St Louis (CL 49) - Naval Cruise Book

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1940, tying up at San Pedro. Her next voyage of consequence nearly a year later, found the St. Louis convoying the U. S. S. Henderson, a transport, to Manila, P. I., by way of Midway, Wake and Guam. War clouds were piling up on the Pacific's horizons, so the St. Louis was ordered to quit the Philippines for the comparative safety of the Hawaiian Islands. Her introduction to the Iapanese two months later constituted a baptism of Hre not only for the cruiser herself but for the planes she carried on her hangar deck. The St. Louis' aviation unit, based ashore at Ford Island at the moment, sent up two planes without rear-seat gunners, which tried to execute gunnery runs on the Iapanese dive bombers. Although that appears to have been the unit's lone attempt at aerial combat, it, nevertheless, has had a part in rolling back the enemy's blanket of conquest. Often operating in close proximity to enemy aircraft and A.A. fire, the pilots from the St. Louis performed effectively in every ac- tion in which their ship took part. Their main function has been anti-submarine patrol and gunfire spotting, and they also have par- ticipated in several searches for survivors at sea. Security rules had just been invoked when the St. Louis was lying in ,Manila harbor in 1941 and her crew was cautioned not to reveal her identity to anyone ashore. In a Manila bar one night a petty oHicer from the U - S. S . Bluclg Hui-uk, a repair vessel, asked a chief electricians mate from the St. Louis the name of his ship. Well . . stammered the chief, stalling as best he could, she's . . . sheis the Mystery Ship. 1 . - The chief was rewarded for his conscientious bit of evasion with a brace of black eyes, and the resultant ribbing and scuttlebuttfspread far and wide the St. Louis' reputation as the Mystery Ship of the United States Fleetf, Her story was told for the first time in the United ,States news- papers in connection with the 1944 observance of Navy Day, so the St. Louis no longer is the enigma she might have been once as far as Americans are concerned. . The same could not be said, however, in respect to the Iapanese whose oliqcial propaganda agency, Domei, has announced on at least three occasions that the Si. Louis had been consigned to the bottom of the Pacific. Leaving the Navy Yard at Long Beach, California, on February 23, 1945, the St. Louis was dispatched immediately to Pearl Harbor. Here she received her orders to report to Task Force 58 then making rendezvous at Ulirhi in the Carolines. I-Iurriedly taking on her fuel capacity at this port, the Lucky Loui' sailed with this mightiest armada in Naval history, for the now historical air-strikes against Kyushu in the Iapanese homeland. For more than two weeks the Sz. Louis, with other ships, screened the carriers of this task force, in this daring attack on even Tokyo itself. Time and again the Lucky Lou's,' live-inch and anti-aircraft batteries leveled at whatever enemy planes came within her sights. Gkinawa was next on the St. Louis' list of operations. Leaving Task Force 58 on' March 25, 1945, she escorted the U. S. S. Indian- apolis with Admiral Spruance aboard, to this Nipponese bastion. Within an hour of her arrival at this island arsenal, the Lucky Lou

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so close to Guam's shoreline that her 20 mm. and 40 mm. guns were brought to bear on the beaches. . Recognizing the effective role of the St. Louis in the Marianas campaign, the commander of Cruiser Division Nine, Rear Admiral W. L. Ainsworth, USN, awarded Captain Roberts a letter of com- mendation and the Legion of Merit. The letter praised Captain Roberts, 'fconsummate skill in han- dling his ship Hduring all of these operations, lasting over two months in almost constant contact with an enemy-held shoreline in an advanced theater of operations . . .D Bidding farewell to Terminal Island in October, 1944, the St. Louis set out for Leyte Gulf in the Philippines by way of Eniwetok and Ulithi. A . American troops had invaded the island of Leyte October 19, but the Iapanese were still resisting bitterly when the SZ. Louis dropped anchor in the gulf November 16. Enemy planes were based in con- siderable strength on nearby islands-an unfortunate state af affairs that resulted in no less than 33 air attacks on the St. Louis in the course of a 13-day stretch. One such attack, taking place November 27 as the noon chow line was forming, left the St. Louis on the damaged list again. She suf- fered hits on the hangar deck and the port beam and 15 men and an oflicer received fatal infuries. The strike was not made without cost to the Iapanese, however, the St. Louis herself bringing down four planes for sure and being credited with Eve probables. Enemy air assaults continued and, al- though damaged no further, the St. Louis was obliged to fall to with her anti-aircraft batteries the night of November 29 asshe was with- drawing from the area, San Pedro bound. She went home under her own power, reaching the Pacific Coast December 26. Yet another chapter in her back-and-forth chronology was begun February 23, 1945, with the St. Louis churning westward, destination unknown-except to a few. One of the few is presumed to be Captain I. B. Griggs, USN, a veteran of submarine service who came aboard at San Pedro, Ian- uary 3, to relieve Captain Roberts. 1-le is her Hfth commanding officer, the only one not having been mentioned in this history being a native St. Louisan, Captain Charles H. Morrison, who assumed command when the Si. Louis was com- missioned by then-Rear Admiral Ioseph K. Taussig, USN, May 19, 1939., . The present Sz. Louis is the fourth naval vessel to bear the name. The Hrst was a fighting sloop built in 1828, the second was a Civil War gunboat and the third was a cruiser which was decommissioned in 1929. The Lucky Lou's,, shakedown cruise took her to Kingston, Iamaicag Port au Spain, Trinidad, and the Portuguese Azores, and ended in New York the day the Yankees and Cincinnati Reds were crossing bats in the first game of the 1939 world series. The following year the St. Louis was nominated to carry a party of high-ranking officers on an inspection tour of British possessions in the Atlantic that might have served as suitable American naval and air bases. She made her first appearance on the west coast in the fall of M4fR4'P1PYf'2'is22s1'1'1ff'f'14 V LSXRXKX X XXXNNNXWXX X X

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was participating in the initial bombardment of the island. It was here at Okinawa that the St. Louis remained for sixty-one days, establishing a new naval record, for a single ship in a single oper- ation. For the Lucky Loun hurled more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition at the Nips during this time. Nor were these just ran- dom shots either, for on more than one occasion, both the Army and Navy authorities commended the St. Louis for the accuracy of her gun Ere. One Army officer who later came aboard the St. Louis, stated that 'gif anyone put a dime anyplace on Okinawa, the 'Lucky Lou, would hit it. Although she escaped unscathed from this oper- ation, it was not without a few brushes with Lady Luck. On the morning of her arrival at Okinawa, one torpedo streaked across her bow, and seconds later another went harmlessly by her stern. Nor had the Kamikazes forgotten the g'Lucky Lou. But this time the Nips were the unlucky ones. For .it was while at Okinawa that the St. Louis increased her total of lap planes to twelve, for which she is officially credited. Although one Kamikaze splashed off her star- board bow, it was the only enemy plane that even came close to her. At Okinawa, the luck of the Lucky Lou was not to be denied. For his skill and leadership in guiding the St. Louis through this vigor- ous and dangerous campaign, Captain I. B. Griggs, USN, her commanding officer, has received the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit. Iust prior to the setting of the Rising Sun on August 15, 1945, the St. Louis had been engaged in a vast mine sweeping operation of the East China Sea with units of the Seventh Fleet. This duty later en- abled her to proceed to the far flung reaches of the Pacific, even up the treacherous, current Hlled waters of the Wangpoo River to Shanghai, China, itself. After covering the Allied occupation of that city, the Lucky Loui' was then dispatched to lead the first Ameri- can-Chinese amphibious operation to F ormosa. Here the command- ing officer of the Lucky Lou received the surrender of that famous Iapanese citadel. Stealthily passing through the numerous mine fields outside this harbor, the St. Louis led the first American war- ships to enterthese waters in twenty-five years. Formosa was the last of the Lucky Louis wartime operations. For upon the completion of this mission, she was detached from fur- ther service in the Pacific. But upon her arrival at Guam on her way to the West Coast, these orders were cancelled, and the St. Louis was assigned further duty with the Magic Carpet Fleet. Since receiving this assignment, the Lucky Lou has returned many hundreds of veterans from the various theaters of war. She has sailed from San Francisco to the Russell Islands, Guadalcanal, Espirito Santo, and Samoa. Upon her arrival on the West Coast on Ianuary 23rd she will have completed her second Magic Carpet trip to Guam, covering a distance of more than 75,000 miles since she left Long Beach, Cali- fornia, on February 23, 1945. Within a few days after debarking her last passengers, the Lucky Lou will sail on February 7, 1946, for Philadelphia on the East Coast. Upon her arrival there she will take her well earned rest in a reserve status with the Atlantic Fleet. 1 Thus ends the saga of the Lady known as Lou--the Lucky Lou. May her luck never run out. And may she always be lucky in the Officers and Crew who mould her destiny. .-'.-f--..,.-...-.....-.u::'.- - f f 'L.A...-.....-L.--..-.... .. - t::::.-,.. . . -..... 5 -X -- , . , X Vv .,.. .... Q