The Cleveland-class light cruisers traced their origin to design work done in the late 1930s; at the time, light cruiser displacement was limited to 8,000 long tons (8,100 t) by the Second London Naval Treaty. Following the start of World War II in September 1939, Britain announced it would suspend the treaty for the duration of the conflict, a decision the US Navy quickly followed. Though still neutral, the United States recognized that war was likely and the urgent need for additional ships ruled out an entirely new design, so the Clevelands were a close development of the earlier Brooklyn-class cruisers, the chief difference being the substitution of a two-gun 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose gun mount for one of the main battery 6 in (152 mm) gun turrets.^[1]

Columbia 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^[a] 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 eight Bofors 40 mm (1.6 in) guns in two quadruple mounts and thirteen 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. Columbia's conning tower had 5-inch sides.^[2]

The keel for Columbia was laid down on 19 August 1940 at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched on 17 December 1941, ten days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II. Columbia was moved to the Philadelphia Navy Yard before she was commissioned into the fleet on 29 June 1942.^[2][3] After completing fitting-out work, the ship got underway for initial training on 14 September, which was carried out off Hampton Roads, Virginia, and included weapons familiarization practice and aircraft operations. Columbia then sailed for the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs and alterations and then embarked on her shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay, which lasted from 16 October to 8 November The next day, she got underway and joined Task Group (TG) 2.6, which also included the fast battleship Indiana and the destroyers De Haven, Champlin, and Saufley. The ships sailed south and arrived in Panama on 13 November.^[3]

Columbia and the rest of the ships, less Champlin, continued on through the Panama Canal on 13 November and sailed on to Tongatabu. The ships conducted training exercises while on the way. The ships arrived there on 28 November, and TG 2.6 was disbanded the same day. After refueling on 29 November, Columbia was attached to TG 66.6 the following day, along with Indiana, Saufley, and De Haven. The task group departed the next day for Nouméa, arriving there on 2 December. The task group was disbanded and Columbia pulled alongside the repair ship Prometheus, as she had developed turbine problems on the voyage there. Prometheus made temporary repairs that allowed the turbine to operate at low pressure, and Columbia could still make 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). She was then assigned Task Force (TF) 64, which included the fast battleships Washington and Indiana, and the destroyers Balch, Cummings, Nicholas, Woodworth, and Dunlap. The ships departed on 7 December, intending to rendezvous with a task group centered on the fast battleship North Carolina the next day.^[3]

Operations in the Solomon Islands edit

The two squadrons met at sea on 9 November and the ships were reorganized; Columbia became part of TG 67.2, which departed for Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides later that afternoon. The ships arrived there a day later, and from 17 to 22 December, the ships were primarily occupied with combat training, including night fighting drills, anti-aircraft shooting practice, and combined squadron maneuvers. Further maintenance was carried out from 23 to 31 December at Espiritu Santo. Task Force 67 sortied on 2 January 1943 to join the fighting in the Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands. While the ships were en route, one of Columbia's floatplanes fell off its catapult; a man who was in the plane at the time was picked up by one of the escorting destroyers. The task force arrived off Guadalcanal on 4 January and three of the cruisers split off to carry out a bombardment mission while Columbia and the rest of the force remained off Guadalcanal to screen a group of transports carrying reinforcements for the island. The next morning, the task force came under air attack from three Aichi D3A dive bombers that damaged the New Zealand cruiser HMNZS Achilles, but Columbia was not attacked directly.^[3]

The task force arrived back in Espiritu Santo on 8 January, and Columbia received a new seaplane to replace the one that had fallen overboard. She launched both of her aircraft on 12 January for training flights, but one of them crashed at sea; searches for the missing pilot eventually found him on 13 January. That day, the ship was transferred to TF 18, which included the escort carriers Sangamon, Santee, and Chenango, the heavy cruisers Wichita and Chicago, the light cruisers Cleveland and Montpelier, and eight destroyers. The light cruisers formed Cruiser Division 12. Columbia later received yet another replacement seaplane. TF 18 was moved from Espiritu Santo to Efate.^[3]

Battle of Rennell Island edit

The task force sortied on 27 January, bound for the Solomons; two days later, the ships' air search radars picked up a group of unidentified aircraft approaching the formation. The escort carriers had already been detached to fly ground support missions, so the cruisers and destroyers were caught without air cover. In the ensuing Battle of Rennell Island, the Japanese launched a series of strikes against the American squadron late in the day. The first wave of sixteen Mitsubishi G4M bombers did not engage Columbia, but several G4Ms from the second wave of fifteen aircraft attempted to torpedo her. One attacked individually at around 19:34 and missed, though Columbia's anti-aircraft gunners also missed the bomber. Shortly thereafter, four more G4Ms began attack runs on the ship, two off her port bow and the other pair off her port quarter. Her anti-aircraft guns destroyed one of the G4Ms, and the rest were forced to break off without launching their torpedoes. At around the same time, two of the torpedoes struck Chicago, inflicting severe damage.^[3]

Columbia and the other cruisers in the unit closed with Chicago to provide better defense of the damaged vessel, but around 21:30, the Japanese aircraft that were shadowing the Americans withdrew. The task groups split up after midnight but re-formed later in the morning of 30 January. By that time, Chicago's engines had broken down, and she was being towed by the heavy cruiser Louisville at a speed of 4.4 knots (8.1 km/h; 5.1 mph). Columbia remained with Chicago while the tugboat Navajo came from Tulagi; at around 14:30, Columbia and the other light cruisers were detached to head back to Port Havannah on Efate, but around two hours later, the Japanese launched further attacks on Chicago, this time inflicting fatal damage. Columbia's group was too far away to intervene, but the ships' crews nevertheless went to general quarters. The ships arrived at Efate the afternoon of 31 January, but they remained in port for just a day, sorting the following afternoon for patrols off the Santa Cruz Islands.^[3]

Training operations edit

The ships of TF 18 carried out training maneuvers from 1 to 3 February, and then met up with TF 69 the following day; the other task force included the old battleships Maryland, New Mexico, Colorado, and Mississippi, three escort carriers, and several destroyers. The two task forces were to patrol between the Solomons and Samoa to try to intercept a Japanese squadron believed to have sortied from Truk in the central Pacific. The ships remained in the area for several days, searching for the Japanese squadron in vain through 10 February. That day, the Americans learned that the Japanese force had returned to port, and in the meantime, the Japanese had launched Operation Ke, their surprise withdrawal from Guadalcanal. Columbia and the rest of TF 18 accordingly ended their patrolling and returned to Efate. By that time, her sister Denver had arrived there with a replacement turbine for her damaged engine. The ships reached Savannah on 14 February, where she and the rest of Cruiser Division 12 were transferred to TF 68.^[3]

The ships of TF 68 sortied again on 19 February, heading back toward the Solomons; this time, they were to divert Japanese attention from an amphibious assault force that was to land on the Russell Islands, codenamed Operation Cleanslate. The cruisers were also to provide close defense of the invasion fleet against a possible raid by Japanese warships. On the night of 20/21 February, the ships passed through Ironbottom Sound, the site of several major naval battles during the Guadalcanal campaign, and anchored in Purvis Bay the following morning. The landings occurred without any opposition and Columbia, with the rest of TF 68, got underway for Noumea on 23 February. While at sea two days later, Columbia was detached to sail to Maré Island, where final repairs to her new turbine would be completed by Prometheus. She arrived there on 27 February, and the work lasted until 11 March. On 16 March, TF 68 was redesignated as TF 19; the ships spent most of the month carrying out training exercises, including maneuvers with TF 14, centered on the carrier Saratoga. Captain Frank Beatty took command of Columbia on 6 April. By this time, the Japanese had effectively abandoned the southern Solomons, leaving little opposition in the area to engage. As a result, Columbia spent the next several months training with the rest of her task force, and occasionally with other units as well.^[3]

New Georgia campaign edit

On 27 June, the ships of Cruiser Division 12 were transferred to TG 36.2, and they sortied later that day for Purvis Bay to take part in Operation Toenails, the invasion of the New Georgia Islands in the central Solomons. The ships arrived there two days later and refueled on the morning of 29 June, before departing again to bombard Japanese positions on other, nearby islands. Columbia and her division-mates were assigned to cover minelayers and to shell several of the Shortland Islands to draw Japanese attention away from the landings. Columbia fired some 943 rounds from her main battery and 525 shells from her 5-inc guns at Faisi before the Americans broke off and returned southeast to cover the withdrawal of the minelayers. After refueling at Tulagi, Columbia arrived back in Espiritu Santo on 2 July to replenish ammunition and stores. She sortied with the rest of her unit the following day to return to operations off New Georgia, carrying out patrols in the area between 6 and 11 July, operating out of Purvis Bay or Tulagi during this period. The ship did not encounter significant Japanese forces during these patrols.^[3]

At around midnight on 12 July, Columbia and the rest of her task group sortied to carry out a bombardment of Munda on New Georgia to support US Army forces fighting during the drive on Munda Point. By about 03:00 on 12 July, the ships had arrived off the island, and Columbia conducted a 30-minute bombardment of the Japanese positions there. The Americans had turned to withdraw by 04:09, bound for Tulagi. Columbia and the rest of Cruiser Division 12 later continued on to Espiritu Santo, arriving there on 18 July. The ships of her task group spent the next two and a half months operating out of Espiritu Santo, patrolling in the Solomons and conducting training exercises in the area, but saw no further combat during this period. On 6 September, Columbia was detached for an overhaul at Sydney, Australia, arriving there four days later. Work was completed by 20 September, allowing the cruiser to return to her unit, which had by then been re-designated again, now as TG 39.2. On arriving on 24 September, she took over the role of task force flagship, under the command of Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill.^[3]

On 25–26 September, Columbia led her task group on a sweep off Vella LaVella, the westernmost of the New Georgia Islands. Shortly after midnight on 26 September, several Japanese scout planes began shadowing the vessels, and Columbia drove one of them off 5-inch gun fire. The Americans reported a number of torpedo wakes from Japanese submarines believed to have been directed by the scout planes. The ship was not hit by any of the torpedoes, and the task group returned to Tulagi to refuel later that day. Task Group 39.2 made several abortive sorties over the following days, but every time the cruisers were recalled to Tulagi to avoid risking them. The ships returned to Espiritu Santo in early October, but by the 7th, had already returned to the Solomons for training exercises with several warships from other task forces through 10 October.^[3]

Admiral William F. Halsey visited Merrill aboard Columbia at Espiritu Santo on 21 October, and he gave a speech to the crew while he was aboard. Three days later, Merrill shifted his flag to Cleveland, and Columbia reverted to serving as the flagship of TG 39.2. The ships got underway later that day to cover Operation Goodtime, the invasion of the Treasury Islands. The assault took place on 27 October, and brought the Allies another step up the Solomon Islands toward Bougainville, the largest island in the Solomons chain. The ships of TF 39 first went to bombard the Japanese airfield at Buka on Bougainville on the night of 31 October – 1 November to destroy aircraft that might try to interfere in the invasion of the Treasury Islands, and to draw Japanese attention away from the invasion fleet. In the early hours of 1 November, Columbia and the rest of TF 39 were spotted by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft, which dropped flares to illuminate the ships for Japanese coastal artillery batteries on Faisi. Columbia and the other cruisers returned fire, and after a short artillery duel, the Americans broke off at around 07:00 to refuel for further operations. The ships of TF 39 remained in the area through the day on 1 November to cover the invasion force as the ground forces went ashore.^[3]

Battle of Empress Augusta Bay edit

On the evening of 1 November, TF 39 cruised in Empress Augusta Bay in Bougainville, when shortly before 01:00, the American ships picked up a Japanese surface force approaching. In the ensuing Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, the Americans fired first at around 02:45, the destroyers launching a spread of torpedoes at the oncoming Japanese squadron, which consisted of the heavy cruisers Myōkō and Haguro, the light cruisers Sendai and Agano, and the destroyers Shigure, Samidare, Shiratsuyu, Naganami, Wakatsuki, and Hatsukaze, along with four more destroyers—Amagiri, Yūnagi, Uzuki, and Yūzuki—serving as fast transports. A few minutes after the destroyers launched their torpedoes, Cleveland and Denver, followed shortly thereafter by Columbia, opened fire at a range of around 21,000 yd (19,000 m). The Japanese destroyer began maneuvering erratically in a circle, indicating it was disabled. Columbia shifted fire to another vessel, which soon turned away and withdrew out of range. Columbia then engaged a third vessel for several minutes, from 03:11 to 03:32. By that time, Columbia had been hit once in return, but the shell struck her bow and did negligible damage.^[3]

Both sides had ceased firing by 03:35 and the Japanese had turned back for Rabaul. The American squadron likewise disengaged and returned to cover the invasion fleet. In the course of the action, the Americans had sunk Sendai and Hatsukaze and damaged Myoko and Haguro; and in the confusion, the two heavy cruisers collided, causing further damage. In return, several American destroyers were damaged in the engagement, including Foote, which had been crippled by a Japanese torpedo. For his role in the battle, Beatty was awarded the Navy Cross. On 3 November, TF 39 escorted the invasion fleet back to Purvis Bay.^[3]

End of the Solomons campaign edit

Columbia and other elements of TF 39 returned to Empress Augusta Bay on 4 November to resume operations in support of subsequent landings on Bougainville. The ships remained on station for several days, patrolling for Japanese warships and frequently fending off Japanese search planes and bombers. On 13 November, Denver was torpedoed and disabled by a G4M bomber; Columbia and the rest of the task force escorted her as she was towed out of the area. Columbia spent the rest of November anchored at Purvis Bay, and on 1 December, she had an FH radar set installed. The next day, she sortied to calibrate the new radar; various training exercises followed for several days, until 7 December, when she and the rest of TF 39 made a sweep between Buka and Rabaul that failed to locate any Japanese vessels. On the night of 23–24 December, she bombarded Buka again, damaging the airfield there. Columbia departed for Espiritu Santo on 3 January 1944, arriving there the following day. She was dry docked there from 19 to 26 January for periodic maintenance. In February, the ships of TF 39 returned to patrol duty between Buka and Rabaul, but they saw no significant action for the first two weeks of the month.^[3]

On 13 February, Columbia and the rest of her task force got underway to participate in the invasion of the Green Islands, which were situated between Bougainville and Rabaul. The invasion was one of the last stages of Operation Cartwheel, the plan to neutralize Rabaul. The ships remained on station through 16 February and did not encounter significant Japanese forces. The ships then returned to Purvis Bay, where they remained for the rest of the month. On 5 March, the ships sortied for a sweep between Truk and Kavieng to search for Japanese shipping, but arrived back in Purvis on 11 March without having found any ships to attack.^[3]

The ships of TF 39 next sortied on 17 March to take part in the landing on Emirau, the last component of Operation Cartwheel. The ships reached the islands late on 19 March, the day before the landings. No opposition was encountered on the island, so Columbia did not need to provide fire support. The ships remained on station for another day, but returned to Purvis Bay on 23 March. She remained there for the next two weeks, seeing no further action. On 4 April, she departed for San Francisco, California, for a thorough overhaul. The work lasted from 23 April to 20 June, and during this period, Captain Maurice E. Curts relieved Beatty as the ship's commander. Defects with her main battery elevation gear identified during post-overhaul trials necessitated further work, and she was not ready to return to operations in the Pacific until 29 June. She reached Pearl Harbor on 6 July, where additional minor repairs were identified. Underway again on 13 July, she carried out further testing and exercises in Hawaiian waters through the end of the month.^[3]

Columbia sortied from Port Purvis on 6 September with the covering force for the landings in the Palaus, and remained off Peleliu to provide gunfire support to forces ashore and protection to assault shipping until her return to Manus on 28 September.

Philippines campaign edit

She sailed on 6 October, guarding the force which was to seize Dinagat and other islands at the entrance of Leyte Gulf which must be neutralized before the vast Leyte invasion fleet could enter the Gulf. These islands were taken on 17 October, and Columbia sailed on to give gunfire cover to the main landings three days later. But as the landings proceeded, the Japanese fleet sailed south to give battle, and on the night of 24 October, its southern force entered Leyte Gulf through Surigao Strait. Attacks by motor torpedo boats and destroyers on the Japanese force opened this phase of the decisive battle for Leyte Gulf. Columbia with other cruisers had joined the old battleships and lay in wait. In a classical maneuver, the American ships "crossed the T" of the Japanese column, and opened heavy gunfire which sank the battleship Yamashiro, and forced the heavily damaged cruiser Mogami and other units to retire. Toward dawn, Columbia sped to deliver the final blows which sank destroyer Asagumo, crippled in earlier attacks.^[4] Columbia then joined the Battle off Cape Engaño with sister ships Cleveland, Montpelier, and Denver.

After replenishing at Manus early in November, Columbia returned to Leyte Gulf to protect reinforcement convoys from air attack. In December, operating from Kossol Roads in the Palaus, she covered Army landings on Mindoro, and on 14 December, lost four of her men when a 5-inch (127 mm) gun misfired during an air attack.^[4] These were Columbia's first casualties of the war.

On 1 January 1945, Columbia sailed for the landings in Lingayen Gulf and on 6 January, as pre-invasion bombardments were getting underway, Japanese kamikaze attacks began. Columbia suffered a near miss by a kamikaze and was then struck on her port quarter by a second. The plane and its bomb penetrated two decks before exploding, killing 13 (including 3 survivors of the USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79) who had been rescued two days earlier after their ship was sunk following a kamikaze attack) and wounding 44 men, putting her aft turrets out of action, and setting the ship afire. Prompt flooding of two magazines prevented further explosions, and impressive damage control measures enabled Columbia to complete her bombardment with her two operative forward turrets, and remain in action to give close support to underwater demolition teams. Ammunition was removed from the after magazines to refill the forward magazines; much of this was done by hand. On the morning of the landings, 9 January, as Columbia lay close inshore and so surrounded by landing craft that she was handicapped in maneuver, she was again struck by a kamikaze, knocking out six gun directors and a gun mount.^[5] 24 men were killed and 97 wounded, but short-handed as she was, Columbia again put out fires, repaired damage, and continued her bombardment and fire support. Columbia sailed that night, guarding a group of unloaded transports. Her crew's accomplishments in saving their ship and carrying out their mission without interruption were recognized with the Navy Unit Commendation for this operation.^[4]

Columbia received emergency repairs at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, and sailed on to an overhaul on the west coast, returning to Leyte on 16 June. Three days later, she sailed for Balikpapan, Borneo, off which she lay from 28 June, guarding minesweeping which preceded the invasion of the island on 1 July. She covered the landing of Australian troops, and gave them gunfire support through the next day, sailing then to join Task Force 95 (TF 95) in its repeated sweeps against Japanese shipping in the East China Sea.

Post-war service edit

At the close of the war, she carried inspection parties to Truk, the important Japanese base bypassed during the war, and carried Army passengers between Guam, Saipan, and Iwo Jima until sailing for home on 31 October.^[4]

After calling on the west coast, Columbia arrived at Philadelphia on 5 December for overhaul and service training Naval Reserve men until 1 July 1946. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Philadelphia on 30 November 1946, and sold for scrapping on 18 February 1959. The tug that towed Columbia to the breakers, Curtis Bay Towing's Triton, had been one of the tugs present at her launching 18 years earlier.^[4]

In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation, Columbia received 10 battle stars for World War II service.^[4]

Notes edit

Citations edit

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

• Friedman, Norman (1980). "United States of America". In Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 86–166. ISBN 978-0-87021-913-9.
• Friedman, Norman (1984). U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-739-5.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
• Smith, Peter C. (2014). Kamikaze: To Die for the Emperor. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 9781781593134.
• Stern, Gregory N. (5 March 2020). "Columbia VI (CL-56)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 November 2023.

• Photo gallery of USS Columbia at NavSource Naval History
• Cleveland class light cruisers US Cruisers List: US Light/Heavy/AntiAircraft Cruisers, Part 2
• USS Columbia (CL-56) HistoryofWar.org
• "Cruisers Are A Tough Breed." Popular Mechanics, November 1945, pp. 17–21, article based on wartime logs.