Helena (CA 75) - Naval Cruise Book

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1945. ..THE HEAVY CRUISER Prompted bj the iak ••• War Boodi throughout the State i Montana bj the , hi , n- ..i Helena, tl - Navj Department aamed the beai j cnrieet ' » -7.V the I .S S Helena. She was launched n n 2H. 1945 .in.) i-(iiiiini--Miiii l ii September I. 1945. Said i be one of the moal powerful cruiaen afloat, ihe baa i displacement ofoi er 13,000 ' Inn-, i- 674 feel long and baa i beam of ,,wr 69 feet, [he Helena i- armed with nine eight-inch guns, twelve five-inch un-. »itli .in additional batter] «•( thirteen WMM tnti-aircraft mount-. She can develop 120,000 shaft ht r-i| i N fr. tarn.- tour boilers, and ii capable l m-Aing $3 kimt-. She wai ■ participant in the Victor) P r esi dential Naval Review at New t.rk t ii on October 27, 1945. titer undergoing a ri iil training program in I arilih.an waters, she returned i the lt -i n Navj Yard ami prepared l r ■ round-the-world cruise. The good-will tt.ur included various ports in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon and China. Inter ■persed with i-it- 1 Tsingtao, llt.ni: K..n-. Shanghai and maneuvers at sea, the China waters tmir laated until March 1947. homeward bound pennanl «»t almosl Mmmi feel heralded her return tt. the I nited States. li.r undergoing a complete overhaul, followed bj weeks of intensive training, the Helena was designated, in Januarj 1948, as Bagship of Cruiser Division Three. In |»ril 1948, the Helena again operated in I ai I astern waters, berthing in Shanghai Dur- ing tagustof 1948 ahe won the Nav) Battle I tli. i. in tward and i ! •- Marjoric Sterrett

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The second American warship to bear the name of Helena, was a light cruiser (CL-50), built at the New York Navy Yard and launched in August, 1938. A near dup- licate of the Brooklyn class, a sister ship, the Saint Louis was built at the same time in Newport News, Virginia. This Helena was 614 feet in length overall, 61 feet 6 inches in breadth, driven by geared turbines of 100,000 shaft horsepower total, on four shafts, and could rate a speed of about 32.5 knots. She was originally armed with fifteen six-inch and eight five-inch guns. One of the many ships damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor, she completed re- pairs and played an important part in the Naval Warfare of the Pacific in the Second World War. Outstanding engagements in which she distinguished herself included the Battle of Cape Esperance of October 1942, and the Battle of Guadalcanal of November 1942. Assisting the occupation in the Sol- omon Island Campaign, she was torpedoed and sunk during the first battle of Kula Gulf off New Georgia Island in the early morning of July 6, 1943. She was later awarded the Navy Unit Citation posthumously, for gallantry in action during the Solomon Island Campaign. A LIGHT CRUISER. ..1938 ii

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Battleship Fund Award for being the best cruiser in performance of duty for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1948. In September of 1948, the Helena toured various ports of Japan until November, when she was once again homeward bound to Long Beach. The first months of 1949 included reserve cruises and a scheduled overhaul period, that brought about, among other changes, the removal of catapults and the installation of a wooden deck all the way aft of Turret III. June 13, 1949, she embarked Naval Reserve Midshipmen and commenced a voyage through southern waters that included the Canal Zone and crossing the Equator. In October 1949 the Helena sailed for Opera- tion MIKI; a joint Army-Navy Amphibious Training Exercise Landing on Oahu, Hawaii. The Helena operated as a support vessel for a Fast Carrier Task Group and as a Fire Support Ship during the maneuvers. She then sailed for the tour of duty in such ports in the Far East as Hong Kong, the Philip- pines, and the Japanese Islands. She com- pleted her tour of duty by celebrating Armed Forces Day, May 20, 1950, at Yoko- hama. The next day she sailed for Long Beach stopping at Guam and Pearl Harbor en route. When the unexpected North Korean ag- gression broke out in late June, the Helena immediately recalled her crew from leave. Replenishing and rearming, the ship sailed on July 5, 1950, for duty in the Korean waters. Stopping by way of Pearl Harbor and Yokosuka en route, her duty was changed to a Formosa Strait Patrol. Shortly afterward, she proceeded up the East Coast of Korea and during the ensuing months, engaged in many bombardment missions and amphibious assaults, in support of United Nations Troops. At one time she was flagship of the Commander Naval Blockade and Escort Force Far East. During this tour of duty, Sasebo was a primary port of replenishment and liberty for the ship. Relieved in October 1950, the Helena returned to the United States for yard availability and overhaul at San Fran- cisco Naval Shipyard.