USS Birmingham (CL-62)

The USS Birmingham (CL-62) underway on February 20, 1943

The USS Birmingham (CL-62), a light cruiser named for the city of Birmingham, was a Cleveland class light cruiser laid down at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company on February 17, 1941 and launched on March 20, 1942 by Hattie Green, the wife of the Mayor Cooper Green. She was commissioned on January 29, 1943. The Birmingham was one of the "fightingest" ships of the Navy and suffered heavy damage on at least three occasions. After the war's end, the Birmingham was decommissioned, and ultimately scrapped at Long Beach, California in 1959.

Characteristics

The USS Birmingham (CL-62) was 610 feet 1 inch long with a 66 foot 4 inch beam and a 25 foot draft. She displaced 10,000 tons and had a cruising speed of 32.5 knots propelled by 4 screws. Her crew complement was 1,200 officers and enlisted men and she was armed with twelve 6" guns, twelve 5" guns, 28 40mm guns, 10 20 mm guns, and was armored with aircraft armor with a 5" belt, 6" turret armor, 2" deck and 5" conning tower armor.

Service

Following her shakedown cruise the Birmingham was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Departing Norfolk, Virginia on June 2, 1943, she steamed to the Mediterranean and gave gunfire support during the invasion of Sicily (July 10-26, 1943). Returning to the United States on August 8, she was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet and arrived at Pearl Harbor on September 6, 1943.

Joining the fast carrier task force screen, she took part in the raids on Tarawa (September 18, 1943) and Wake Island (October 5-6, 1943). At the Solomons, she took part in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (November 8-9), 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. During the daytime, Japanese planes hit the Birmingham with two bombs and a torpedo, which kept her out of the night surface battle with the IJN fleet that followed. The Birmingham retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted until February 18, 1944, and then she rejoined the Pacific Fleet.

Assigned to Task Force 57, she took part in the Battle of Saipan ([June 14- August 4, 1944); the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19-20); Battle of Tinian (July 20-August 1); Battle of Guam (July 21); and Philippine Islands raids (September 9-24). She then served with Task Force 38 during the Okinawa raid (October 10), northern Luzon and Formosa raids (October 15, 18-19), and the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 24). During the latter she suffered great topside damage from explosions on board the aircraft carrier USS Princeton while courageously attempting to aid that stricken vessel. The Birmingham retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted from November 1944 to January 1945.

Rejoining the Pacific Fleet, the cruiser supported the Battle of Iwo Jima (March 4-5) and Battle of Okinawa (March 25-May 5). On May 4, after fighting off three attacks, she was damaged for a third time when a Japanese Kamikaze plane hit her forward. Returning to Pearl Harbor, she underwent repairs between May 28 and August 1, 1945.

The Birmingham received nine battle stars for her World War II service.

Retirement

The USS Birmingham rejoined the 5th Fleet at Okinawa on August 26, 1945, and then in November steamed to Brisbane, Australia. She returned to San Francisco on March 22, 1946 and was taken out of commission and placed in reserve there on January 2, 1947. She was then stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959 and then sold for scrap on November 12 of that year. She traveled to Long Beach, California in December and was subsequently dismantled.

In September 2006, eighteen crewmen from the USS Birmingham and their families held a reunion in Birmingham, visiting Vulcan Park and the Alabama Veterans Memorial Park.

See also

See USS Birmingham for other ships of the same name.

References

• "USS Birmingham (CL-62)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Aug 2006, 16:55 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 Sep 2006 [1].
• Birmingham II Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

External links

• history.navy.mil: USS Birmingham
• USS Birmingham at navsource.org