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USS Chicago (CA-29)

1931 WORLD WAR 2

History of USS Chicago (CA-29)

The Northampton class cruisers were born in groups of six in the decade following the end of the First World War (1914-1918). It replaced the outgoing Pensacola class, whose design (up to 10,000 tons) was limited by the Washington Naval Treaty of the early 1920s. While USS Northampton (CA-26) became the lead ship of the nascent group, USS Chicago (CA-29) was one of its famous sister ships.

Her original flag designation was "CL-29" before being reclassified as CA-29 in 1931 to meet the requirements of the London Naval Treaty.

USS Chicago was ordered on December 18, 1924 and built on September 10, 1928 by the Mare Island, California Naval Shipyard. She was officially launched on April 10, 1930, and was named after the city of Chicago, Illinoisthe second U.S. warship to bear that name.

The warship has a barrel length of 600 feet, a beam of 66 feet, and a draft of over 16 feet. Power was provided by the boiler-steam turbine unit, which consisted of 8 White-Forster boilers powering 4 Parsons speed reduction steam turbines driving 4 shafts under the stern.

Top speed in ideal conditions is over 32.5 knots and range is up to 12,000 miles. A typical crew consists of 691 personnel led by 90 officers. The armor belt has a maximum protection distance of 3.75 inches, the main turret is 2.5 inches, and the conning tower is 1.25 inches.

The armament was the core of any warship of that era, consisting of a 9 x 8" main battery mounted in three triple turrets arranged in two forward and one aft positions. Only on the broadside can Using full power will use this weapon's anti-aircraft (AA) support provided by 4 x 5" guns, and also carry 2 x 3 pounders for salute.

The ship carried a total of six 21" diameter torpedo tubes installed.

USS Chicago carries up to four Curtiss SOC Seagull seaplane biplanes for reconnaissance, reconnaissance, and artillery guidance purposes. These were launched amidships via a pair of catapults and recovered with an onboard crane.

She sailed from Mare Island in July 1931 and took part in the Thirteenth Fleet issue in 1942, remaining in Pacific waters for the foreseeable future. Three crew members were killed in a collision with a British cargo ship (SS Silver Palm) in dense fog in 1933. In 1934, the USS Chicago conducted a collective exercise in the Caribbean waters, after which she went to New York for a review.

The USS Chicago passed through the Panama Canal before docking in San Pedro, California, where it received the RCA CXAM radar in 1940. After September, the ship was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Fortunately, the USS Chicago was in action with Task Force 12 (TF12) during the Japanese surprise attack on the port on December 7, 1941 - marking the official entry of the United States into World War II. She immediately entered combat readiness and conducted several patrols tasked with locating and engaging the departing enemy fleet, although these operations proved unsuccessful. In February, she joined the Anzac at Suva Bay and became part of the force that provided cover fire to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Their guns were also used against enemy positions near Tulagi during the Battle of the Solomon Islands (Battle of the Coral Sea) and were attacked by Japanese fighter jets in May. That same month, a Japanese "small submarine" attempted a nighttime attack on Chicago in Sydney Harbour, Australia.

Two torpedoes were fired at them - one missed, the other didn't explode.

The USS Chicago was part of the force that covered the Allied landings on Guadalcanal in August and took part in the Battle of Savo Island shortly after. She was torpedoed during the riot but suffered only minor injuries.

Minor repairs were carried out in Noumea until more intensive work was carried out in San Francisco. By the end of 1942, Chicago had upgraded her weapons to 16 x 28mm anti-aircraft guns and 28 x 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns to improve her ability to repel incoming air strikes.

Notably, she lost the torpedo tube.

Having completed the necessary work, the aircraft carrier Chicago set sail from San Francisco in January 1943, then to Noumea, and then to Guadalcanal as an escort. The group was attacked from above and below, and Chicago fired two torpedoes around them, causing power outages and flooding.

The list ship is controlled by timely crew responses, saving her from an even worse fate. On January 30, 1943, during the so-called "Battle of Rennell Island," the crippled ship sank and she was hit again by four Japanese torpedoes, which proved to be her fatal blow.