Remembering USS San Diego at Christmastime

USS San Diego as Pacific Fleet flagship before the American entry into the war.  Note the Christmas tree on her forecastle. (NavSource Online. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Collection of Thomas P. Naughton, 1973)

United States Ship San Diego was the only large man-of-war lost by the United States Navy in World War One. 

USS San Diego was first commissioned as USS California on August 1, 1907. (NavSource Online/ Collection of Darryl Baker) 

San Diego was one of the Pennsylvania-class cruisers and displaced approximately 15,000 tons fully outfitted.  Her main batteries were comprised of four 8-inch rifles and between twelve to fourteen 6-inch rapid fire guns.  Along with twenty-two 3 inch guns and various other secondary armaments, the ship was outfitted with two 18-inch submerged torpedo tubes.  She also wore a belt of armor six inches thick and up to nine inches thick in the conning tower.  On September 1, 1914, she was renamed San Diego in order for her name to be given to a new, larger vessel.



California sailed as part of President Roosevelt’s “Great White Fleet” during the Pacific Ocean portion of the voyage. (NavSource Online)

San Diego photographed from an airplane in San Diego harbor, California. (Naval Historical Center photograph. Collection of Thomas P. Naughton, 1973)

On July 29, 1917, three months after the United States declared war on Germany, San Diego entered the Atlantic Ocean bound for Hampton Roads. She briefly served as the flagship for Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet, and on August 19, 1917, Captain Harley H. Christy was given command.  San Diego held a perfect record with all the ships she was assigned to escort through the submarine-infested North Atlantic without mishaps.

On the morning of July 19, 1918, she was bound from the Portsmouth Naval Yard to New York where it was to undertake yet another convoy escort voyage.  Many of the Sailors on board, wanting to take advantage of their limited time in New York, had already changed into their liberty uniforms.  Sometime around 10am, a lookout aboard the ship spotted what was believed to be a periscope in the water.  The gun crews quickly responded by firing at the object until it was no longer observed.  This marked the first time San Diego fired her guns at a suspected enemy force.

The cruiser continued to steam toward New York making approximately 15 knots in a zig-zag style pattern when at 11:05 am the ship was rocked by a massive explosion on the port side.  Capt. Christy was in the wheel house when hit and assumed the ship had been torpedoed.  He sounded the ship to quarters and ordered gun crews to fire on anything resembling a periscope in the water.  Twenty-two year old Sailor George F. Jarrett recalled, “After we were hit there was a great outburst of firing.  Every gun on the boat began to shoot at targets in the water, in case there might be a submarine.  There was a constant rattle of shots for several minutes.  I saw a barrel blown to pieces, but do not know whether the sub was hit or not.” 

Crew members abandon USS San Diego after striking a mine believed to be from the German submarine U-156 off Fire Island, New York, on July 19, 1918. (Painting by Francis Muller, Naval Historical Center Photograph, courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC.)

Capt. Christy ordered the ship to shoal water immediately, however the blast had disabled both engines and the areas below the water line were rapidly filling with water.  Approximately ten minutes after striking the mine, the ship began to list to port.  The captain issued the order to abandon ship with the exception of the gun crews who stayed in position to continue to engage any suspected enemy submarines.  The larger boat cranes were non-operational due to failed electrical winches.  The life rafts, whale boats, and dinghies were launched by hand.  These, along with mess tables, benches, hammocks, and lumber, comprised the floating equipment upon which the crew abandoned ship. 

The officers and men left the ship in expert order while the gun crews continued to engage targets until the list on the ship was such that the starboard guns were pointing up into the air and the port guns were below the water line and rapidly flooding.  The crews fired an additional 20 to 30 shots at mysterious targets in the ocean until they too were forced to abandon the ship at their captain’s orders.  True to naval traditions, Capt. Christy remained on board the ship until the end and was reportedly the last person into the water.  The cruiser is reported to have floated bottom-up briefly before slipping beneath the sea. 

George Dewey Neal, serving on board San Diego when it sank, recounted his ordeal once the ship sank.  “There were not enough life rafts so some had to hold on to the rafts.  We were in the water some four hours when a freighter came by and picked us up.  They carried us to New York where we were put on a battle ship.  We went from there to Norfolk, VA.  I was in Norfolk when the Armistice was signed.” 

Initial reports of the sinking of San Diego by the New York Times estimated “probably 40 lives lost.”  The official Navy investigation, however, concluded that only six sailors were killed and three to six more injured.  Three sailors were killed immediately upon the explosion.  C.E. Sims was on the bridge when the explosion occurred and later recalled the following, “…the smokestacks broke loose, one of them fatally crushing a sailor in the water.  Another crew member died when a life raft fell on his head.  A sixth sailor drowned after becoming trapped inside the crow’s nest.”

U-155, like U-156, was a large-cargo-carrying submarine before the war and was pressed into service with the Kaiserliche Marine in February 1917.  Unlike U-156, she survived the war and is seen here on display in London after the German surrender in 1918. (Wikipedia) 

The official Naval Court of Inquiry concluded that the sinking of San Diego had been caused by an external mine, probably laid by the German U-Boat U-156.  The U-boat is credited with sinking 36 vessels in the Atlantic before she succumbed to the same fate as San Diego.  The submarine is assumed to have struck a mine and went down with all hands somewhere between Scotland and Norway.  

San Diego is currently a popular dive site as she rests just 11 miles from Fire Island inlet, Long Island, New York in approximately 115 feet of water.  The cruiser rests upside down and many of the 3-inch guns can still be seen protruding from their mounts, just as the gunners left them in 1918. 

Pencil drawing of USS San Diego as she appears today off Fire Island, New York (njscuba.net) 

Story by Hampton Roads Naval Museum Educator Joseph Miechle. 

Battleship Gunnery at the Battle of Surigao Strait

This gunnery trophy plaque off USS West Virginia (BB-48) hangs in our World War II gallery. As can be seen on the plaque, West Virginia won it five times in the first ten years after it was commissioned in December 1923. Although the plaque dates from the interwar period, the sailors of West Virginia lived up to their ship’s tradition during WWII. Built at Newport News right after WWI, it was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Rebuilt and brought back into service, the ship was part of the invasion fleet at Leyte Gulf in October 1944. Sailing alongside it were several other survivors of Pearl Harbor, including other Newport News-built battleships USS Maryland (BB-46) and USS Pennsylvania (BB-38).

In October 1944, the Japanese launched an all-out naval assault on the invasion fleet in Leyte Gulf. Their plan had multiple moving parts which led to problems. The Japanese divided their fleet into three sections. First a diversion force in the north would draw the main American force (under Halsey) away from the invasion fleet. Then two fleets would deploy in a pincer formation to attack the vulnerable landing and supply ships. The southern force (divided into two parts) was to head through the Surigao Strait.

Navy planes spotted and attacked the first part of the southern force under Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura on the morning of October 24 as it cruised south of the Philippine island of Negros. The detection of this force allowed Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf, in charge of bombardment/fire support for the invasion fleet, to set a trap for when the enemy force entered Surigao Strait that night. First the Japanese fleet had to make it through PT (patrol torpedo) boat attacks, then a crossfire of more torpedoes launched from destroyers, before having to deal with both a line of cruisers and a line of battleships, which would be maneuvering in the classic naval tactic of “crossing the T.” This tactic would allow for the greatest number of guns to bear on the Japanese while their return fire was largely limited to the lead ship. Besides West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the American battleship force included two other Pearl Harbor survivors: USS Tennessee (BB-43) and USS California (BB-44). The sixth battleship included in the force was the Newport News-built battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41), which was doing escort duty near Iceland when the war started.

As the Japanese fleet headed into Surigao Strait, the torpedoes from the PT boats missed, but the destroyers had much better success. The U.S. destroyers were deadly with their torpedo attack, as they sank the battleship Fuso (one of two in the first striking force) and a destroyer, crippled another destroyer, and damaged another destroyer enough that it limped back the way it came. The flagship Yamashiro was also damaged but continued on toward the strait, along with the cruiser Mogami and a remaining destroyer. The second half of the Japanese force (under Adm. Shima) was nearly 30 miles behind, as strict radio silence had prevented close coordination. 

As opposed to their predecessors who earned the gunnery plaque, the sailors onboard West Virginia were aided by a new fire control radar system (Mk 8) which enabled them to detect the enemy at a great distance. In the early morning hours of October 25, the ship’s radar picked up the Japanese force at 42,000 yards (nearly 24 miles, or the length of 140 football fields). By the time they had approached to 30,000 yards, the gunnery crews had a firing solution, and when the Japanese ships approached to about 26,000 yards (nearly 15 miles) away, the 16-inch guns opened fire shortly before 0400 on October 25.

Mogami was badly damaged at the Battle of Midway, so the two aft turrets were removed and it was converted to an “aircraft cruiser.”

Yamashiro was the focus of most of the fire emanating from the American battleships and cruisers. It was hit numerous times and quickly caught on fire. In addition to the gunfire pouring in, the Japanese battleship was struck by more torpedoes, and it sank less than 30 minutes after West Virginia opened fire. Mogami was also badly damaged and on fire. In roughly 15 minutes of engagement, the U.S. battleships alone fired 285 (16 or 14-inch) armor piercing shells. West Virginia expended near half of the armor piercing ammunition, firing 93 rounds from its eight 16-inch guns. The old battle wagons resurrected from Pearl Harbor had exacted their revenge on the Japanese navy.

Shima’s force arrived too late to assist Nishimura’s ships and quickly fled the scene. Some U.S. cruisers and destroyers pursued them, sinking another destroyer and causing fatal damage to Mogami. The Japanese thrust from the south had utterly failed, but the northern part of the pincer was still a major threat, although Adm. Halsey inexplicably ignored it. The consequences of this decision would be readily apparent when the sun came up east of Samar on October 25, 1944. 

USS Nimitz Task Force Homecoming, 1980

This is a picture of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) arriving at Naval Station Norfolk on Memorial Day, 1980, with her escorts USS California (CGN-36) and USS Texas (CGN-39). With the stream of small boats, fire boats, and tug boats, this homecoming was the largest homecoming celebration since World War II. President Jimmy Carter and many members of his cabinet came to Naval Station Norfolk to meet the task force's sailors in person. 

An ad that appeared in Soundings newspaper,
encouraging Hampton Roads' small boat owners
to greet the Nimitz task force home. 

The reason for the huge, public display of support was because of the events that proceeded the homecoming.  The all-nuclear-powered task force left Norfolk in mid-1979, expecting nothing more than the usual Mediterranean cruise.  The task force changed course for the Indian Ocean due to the 1979 Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis.

While in the Indian Ocean, the task force not only had to be prepared to launch combat operations against Iran, but also needed to keep military units of the Soviet Union at bay. Soviet bombers and ships frequently attempted to get close to the task force to spy on and harass the Americans.

The Carter Administration then authorized Operation Eagle Claw, an attempt to rescue the American hostages being held in Tehran. With members of Delta Force and U.S. Army rangers on board, helicopters launched from Nimitz to a spot in central Iran labeled "Desert One." Through a series of mishaps that resulted eight American causalities and the loss of a helicopter and one C-130 aircraft, the operation was called off.

In addition to Eagle Claw's failure, the task force had been at sea for over 140 days before finally being relieved. To show support for their hard work and dedication, Hampton Roads made an all-out effort to welcome the weary task force home.

Pearl Harbor Battleships, Part II

Today, on the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, we present USS California (BB-44), Oklahoma (BB-37), and Arizona (BB-39), three more battleships stationed in Pearl Harbor that also had a direct tie to the Hampton Roads area.  

USS California (BB-44)

USS California in Hampton Roads making preparations

to leave for the West Coast, 1939

Because Mare Island Navy Yard built California and the ship conducted most of her operations on the West Coast, Battleship Number 44's time in Hampton Roads was considerably shorter than the rest.  In 1939, the Navy concentrated the fleet in the Atlantic both for a showing at the World's Fair in New York and for a major fleet exercise ("Fleet Problem XX") in the Caribbean.  California left San Diego to be a part of this fleet concentration. 

After conducting their exercises, the fleet anchored in Hampton Roads.  It was on April 20, 1939, that the Navy unexpectedly ordered the ships to depart the region post haste and return to the West Coast.  In September 1939, the fleet conducted another major exercise off the coast of Southern California. 

The A.P. Wire photo caption reads: "Sailors of the U.S.S.
California, neat and trim for prospective review, lined up on the deck after order for a surprise journey, an immediate return to the Pacific Coast."

USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
USS Oklahoma was built in New York as part of the "Second to None" fleet expansion program.  Upon completion, the Navy assigned her to Hampton Roads for the duration of World War I.  In Hampton Roads, she escorted convoys across the Atlantic to Europe. 

After the war, she remained in the region for several fleet exercises and naval reviews before being sent to Philadelphia for modernizations allowed under the Washington Naval Treaty.  After completing this program, she returned to Naval Operating Base Norfolk.  In 1939, the Navy redeployed her to Hawaii.


USS Oklahoma during the 1927 Naval Review in Hampton Roads

USS Oklahoma in the Elizabeth River, downtown Norfolk, 1939.

USS Arizona (BB-39)
The third ship to present today is USS Arizona.  Battleship number 39 spent much of her post-World War I career in Hampton Roads before being deployed for the first time to the Pacific in the mid-1920s.  Like many of the older battleships, the Navy selected her to be modernized (as opposed to outright scrapping) and sent her back to Hampton Roads.
Between 1929 and 1931, workers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard upgraded  several of Arizona's systems.   The upgrades were similar to ones Yard workers gave to Nevada.  This included two-inches of armor on the deck; anti-torpedo bulges along the side of the ship; a new fire control system; the removal of the old-fashioned cage observation towers; a new steam-launched catapult for the ship's aircraft; and brand new turbines and boilers that had been originally slated for the battleship Washington (BB-47).  Fortunately for historians, a Navy photographer took some very good pictures of the ship during this overhaul. 

Robert Foster Collection and USS Shawmut (CM-4)

One of many cartoons collected by BM3 Robert Foster

We recently received several items that belong to BM3 Robert Foster, a sailor who served on board the Norfolk-based mine layer USS Shawmut (CM-4) from 1918 to 1922. Shawmut most famously served in the 1918 North Sea Mine Barrage during World War I. When not laying mines, she served as a seaplane tender for the fleet. The Navy later changed the name of the vessel to Oglala to avoid confusion with USS Chamount (AP-5).

Shawmut at her home pier at NOB Hampton Roads
(now Naval Station Norfolk).

Foster took several photographs of Shawmut's time in the Caribbean, when the vessel was deployed to Panama for the Atlantic Fleet's 1921-22 winter fleet exercises. Foster also took several pictures of the other ships participating  in the exercises, particularly the battleships.  He also collected newspaper cartoons about the Navy (see above) and kept them in a scrapbook.

Shawmut's sailors load up mines while
at the Yorktown Mine Depot
(now Yorktown Naval Weapons Station).

Foster took these images of the Atlantic Fleet's battleships during the 1922 winter exercises. In this set are ships that would be at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941: USS Tennessee (BB-43),USS California (BB-44), USS Arizona (BB-39), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), and the newly built hospital ship USS Relief (AH-1).