USS Birmingham (CL-62)

USS Birmingham (CL-62), a United States Cleveland-class light cruiser named for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, the "Pittsburgh of the South", was laid down at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Newport News, Virginia, on 17 February 1941 and launched on 20 March 1942 by Mrs. Cooper Green, wife of the president of the Birmingham City Commission. She was commissioned on 29 January 1943, Captain John Wilkes in command.[1] Birmingham earned eight battle stars, receiving heavy damage on at least three occasions.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Birmingham.

Birmingham off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 7 February 1944
History
United States
NameBirmingham
NamesakeCity of Birmingham, Alabama
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia
Laid down17 February 1941
Launched20 March 1942
Commissioned29 January 1943
Decommissioned2 January 1947
Stricken1 March 1959
FateSold for scrap on 12 November 1959
General characteristics
Class and type Cleveland-class light cruiser
Displacement
Length610 ft 1 in (185.95 m)
Beam66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)
Draft24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed32.5 kn (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement1,285 officers and enlisted
Armament
Armor
Aircraft carried4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities2 × stern catapults

Design
Main article: Cleveland-class cruiser

Birmingham was 610 feet 1 inch (186 m) long overall and had a beam of 66 ft 4 in (20.22 m) and a draft of 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m). Her standard displacement amounted to 11,744 long tons (11,932 t) and increased to 14,131 long tons (14,358 t) at full load. The ship was powered by four General Electric steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Rated at 100,000 shaft horsepower (75,000 kW), the turbines were intended to give a top speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph). Her crew numbered 1285 officers and enlisted men.[2]

The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 6 in /47 caliber Mark 16 guns[lower-alpha 1] in four 3-gun turrets on the centerline. Two were placed forward in a superfiring pair; the other two turrets were placed aft of the superstructure in another superfiring pair. The secondary battery consisted of twelve 5 in (127 mm) /38 caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets. Two of these were placed on the centerline, one directly behind the forward main turrets and the other just forward of the aft turrets. Two more were placed abreast of the conning tower and the other pair on either side of the aft superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense consisted of twenty-eight Bofors 40 mm (1.6 in) guns in four quadruple and six double mounts and twenty-one Oerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) guns in single mounts.[2]

The ship's belt armor ranged in thickness from 3.5 to 5 in (89 to 127 mm), with the thicker section amidships where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. Her deck armor was 2 in (51 mm) thick. The main battery turrets were protected with 6.5 in (170 mm) faces and 3 in (76 mm) sides and tops, and they were supported by barbettes 6 inches thick. Birmingham's conning tower had 5-inch sides.[2]

Service history

1943

Following her shakedown cruise, Birmingham was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Departing Norfolk, Virginia on 7 June, she steamed to the Mediterranean and gave gunfire support during the invasion of Sicily (10–26 July 1943). Returning to the United States on 8 August, she was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 September.

Joining the fast carrier task force screen, she took part in the raids on Tarawa (18 September 1943) and Wake Island (5–6 October). At the Solomons, she took part in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (8–9 November), along with her sister ships Cleveland, Columbia, Montpelier, and Denver. This was the first major action by the new Cleveland-class light cruisers that were entering the fleet. Birmingham's gunners shot down at least four enemy Japanese aircraft. During the daytime, Japanese planes hit Birmingham with two bombs and a torpedo. The ship's casualties included two killed and 34 wounded.[3] The hits kept her out of the night surface battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet that followed. Birmingham retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted until 18 February 1944, when she rejoined the Pacific Fleet.

1944
Birmingham alongside the burning Princeton during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24 October 1944

Assigned to Task Force 58 (TF 58), she took part in the Battle of Saipan (14 June – 4 August); the Battle of the Philippine Sea (19–20 June); Battle of Tinian (20 July – 1 August); Battle of Guam (21 July); and Philippine Islands raids (9–24 September). She then served with TF 38 during the Okinawa raid (10 October), northern Luzon and Formosa raids (15 October and 18–19 October), and the Battle of Leyte Gulf (24 October). During the latter, she suffered great topside damage from explosions on board the aircraft carrier Princeton while courageously attempting to aid that stricken vessel. 239 men died, 408 were wounded, and the bodies of four were never recovered.[4] Birmingham retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted from November 1944 to January 1945.

1945, Iwo Jima, Okinawa

Rejoining the Pacific Fleet, the cruiser supported the battle of Iwo Jima (4–5 March 1945) and joined Task Force 54 (TF 54) for the invasion of Okinawa (25 March – 5 May). On 4 May, after fighting off three attacks, she was damaged for a third time when a Japanese kamikaze plane hit her forward. The resulting explosion killed 47, with 4 missing and 81 wounded.[5] Returning to Pearl Harbor, she underwent repairs from 28 May to 1 August.

Birmingham rejoined the 5th Fleet at Okinawa on 26 August, and then in November steamed to Brisbane, Australia. She visited other Australian ports, including Melbourne on 8 November 1945. She returned to San Francisco on 22 March 1946 and was taken out of commission and placed in reserve there on 2 January 1947. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1959 and scrapped at Long Beach, California.

Awards and legacy

Birmingham earned eight battle stars during her World War II service.

An 8-foot (2.4 m) long waterline model of USS Birmingham, owned by the U. S. Navy, has been loaned for display at Birmingham City Hall, at the Southern Museum of Flight, and currently, at the Birmingham History Center.

Footnotes

Notes
  1. /47 refers to the length of the gun in terms of calibers. A /47 gun is 47 times long as it is in bore diameter.

Citations
  1. "Birmingham II (CL-62)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. Friedman 1980, p. 119.
  3. The Encyclopedia of Alabama
  4. The light cruiser Birmingham (CL-62), commanded by Captain Thomas B. Inglis, led the salvage effort. The Encyclopedia of Alabama
  5. The Encyclopedia of Alabama

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

Further reading
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