USS Denver (CL-58)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Denver |
| Builder | New York Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 26 December 1940 |
| Launched | 4 April 1942 |
| Commissioned | 15 October 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 7 February 1947 |
| Stricken | March 1959 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Cleveland-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 10,000 long tons (10,160 t) |
| Length | 610 ft 1 in (185.95 m) |
| Beam | 66 ft 6 in (20.27 m) |
| Draft | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 33 kn (38 mph; 61 km/h) |
| Complement | 72 officers and 1200 enlisted |
| Armament | 12 × 6 in (150 mm)/47 cal guns, 12 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal guns |
| Aircraft carried | 3 × Curtiss SO3C Seamew seaplanes |
| Service record | |
| Operations: | World War II |
| Awards: | Navy Unit Commendation, 11 battle stars |
The USS Denver (CL-58) was a Cleveland-class light cruiser. The Denver was launched on 4 April 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.; sponsored by Miss L. J. Stapleton, the daughter of the Mayor of Denver; and commissioned on 15 October 1942, with Captain R. B. Carney in command. She was the second warship to be named for the city of Denver, Colorado.
Service history
1943
The Denver steamed out from Philadelphia on 23 January 1943, bound for the Pacific Fleet in the South Pacific Ocean, and she arrived at Efate, New Hebrides on 14 February, with Captain Thomas Darden in command.[1] The new light cruiser first saw combat in the bombardment of Vila on Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands, on 6 March. During this action her force engaged and sank Minegumo and Murasame in the Battle of Blackett Strait. Continuing her operations in the Solomons, the Denver joined the bombardment of Ballale Island on 29-30 June in conjunction with the invasion landings on New Georgia Island, and then she remained in the area on patrol.
On the last day of October 1943, the Denver sortied from Port Purvis in New Hebrides with Task Force 39 (TF 39) to intercept an enemy force attempting to disrupt the landings at Cape Torokina, Bougainville. In the ensuing Battle of Empress Augusta Bay on the night of the first and second of November, the American ships sank one enemy light cruiser and a destroyer, and also damaged two heavy cruisers and two destroyers, while the four other enemy ships broke off the action and retired. During the heavy firing the Denver was hit by three 8-inch (203 mm) shells - which fortunately did not detonate. She shared in the Navy Unit Commendation awarded her division for its outstanding performance in this battle.
The Denver covered the support landings on Cape Torokina on 10 - 11 November 1943, and two days later during a heavy Imperial Japanese Navy air attack, she was hit by an aerial torpedo. This bew a huge hole in her hull, knocked out all of her electric power and communications, and killed twenty of her sailors. The Denver was towed by the Sioux to Port Purvis and then by the Pawnee to Espiritu Santo for emergency repairs. Then she was able to steam under her own power back across the Pacific Ocean to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California, for permanent repairs. She arrived there on 2 January 1944.
1944
The Denver returned to the combat zones of the Pacific at Eniwetok Atoll, arriving there on 22 June. Eight days later, she put to sea to screen aircraft carriers as they launched air strikes to neutralize Japanese Army and Navy airfields and other installations in the Marianas Islands and the Bonin Islands during the American amphibious landings on Saipan and Guam. The Denver used her own 6-inch main battery to bombarded Iwo Jima on July 4th, and then after screening continued aircraft carrier operations in that area, she returned to Eniwetok on 5 August.
The Denver next returned briefly to the South Pacific. She steamed from Port Purvis, New Hebrides, on 6 September for the invasion of some of the Palau Islands. She bombarded Angaur Island from 12 through 18 September, and then she covered a navy task unit engaged in minesweepmg, reconnaissance, and underwater demolition team operations before the landings on Ulithi Atoll (which turned out to be undefended) on 23 September. The Denver returned to Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands on 28 September to prepare for the Liberation of the Philippines.
The USS Denver departed on 12 October for the landings on Leyte Island in the eastern Philippines, bombarding Suluan Island and Dulag to help open the into Leyte Gulf for the huge amphibious assault on Leyte. Then she steamed to bombard the southern landing beaches. When the Imperial Japanese Navy sent the major portion of their remaining combatant fleet south in a desperate attempt to break up the landings, the Denver's group took station in Surigao Strait on 24 October to prevent the passage of the Japanese Southern Force into Leyte Gulf. Attacks were made by motor torpedo boats and destroyers stationed in advance of the battle line, and Yamashiro,Mogami, and Shigure were all that remained of the Japanese ships when Denver and the others of the battle line opened fire at 0351. With three other cruisers, she made a material contribution to the cumulative gunfire which sank the Yamashiro. The Mogami was later sunk by aircraft, and the Shigure was the sole survivor of the mighty fleet which had steamed forth for this phase of the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf. After this action, Denver sailed to aid in polishing off enemy cripples, aiding in sinking Asagumo early in the day on 25 October.
Continuing her service in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Denver fought off numerous air attacks. During the one of 28 October, a bomb released from one of the planes that she shot down exploded nearby causing minor damage and slight flooding. She screened reinforcement landings in November and fought off a kamikaze attack on 27 November, suffering four men wounded from fragments of a bomb which exploded 200 yd (180 m) off the starboard quarter. She joined the heavy covering group, for the landings on Mindoro Island of 13 - 16 December. Then the Denver returned to Manus on 24 December.
1945
Returning to San Pedro Bay on 3 January, the Denver sortied the next day to cover the landings at Lingayen Gulf. She remained in the Philippines to join in the consolidation of those islands. She covered the landings on Zambales on 29-30 January, supported minesweeping near and landings on Grande Island, and then she provided fire support at Nasugbu on 31 January. She escorted a replenishment convoy to Mindoro from 1 - 7 February; covered the Army landings around Mariveles Bay from 13 to 16 February, rescuing the survivors of destroyer La Vallette; and supported the landings on Palawan Island and Mindanao from February to May.
On 7 June, the Denver steamed from the Subic Bay Naval Base to cover the amphibious assaults on Brunei Bay, on Borneo, and on Balikpapan. She covered the pre-invasion work of minesweeping units and underwater demolition teams, and provided fire support for the invading troops until returning to San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on July 4th for a brief overhaul.
The Denver got underway for Okinawa on 13 July to hunt down Japanese shipping off the China coast through 7 August. She steamed from Okinawa on 9 September to cover the evacuation of men of the Allied forces rescued from prison camps in the Wakayama area, and she covered the landing of occupation troops at Wakanoura Wan from 25 September - 20 October, when she steamed for home.
The Denver arrived at Norfolk on 21 November, and after overhaul, reported to Newport, R.I., in January 1946 for duty training men of the Naval Reserve, and a good-will visit to Quebec City, Quebec. In April, the Denver arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 7 February 1947. She was sold for scrapping on 29 February 1960.
Awards
In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation, Denver received 11 battle stars for her World War II service.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.