USS Salt lake city

The USS Salt Lake City (CA-25): A Heavy Cruiser’s Enduring Legacy in World War II

Naval warfare underwent significant transformation during World War II which led to the rise of carriers and air power dominance over battleships while the USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), a Pensacola-class heavy cruiser, established its own distinguished legacy. When war correspondent Robert J. Casey dubbed the ship "Swayback Maru" due to its weathered silhouette during its commissioning in 1929 it became a steadfast participant in the U.S. Navy’s Pacific campaign. The USS Salt Lake City demonstrated its resilience by logging 300,000 miles across 11 major battles and earning 11 battle stars along with a Navy Unit Commendation before participating in atomic tests in 1946. The USS Salt Lake City served as an escort for the Doolittle Raid and engaged Japanese cruisers at Cape Esperance and Komandorski Islands during crucial battles of WWII. The Salt Lake City stood out because its innovative design and mission adaptability combined with crew tenacity transformed a treaty-era cruiser into an emblem of perseverance through adversity.

Design and Early Years

The USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) was born from the interwar naval arms competition while adhering to the Washington Naval Treaty's 1922 requirement that limited cruisers to 10,000 tons. The American Brown Boveri Electric Corporation located in Camden, New Jersey began constructing her on June 9, 1927 and she was launched on January 23, 1929 with Helen Budge as sponsor before her commissioning under Capt. Frederick L. Oliver on December 11, 1929. Frederick L. Oliver. As one of two Pensacola-class cruisers together with USS Pensacola (CA-24) this ship stretched 585 feet 8 inches in length with a 58-foot 1-inch beam and displaced 9,100 tons standard rising to 11,512 tons at full load. Her weaponry featured ten 8-inch/55-caliber guns spread across two triple and two twin turrets while she also had four 5-inch/25-caliber anti-aircraft guns which received upgrades and eight .50-caliber machine guns before gaining eight 21-inch torpedo tubes in 1931. The ship generated 107,000 shaft horsepower from eight White-Forster boilers and four Parsons turbines to attain a top speed of 32.5 knots and maintained a 10,000 nautical miles range at 15 knots which was ideal for Pacific operations.

Her design reflected treaty compromises. She sacrificed defensive armor for enhanced speed and firepower capabilities which resulted in her original classification as a “light cruiser” (CL-25) until the 1930 London Naval Treaty changed the classification of 8-inch gun ships to heavy cruisers (CA-25). The ship featured a sloped armor belt and lightweight aluminum superstructure which made her vulnerable during combat operations. During the prewar years she improved her naval skills by practicing off San Clemente Island and patrolling through the Caribbean and Pacific and completed her preparations for war when she escorted USS Enterprise (CV-6) near Wake Island on December 7, 1941, escaping the devastation of Pearl Harbor.

From the beginning she stood out because of her combination of treaty-based design innovation and prewar preparation. Historian Mark Stille describes the Pensacola-class ships as a daring innovation that maximized firepower within treaty restrictions which provided Salt Lake City the durability needed to survive wartime challenges.

Early War: Raids and the Doolittle Mission

The Salt Lake City entered World War II without experiencing the Pearl Harbor attack because she was steaming alongside Enterprise 200 miles west during the assault. Under Capt. The USS Salt Lake City, led by Capt. Ellis M. Zacharias, sent out scout planes to locate the Japanese fleet but returned to Pearl Harbor fruitlessly on December 8. She initially served under Adm. William Halsey’s Task Force 8 by attacking Japanese-held islands to hinder their expansion. On February 1, 1942, she led the bombardment of Wotje in the Marshall Islands which resulted in the first U.S. shells hitting Japanese territory before other ships and damaged seaplane facilities. On February 24 she demonstrated her gunnery accuracy through a shelling of Wake Island after Japan had taken control of the region although she operated with primitive radar technology.

Her initial major achievement happened during the Doolittle Raid which occurred on April 18, 1942. She escorted USS Hornet (CV-8) with the Enterprise to screen the task force during the launch of 16 B-25 bombers from Hornet which attacked Tokyo delivering a significant morale boost following Pearl Harbor. Together with Northampton (CA-26) and accompanying destroyers she protected the task force from submarine and air attacks which ensured the raid's success. The war correspondent Casey filmed the launches in color aboard the ship which earned the nickname “Swayback Maru” because of its aged appearance. The ship proved her essential value through escort duties despite lacking direct combat encounters.

Her ability to adapt from shore bombardment duties to carrier protection duties distinguished her early war service. She missed Coral Sea action due to late arrival and protected Hawaii during Midway but laid essential groundwork for her future success by adapting to the carrier-focused warfare which Mahan’s theories had not anticipated.

Guadalcanal Campaign: The Battle of Cape Esperance

The Salt Lake City achieved her defining moment during the Guadalcanal Campaign which marked the Allies’ first major offensive in the Pacific. Between August and October 1942 she escorted carriers Saratoga (CV-3), Enterprise, and Wasp (CV-7) during the August 7 landings. She displayed her effectiveness in combat by saving survivors when submarine I-19 sank Wasp on September 15. Her most intense action occurred during the Battle of Cape Esperance which took place from October 11 to 12 in 1942 and unfolded as a nighttime battle off Guadalcanal’s northwest coast.

The task force commanded by Rear Adm. Norman Scott consisting of San Francisco (CA-38), Boise (CL-47), Helena (CL-50), and five destroyers engaged Vice Adm. Aritomo Goto’s fleet which included three cruisers—Aoba, Furutaka, Kinugasa—and two destroyers. At 23: An accidental ignition of her scout plane’s flare exposed the U.S. line momentarily when it happened at 23:30 but Goto misinterpreted this as an intentional signal. At 23: At 23:46 Helena’s radar picked up enemy forces 27,700 yards away and Salt Lake City opened fire at 4,000 yards and hit Aoba with her second salvo. The U.S. fleet executed a successful "crossing the T" maneuver against the Japanese fleet. While Aoba endured 24 hits and Furutaka sank with Goto killed, Salt Lake City suffered three 8-inch hits including an airburst which killed four sailors and wounded 16 more yet managed to avoid critical damage. The battle ended at 00: A rare U.S. night victory occurred at 00:16 with America sinking two Japanese ships while losing just one U.S. destroyer.

Her ability to withstand and inflict damage led to her nickname “The One-Ship Fleet” which demonstrated her remarkable durability. The repairs completed at Pearl Harbor by March 1943 demonstrated her remarkable resilience which stood out during the night-fighting campaign that initially benefited Japan.
Aleutian Campaign: The Battle of the Komandorski Islands

Salt Lake City became part of Task Force 8 commanded by Rear Admiral Charles McMorris in March 1943 to prevent Japanese resupply efforts to Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians. She joined the daytime Battle of the Komandorski Islands which occurred 100 miles west of Attu on March 26. With Richmond (CL-9) and four destroyers, she faced Vice Adm. Boshiro Hosogaya’s superior force: The Japanese force consisted of heavy cruisers Nachi and Maya together with light cruisers Tama and Abukuma and four destroyers that were escorting transports.

At 08: At 08:42 Salt Lake City opened fire on Nachi at 21,000 yards which led to the war's longest gun battle that lasted 3.5 hours. Outgunned, she took multiple hits: At 09:10 an 8-inch shell flooded her forward compartments followed by another at 09:30 which damaged her rudder controls and by 10:00 saltwater in the fuel lines extinguished her boilers and left her dead in the water. Her crew under Capt. Bertram J. Rodgers worked to clean the fuel system while destroyers set up smoke screens. Under Capt. Bertram J. Rodgers' leadership the crew purged the fuel system to restart the engines by 10:50. The ship launched 806 8-inch shells to damage Nachi but sustained nine hits during the engagement which led to five fatalities and twenty-six injuries. The Japanese withdrawal of Hosogaya’s fleet triggered by possible ammunition depletion or erroneous assessment of American forces delivered McMorris operational success by stopping the Japanese transport routes.

The Navy Unit Commendation recognized her survival after being incapacitated for 40 minutes. Her ability to restart during battle showed her uniqueness and demonstrated that treaty cruisers could endure contemporary warfare with competent teams.
Island-Hopping: Gilberts to Okinawa

Salt Lake City moved into the island-hopping campaign after the Aleutians and provided support to amphibious operations through her 8-inch guns. During November 1943 she supported carrier operations in the Gilbert Islands invasion by bombarding Tarawa between November 19 and 20 while preventing torpedo attacks. Between January and February 1944 she destroyed targets on Wotje and Taroa in the Marshalls before she escorted air strikes on Palau, Yap, and Ulithi from March to April. She conducted another bombardment of Wake Island on September 3 which represented a symbolic retaliation.

She defended carriers during the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea in October 1944 at the Battle of Leyte Gulf using her upgraded AA guns consisting of 16 40mm Bofors and 28 20mm Oerlikons to successfully fight off kamikaze planes. Her defining late-war roles came in 1945. She commenced bombardment of Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima on February 16 and continued to support Marines with 676 8-inch rounds until March 9. From March 25 through April to May she launched 2,174 rounds against enemy defenses while enduring kamikaze attacks with her AA weapons becoming vital as Japan escalated its air assaults.

Her ability to transition from escorting carriers to providing gunfire support proved exceptional which enabled Allied forces to press forward unceasingly even though the ship faced age and design constraints.

What Made the Salt Lake City Special?

The Salt Lake City possessed a unique character based on three foundational elements. Her design successfully balanced treaty limitations with firepower and speed but exposed vulnerabilities which nevertheless granted her versatility. Her effective combat longevity during the war relied on her combination of lightweight construction and high-performance armament that discharged more than 8,000 8-inch shots. Her enduring strength became evident during dangerous encounters like the battle of Komandorski where the crew's resourcefulness and engineering sturdiness proved formidable. James D. Hornfischer the historian dubbed her “a ship that refused to die” which her 11 battle stars confirm.

The crew’s resilience transformed their vessel into legendary steel. Zacharias’s initial command leadership and Rodgers’s defiant actions at Komandorski demonstrated their adaptability to night combat operations and kamikaze attacks as well as atomic bomb testing. Following the war she participated in Operation Magic Carpet to bring soldiers back to their homes before she survived two atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946 until she was finally sunk as a target off California coast on May 25, 1948. Her prewar design adaptations proved superior during wartime challenges which led to her exceptional endurance beyond that of newer ships.

Legacy and Reflection

The wreck of Salt Lake City rests 130 miles from Long Beach where it stands as a radioactive testament to history. Her service earned her 11 battle stars during campaigns like Doolittle and Cape Esperance but her achievements remain less known than those of famous carriers while battleships and flattops steal the spotlight. As of March 24, 2025, she reminds us of WWII’s unsung heroes: World War II saw cruisers fighting actively in battle conditions which went beyond the expectations of their original designers. Her essence derives from her resilience which allowed a treaty cruiser to transform into a wartime behemoth through determination and firepower.