USS Cleveland class light Cruiser ww2

Description

USS Cleveland class light Cruiser ww2.
USS Cleveland (CL-55) was the lead ship and one of the 27
United States Navy
Cleveland-class
light cruisers
completed during or shortly after
World War II
. She was the second ship to be named for the city of
Cleveland
,
Ohio
.
Clearing
Norfolk's
Chesapeake Bay
on 10 October 1942, Cleveland joined a task force off
Bermuda
(on 29 October) bound for the invasion of
North Africa
. Her firepower supported the landings at
Fedhala
,
French Morocco
on 8 November, and she remained on patrol until 12 November, returning to Norfolk on 24 November.
[2]
Cleveland sailed for the Pacific on 5 December 1942, and arrived at
Efate Island
on 16 January. Her first mission in the consolidation of the
Solomon Islands
was with Task Force 18 (TF 18) to guard a troop
convoy
to
Guadalcanal
from 27 to 31 January, Cleveland fired on the enemy as she came under heavy air attack in the
Battle of Rennell Island
on 29–30 January.
[2]
Joining TF 68, Cleveland steamed up "
the Slot
" on 6 March 1943 to bombard Japanese airfields at
Vila
on
Kolombangara
, then joined in the night action which sank
[2]
the
destroyers
Minegumo
and
Murasame
in the
battle of Blackett Strait
.
[
citation needed
]
Command of Cleveland passed to Captain Andrew G. Shepard in June. Still with TF 68, "Merrill's Marauders", Cleveland fired in the bombardment of the
Shortland Islands
on 30 June and provided gun support for the invasion landings at
Munda
,
New Georgia
on 12 July. Following a short repair period at
Sydney
,
Australia
, Cleveland sailed for the preinvasion bombardment of the
Treasury Islands
on 26–27 October. Her task force steamed to blast
Buka Island
and
Bonis
on 1 November in support of the troops invading
Bougainville
, dashed south the same day to neutralize bases in the Shortlands, and that night intercepted a Japanese force in the
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
which was to win her a
Navy Unit Commendation
. Cleveland poured her radar-controlled fire into the four Japanese cruisers for over an hour, aiding in sinking
Sendai
, then chased the fleeing ships until daybreak. An air attack followed and one stick of bombs severely rocked Cleveland, who answered by splashing several of the enemy planes. She returned to Buka for another bombardment on 23 December, then patrolled between
Truk
and
Green Island, Papua New Guinea
from 13 to 18 February 1944 while American forces captured the latter.
[2]
After supporting the
capture of Emirau Island
from 17 to 23 March, Cleveland sailed for replenishment and repairs at Sydney, Australia, then returned to the Solomons on 21 April to prepare for the
Marianas
operation. One practice bombardment on 20 May brought return fire unexpectedly which straddled the ship, but unharmed, she quickly silenced the shore batteries.
[2]
From 8 June to 12 August, Cleveland participated in the Marianas operation. On 24 July, during the invasion of Tinian, Cleveland came to the aid of the destroyer
Norman Scott
. Norman Scott was hit six times within a few seconds by shore batteries. Cleveland maneuvered between Norman Scott and the shore batteries, preventing her from taking any more hits. She conducted softening-up bombardments and then gave fire support for invading troops until she joined TF 58 for the
Battle of the Philippine Sea
on 19–20 June. Although few enemy aircraft penetrated the screen of American carrier planes, Cleveland was credited with splashing at least one enemy aircraft and assisting in downing another of the few which did get through.
[2]
From 12 to 29 September, Cleveland participated in the invasion of the
Palaus
, then sailed from
Manus Island
on 5 October for a stateside overhaul. She arrived in
Subic Bay
on 9 February 1945, and sailed on to bombard
Corregidor
on 13–14 February, effectively neutralizing the fortress before the landings there. Continuing to support the consolidation of the
Philippines
, she covered the landings at
Puerto Princesa
, the
Visayas
,
Panay
, and the
Malabang
-
Parang
area on
Mindanao
.
[2]
Cleveland put out from Subic Bay on 7 June to act as part of the covering force and provide fire support for the invasion landings at
Brunei Bay
,
Borneo
on 10 June. She returned to Subic Bay on 15 June, then sailed to
Manila
to embark
General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur
and his staff as observers of the assault on
Balikpapan
. Arriving on 30 June, she fired in a pre-landing bombardment the next morning, and after General MacArthur had made an inspection tour of the landing area, got underway for Manila, arriving on 3 July.
[2]
With a new cruiser task force, Cleveland sailed on 13 July to
Okinawa
, arriving on 16 July. From this base
Task Force 95
made a series of sweeps against Japanese shipping until 7 August to insure
Allied
control of the
East China Sea
. Cleveland got underway from Okinawa on 9 September to support the occupation of
Japan
by covering the evacuation of Allied prisoners of war from
Wakayama
, then serving as part of a naval occupation group until the
6th Army
made its landings on
Honshū
. After a short stay in
Tokyo Bay
(28 October – 1 November), Cleveland sailed for
Pearl Harbor
,
San Diego
, the
Panama Canal
, and
Boston
, arriving on 5 December for overhaul. She operated out of Newport on various training exercises, including a Naval Reserve training cruise to Bermuda in April 1946 and
Halifax, Nova Scotia
, and
Quebec
in June 1946, before reporting to
Philadelphia
for inactivation. Cleveland was placed out of commission in reserve there on 7
FEBRUARY 1948
Condition is "Used"..