portland, light cruisers atlanta, helena, , juneau, , 8 destroyers, entered lengo channel.

at 0125 on 13 november, japanese naval force discovered 27,000 yd (25,000 m) northwest. rear admiral callaghan s task group maneuvered intercept in became first engagement in naval battle of guadalcanal. @ 0148, in pitch darkness, san francisco opened fire on enemy cruiser 3,700 yd (3,400 m) off starboard beam. @ 0151, trained guns on small cruiser or large destroyer 3,300 yd (3,000 m) off starboard bow. in attempt locate other targets, san francisco accidentally targeted atlanta. san francisco s gunfire caused extensive damage atlanta, killing admiral scott , of atlanta s bridge crew. belatedly, san francisco realized firing on friendly ship , ceased fire. green dye san francisco used distinguish shells of other ships, later found stained on atlanta s superstructure before sank. shortly thereafter, hiei sighted , taken under fire, @ initial range of 2,200 yd (2,000 m).

at 0200, san francisco trained guns on kirishima. @ same time, became target of nagara off starboard bow , of destroyer had crossed bow , passing down port side. enemy battleship joined cruiser , destroyer in firing on san francisco port 5 in (130 mm) battery engaged destroyer put out of action except 1 mount. battleship put starboard 5 in (130 mm) battery out of commission. san francisco swung left while main battery continued fire on battleships which, cruiser , destroyer, continued pound san francisco. direct hit on navigation bridge killed or badly wounded officers, except communications officer, lieutenant commander bruce mccandless. command fell damage control officer, lieutenant commander herbert e. schonland, thought own efforts needed keep ship afloat , right-side , ordered mccandless stay @ conn. steering , engine control lost , shifted battle two. battle 2 out of commission direct hit port side. control again lost.

control reestablished in conning tower, received hit starboard side. steering , engine control temporarily lost, regained. communications dead.

soon thereafter, enemy ceased firing. san francisco followed suit , withdrew eastward along north coast of guadalcanal.

77 sailors, including rear admiral daniel j. callaghan , captain cassin young, had been killed. 105 had been wounded. of 7 missing, 3 subsequently rescued. ship had taken 45 hits. structural damage extensive, not fatal. no hits had been received below waterline. twenty-two fires had been started , extinguished.

at 0400, san francisco, compasses out of commission, joined helena , juneau , followed them through sealark channel sail espiritu santo initial repairs.

at 1000, juneau s medical personnel transferred san francisco assist in treating numerous wounded. hour later, juneau took torpedo on port side i-26, striking in vicinity of bridge. entire ship seemed explode in 1 mighty column of brown , white smoke , flame rose thousand feet in air. juneau literally disintegrated. san francisco hit several large fragments juneau. 1 man hit, both legs broken. nothing seen in water after smoke lifted. surviving ships ordered keep going without stopping survivors. unfortunately, survivors of juneau forced wait 8 days rescue while floating in ocean, undergoing intense shark attacks. ten survived.

on afternoon of 14 november, san francisco returned towards espiritu santo. participation in action of morning of 13th, , of night of 11–12 october, received presidential unit citation. on 18 november, cruiser sailed nouméa, and, on 23 november, got underway toward united states. reached san francisco on 11 december. 3 days later, repairs begun @ mare island naval shipyard.

1943–1944

during yard period repair battle damage, san francisco received general modernization similar other cruisers. forward superstructure remodeled, bridge wings cut back, , of bridge windows either plated on or replaced portholes. large open bridge built out @ 02 level, , modern sg surface search radar , air search radars added. in addition many 20mm , 40mm anti-aircraft cannons installed. on 26 february 1943, got underway return south pacific. after escorting convoy pw 2211 en route, san francisco arrived @ nouméa on 20 march. 5 days later, continued on efate. arrived in hawaiian islands in mid-april. headed north aleutian islands join north pacific force, tf 16, , reached alaska toward end of month. based @ kuluk bay, adak island, operated in aleutians next 4½ months. patrolled western approaches area; participated in assault , occupation of attu in may , of kiska in july; , performed escort duties.

san francisco off adak island in april 1945

in mid-september, ordered pearl harbor repairs , reassignment tf 14. on 29 september, san francisco departed pearl harbor in task unit 14.2.1 (tu 14.2.1) raid against wake island. on 5 october, group arrived off target area , conducted 2 runs enemy positions. on 11 october, task unit returned pearl harbor.

on 20 november, force arrived off makin. san francisco participated in pre-invasion bombardment of betio, patrolled outside transport area west of makin. on 26th, detached , assigned tg 50.1, joining yorktown, lexington, cowpens, 5 cruisers, , 6 destroyers. force, steamed toward marshall islands strike japanese shipping , installations in kwajalein area. on 4 december, carriers launched planes against targets. shortly after noon, enemy aerial activity increased, , @ 1250, san francisco came under attack. 3 torpedo bombers closed on port bow. guns splashed two. third shot down yorktown. during attack, cruiser had been strafed several times. 1 man had been killed, , 22 wounded. after dark, japanese returned, , on night, lexington torpedoed. force moved north , west. shortly after 0130 on 5 december, enemy planes faded radar screens. next day, ships headed pearl harbor.

on 22 january 1944, san francisco sortied tf 52 , again headed marshalls. on 29 january, division, screened destroyers, left formation , moved against japanese installations on maloelap neutralize them during conquest of kwajalein. following bombardment, ships proceeded on kwajalein. san francisco arrived off atoll @ 0630 on 31 january. @ 0730, opened fire on targets of opportunity, small ship inside kwajalein lagoon. @ 0849, ceased firing. @ 0900, resumed firing @ targets on berlin , beverly islands. through day, continued shell islands, and, in late afternoon, added bennett island targets. during next week, provided pre-landing barrages , support fire operations against burton, berlin, , beverly islands. on 8 february, cruiser sailed majuro, whence operate unit of tf 58, fast carrier task force.

on 12 february, san francisco, in tg 58.2, cleared majuro lagoon. 4 days later, carriers launched planes part of operation hailstone. on night of 16–17 february, intrepid torpedoed. san francisco, others, assigned escort eastward. on 19 february, group split; intrepid, 2 destroyers, continued toward pearl harbor, while san francisco , remaining ships headed majuro. on 25 february, san francisco sailed hawaii tg 58.2. on 20 march, group returned majuro, refueled, , departed again on 22 march move against western carolines. 30 march 1 april, carrier planes hit palaus , woleai. san francisco s planes flew rescue missions.

on 6 april, force in majuro lagoon. week later, ships set course new guinea. 21–28 april, tg 58.2 supported assault landings in hollandia (currently known jayapura) area. on 29 april, ships moved carolines raid against truk. on 30 april, san francisco detached and, 8 other cruisers, moved against satawan. on completion of bombardment mission, cruisers rejoined tg 58.2 , headed marshalls.

initially @ majuro, san francisco shifted kwajalein in june, , on 10 june, departed atoll in tg 53.15, bombardment group of saipan invasion force. on 14 june, commenced 2 days of shelling tinian, , after landings on saipan shifted fire support duties. on 16 june, temporarily joined crudiv 9 bombard guam. word of japanese force en route saipan, however, interrupted cannonade, , ships returned saipan.

on 17 june, san francisco refueled , took station between approaching enemy force , amphibious force @ saipan. on morning of 19 june, battle of philippine sea opened san francisco. @ 1046, straddled fore , aft bombs. ... mass of enemy planes on screen @ 20 miles (30 km). @ 1126, cruiser opened fire. 40 mm shell indianapolis set off san francisco s smoke screen generators. noon, quiet had returned. @ 1424, dive bombers made last japanese attack. 20 june, san francisco steamed westward in pursuit of japanese force. next day, returned saipan area , resumed operations covering force transports. on 8 july, san francisco again steamed guam bombard enemy positions. during next 4 days, shelled targets in agat , agana areas. on 12 july, returned saipan replenish , refuel, , on 18 july, again took station off guam.

from 18–20 july, shelled enemy positions, supported beach demolition units, , provided night harassing , defense repair interdiction in agat , faci point areas. on 21 july, began support marines assaulting agat beaches. on 24 july, cruiser shifted fire orote point.

on 30 july, headed, via eniwetok , pearl harbor, san francisco. cruiser arrived on west coast on 16 august overhaul.

on 31 october, steamed west again, , on 21 november arrived @ ulithi, resumed flagship duties crudiv 6. on 10 december, cleared anchorage , moved toward philippines in tg 38.1. on 14–15 december, during carrier strikes against luzon, san francisco s planes employed on antisubmarine patrol , in rescue work. on 16 december, force headed rendezvous tg 30.17, replenishment force. typhoon interrupted refueling operations; , ships rode out storm next 2 days. on 19 december, participated in search survivors 3 destroyers had gone down during typhoon.

on 20 december, tf 38 turned westward again resume operations against luzon; high seas precluded strikes. on 24 december, force returned ulithi.

1945

six days later, force again sortied ulithi. on 2–3 january 1945, strikes conducted against formosa. 5–7 january, luzon hit. on 9 january, fighter sweeps against formosa resumed. force headed bashi channel , five-day, high-speed strike against enemy surface units in south china sea , against installations along coast of indochina. on 15–16 january, hong kong-amoy-swatow area hit, , on 20 january, force passed through luzon strait resume operations against formosa. on 21 january, aerial opposition constant. bogies appeared on screen throughout day. langley , ticonderoga hit. on 22 january, strikes launched against ryukyu islands, , next day, force headed western carolines.

arriving on 26 january, ships sailed again on 10 february. on 16–17 february, strikes conducted against air facilities in central honshū. on 18 february, force moved toward volcano , bonin islands, , on 19 february, covering operations iwo jima assault began. next day, san francisco closed on iwo jima other cruisers , assumed fire support duties, continued until 23 february. headed toward japan. on 25 february, tokyo target. poor weather prohibited operations against nagoya on following day, , on 27 february, force headed ulithi.

on 21 march, san francisco, attached tf 54 operation iceberg, departed ulithi ryukyus. on 25 march, approached kerama retto, west of okinawa, , furnished fire support minesweeping , underwater demolition operations. night, retired , next morning moved in support landings , supply counter battery fire on aka, keruma, zamami, , yakabi islands.

by morning of 27 march, aerial resistance had begun. next day, san francisco shifted okinawa shore bombardment in preparation assault landings scheduled 1 april. on day, took station in fire support sector 5, west of naha, and, next 5 days, shelled enemy emplacements, caves, pillboxes, road junctions, , tanks, truck, , troop concentrations. @ night, provided harassing fire near beachhead.

on 6 april, cruiser retired kerama retto, refueled , took on ammunition, assisted in splashing nakajima b6n jill torpedo bomber, rejoined tf 54 off okinawa force underwent air raid. san francisco downed nakajima b5n kate torpedo bomber. dawn of 7 april brought air raid, during kamikaze attempted crash cruiser. splashed 50 yd (46 m) off starboard bow. after raid, san francisco shifted tf 51 fire support missions on east coast of okinawa, rejoining tf 54 on west coast in late afternoon. on 11 april, air attacks increased, , next day, san francisco set aichi d3a val dive bomber on fire. plane glanced off merchant ship , hit water, enveloped in flames.

on 13–14 april, cruiser again operated tf 51 off east coast of embattled island. next day, returned kerama retto, there proceeding okinawa , operations tf 54 in transport area. there provided night illumination detect swimmers , shinyo suicide boats, , before midnight assisted in sinking 1 of latter. during night, 2 further attempts shinyos close transports thwarted.

with dawn, san francisco returned naha area shell airfield there. on 17 april, moved coast , fired on machinate air field. next day, again shifted eastern side of island and, night, anchored in nakagusuku wan. next day, san francisco supported troops in southern part of island. 21–24 april, shelled targets in naha airstrip area; , got underway ulithi.

on 13 may, san francisco returned okinawa, arriving in nakagusuku wan , resuming support activities against targets in southern okinawa. next few days, san francisco supported 96th infantry division in area southeast of yonabaru. on 20 may, shifted kutaka shima, , night of 22 may, had depleted supply of ammunition main batteries. on 25 may, japanese launched large air attack against allied shipping in nakagusuku wan. on 27 may, san francisco provided fire support 77th infantry division, , retired kerama retto next day. on 30 may, cruiser returned western side of okinawa and, next 2 weeks, supported operations of 1st , 6th marine divisions.

on 21 june, san francisco ordered join tg 32.15, 120 mi (190 km) southeast of okinawa. week later, put kerama retto brief stay, rejoined group. in july, provided cover eastern anchorage. on 3 july, sailed toward philippines prepare invasion of japanese home islands. cessation of hostilities in mid-august, however, obviated operation, , san francisco prepared occupation duty.