USS Quincy underway in 1937 |
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| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 15 November 1933 |
| Launched: | 19 June 1935 |
| Commissioned: | 9 June 1936 |
| Fate: | Sunk, Battle of Savo Island 9 August 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9,375 tons |
| Length: | 588 ft 2 in (179.27 m) |
| Beam: | 61 ft 10 in (18.85 m) |
| Draft: | 19 ft 5 in (5.92 m) |
| Speed: | 32 kn (37 mph; 59 km/h) |
| Complement: | 807 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 9 × 8 in (200 mm)/55 cal. guns (3×3) 8 × 5 in (130 mm)/25 cal. guns,[1] 8 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns |
USS Quincy (CA-39) was a United States Navy New Orleans-class heavy cruiser sunk at the Battle of Savo Island in 1942.
Quincy, the second ship to carry the name, was laid down by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts on 15 November 1933, launched on 19 June 1935, sponsored by Mrs. Henry S. Morgan, and commissioned at Boston on 9 June 1936, Captain William Faulkner Amsden in command.
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Soon after being assigned to Cruiser Division 8 (CruDiv8), Atlantic Fleet, Quincy was ordered to Mediterranean waters on 20 July 1936, to protect American interests in Spain during the height of the Spanish Civil War. Quincy passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on 26 July and arrived at Málaga, Spain on 27 July to assume her duties. While in Spanish waters, she operated with an international rescue fleet that included Deutschland, Admiral Graf Spee, and Admiral Scheer. Quincy evacuated 490 refugees to Marseille and Villefranche, France, before being relieved by Raleigh on 27 September.
Quincy returned to the Boston Navy Yard on 5 October for refit preparatory to final acceptance trials which were held from 15–18 March 1937. She got underway for the Pacific on 12 April to join CruDiv 7, transited the Panama Canal from 23–27 April and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 10 May.
Quincy sortied with Cruiser Divisions, Pacific Fleet on 20 May on a tactical exercise which was the first of many such maneuvers that she participated in during 1937-1938. From 15 March to 28 April, she engaged in important battle practice off Hawaii with the Pacific Fleet in Fleet Problem XIX. After an overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard, Quincy resumed tactical operations with her division off San Clemente, California, until her redeployment to the Atlantic on 4 January 1939.
Quincy transited the Panama Canal on 13 January bound for Guantanamo Bay where she engaged in gunnery practice and amphibious exercises. She also took part in Fleet Problem XX with the Atlantic Fleet from 13–26 February. Quincy later made a South American goodwill tour from 10 April to 12 June, and upon returning to Norfolk, embarked reservists for three training cruises from 9 July to 24 August. She spent the remainder of 1939 on patrol in the North Atlantic due to the outbreak of World War II.
After overhaul at Norfolk until 4 May 1940, Quincy again visited Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, returning to Norfolk on 22 September. She completed three more reserve training cruises from 1 October to 20 December.
Quincy was occupied in Atlantic Fleet maneuvers and landing force exercises off Culebra Island, Puerto Rico from 3 February to 1 April 1941. With the growth of hostilities in Europe, she was ordered to Task Force 2 (TF 2) and operated with Wasp in the mid-Atlantic, preserving US neutrality from 26 April to 6 June. Later, she operated with Yorktown and TF 28 until sailing for home on 14 July.
On 28 July, Quincy sailed with TF 16 for Iceland on neutrality duty which included a patrol in the Denmark Straits from 21–24 September. She returned to Newfoundland with a convoy on 31 October. Quincy then proceeded to Cape Town, South Africa, via Trinidad, where she met a convoy which she escorted back to Trinidad on 29 December.
Quincy returned on 25 January 1942 to Icelandic waters on convoy duty with TF 15 and made a patrol in the Denmark Straits from 8–11 March. She departed on 14 March for the United States and an overhaul at the New York Navy Yard that lasted until the end of May.
Quincy sailed for San Diego on 5 June via the Panama Canal and arrived on 19 June. She was then assigned to TF 18 as the flagship of Rear Admiral Norman R. Scott, Commander, Cruisers.
Quincy got underway for the South Pacific in July with other vessels assembling for the invasion of Guadalcanal.
Prior to the Marine assault on Guadalcanal on 7 August, Quincy destroyed several Japanese installations and an oil depot during her bombardment of Lunga Point. She later provided close fire support for the Marines during the landing.
While on patrol in the channel between Florida Island and Savo Island, in the early hours of 9 August, Quincy was attacked by a large Japanese naval force during the Battle of Savo Island and sustained many direct hits, with all guns out of action, which killed 370 men including the captain and 167 men wounded. She was the first ship sunk in the area which was later known as Ironbottom Sound.
Quincy earned one battle star during World War II.
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