USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729)

Figure 1: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) off the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 22 July 1944. She is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 9D. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) moored at San Diego, California, with two other destroyers, circa 1945-46. Middle ship is USS De Haven (DD-727). Courtesy of John Hummel, 1979. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) tied up to pilings off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, on 3 January 1946. Note seagulls overhead and flags flying from the ship's foremast. The signal flag on the starboard halliards is "H," meaning "I have a pilot aboard." The four signal flags on the port halliards are the ship's call letters "NTHR." Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) tied up to pilings off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, on 3 January 1946. Note name painted on the ship's stern and flags flying from her foremast. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 5 January 1946. This view looks aft from alongside the ship's port bow, showing her anchoring gear, forward 5-inch twin gun mounts and pilothouse. Note canted angle of the Mk.12/22 radar antennas atop her Mk.37 gun director. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 5 January 1946. This view looks forward from alongside the ship's port side, showing her 26-foot motor whaleboat and 20-mm gun platform by her after smokestack. Note floater nets (with attached water casks) and boxed supplies on deck just inboard from the whaleboat. Also note empty racks for ready-service 40-mm ammunition. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, 7 November 1947. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, 14 November 1947. Several other destroyers are tied up nearby, among them USS Collett (DD-730), next astern from Lyman K. Swenson. Circles on the photo mark recent alterations to the ship. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) steaming through heavy seas in the Western Pacific, 1945. Photographed from USS Brush (DD-745). Courtesy of Robert O. Baumrucker, 1978. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: Inchon Invasion, September 1950. Wolmi-Do Island under bombardment on 13 September 1950, two days before the landings at Inchon. Photographed from USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729), one of whose 40mm gun mounts is in the foreground. Sowolmi-Do Island, connected to Wolmi-Do by a causeway, is at the right, with Inchon beyond. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: Inchon Invasion, September 1950. LCVPs head for Red Beach during initial landings at Inchon, 15 September 1950. Photographed from USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729), which provided gunfire support for the Red Beach attack. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) detonates an enemy mine with rifle fire, off North Korea. Original photo is dated 14 December 1951. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: Inchon Invasion, September 1950. Four LSTs unload men and equipment while "high and dry" at low tide on Inchon's Red Beach, 16 September 1950, the day after the initial landings there. USS LST-715 is on the right end of this group, which also includes LST-611, LST-845 and one other. Another LST is beached on the tidal mud flats at the extreme right. Note bombardment damage to the building in center foreground, many trucks at work, Wolmi-Do island in the left background and the causeway connecting the island to Inchon. Ship in the far distance, just beyond the right end of Wolmi-Do, is USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729). Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: Inchon Operation, September 1950. A chaplain reads the last rites service as Lieutenant (Junior Grade) David H. Swenson is buried at sea from USS Toledo (CA-133), off Inchon, Korea. He had been killed by North Korean artillery while his ship, USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) was bombarding enemy positions on Wolmi-Do island, Inchon, on 13 September 1950. Lyman K. Swenson is in the background, with her crew at quarters on deck. Official US Navy Photograph, from the "All Hands" collection at the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, 27 January 1961, following her "FRAM II" modernization. Note Destroyer Squadron Nine (DesRon9) insignia painted on her midships superstructure side. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.


Figure 16: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, 27 January 1961, following her "FRAM II" modernization. Note that she has not been fitted with a variable depth sonar at her stern. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 17: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) underway off Oahu, Hawaii, 16 March 1970. Photographed by PH1 Dixon M. Dreher. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 18: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) underway in the Pacific Ocean, 16 March 1970. Photographed by PHC T.J. Taylor. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 19: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) underway off Oahu, Hawaii, 16 March 1970. Photographed by PH1 Dixon M. Dreher. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 20: USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) jacket patch of the ship's insignia, as used in about 1967. Courtesy Captain G.F. Swainson, USN, 1969. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) was named in honor of Captain Lyman K. Swenson (1892-1942), who was killed in action while commanding USS Juneau (CL-52) during the major naval battle off Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. Juneau went down shortly after the end of the battle and out of 695 officers and men on board the ship only 10 survived. USS Lyman K. Swenson was a 2,200-ton Allan M. Sumner class destroyer that was built by the Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine, and was commissioned on 2 May 1944. The ship was approximately 376 feet long and 41 feet wide, had a top speed of 34 knots, and had a crew of 345 officers and men. Lyman K. Swenson was armed with six 5-inch guns, twelve 40-mm guns, eleven 20-mm guns, ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

After a shakedown cruise in the Atlantic, Lyman K. Swenson was transferred to the Pacific, where she served for the next 27 years. From September 1944 to the end of the war with Japan in August 1945, Lyman K. Swenson was assigned to duties off the coasts of Leyte, Luzon, China, Indochina, and Okinawa. After the end of the war, she briefly returned to the west coast of the United States and then served in the western Pacific from 1946 to early 1947. Lyman K. Swenson then was used as a training ship for Naval Reservists off America’s west coast from 1947 to 1949.

In March 1950, Lyman K. Swenson returned to the Far East shortly before the outbreak of the Korean War. After the start of the war, Lyman K. Swenson escorted the carrier USS Boxer, which launched the first naval air strike against North Korea on 3 July 1950. Lyman K. Swenson also was assigned to plane guard and patrol duties, bombarded shore targets, and served in a supporting role in five missions along the eastern coast of North Korea.

The ship then played a major role in the famous American amphibious landing at Inchon. Lyman K. Swenson, along with five other destroyers, entered Inchon Bay two days before the landings and bombarded North Korean shore batteries. During this attack, the ship suffered two casualties from a near miss from enemy artillery. One of the men killed was Lt. (jg.) David H. Swenson, nephew of Captain Lyman K. Swenson. David Swenson was buried at sea the day after he was killed (see above photograph). On 15 September 1950, the day of the actual attack on Inchon, Lyman K. Swenson covered the amphibious landing with accurate gunfire. For their actions during the assault on Inchon, all six destroyers received the Navy Unit Commendation and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.

On 23 October 1950, Lyman K. Swenson left combat operations and went to Sasebo, Japan. She then returned to the United States, arriving at San Diego on 18 November. After an overhaul lasting seven months, Lyman K. Swenson returned to Korea on 18 June 1951. She spent two more tours of duty off the Korean coast, performing the same duties she did during her first tour of duty there. Lyman K. Swenson specialized in disrupting enemy railroad and highway transportation with her accurate gunfire, earning the praise of Vice Admiral H. M. Martin in the process.

After the Korean War ended in July 1953, Lyman K. Swenson spent approximately six months per year in the western Pacific until 1960. From 1960 to 1961, she underwent a major overhaul and modification under the “Fram II” program. Her antisubmarine capabilities were increased dramatically and she had a helicopter hanger and flight deck added toward the stern of the ship. Lyman K. Swenson completed several more tours of duty in the Far East and from 1965 to 1970 was extremely active during the war in Vietnam. Her primary assignments included shore bombardment, patrol duties, and acting as an escort for the carriers USS Independence and USS Ticonderoga. Lyman K. Swenson’s gunfire was considered so useful off the coast of Vietnam that in October 1965 she fired as much ammunition in two weeks of action as she did in two months of comparable combat duty off the coast of Korea in 1950.

USS Lyman K. Swenson was decommissioned in February 1971. In May 1974, she was sold to the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a source of spare parts for other ships of that class that were serving in its navy. It was a sad end to a notable career that spanned thirty years and three wars.

USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23)

Figure 1: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) fitting out at the Cramp shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1907. Note: Ship's name on stern; hull primed for painting; after 12-inch gun turret with roof not yet installed. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) "cleared for action" in 1908, soon after she was completed. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) dressed with flags, off Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during Founders' Week, 1908. Note motor launch off the starboard quarter, with Mississippi's name painted on its stern, and the ship's name in large letters atop the after superstructure. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) underway, circa 1909, soon after she received a "cage" mainmast. Note that she is still fitted with a bow decoration. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) photographed by Brown & Shaffer, 1909. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) photographed by J.W. Dawson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1910, shortly after she was fitted with a "cage" foremast. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1972. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) photographed on 3 October 1911, probably off New York City. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view on the foredeck, looking aft, with the forward 12-inch gun turret trained to starboard, 1908. Note: anchor chain and capstans, hatches, and the bridge structure with ship's bell attached below its forward end. Photographed by Enrique Muller. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view looking forward from the ship's port bridge wing, 1908. Note the 12-inch gun turret with grating hatches open; also winch and capstans, with decorated tops on the latter. An old fortification is in the left distance. Photographed by Enrique Muller. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view on the afterdeck, looking forward, 1908. Note: 12-inch gun turret; after bridges with stump mainmast, searchlights and 3-pounder guns; winches, hatches and hose reel on the main deck. Photographed by Enrique Muller. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view on the ship's afterdeck, while she was carrying the Navy's first combat air group to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in April 1914. Planes visible include a Curtiss "AB" type flying boat (on deck at left), and a Curtiss "AH" type floatplane (atop the after 12-inch gun turret). Note boom rigged to the battleship's superstructure, at left, for hoisting the planes on and off the ship. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: Greek battleship (either Kilkis or Lemnos) photographed in a US port. Kilkis was the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23). Lemnos was originally USS Idaho (Battleship No. 24), sister ship to Mississippi. Courtesy of the US Naval Institute. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: Greek battleship Kilkis under attack by German JU 87 dive bombers, at the Greek naval base at Salamis, 23 April 1941. In the lower left, in the floating drydock, is the destroyer Vasilefs Georgios. Kilkis, the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23), was sunk in this attack. The floating dock and destroyer were also sunk, but Vasilefs Georgios was subsequently raised and placed in service by the German Navy as Hermes (ZG-3). Photograph and some caption information were provided by Franz Selinger. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: Greek battleship Kilkis sunk at the Greek naval base at Salamis after she was hit by German air attacks on 23 April 1941. Photographed from a German Heinkel HE 60 seaplane after the base was occupied by the German Army. Note bomb damage to the nearby pier. Kilkis was the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23). Photograph and some caption information were provided by Franz Selinger. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: Greek battleships Kilkis and Lemnos sunk in the basin of the Greek naval base at Salamis after they were hit by German air attacks on 23 April 1941. Seen from the harbor pier following the arrival of the German army. Kilkis, the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23), is in the foreground. Lemnos, ex-USS Idaho (Battleship No. 24), is in the distance, with her guns removed. Photograph and some caption information were provided by Franz Selinger, via the US Naval Institute. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) was the lead ship in a class of 13,000-ton battleships, was built by William Cramp and Sons at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 1 February 1908. The ship was approximately 382 feet long and 77 feet wide, had a top speed of 17 knots, and had a crew of 744 officers and men. Mississippi was armed with four 12-inch guns, eight 8-inch guns, eight 7-inch guns, twelve 3-inch guns, and two 21-inch torpedo tubes.

Mississippi spent the bulk of her early years patrolling off the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. But she also made a voyage up the Mississippi River in May 1909 to demonstrate contemporary naval technology to Americans living in the south and central parts of the United States. She also served as a floating recruitment poster, hoping to stimulate interest in and gain recruits for America’s new steel navy.

In late 1910, Mississippi sailed across the Atlantic to visit ports in England and France. She then returned to her normal duties off the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. In June 1912, Mississippi landed US Marines in Cuba to protect American lives and property, but she then was placed in reserve from mid-1912 to the end of 1913. In 1914, Mississippi carried men and equipment to Pensacola, Florida, where she supported the conversion of an old naval base into a new naval air station. In April and May 1914, the battleship transported seaplanes and pilots to Vera Cruz, Mexico, and served as a seaplane tender during the US Navy’s first combat aviation deployment. After her mission was completed off the coast of Mexico, Mississippi briefly returned to Pensacola before being sent to Newport News, Virginia.

Unfortunately, Mississippi and her only sister ship USS Idaho (Battleship No. 24) were poorly designed and were thoroughly unpopular ships in the fleet. They were small for battleships, which meant that they had limited range and endurance. With a top speed of only 17 knots, Mississippi and Idaho also were unable to keep up with the main battle squadrons. Since newer, larger, and more capable battleships were joining the fleet at that time, there seemed to be little reason to maintain two battleships nobody wanted. Therefore, Mississippi and Idaho were sold to Greece in July of 1914.

The Greek government renamed Mississippi the Kilkis and Idaho the Lemnos. Both ships saw extensive service in the Royal Hellenic Navy until 1932. Kilkis then was placed in reserve but returned to service in 1935 as a training ship. Lemonos was retained as a hulk, probably as a source of spare parts for Kilkis. Kilkis continued functioning as a training ship until 23 April 1941, when German dive bombers sank both Kilkis and Lemnos in Salamis harbor during Germany’s invasion of Greece. Kilkis remained partially submerged in the shallow waters of the harbor until well after the end of World War II, but the ship eventually was salvaged for scrap in the 1950’s.

USS Astoria (CA-34)

Figure 1: USS Astoria (CA-34) entering Honolulu harbor during her shakedown cruise, 9 July 1934. Photographed by Tai Sing Loo. Donated by the US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Astoria (CA-34) anchored off Long Beach, California, during the 1930s. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Astoria (CA-34) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 11 July 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Astoria (CA-34) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 11 July 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Astoria (CA-34) arriving at Pearl Harbor with Task Force 17, 27 May 1942, following the Battle of Coral Sea and shortly before the Battle of Midway. Her crew is in whites, paraded at quarters on the forecastle, and a motor launch is being lowered by her port boat crane. Photographed by Photographer 3rd Class T.E. Collins, USN. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Astoria (CA-34) operating in Hawaiian waters during battle practice, 8 July 1942. She appears to be recovering floatplanes from off her starboard side. Note booms rigged below the forward superstructure to tow aircraft recovery mats, and starboard crane swung out. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Astoria (CA-34) firing her after eight-inch guns, during battle practice in Hawaiian waters, circa 8 July 1942. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Astoria (CA-34) (center), and USS Minneapolis (CA-36) (left), moored near Aiea Landing, Pearl Harbor, in late June 1942. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: Battle of Midway, June 1942. An SBD-3 scout bomber from Bombing Squadron Three (VB-3), probably flown by Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Paul A. Holmberg, ditches near USS Astoria (CA-34) at about 1342 hours on 4 June 1942. This was one of two VB-3 planes that ditched near Astoria after they were unable to land on the damaged USS Yorktown (CV-5). A PBY is flying nearby, in right center. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: Crew of 5-inch No. 3 gun (2nd gun from forward, starboard side) in action during gunnery practice, circa spring 1942, on board USS Astoria (CA-34). Note anti-flash head-dress and communications gear worn by the man operating the fuze setter, bearing markings on the gun's splinter shield, and old-style battle helmets. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: Guadalcanal-Tulagi Invasion, August 1942. USS Astoria (CA-34) joins Task Force 16 as it approaches Tulagi, about 6 August 1942. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Named after a major port in Oregon, USS Astoria (CA-34) was a 9,950-ton New Orleans class heavy cruiser that was built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, and was commissioned on 28 April 1934. The ship was approximately 588 feet long and 61 feet wide, had a top speed of 32.7 knots, and had a crew of 899 officers and men. Astoria was armed with nine 8-inch guns, eight 5-inch guns, and several smaller caliber anti-aircraft guns.

After a shakedown cruise that took her across the Pacific to Australia, Astoria was assigned to the US Navy’s Scouting Force. She spent the rest of the 1930s participating in patrols and naval exercises in the eastern Pacific and in the Caribbean. After concluding a major naval exercise in 1939, Astoria was assigned to carry the remains of former Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Saito from the United States back to Japan. This was a gesture of gratitude to the Japanese after they returned the body of the late US Ambassador to Japan, Edgar A. Bancroft, back to the United States in one of their warships in 1926. After this mission was completed in late April 1939, Astoria visited ports in China, the Philippines, and Guam before resuming her regular patrol duties. As Japan and the United States drifted closer to war in the fall of 1941, Astoria escorted a troop transport to Manila in the Philippines. When war finally did erupt between the United States and Japan on 7 December 1941, Astoria was at sea escorting a task force that was carrying aircraft to the American base at Midway Island. Also in December 1941, Astoria was assigned to the task force that was to relieve the beleaguered American garrison on Wake Island, but that mission was later canceled when it became obvious that the island was going to fall to the Japanese.

During the first half of 1942, Astoria escorted aircraft carrier task forces, working primarily with the carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5). From February to May 1942, Astoria was assigned to escort duties in the south Pacific. She escorted aircraft carriers during the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May and then returned to Pearl Harbor in time to join the US Task Force that fought in the Battle of Midway one month later. After USS Yorktown was seriously damaged on 4 June during the Battle of Midway, Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher transferred his flag to Astoria.

After the US Navy won the Battle of Midway, Astoria returned to Pearl Harbor for an overhaul. Astoria then participated in the American invasion of the Solomon Islands. On 7 and 8 August 1942, Astoria provided gunfire support for the US Marines landing on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. She also acted as an escort for the amphibious task force and guarded against Japanese aircraft. But on the night of 8-9 August 1942, Astoria was on patrol to the east of Savo Island with the cruisers USS Vincennes (CA-44) and USS Quincy (CA-39). The American ships were attacked by a larger Japanese task force made up of seven cruisers and a destroyer. At around 0150, the Japanese warships began firing at the three American cruisers. The US warships returned fire and after four Japanese salvos, Astoria was undamaged. But the fifth Japanese salvo hit Astoria squarely amidships, causing an enormous fire. Subsequent hits on Astoria destroyed Turret No. 1 and caused a major fire in the ship’s aircraft hanger. Astoria burned brightly in the night, making her a clear and visible target for all of the Japanese warships.

Despite this, she did manage to hit some of the Japanese warships with her guns. But at around 0225, Astoria lost all power and lay dead in the water. The cruiser had been hit by roughly 65 enemy shells and her crew was battling several serious fires throughout the ship. By 0300, approximately 400 men, including 70 wounded, assembled on the forecastle deck and started a bucket brigade to battle the blazes on the gun deck. The more seriously wounded were cared for by doctors in the captain’s cabin, but they eventually had to be moved when the deck beneath them grew too hot. The crew then moved the wounded to the ship’s forecastle. Fortunately, the Japanese warships withdrew, ending the battle.

At approximately 0445, the destroyer USS Bagley (DD-386) came alongside Astoria’s starboard bow and began taking off the cruiser’s wounded crewmembers. But as dawn approached, Astoria still remained afloat, despite the horrific damage she had sustained. Bagley returned to the heavy cruiser and pulled alongside her starboard quarter. A salvage crew of approximately 325 men was placed on board the ship in an effort to save her. Several other American ships also were sent to assist Astoria. But the fires below decks were out of control and the salvage crew on the main deck could hear explosions going off deep within the ship. Astoria began listing badly (first to 10 degrees and then 15) and, as the list increased, water poured into the shell holes that were made by the Japanese guns. Between the fires that were still burning and the increasing list, Captain William Greenman assembled his men on Astoria’s stern and gave the order to abandon ship. After all the men were evacuated from the ship and picked up by nearby American destroyers, Astoria turned over on her port beam and then settled by the stern. She finally slipped beneath the waves at around 1215. USS Astoria lost 216 men killed and 186 wounded. Given the amount of punishment the ship sustained, it’s amazing the number of casualties was not higher.

The US Navy simply was out fought during the Battle of Savo Island and it was a tragic loss for this nation. But ships like Astoria made a valiant stand at Guadalcanal and there would be several more months of vicious fighting before the US Navy finally forced the Japanese Navy to give up the Solomon Islands.

IJN Kirishima

Figure 1: Kirishima photographed around 1930, following her first major reconstruction. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: Kirishima photographed in 1932, with an aircraft embarked. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: Kirishima photographed circa 1930, soon after her first major reconstruction. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Kirishima in Sukumo Bay, southern Shikoku, Japan, 1937. Courtesy of Mr. Kazutoshi Hando, 1970. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Kirishima anchored off Amoy, China, 21 October 1938. Photographed from USS Pillsbury (DD-227). The battleship Ise is in the distance, beyond Kirishima's bow. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: Kirishima off Amoy, China, on 21 October 1938. Photographed from USS Pillsbury (DD-227). Note the crew on deck, the flared funnel tops, and the Kawanishi E17K and Nakajima E8N floatplanes on the aircraft deck. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: Kirishima photographed off Amoy, China, 21 October 1938. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: Kirishima (center) heads toward Guadalcanal to bombard Henderson Field on 14 November 1942, along with Takao (background) and Atago (foreground). The battleship was sunk only hours after this photograph was taken. Courtesy: Hara, Tameichi, Japanese Destroyer Captain, Ballentine Books, 1961. Click on photograph for larger image.


Kirishima was a 26,230-ton Kongo class battlecruiser that was built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding at Nagasaki, Japan, and was commissioned in April 1915. The ship was approximately 728 feet long and 101 feet wide, had a top speed of 30 knots, and had a crew of 1,360 officers and men. Kirishima was heavily armed with eight 14-inch guns, 16 6.1-inch guns, eight 5-inch guns, and numerous smaller caliber anti-aircraft guns.

Twelve years after being commissioned, Kirishima was modernized at Kure, Japan, from 1927 to 1930 and was re-classified as a “fast battleship.” She underwent yet another major reconstruction from 1935 to 1936, which lengthened her hull and gave her much more powerful engines. Although the now larger, 32,156-ton Kirishima looked like a modern battleship, she still had rather light armor protection for a ship her size, a flaw that would prove fatal later on in her career.

Kirishima’s high speed played an important role during the first year of the Pacific War. She escorted Japanese aircraft carriers during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and was used extensively during Japan’s invasion of the East Indies in early 1942. During March and April 1942, Kirishima was part of a large Japanese naval task force that raided British shipping in the Indian Ocean.

During the struggle for the Solomon Islands in late 1942, Kirishima participated in the carrier battles off the Eastern Solomon Islands in August and in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October. She sustained minor damage during the night surface battle off Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. But two nights later, while serving as the flagship for another large Japanese task force, Kirishima fought an American surface force that included the American battleship USS Washington (BB-56).

In the major battle that followed, Kirishima was badly damaged and disabled by Washington’s larger 16-inch guns. In only seven minutes, Washington fired 75 16-inch rounds and 107 5-inch rounds at various ranges, from 8,400 to 12,650 yards. Washington scored at least nine 16-inch hits on Kirishima, along with approximately 40 hits with her 5-inch batteries, causing major damage to the Japanese battleship. Kirishima’s relatively thin armor protection evidently could not withstand Washington’s large guns. Although Washington was not damaged during the confrontation, another American battleship in the task force, USS South Dakota (BB-57), was hit repeatedly and suffered heavy damage, as well as the loss of 38 men killed and 60 wounded. But South Dakota was able to steam away under her own power and was eventually repaired. Kirishima, on the other hand, was left burning and exploding. She eventually had to be abandoned and was scuttled several miles west of Savo Island.

This was the first of only a few confrontations between battleships during the Pacific War. It proved that American capital ships were definitely tough enough to not only absorb a lot of punishment (as in the case of South Dakota), but also could sink Japanese capital ships (as did Washington). The myth of Japanese naval invincibility was shattered off the coast of Guadalcanal, although the US Navy suffered terrible losses there as well.