Brooklyn class cruiser

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The Brooklyn class cruisers were seven light cruisers of the United States Navy which served during World War II. Armed with 5 (three forward, two aft) triple turret mounted 6 inch guns, they were all commissioned during 1937 and 1938 in the time between the start of the war in Asia and before the outbreak of war in Europe. All of the cruisers except the Helena survived the war intact but were decommissioned by 3 February 1947. The Helena was sunk at the night Battle of Kula Gulf on 6 July 1943 by three topedoes fired by Japanese ships. Several of the others were also damaged during the war. The Nashville was hit by a kamikaze attack on 13 December 1944 off Mindoro which killed or wounded 310 crewmen. The Honolulu was torpedoed at the Battle of Kolombangara as was her sister ship St. Louis. After being repaired in the United States, Honolulu returned to service only to be torpedoed by a Japanese aircraft on 20 October 1944 during the invasion of Leyte. The St. Louis was hit by a kamikaze attack on 27 December 1944, also while covering the Leyte Gulf operations. The Boise was severely damaged by a shell hit in her forward turret magazine during the Battle of Cape Esperance on 11 October 1942, suffering many casualties but luckily did not explode. Finally, the Savannah was hit in the Mediterranean off Italy by a German radio guided FX1400 bomb which penetrated her aft most turret and blew out the bottom of the ship. Skillful damage control by her crew saved her from sinking and she was repaired in the US.

Although some of the class was scrapped, most of the cruisers were subsequently sold to South American countries including to Argentina where subsequently the ARA General Belgrano (ex-USS Phoenix) was sunk by HMS Conqueror during the Falklands War.

Brooklyn-class cruiser

Brooklyn | Philadelphia | Savannah | Nashville | Phoenix | Boise | Honolulu

List of cruisers of the United States Navy