- USS Boise (CL-47)
USS "Boise" (CL-47) was a
United States Navy "Brooklyn"-classlight cruiser . The cruiser was named for Boise, the capital city of the state ofIdaho .History
"Boise" was launched
3 December 1936 byNewport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company ,Newport News, Virginia , sponsored by MissSalome Clark , daughter of Governor Clark ofIdaho ; and commissioned12 August 1938 , CaptainBenjamin Vaughan McCandlish in command.In February 1939, following a shakedown cruise to Monrovia,
Liberia , andCape Town ,Union of South Africa , "Boise" joined Division 9, Cruisers, Battle Force, atSan Pedro, California . Until November 1941 she operated alternately off the west coast and inHawaii an waters. She then escorted a convoy toManila ,Philippine Islands ; arriving4 December 1941 .The outbreak of war in the Philippines,
8 December 1941 , found "Boise" off Cebu. She joined TF 5 in theEast Indies , but on21 January 1942 struck an uncharted shoal inSape Strait and had to retire toColombo ,Ceylon ;Bombay ,India ; andMare Island Navy Yard for repairs. Her repairs completed, she sailed22 June 1942 to escort aconvoy toAuckland ,New Zealand . She then returned toPearl Harbor and during31 July –10 August 1942 conducted a raiding cruise inJapan ese waters as a feint to draw attention away from theGuadalcanal landings. In August she escorted a convoy to theFiji andNew Hebrides Islands. During14 September –18 September she helped cover the landing of Marine reinforcements on Guadalcanal. In the succeeding hard fighting she was hit by Japanese cruiser fire in the magazine which killed everyone near the 1, 2, and 3 turrets during the American victory of Cape Esperance causing 107 fatalities. Under the command of Captain "Mike" Moran, who was later awarded theNavy Cross for his leadership during the battle, the Boise made her way toPhiladelphia Navy Yard where she underwent repairs (19 November 1942 -20 March 1943 )."Boise" departed
8 June 1943 for theMediterranean , arriving atAlgiers ,Algeria ,21 June . Between10 July and18 August 1943 she acted as a cover and fire support ship during the landing onSicily . In September she took part in the Italian mainland landings atTaranto (9 September –10 September ) andSalerno (12 September –19 September ). She returned to New York15 November 1943 and once again steamed to the South Pacific, arriving atMilne Bay ,New Guinea ,31 December .During January-September 1944 she took part in operations along the northern shore of New Guinea, including:
Madang -Alexishafen bombardment (25 January –26 January ); Humboldt Bay landings (22 April );Wakde -Sawar bombardment (29 April –30 April );Wakde -Toem landings (15 May –25 May );Biak landings (25 May –10 June );Noemfoor landings (1 July –2 July );Cape Sansapor landings (27 July –31 August ); and the occupation ofMorotai (1 September –30 September ). The cruiser moved northward as the battle front advanced into the Philippines taking part in: Leyte invasion (20 October –24 October );Battle of Surigao Strait (25 October );Mindoro landings (12 December –17 December ); Leyte-Mindoro covering action (26 December –29 December );Lingayen Gulf landings, with GeneralDouglas MacArthur embarked (9 January –13 January 1945 );Luzon covering force (14 January –31 January );Bataan -Corregidor occupation (13 February –17 February ); andZamboanga landings (8 March –12 March ). She then moved toBorneo for the Tarakan landings (27 April –3 May ). During3 June –16 June she carried General MacArthur on a 35,000 mile tour of the Central and Southern Philippines andBrunei Bay ,Borneo , and then returned to San Pedro, California, arriving7 July .The cruiser remained in the San Pedro area undergoing overhaul and training until October. She sailed
3 October for the east coast, arriving at New York20 October . "Boise" remained there until decommissioned1 July 1946 ."Boise" received eleven
battle star s for her service inWorld War II .Service in the Argentine Navy (1951-1978)
She was sold to
Argentina 11 January 1951 along with her sister USS "Phoenix", where they were commissioned as theARA Nueve de Julio ("9 July ", Argentina's Independence Day) andARA General Belgrano respectively. During her years as an Argentinian warship she took part of the so calledRevolución Libertadora , shelling some oil depots and other targets around the coastal city of Mar del Plata, onSeptember 19 ,1955 . She remained in service with the Argentine Navy until 1978, when she was decommissioned and towed to Japan for scrapping.Notes
References
*
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b7/boise-i.htmExternal links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-b/cl47.htm history.navy.mil: Official Photos of USS "Boise"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/047/04047.htm navsource.org: USS "Boise"]
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