Boston (CAG 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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i 1 K J i m ln gg 1 Tradition is an adage throughout the United States Navy, and this is best reflected in the names the Navy gives its fighting ships. One name which has been prominent in naval history since 1776 is that of the capital city of Massachusetts — BOSTON. The U.S.S. BOSTON ' S honored story began in the year of the Decla- ration of Independence, 1776. In that year, the first BOSTON, an armed gondola, was launched at Whitehall, New York. She served during the lighting on Lake Champlain with the Uovulutionary Navy. The year 1776 also saw the second BOSTON enter service in the U. S. Navy. A 24-gun frigate, she served as a privateer, challenging the world ' s greatest naval power. Great Britain, on the high seas. She cruised in European waters during the Revolu- tion, taking four prizes, including the British frigates IIMS FOX and IIMS POLE. The third BOSTON lived up to the fine reputations set by her predeces- sors during the undeclared war with France and also against the Royal Navy. Built from finances raised by the citizens of Boston in 1799, she also took part in the Tripoli tan Wars. A 32-gun frigate, she was the first copper-bottomed ship built in America, mainly due to the efforts of Paul Revere in persuading the Navy to build such a ship. On October 12th, 1800, she encountered the French corvette LE BERCEAU, and defeated her in a long, hard engagement. The third BOSTON served her country until 1802. In 1825 the fourth BOSTON entered the Navy. Built in the Boston Navy Yard, she served as an important unit of the Mediterranean, Pacific, East Indian and Brazilian squadrons as a sloop of war for 21 years. The fifth BOSTON, a protected or steel cruiser, was commissioned in 1887. She served with the Atlantic Fleet until 1892, when she entered the Asiatic Squadron in the Phillip- pines. On May 1st, 1898, she fought with Admiral Dewey ' s forces during the Battle of Manila Bay. The victory won there ensured the United States control of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. From 1899 to 1946 she continued to uphold the BOSTON tradition by serving first as a training ship, and later as a receiving ship. ' miiii: i

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HISTORY of ships named BOSTON k linil

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BOSTON ' S story took on new luster in 1943 when CA-69, a heavy cruiser of the Baltimore class, was commis- sioned at Quincy, Mass., on 30 June The sixth ship to bear the name of BOSTON, she entered the Navy dur- ing the global war, carrying a proud heritage into the fighting in the Pacific. Serving with the famed Fast Carrier Forces, Pacific, CA-69 pro- vided anti-aircraft cover for the air- craft carriers of the Third and Fifth Fleets. Her eight and five inch guns also pounded enemy-held beaches dur- ing many of the Pacific campaigns of 1944-1945. The sixth BOSTON was present during the ofi ' ensive action at the Marshalls and the Marianas, during the invasion of Iwo Jima, during the Okinawa and Philippine campaigns and at the Tokyo Bay surrender on September 2nd, 1945. She returned to the United States on February 10th, 1946, proudly displaying ten battle ribbons for action in the far- flung Pacific Theater. Decommissioned in 1946, BOSTON was taken out of the mothball fleet at Bremerton, Washington in Febru- ary, 1952 and towed via the Panama Canal to Camden, New Jersey for conversion to a guided missile cruiser — the world ' s first. The Terrier missile battery was added during BOSTON ' S conversion, replacing her number 3 gun turret, and 3-inch guns replaced her World War II 40mm ahti-aircraft battery. After these and other moderaizations, she was recommissioned as CAG-1 on November 1st, 1955. Since her recommissioning USS BOSTON has served with the U. S. Second and Sixth Fleets in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Al- though no longer in her grim camou- flage paint of World War II days, she still carries on the proud heritage and traditions of her five predecessors. Playing multiple roles in the mod- ern Navy, BOSTON is able to act as a powerful anti-aircraft ship, to pro- vide gunfire support for amphibious landings, and to perform as a fleet or force flagship. As an anti-aircraft defense ship, BOSTON helps to protect Naval Task Forces, such as attack aircraft carrier striking forces, amphibious ships loaded with Marines on their way to distant shores. Naval logistic and supply ships on which we depend so much for our mobility, and the vital convoys so familiar during World War II. This mission incorporates three phases of air defense. For the first BOSTON is fitted with long range radar and communications equipment. This enables her to con- trol and direct defending Navy planes from aircraft carriers to intercept and destroy threatening enemy planes at great distances from the fleet. For the second phase BOSTON is equipped with the deadly Terrier anti- aircraft guided missile. Terrier flies at twice the speed of sound to inter- cept enemy airplanes which may have slipped past the long-range cordon of defending planes. For close-in air defense, BOSTON has three and five inch guns, capable of throwing a hail of bursting flak into the air. BOSTON ' S five and eight inch guns fulfill her combat mission as a sup- port ship for amphibious landings. The big guns soften up the beaches before the Marines land, and act as artillery during the early stages of their advance inland. These same guns might be em- ployed against enemy warships or enemy merchant shipping either while on patrol as a surface raider, or act- ing as part of a blockading force. BOSTON ' S modern and extensive electronics equiiiment, especially that in the field of communications, makes her well suited to act as a flagship for almost any Naval operation. Thus, BOSTON is a versatile weapon possessing capabilities wliich make her suitable for almost any type of task force operations.