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Louis Shannon
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Battles/Operations during World War II
"AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR......THIS IS NO DRILL"
USS NEW ORLEANS CA32 and crew received their baptism of war at Pearl Harbor, T.H. on the morning of 7 December 1941. After receiving numerous holes on the starboard from fragments of bombs hitting the water nearby, NEW ORLEANS went on to fight the enemy at every opportunity and was in action until the end of the war. The following list shows that USS NEW ORLEANS participated in nearly every action against the enemy from Pearl Harbor to Japan. USS NEW ORLEANS earned 17 battle stars for action in the Asiatic-Pacific Area.
1. Defense of Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. Ship received fragment holes in hull and stacks from near miss bombs on starboard. Chaplain Forgy coined the phrase "Praise the LORD and Pass the Ammunition"
2. March 12 - 14 1942, covered troop landings and occupation of Noumea, New Caledonia.
3. Battle of Coral Sea, 6-10 May 1942. Screened carriers and fought off enemy air attacks. Rescued 580 officers and enlisted men in the water from the sinking carrier, USS LEXINGTON CV2.
4. Battle of Midway, 4-6 June 1942. Screened carriers and fought off enemy air attacks.
5. Guadalcanal/Tulagi assault and landings 7-9 August 1942. Fought off enemy air attacks.
6. Capture and Defense of Guadalcanal, 10-23 August 1942. Fought off enemy air attacks.
7. Battle of Eastern Solomons, 23-25 August 1942. Screened carriers and fought off enemy air attacks.
8. Battle of Tassaforonga, Guadalcanal 30 November 1942.
The night of 30 November was very dark with no moon, the sky was covered by a heavy overcast, however surface visibility was fair to good. NEW ORLEANS was firing the main batteries at a Japanese destroyer transport/supply force attempting to land reinforcements for troops at Guadalcanal.
The enemy destroyers launched a number of torpedoes, with warheads of 900 pounds of TNT, at the American force of cruisers and destroyers. At 2325 NEW ORLEANS was hit by one torpedo at the port bow causing the magazines consisting of five 350 lb. aerial depth charges, 49 100 lb. bombs and the 160 lb. demolition charge to explode. The bow, with gun turret Nr. 1 tore loose just forward of turret Nr. 2 and floated aft on the port side punching holes and dents above and below the water line. Screw Nr. 3 was badly damaged as the bow sank off the port quarter, a total of 150 feet of the ship was lost.
All men in turrets Nr. 1 and 2 were killed as well as men in flooded areas, such as the Sick Bay and Radio 3 and fumes in Central Station. Casualties were 8 officers and 170 men killed and 20 wounded.
NEW ORLEANS badly damaged, proceeded to Tulagi Harbor where the crew made a jury rigged bow of coconut logs. Temporary repairs were made and with the shaft of damaged propellor Nr. 3 locked she departed Tulagi 12 December 1942, bound for Sydney, Australia, arriving 24 December. Additional repairs were made, and a steel stub bow was fitted before departing on 7 March 1943, for Bremerton, WA via Pago Pago and Pearl Harbor, arriving 3 April 1943.
After repairing battle damage, NEW ORLEANS departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 10 August 1943, a completely overhauled and modernized warship bound for Pearl Harbor via San Diego. Arriving 31 August, she joined other ships for combat training of new sailors assigned to NEW ORLEANS.
9. Wake Island Raid, 5-6 October 1943. Bombarded island facilities destroying communications, water tower and other sites on the island. Took enemy shore batteries under fire and was hit by shrapnel from near miss shells on the starboard before destroying batteries. Fought off air attacks, lost one SOC plane giving corrections to our gunfire which was shot down by a Jap Zero.
The pilot was killed, but the radioman gunner parachuted to safety and was picked up by a destroyer.
10. Bombardment and occupation of Makin and Gilbert Islands 20-27 November 1943.
11. Task Force Raids on Kwajalein and Wotje Islands, 4-5 December 1943. Bombardment of enemy positions and fought off enemy air attacks. Two men wounded by enemy plane strafing ship. Stood by LEXINGTON CV16 damaged by aerial torpedoes and helped guard carrier back to Pearl Harbor for repairs, arriving 9 December 1943.
12. Task Force strikes in the Marshall Islands 29 January 1944 to 11 February 1944. Bombarding and destroying installations and airfields on Tarao Island, Maloelap atoll and Wotje. After bombarding Carlson Island NEW ORLEANS fired on ships in Kwajalein Lagoon, sinking one and left another badly damaged and burning. NEW ORLEANS gave fire support to Marines landing on Kwajalein Atoll until 11 February. Low on fuel and ammunition she was replenished at Majuro by an oiler and ammo ship sent down from Pearl Harbor.
13. On 16-18 February 1944, a Task Group of battleships, cruisers and destroyers circling Truk Island sank a light cruiser, a destroyer, a sub-chaser and a trawler during a surface action. NEW ORLEANS took evasive action to avoid three torpedoes launched by the enemy destroyer.
14. Task Force raid bombarding enemy installations on Saipan, Tinian and Guam, fighting off intense enemy air attacks with no damage to the ship, 21-22 February 1944
15. Task Force Raids on Palau, Yap and Woleai Islands, 30 March- 1 April 1944. Bombardment of enemy positions on the islands. Returned fire toward shore batteries, destroying them.
16. Task Force Assault and support of troop landings near Hollandia, New Guinea 21 - 23 April 1944. One man killed and one badly injured when a friendly plane from YORKTOWN CV10 lost control and struck the SG radar antenna at the top of the mainmast, breaking it off. The aircraft continued up the starboard side, it`s wing hitting the yardarm of the foremast, then crossing over the ship to hit the port stanchion of a 20mm AA mount, then crashing into the sea off the port bow and exploding.
17. Task Force Raids on Truk, Satawan and Ponape, Caroline Islands, 29 April - 1 May 1944. Bombardment of enemy positions and facilities, fought off air attacks by enemy aircraft.
18. Task Force bombardment and occupation of Saipan, Marianas Islands 15 June 1944.
19. Bombardment of enemy troops and positions on Guam, 16 June 1944.
20. Battle of Philippine Sea, 19-21 June 1944. Screened carriers and fought off enemy aircraft attacks.
21. Bombardment of Guam, fired on enemy troop positions and equipment, 8-19 July 1944.
22. Bombarded and covered Marine landings on Tinian Island, 20-24 July 1944.
23. Bombarded and covered Marine landings on Guam Island, 25 July- 9 August 1944.
24. Task Force Bombardment of Chichi Jima and Iwo Jima damaging the airfields and destroying equipment, 31 August
- 2 September 1944.
25. Bombarded Yap Island in the Western Carolines 7-8 September 1944.
26. Task Force support of landings on Peleliu and Anguar, 14-19 September 1944.
27. Task Force strikes on Okinawa, Philippines and Formosa. Screening carriers, fought off enemy planes shooting down two planes close aboard, 10-13 October 1944.
28. Task Force air strikes against Northern Luzon and Manila, Philippines, screening carriers 14-19 October 1944.
29. Supported landings on Leyte, Philippines, rescued downed U.S. pilots 19-20 October 1944.
30. Surface battle off Cape Engand, Philippines, NEW ORLEANS and WITCHITA CA45 sank a Japanese light carrier and either a light cruiser or a large destroyer 25-26 October 1944. Following this battle NEW ORLEANS returned to the Leyte area to support the Leyte Operation until 20 November 1944.
31. Supported landings on Mindoro, Philippines 15-17 December 1944.
On 26 December 1944, NEW ORLEANS sortied Ulithi with other ships enroute Pearl Harbor, thence to Mare Island, CA for maintenance and overhaul arriving San Francisco Bay 11 January 1945. Outbound San Francisco Bay 21 March 1945 for Pearl Harbor then to the Southwest Pacific area to join the fleet.
32. Supported landings on Okinawa engaging shore batteries and giving fire support to U.S. Troops when called for, 21 April to 20 June 1945. Early morning of 26 April coastal batteries fired on NEW ORLEANS return fire resulted in destroying the enemy emplacements. One man was wounded by fragments of enemy shells.
On 20 June, after 58 days both underway and at anchor at Okinawa, NEW ORLEANS departed for Leyte for upkeep and replenishment, arriving 23 June 1945. When the war ended she was at anchor in Subic Bay, where she had been preparing for further operations.
NEW ORLEANS departed Subic Bay 28 August to support occupation of Korea and China. Arriving in the Yellow Sea 1 Sept. 1945 she "showed the flag" at Tsingrau, Port Arthur, Dairen, Weihaiwei, Chefoo, Chinwantao and also supported Marine landings at Jinsen, Korea.
On 20 Sept. 1945, NEW ORLEANS arrived Tsingtao, China and assumed the duties of Senior Officer Present in the administration of Japanese prize ships and the evacuation of internees.
On 30 Sept., she participated in the occupation of the Taku-Tientsin area and eight other Chinese and Korean cities, lasting until 18 November 1945.
On 20 November, NEW ORLEANS sailed to Sasebo, Japan to join the "Magic Carpet " returning 500 veterans to San Francisco, arriving 8 December 1945. 18 December she set sail for Guam to bring Navy veterans home arriving San Francisco 21 January 1946.
After repairs at Mare Island Navy Yard, she sortied San Francisco Bay bound for New Orleans, LA arriving 25 February 1946, then set sail for Philadelphia on 7 March arriving 12 March 1946 and was placed in reserve then decommissioned on 10 February 1947.
USS NEW ORLEANS had been damaged in combat five times, she received 17 battles stars in the Asiatic-Pacific Area. Other awards were, the American Defense Medal, World War II Victory Medal, China Service Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Badge.
For a more detailed History of USS NEW ORLEANS CA-32, visit our WEB SITE by clicking the "Web Site" link to the left.
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| Battle damage at Guadalcanal, 30 Nov 1942 |
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| Shows where the bow tore loose forward of turret 2 |
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| Entering Pearl Harbor, 22 March 1943 |
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| Shows stub bow fabricated at Sydney, Australia. Turret 2 gun barrels are lashed down on the fantail for ballast, to correct trim of ship. |
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