USN:
The USN's first aircraft carriers USS
Langley (CV-1), Lexington-class aircraft carriers USS
Saratoga (CV-3) and USS
Lexington (CV-2) docked at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington (USA), circa 1930.
Northampton-class heavy cruiser USS
Chicago (CA-29) transiting the Panama Canal, in the early 1930s.
Early in January 1943,
Chicago departed San Francisco, action-bound once more. On 27 January, she sailed from Nouméa to escort a Guadalcanal convoy. On the night of the 29th, as the ships approached that bitterly contested island, Japanese aircraft attacked the force and the
Battle of Rennell Island was underway. During the attacks, two burning Japanese planes silhouetted
Chicago, providing enough light for further torpedo attacks; two hits caused severe flooding and loss of power. By the time the attack ended, work by the crew had checked
Chicago's list.
Louisville took the disabled ship in tow, and was relieved by
Navajo the following morning. Fighters from the nearby carrier
Enterprise provided CAP for the wounded cruiser as she tried to make her way away from the battle area. During the afternoon, the Japanese attacked again with 20
G4M “Betty” bombers. The ship was hit by four torpedoes, one forward of the bridge and three others in her engineering spaces. The patrolling fighters downed 8 of the attacking planes, but the damage was done. Captain Ralph O. Davis gave the order to abandon ship shortly before
Chicago sank stern first, 20 minutes later.
Navajo and the escorting destroyers rescued 1,049 survivors from
Chicago, but 62 of her crew died
Bagley-class destroyer USS Henley (DD-391) in San Pablo Bay, near the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 5th Oct 1937
On 3 October 1943
Henley was steaming with
Reid and
Smith on an offensive sweep off Finschafen when her skipper sighted two torpedoes fired by the submarine
Ro-108 heading for her. Split-second maneuvering permitted
Henley to evade those two torpedoes; but a third was immediately sighted, closing too fast and too near to be avoided.
Henley was struck on the port side, with the torpedo exploding in the number 1 fire-room, destroying her boilers, breaking her keel, and displacing her bow about 30 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the ship.
At 18:29, with all her crew having abandoned ship,
Henley went down, stern first. Her companion DD's searched for the sub, then returned to rescue Henley's survivors, who had lashed their life-rafts together and were using flashlights as signals. Eighteen officers and 225 men were rescued, with 1 officer and 14 men missing.
