Cleveland Class Cruisers

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 48. Chapters: USS Biloxi, USS Vincennes, USS Wilkes-Barre, USS Springfield, USS Oklahoma City, USS Topeka, USS Santa Fe, USS Vicksburg, USS Mobile, USS Montpelier, USS Manchester, USS Columbia, USS Astoria, USS Little Rock, USS Denver, USS Houston, USS Cleveland, USS Galveston, USS Miami, USS Providence, USS Atlanta, USS Amsterdam, Cleveland class cruiser, USS Birmingham, USS Pasadena, USS Dayton, USS Duluth, USS Portsmouth, USS Youngstown. Excerpt: USS Biloxi (CL-80) was a United States Navy Cleveland-class light cruiser, the first ship named after the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. The ship was laid down on 9 July 1941 at Newport News, Virginia by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. and launched on 23 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Katharine G. Braun, wife of the Mayor of Biloxi. She was commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 31 August 1943, with Captain Daniel M. McGurl in command. The light cruiser fitted out at Norfolk until 17 September when she began shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay. This included aircraft launch and recovery drills, structural test gun firing, day spotting practice and anti-aircraft drills. The crew also conducted an unplanned but successful man overboard drill when S2c Scott was knocked overboard by a training gun mount. Biloxis stern with SO3Cs, 1943On 29 September, Biloxi and the destroyer Sproston (DD-577) departed for Trinidad. While en route, one of Biloxis four Curtiss SO3C Seamew floatplanes crashed during a landing attempt off the port beam. Both the pilot and passenger, Ensign H. Jolly and ACMM J. Phagan, were rescued and the wreck was destroyed by gunfire as a hazard to navigation. After arriving at Trinidad on 3 October, Biloxi conducted two weeks of battle drills and other exercises. These included radar calibration tests, night and day battle practice, fueling at sea...