U-47

Figure 1: A German submarine, probably U-47, photographed from or near the battleship Scharnhorst circa late 1939 or early 1940. The original caption states that this submarine was returning to Kiel, Germany, from a war patrol. Note insignia on the conning tower, which looks very much like U-47's "Bull of Scapa Flow" emblem. Copied from the contemporary German photo album "Meine Kriegserinnerungen auf Schlachtschiff Scharnhorst," page 19. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: U-47 arrives at Kiel, Germany, on 23 October 1939, with her crew at quarters. The battleship Scharnhorst is in the background. U-47 was returning from the mission in which she sank the British battleship Royal Oak inside Scapa Flow on 14 October. This is a halftone image, copied from a contemporary publication. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: U-47 returning to port after sinking the battleship HMS Royal Oak. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien, commanding officer of U-47. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Günther Prien welcomes a U-boat back to base. Behind him is another famous U-boat commander, Otto Kretschmer. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: Günther Prien standing on U-47’s conning tower at the end of his sixth and most successful patrol. Note the tonnage pennants and the figure of 66,587, which represents the estimated total tonnage sunk. Also note the “Snorting Bull” emblem on the conning tower. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: Battleship HMS Royal Oak, sunk by Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien and U-47 on 14 October 1939, with the loss of 833 officers and men killed out of a crew of 1,219. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: Another view of HMS Royal Oak. When attacked by Günther Prien’s U-47 in Scapa Flow, the 22-year-old Royal Oak was the flagship of the 2nd Battle Squadron of the British Home Fleet. Click on photograph for larger image.

U-47 was a 753-ton Type VIIB submarine built by Krupp Germaniawerft at Kiel, Germany, and was commissioned on 17 December 1938. U-47 was approximately 218 feet long and 20 feet wide, had a top speed of 17 knots while surfaced and 7.6 knots submerged, and had a crew of 47 officers and men. U-47 was armed with four bow torpedo tubes and one stern tube, all firing 21-inch torpedoes. The ship also was armed with one 88-mm gun forward of the conning tower and a 20-mm antiaircraft gun on the deck behind it. The Type VIIB was destined to become the most famous class of U-boats during World War II and also had an excellent range of 8,700 nautical miles at 10 knots, making her a very effective weapon against Allied shipping.

The captain of U-47 was the remarkable Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien, one of the best submarine officers ever produced by Germany. Prien was born on 16 January 1908 and joined the German Merchant Navy in the summer of 1923. He transferred to the German Reichsmarine (or Navy) in 1933 and served on board the light cruiser Konigsberg before entering the U-boat service in 1935. At the end of his training, he was assigned First Officer of the Watch to U-26. The talented Prien rose steadily in the ranks until he was given command of the new Type VIIB submarine, U-47, when she was commissioned on 17 December 1938 and was promoted to the rank of Kapitänleutnant on 1 February 1939.

Shortly after the start of World War II in Europe on 1 September 1939, then Commodore Karl Donitz, commander of the German U-boat service, promoted a plan for a single U-boat to slip into and attack the Royal Navy’s heavily protected naval base at Scapa Flow, located in the Orkney Islands north of Scotland. Although two U-boats tried doing this during World War I (U-18 and UB-116), the British managed to sink both ships before they were able to do any damage. But after collecting an impressive amount of intelligence and aerial reconnaissance photographs of Scapa Flow, Donitz firmly believed that a successful attack could be made if the job was given to the right captain and crew. He chose Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien and U-47. Although Prien had commanded U-47 for less than a year, Donitz knew that the talented and fearless young submariner was the right man for the job.

Prien accepted the assignment almost immediately. Donitz, though, wanted him to think about it for 48 hours before accepting. In less than 48 hours, Prien informed Donitz that he was going to take the job. After pouring over the charts and intelligence Donitz had collected, Prien set sail from Kiel Canal and headed for Scapa Flow on 8 October 1939. Shortly after midnight on 14 October, U-47 crept silently into the anchorage of Scapa Flow, dodging several submerged wrecks in the process. Although most of the British fleet was at sea at the time, Prien spotted the large 29,000-ton World War I-era battleship HMS Royal Oak. U-47 fired a large number of torpedoes at the British battleship and at least four of them hit. Royal Oak sustained catastrophic damage and sank in less than 29 minutes, taking 833 officers and men with her. Approximately 386 men were rescued from the water. After the Royal Oak went down, U-47 left the same way that she had come, exiting Scapa Flow without a scratch.

It was a tremendous blow to the Royal Navy. The war had just begun and the Germans had sunk one of its finest battleships. When Prien returned to Germany, he was given a hero’s welcome. Prien was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, the first sailor of the U-boat service and the second member of the Kriegsmarine to receive this award. Prien also went on to become one of the most famous U-boat “aces” of the war, with U-47 sinking an amazing 30 merchant ships totaling 162,769 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging eight merchant ships totaling 62,751 GRT. In 1940, a grateful Germany awarded Prien Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross, another major honor.

But Prien’s luck ran out on 8 March 1941, when U-47 attacked the British Convoy OB-293 just south of Iceland. While escorting the convoy, the British destroyer HMS Wolverine depth-charged a sonar contact and, after several major explosions, U-47 and its young 33-year-old captain were never heard from again. There is some debate today as to whether or not U-47 was actually sunk by Wolverine or by a mine or even by one of its own torpedoes that turned back and stuck the submarine. Whatever the reason, Germany had lost one of its greatest U-boat captains and a remarkable warship.

Although Günther Prien and U-47 fought for less than two years during World War II, they achieved a remarkable record, sinking one battleship, 30 merchant ships, and damaging eight additional merchant ships. Great Britain was almost brought to its knees by the U-boat war, and U-47 and ships like her were some of the major reasons why. The Allies, who were certainly unprepared for a major submarine war, were just lucky that Germany had only a handful of ships like U-47.

USS Sacramento (PG-19)

Figure 1: USS Sacramento (PG-19) on 4 July 1924 off Shanghai, China. Courtesy Robert M. Cieri. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Sacramento (PG-19) off Tsingtao, China, during the 1920s or 1930s. Several U.S. Navy submarines are in the foreground, among them USS S-39 (SS-144), the outboard boat in the nest. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Sacramento (PG-19) and Lieutenant (Junior Grade) John D. Bulkeley, USN, (seated, center) with the men of the ship's "E" Division, at Shanghai, China, 15 February 1938. Photographed by Skvirsky, Shanghai. Seated to the right of LtJG Bulkeley is Chief Machinist's Mate Herman W. Koch, USN. In the left background is USS Bridge (AF-1). Note the life ring, pair of captstans and Sacramento's forward 4-inch gun. In April of 1941, Bulkeley was promoted to full Lieutenant and given command of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three in the Philippines. While in command of this PT Boat squadron in March 1942, Bulkeley and his men successfully evacuated General Douglas MacArthur and Philippine President Quezon from Manila Bay to the southern Philippines. For his extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty as Commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three during the first four months of the war, Lieutenant Bulkeley was awarded the Medal of Honor. Bulkeley remained in the Navy after the war and eventually retired a Vice Admiral in 1988. Courtesy of Mr. R.W. Koch, 1976. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Sacramento (PG-19) circa 1919. Courtesy Robert Hurst. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Sacramento (PG-19) serving in northern Russia in 1919. Imperial War Museum photo, Courtesy U.S. Warships of World War I. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Sacramento (PG-19) off Archangel, Russia, 1919. She served in northern Russia under the command of Commander C. C. Dowling, USN. Courtesy of Todd Woofenden. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Sacramento (PG-19) circa 1920 in dry dock at Charleston, South Carolina. Courtesy Vance A. Adams. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Sacramento (PG-19) circa 1920 in dry dock at Charleston, South Carolina. Courtesy Vance A. Adams. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Sacramento (PG-19) circa 1920 in dry dock at Charleston, South Carolina. Courtesy Vance A. Adams. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Sacramento (PG-19) circa 1939 leaving Manila Bay for the United States. Note the ornamental Chinese “junk” sails rigged on her small masts, an affectionate tribute to her duty as part of the US Asiatic Fleet. Photo taken by the USS Augusta's ship's photographer. Courtesy Jim McGrew. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Sacramento (PG-19) circa 1939 leaving Manila Bay for the United States. Note the ornamental Chinese “junk” sails rigged on her small masts, an affectionate tribute to her duty as part of the US Asiatic Fleet. Photo taken by the USS Augusta's ship's photographer. Courtesy Jim McGrew. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a city in California, the 1,425-ton steel gunboat USS Sacramento (Gunboat No. 19) was built by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 26 April 1914. The ship was approximately 226 feet long and 40 feet wide, had a top speed of 12 knots, and had a crew of 171 officers and men. Sacramento was armed with three 4-inch guns, two 3-pounder guns, and two 1-pounders.

After a brief shakedown cruise, Sacramento was sent into Mexican waters, arriving off the coast of Vera Cruz on 14 May 1914. She went on to visit Dominican, Nicaraguan, Honduran, as well as Mexican ports for the next two years, protecting American lives and property in these politically troubled nations. After arriving in New Orleans on 17 March 1917, Sacramento’s crew assisted US Customs authorities in interning five German merchant ships after the United States officially entered World War I. Sacramento left New Orleans on 15 April and steamed to Newport, Rhode Island, where she was assigned to patrol and escort duties off the New England coast. While based at Newport, Sacramento rescued the crew of the burning British merchant ship Sebastian on 8 May and in late June she assisted the grounded cruiser USS Olympia.

Sacramento then was sent to Europe. She left New York on 22 July 1917 and assisted in escorting a British convoy to Gibraltar. The convoy reached Gibraltar on 6 August and, once there, Sacramento was attached to the US Patrol Force that was based at that island fortress. She was assigned to convoy escort duties and made numerous trips to Britain, Italy, and North Africa. These duties continued well into 1918 and, after peace was declared on 11 November, Sacramento was sent back to the United States, leaving Gibraltar for New Orleans on 11 December. After a major overhaul was completed in New Orleans, Sacramento stopped briefly in New York. Her next assignment took her to northern Russia as part of the US Naval Forces there and she arrived at Murmansk on 22 May 1919. This ill-conceived mission was created by some of the wartime Allies to support the non-communist forces that were fighting in Russia and several British and American warships were sent there to support the land operations. While in northern Russia, Sacramento acted as a dispatch ship, distributed food and clothing to the troops fighting on shore, provided medical help when needed, and eventually assisted in the evacuation of American forces from the Russian coastline along the White Sea. While sailing southward, she stopped at Norwegian, British, and French ports before reaching Gibraltar on 20 September 1919. Sacramento returned to the United States and arrived on 15 February 1920 at Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she was assigned to the Atlantic Patrol Force and to the Special Service Squadron.

Sacramento was re-designated PG-19 on 17 July 1920 and was sent to patrol the waters off Honduras, which was undergoing severe political turmoil at that time. She remained in that area until being assigned to the Asiatic Fleet in 1922. Sacramento initially was sent to Manila in the Philippines, but from 11 September to 24 November 1922 she visited numerous Chinese and Japanese ports, as well as Vladivostok, Russia. The gunboat remained with the Asiatic Fleet until 21 December 1928, when she left the Philippines for the Caribbean. Sacramento stayed in the Caribbean as part of the Special Service Squadron until 1932, when she was sent back to the West Coast. After reaching San Francisco, Sacramento was notified that she would re-join the US Asiatic Fleet and she arrived at Shanghai, China, on 1 April 1932. Sacramento continued patrolling Chinese and Philippine waters throughout the 1930s. The gunboat left Cavite in the Philippines on 12 January 1939 and was sent back to New York.

Sacramento served briefly as a training ship for the 9th Naval District Reservists on the Great Lakes from 20 November 1939 until well into 1940. After an overhaul at the Boston Navy Yard, Sacramento was sent back to the Pacific, bound this time for Hawaii. She reached Pearl Harbor on 15 August 1941 and was assigned to the local defense of the Navy Yard there. On 7 December 1941, Sacramento was moored just south of “Battleship Row.” Shortly after the attack began, the gunboat’s crew quickly manned their battle stations and her gunners managed to shoot down two of the attacking Japanese aircraft. Once the attack was over, Sacramento’s boat crews assisted in rescue and salvage operations.

Sacramento remained based at Pearl Harbor after the attack and continued patrolling Hawaiian waters until 27 September 1942, when she was given the new task of functioning as a tender for Torpedo Boat Unit 6, Division 2, of MTBRon 1, based at Palmyra Island just south of Hawaii. She was assigned air-sea rescue duties as well. Sacramento left Palmyra on 25 November 1942 for San Diego, where she became a training ship for gun crews from December 1942 to March 1945. After that, Sacramento was based at San Francisco and served on weather patrol and plane guard station for the rest of the war.

Sacramento was decommissioned on 6 February 1946 and was transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal. The ship was sold on 23 August 1947 and ended up under Italian registry as the merchant ship Fermina. Her ultimate fate is unknown.

Sacramento had an amazing career that literally took her all over the world. She was assigned to normal gunboat duties that took her to places like China, the Philippines, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean and she also took part in the little-known Allied invasion of northern Russia in 1919. Although she was right in the middle of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Sacramento was woefully outdated by the start of World War II. However, she still made a significant contribution during the war as a patrol boat, a tender, and ultimately as a training ship. Not bad for a gunboat that was already almost 30 years old by the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

HMS Sheffield (D80)

Figure 1: HMS Sheffield (D80). Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: A dressed HMS Sheffield (D80) at anchor prior to the Falkland Islands War. She has not yet received the domes for her Type 909 trackers in this photo. Note the 'Loxton Bends' on each side of her funnel; this device was intended to reduce the ship's infrared signature, but was apparently not a success as no other ships of the class received them. M.D. Thomas photo. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: HMS Sheffield (D80) prior to the Falkland Islands War. M.D. Thomas photo. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: HMS Sheffield (D80) on fire after being hit by an Exocet cruise missile during the Falkland Islands War, 4 May 1982. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: HMS Sheffield (D80) on fire after being hit by an Exocet cruise missile during the Falkland Islands War, 4 May 1982. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: HMS Sheffield (D80) on fire after being hit by an Exocet cruise missile during the Falkland Islands War, 4 May 1982. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: HMS Arrow (F173) coming to assist HMS Sheffield (D80) after she was hit by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982, during the Falkland Islands War. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: HMS Arrow (F173) coming alongside to assist HMS Sheffield (D80) after she was hit by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982, during the Falkland Islands War. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: HMS Arrow (F173) alongside HMS Sheffield (D80) after she was hit by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982, during the Falkland Islands War. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: HMS Arrow (F173) assisting HMS Sheffield (D80) after she was hit by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982, during the Falkland Islands War. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: HMS Arrow (F173) assisting HMS Sheffield (D80) after she was hit by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982, during the Falkland Islands War. Note British Sea King helicopter hovering next to Sheffield. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: HMS Arrow (F173) assisting HMS Sheffield (D80) after she was hit by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982, during the Falkland Islands War. Note British Sea King helicopter hovering next to Sheffield. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: HMS Sheffield (D80) burning fiercely after she was hit by an Exocet cruise missile on 4 May 1982, during the Falkland Islands War. Note British Sea King helicopter hovering next to Sheffield. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: Burnt-out hulk of HMS Sheffield (D80) after the fires on board the ship were extinguished. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: Another view of the burnt-out hulk of HMS Sheffield (D80) after the fires on board the ship were extinguished. Note the large British Union Jack painted on top of the Sheffield’s bridge. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 16: HMS Sheffield (D80) being taken under tow by HMS Yarmouth (F101). Sheffield foundered and sank while under tow on 10 May 1982. Royal Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Note: Figures 4 to 16 can be found on an excellent web site for HMS Sheffield (D80): http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/davej32/d80%20index.html . Click under “Gallery” and then go to the link entitled “May 4, 1982.”

Named after a British city, HMS Sheffield (D80) was a 4,350-ton Type 42 destroyer that was built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at Barrow-in-Furness, England, and was commissioned on 16 February 1975. The ship was approximately 410 feet long and 46 feet wide, had a top speed of 30 knots, and had a crew of roughly 300 officers and men. Sheffield was armed with one 4.5-inch gun, two 20-mm guns, six antisubmarine warfare (ASW) torpedo tubes, and one twin-armed Sea Dart GWS30 surface-to-air missile (SAM) launcher. The destroyer also was armed with one Westland Lynx helicopter, capable of launching either Sea Skua anti-ship missiles or Mk. 44 antisubmarine torpedoes.

For seven years, HMS Sheffield sailed all over the world, fulfilling numerous military commitments assigned to the Royal Navy. Then came the Falkland Islands War. On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded and captured the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island deep in the south Atlantic. These islands belonged to Great Britain and, after Argentina refused to return them, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gave the orders to re-take the islands militarily. A large Royal Navy task force was assembled to mount an amphibious assault on the Falklands and HMS Sheffield was part of that task force. The Royal Navy, though, only had two small carriers that were able to take part in the operation (HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible), so Sheffield’s precious Sea Dart SAM missiles were to provide badly needed antiaircraft protection for the fleet.

On 4 May 1982 at approximately 10:00 AM, HMS Sheffield and two other destroyers were ordered away from the main task force as picket ships to provide long-range radar and missile protection for the British carriers. An Argentine Navy P-2 Neptune patrol aircraft detected the picket ships and soon two Argentine Dassault Super Etendards jet fighters, each carrying a single Exocet cruise missile, were sent towards the British destroyers. The jets flew in at low altitude and released their Exocets approximately 20 to 30 miles from the British destroyers.

HMS Glasgow, Sheffield’s sister ship, was in the northernmost position on the picket line and the first ship to detect the Argentine jets. Glasgow’s electronic warfare support measures (ESM) equipment detected the Exocet’s “seeker” radar, which meant that an incoming missile or missiles were headed for the ships. Glasgow radioed the news to the anti-air warfare coordinator on board the carrier Invincible but, unfortunately, the coordinator dismissed the report as one of the many false missile attack alarms received that same morning. Meanwhile, Sheffield’s radar did not pick up either the incoming planes or missiles because, at that precise moment, her satellite communications terminal was in use and that prevented the onboard ESM equipment from operating. The satellite communications link, therefore, proved incompatible with the ship’s anti-missile radar, although neither the Type 965 radar or the Sea Dart missiles carried by Sheffield were really designed to intercept low-flying cruise missiles. By the time Sheffield received Glasgow’s radioed warnings, the missiles could literally be seen heading towards the ship. A few seconds later, one of the Exocets hit Sheffield directly amidships while the second missile crashed into the sea a half mile off her port beam.

There is still some debate as to whether or not the missile actually exploded. But the impact of the missile hit caused massive damage to Sheffield. Major holes were punctured in the hull and a massive fire erupted, engulfing much of the ship. Twenty men were killed by the missile hit and another 24 were seriously wounded. The missile impact and subsequent fire crippled the ship’s onboard electrical systems and ruptured major water mains, preventing the crew from being able to successfully fight the fire. HMS Arrow and HMS Yarmouth were sent to assist Sheffield, but it was a losing battle. The fire was out of control and consumed most of the ship. The crew was evacuated from Sheffield and it took almost six days for the fires to burn themselves out. The burnt-out hulk of Sheffield was taken under tow by HMS Yarmouth but, due to rough seas and the continuous flooding that was taking place through the large hole in the side of the ship, Sheffield eventually sank on 10 May 1982.

Although the attack on the Royal Navy’s picket line did prevent the Argentinian jets and cruise missiles from hitting the British carriers, it came at a large cost. At that time, HMS Sheffield was the first Royal Navy warship to be sunk in action in almost 40 years and it was one of the first major warships to be lost to an air-launched cruise missile. Major design and electronic modifications were made to the remaining Type 42 destroyers after the loss of Sheffield, including the addition of two Phalanx 20-mm Close In Weapons Systems (CIWS) which were specifically designed to shoot down incoming cruise missiles. The fire on board the ship also convinced the Royal Navy to stop using synthetic fabrics in the clothing worn by its sailors because synthetics had a tendency to melt when exposed to fire, causing severe burns to anyone wearing such clothing during a fire. Navies around the world also were put on notice regarding the devastating capabilities of air-launched cruise missiles and how vulnerable warships were to these modern weapons.

USS Savannah (CL-42)

Figure 1: USS Savannah (CL-42) making a full power run during trials off Rockland, Maine, in February 1938. Courtesy of Captain Church Chappell, USN (Retired), 1975. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Savannah (CL-42) entering Havana Harbor, Cuba, during her shakedown cruise, 20 May 1938. Note her signal flags, displaying the call letters "NAQL". Courtesy of Louis A. Davidson, 1977. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Savannah (CL-42) steaming at sea, circa early 1943. This photograph has been retouched by the wartime censor to remove radar antennas atop her masts and main battery gun directors. However, the radar antennas mounted on her secondary battery gun directors remain visible. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Savannah (CL-42) off New York City, with a barge and tug alongside, 1 May 1943. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Algiers, Algeria, with two “Liberty Ships” on fire in Algiers harbor, following a German air attack, 16 July 1943. USS Savannah (CL-42) is in the foreground. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Savannah (CL-42) is hit by a German radio-controlled bomb while supporting Allied forces ashore during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. The bomb hit the top of the ship's number three 6-inch gun turret and penetrated deep into her hull before exploding. The photograph shows the explosion venting through the top of the turret and also through Savannah's hull below the waterline. A motor torpedo boat (PT) is passing by in the foreground. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral H. Kent Hewett, USN. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Savannah (CL-42) on fire immediately after she was hit by a German guided bomb during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. Smoke is pouring from the bomb's impact hole atop the ship's number three 6-inch gun turret. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Savannah (CL-42) on fire and beginning to settle by the bow, very soon after she was hit by a German guided bomb during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. The bomb penetrated the top of the ship's number three 6-inch gun turret, which is in the center of this photograph with smoke over it. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Savannah (CL-42) crewmen fighting fires in the ship's number three six-inch gun turret, after it was hit by a German guided bomb during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. Note fully-equipped life rafts stowed atop the turret, and casualties laid out on deck alongside the number 2 turret. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Savannah (CL-42) bomb penetration hole atop her number three 6-inch gun turret, while the ship was undergoing initial repairs off Salerno, Italy. She was hit by a German radio-controlled bomb on 11 September 1943, during the Salerno operation. Note life rafts atop the turret, one of which has been cut in two by the bomb. Also note the turret's armored faceplate. View looks forward, with number two 6-inch gun turret in the immediate background. The original photo caption, released on 2 November 1943, reads (in part): "A round, clean hole marks the point of entry of a Nazi bomb on the cruiser Savannah. Inside, all was chaos, smoke, blood, and death." Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Savannah (CL-42) off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 5 September 1944, following battle damage repairs and modernization. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Savannah (CL-42) photographed from a blimp of squadron ZP-11, while underway off the New England coast (position 42-30N, 68-36W) on 30 October 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: Starboard bow view of USS Savannah (CL-42) while steaming in the Savannah River, Savannah, Georgia, while attending Navy Day celebrations on or about 27 October 1945. US Navy photo. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a large city in Georgia, USS Savannah (CL-42) was a 9,475-ton Brooklyn class light cruiser that was built by the New York Shipbuilding Association at Camden, New Jersey, and was commissioned on 10 March 1938. Savannah was approximately 608 feet long and 69 feet wide, had a top speed of 32 knots, and had a crew of 868 officers and men. The ship was armed with fifteen 6-inch guns, eight 5-inch guns, and various smaller caliber antiaircraft weapons.

After a shakedown cruise to Cuba and Haiti, Savannah left for Portsmouth, England, on 26 September 1938 and arrived there 4 October. Her primary mission was to protect American nationals in Europe during the Munich crisis. But war was temporarily averted after the infamous agreement was reached at Munich, so Savannah returned to the United States. Following her return to America, Savannah took part in several naval exercises and then steamed through the Panama Canal to join the US Pacific Fleet. She operated along the West Coast and around the Hawaiian Islands until May 1941. She then was sent back to the Atlantic to take part in various “Neutrality Patrols,” which lasted until America was attacked on 7 December 1941.

Savannah spent her entire wartime career in the Atlantic theater of operations. She patrolled along America’s East Coast and in the Caribbean for most of 1942 and then participated in the invasion of French Morocco in November. She provided gunfire support for the US Army troops that were landing as part of “Operation Torch” and managed to destroy several French artillery batteries that were firing at American warships and landing craft. After hostilities ended in Morocco on 11 November 1942, Savannah was ordered to return to Norfolk, Virginia.

On 25 December 1942, Savannah joined the South Atlantic Patrol, whose primary function was to hunt down German blockade runners. On 11 March 1943, Savannah, along with the destroyer USS Eberle and the escort carrier USS Santee, cornered the German blockade runner Kota Tjandi. Both Eberle and Savannah fired warning shots across the bow of Kota Tjandi and the German blockade runner soon came to a halt. The German crewmen quickly escaped in their lifeboats as a boarding party from Eberle was sent over by boat to the German ship. Unfortunately, as the boarding party from Eberle reached the side of the Kota Tjandi, powerful scuttling charges that were planted by the German crew exploded. Eleven US sailors were killed in the blast, but a boat from Savannah rescued three others who were blown into the water. The German ship sank and Savannah picked up the 72 Germans who had abandoned the blockade runner in their lifeboats. The cruiser returned to New York on 28 March and was overhauled in preparation for an assignment in the Mediterranean.

In July and August 1943, Savannah provided gunfire support for the invasion of Sicily and in September assisted in the Allied landings at Salerno. On 11 September 1943 while steaming off the coast of Salerno, a radio-controlled glide bomb that was released by a high-flying German bomber hit Savannah. The bomb penetrated the armored roof of the number 3 gun turret, sliced through three decks and stopped in a lower handling room where it exploded, blowing a large hole in the bottom of the ship and tearing open some seams in the ship’s port side. For approximately half an hour, secondary explosions in the gun room delayed fire-fighting efforts by the crew. Fires ravaged the forward part of the ship, but the crew quickly sealed off flooded and burned out compartments. Although the ship began to list, damage control parties soon corrected this and, with the help of the tugs Hopi and Moreno, Savannah was assisted to Valletta, Malta, for temporary repairs. It was one of the first times in naval history that a warship was hit and seriously damaged by a radio-controlled bomb from an aircraft. The explosion and resulting fires killed 197 men and badly wounded 15 others.

Savannah was eventually able to leave the Mediterranean under her own power and in December 1943 arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for more permanent repairs. She underwent a major overhaul that lasted eight months. Her battle damage was repaired, her hull was widened, her 5-inch secondary battery was completely replaced, and new antiaircraft batteries were installed. All of Savannah’s repairs and modifications were completed on 4 September 1944 and by 10 September she began a shakedown and training cruise. After some training exercises, Savannah escorted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to and from the Yalta Conference in January and February 1945. After this momentous trip, Savannah spent the rest of the war as a training ship. She then made two trans-Atlantic trips to bring home American service personnel from Europe in late 1945 after the war ended. The ship was inactive for all of 1946 and was formally decommissioned on 3 February 1947. Savannah remained a part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until 1 March 1959, when she was finally stricken from the Navy list. She was sold for scrapping in January 1960.

Although USS Savannah had a notable and distinguished career, she also had the dubious honor of being one of the first warships in history to be seriously damaged by an air-launched radio-controlled bomb. Today laser-guided bombs are common with navies and air forces throughout the world, but in 1943 radio-controlled bombs represented the cutting edge of military technology.

USS Boise (CL-47)

Figure 1: USS Boise (CL-47) anchored in harbor, circa 1938-39. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Boise (CL-47) operating off Hawaii on 5 November 1941. The ship is wearing Measure 1 camouflage paint. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Boise (CL-47) photographed circa late August 1942, probably at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Boise (CL-47) seen from the island of USS Yorktown (CV-10) on 6 May 1943. A Grumman F6F-3 "Hellcat" fighter is parked on the carrier's deck-edge elevator, in the foreground. Note Boise's fresh Measure 22 camouflage, and her fifteen 6-inch guns trained on her port quarter at high elevation. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Boise (CL-47) arrives at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, for battle damage repairs, November 1942. She had been hit by enemy shellfire in the Battle of Cape Esperance on 12 October 1942, resulting in a large fire that burned out her three forward 6-inch gun turrets and their ammunition spaces. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Boise (CL-47) arrives at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in November 1942 for repair of battle damage received during the 11-12 October Battle of Cape Esperance. Note the forward 6-inch triple gun turret trained to starboard. It was jammed in this position during the action, when a Japanese 8-inch shell hit the armored barbette just below the turret. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Boise (CL-47) sailor W.R. Martin points out details of the Japanese trophy flags painted on the cruiser's pilothouse as a scoreboard of enemy ships claimed sunk in the Battle of Cape Esperance, 11-12 October 1942. The six Japanese ships (two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and three destroyers) represented in this scoreboard greatly overstates the actual enemy losses, which were one heavy cruiser (Furutaka) and one destroyer (Fubuki) sunk and one heavy cruiser (Aoba) badly damaged. This overclaiming was typical of contemporary night surface actions. Photographed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon after Boise arrived there for battle damage repairs in November 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: Aerial view of USS Boise (CL-47) taken at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 22 April 1943. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: Sicily Invasion, July 1943. USS Boise (CL-47) fires on enemy forces near Gela, Sicily, on 11 July 1943. Photographed by Sgt. Crosnon from USS LST-325. Note manned .50 caliber machine guns on several of the Army trucks parked on the LST's deck, a precaution against German air attack. Morison, "History of U.S. Naval Operations in World War II" (Vol. IX, page 107) states that Boise's targets were enemy tanks. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Boise (CL-47) shelling the coast of New Guinea in early 1944. Photograph is dated 10 February 1944, but may have been taken during the Madang-Alexishafen bombardment of 25-26 January 1944. This view looks forward on the starboard side from the midships 20-mm gun gallery. Note tracers, which appear several feet in front of gun muzzles. Those from the four starboard side 5-inch guns have a higher trajectory than the tracers fired from the forward 6-inch gun turrets. Tracers from the 6-inch guns appear to wobble slightly. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Boise (CL-47) bombarding the Galela sector of Halmahera Island during the Morotai invasion, 15 September 1944. This view looks forward on the port side from the midships 20-mm gun gallery. Guns in the foreground are 5-inchers. This firing is being done by the forward 6-inch gun turrets. Note ammunition-passing party at work in the lower right. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Boise (CL-47) off San Pedro, California, 14 September 1945, following overhaul. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: USS Boise (CL-47) arrives in New York Harbor on 20 October 1945, to participate in the Navy Day Fleet Review. The south end of Manhattan Island is in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: Starboard bow view of USS Boise (CL-47) while underway in the Hudson River, on or about 27 October 1945. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: U.S. Army Private First Class Felix A. Uva (left) and Corporal Donald A. Purdy examine a memorial plaque on USS Boise’s main deck, while they were being transported to the United States from Europe as part of Operation "Magic Carpet" in November 1945. This plaque was presented to the ship by the citizens of Boise, Idaho, in memory of the 107 crewmembers who lost their lives during the Battle of Cape Esperance, 11-12 October 1942. Note kapok life jackets worn by the soldiers. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after the capital of Idaho, USS Boise (CL-47) was a 9,700-ton Brooklyn class light cruiser that was built at Newport News, Virginia, and was commissioned on 12 August 1938. She was approximately 608 feet long and 61 feet wide, had a top speed of 33.5 knots, and had a crew of 868 officers and men. Boise was armed with 15 6-inch guns, eight 5-inch guns, and various smaller caliber antiaircraft weapons.

Boise went on her shakedown cruise to Liberia and South Africa and then transferred to the US Pacific Fleet. For almost three years, she took part in naval exercises off America’s West Coast and the Hawaiian Islands. By the end of 1941, Boise was sent to the Philippines to help reinforce the US Asiatic Fleet. She was in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, but was ordered to join Task Force 5 in the East Indies. On 21 January 1942, Boise struck an uncharted shoal in the Sape Strait near Java and was sent back to the Mare Island Navy Yard in California for repairs. This may have been a fortuitous accident because the Japanese sank most of the other Allied warships defending Java. By being forced to retreat from a losing battle, Boise was able to live to fight another day.

After being repaired, Boise escorted convoys in the south Pacific in June and August 1942. She conducted a raiding cruise in Japanese waters from 31 July to 10 August 1942 as a diversion to draw attention away from the US landings on Guadalcanal. In August she also escorted a convoy to Fiji and New Hebrides islands. From 14 to 18 September 1942, Boise supported the landings of Marine reinforcements on Guadalcanal and then took part in the famous Battle of Cape Esperance on 12 October. She was badly damaged during the battle after being hit by several Japanese shells. The explosions caused by the shell hits started a large fire that killed 107 men and burned out all three of her forward 6-inch gun turrets. Once again, Boise was sent back to the United States for repairs, this time to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She remained there from 19 November 1942 to 20 March 1943.

After her extensive repairs were completed, Boise was sent to the Mediterranean where she provided gunfire support for the invasion of Sicily in July and August 1943. The ship also supported the landings at Salerno in September. But Boise was sent back to the south Pacific later on that year.

Boise was assigned to operations along the northern coast of New Guinea during the first eight months of 1944. She bombarded Japanese positions on several occasions and participated in the landings at Humboldt Bay in April, Wakde-Toem and Biak from May to June, Noemfoor in July and Cape Sansapor in July and August. From September to October, Boise supported the invasions of Morotai and Leyte. On 25 October 1944, Boise was part of the major American victory over the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Surigao Strait. She also supported the landings on Mindoro and for the first three months of 1945 supported the invasions of Luzon and Mindanao. Boise went on to take part in the invasion of Borneo during April and May 1945. From 3 to 16 June 1945, Boise carried General Douglas MacArthur on a 3,500-mile tour of the central and southern Philippines and of Brunei Bay, Borneo. She returned to the United States in July, spending the last two months of the war undergoing an overhaul in San Pedro, California.

After her overhaul, Boise was assigned to the Atlantic, where she helped transport American servicemen back home from Europe. She was decommissioned on 1 July 1946 and spent nearly five years in “mothballs” before being sold to Argentina in January 1951. The old cruiser was renamed Nueve de Julio and was an active warship in the Argentine Navy until 1978. She was ultimately sold for scrapping by Argentina in 1981.

USS Boise received 11 battle stars for her service during World War II. She was a true workhorse throughout the war, fighting in two major battles (Cape Esperance and Surigao Strait) and successfully completing numerous escort and gunfire support missions. Boise even went on to provide another navy with 27 years of useful service after World War II ended. Few ships can boast such a fine record of accomplishment over such a long period of time.