USS Chicago (CA-136)

USS Chicago (CA-136)
Shipname	USS Chicago (CA-136)
Namesake	Chicago, Illinois
Builder	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Laid down	1 November 1943
Launched	20 April 1944
Commissioned	10 January 1945
Decommissioned	6 November 1969
Fate	Sunk as a target, 27 June 1970
Class	Baltimore-class cruiser
Displacement	17,031 long tons (full load)
Length	673 ft (205 m)
Beam	70 ft (21 m)
Draft	26 ft (7.9 m)
Speed	33 knots
Complement	~1,800
Armament	9 × 8 in/55 cal guns; 12 × 5 in/38 cal guns; 56 × 40 mm AA; 34 × 20 mm Oerlikon AA (as built)
Aircraft	Floatplane facilities for Vought OS2U Kingfisher and Curtiss SOC Seagull

USS Chicago (CA-136) was a Baltimore-class cruiser of the United States Navy commissioned in January 1945. The ship served in the final months of World War II in the Pacific War, later participating in occupation operations and serving through the Cold War era before decommissioning in 1969. Chicago earned five battle stars for World War II service and remained an important surface combatant during early postwar crises.

Design and Construction

Designed as a Baltimore-class cruiser, Chicago originated from wartime requirements set by the Bureau of Ships and the Admiralty-influenced U.S. naval expansion. The class combined heavy 8-inch gun battery firepower with substantial anti-aircraft defenses to counter threats from Imperial Japanese Navy surface units and Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and to escort Task Force carrier groups such as those under Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Laid down at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 1 November 1943, she was launched on 20 April 1944 with sponsorship tied to civic leaders from Chicago and commissioned on 10 January 1945.

Chicago’s machinery plant reflected standards set by previous classes like the Northampton-class cruiser while improving protection schemes that drew on lessons from Battle of Guadalcanal and Battle of the Coral Sea. Her main battery of nine 8-inch/55 caliber guns in three triple turrets provided surface engagement capability comparable to contemporary Royal Navy heavy cruisers such as the County-class cruiser. Aviation facilities supported floatplane reconnaissance, using types like the Vought OS2U Kingfisher.

Service History

After shakedown in the Caribbean Sea and training along the East Coast of the United States, Chicago transited the Panama Canal and joined the Pacific Fleet at Ulithi Atoll and later Leyte Gulf. She entered combat operations in the final raids on the Japanese Home Islands, providing naval gunfire support and screening aircraft carrier task groups that struck targets in Honshu, Hokkaido, and the Ryukyu Islands. Following Japan’s surrender in August 1945, Chicago participated in occupation duties, visiting ports such as Tokyo Bay and Yokosuka.

In the immediate postwar years Chicago alternated peacetime exercises with global presence missions, operating in the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean Sea, and conducting goodwill visits to cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Valparaiso, Chile. During the early Cold War she undertook patrols that linked her operations to international crises, serving alongside units from the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and French Navy in multinational taskings.

Major Engagements and Operations

Chicago’s late-1945 wartime deployments placed her in support of carrier strikes against the Japanese Empire during the Air raids on Japan (1945), contributing anti-aircraft protection for fast carrier forces centered on USS Enterprise (CV-6)-type groups and screening for battleship units akin to USS Missouri (BB-63). Postwar, she participated in notable operations including training and show-of-force patrols during tensions such as the Korean War early mobilizations and Formosa Strait watch operations that involved coordination with fleets under commanders like Admiral Forrest P. Sherman.

During Operation Highjump-era geopolitics and subsequent patrols, Chicago provided naval gunfire support simulations, shore bombardment exercises, and carrier escort duty that maintained readiness for contingencies in the Western Pacific Command area of responsibility under organizations like United States Pacific Fleet (COMUSPAC).

Modifications and Modernizations

Throughout her career Chicago underwent several refits to upgrade sensors, fire-control systems, and anti-aircraft armament in response to evolving threats such as jet aircraft and anti-ship missiles developed by actors including the Soviet Union. Mid-career modernizations replaced some 40 mm and 20 mm batteries with improved 3-inch and 5-inch dual-purpose mounts, and updated radar suites from manufacturers aligned with Naval Research Laboratory standards. She received contemporary Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System improvements and electronic countermeasure gear reflective of postwar advances used by other cruisers like USS Baltimore (CA-68).

Additionally, aviation handling was altered as catapult-launched floatplanes gave way to shipborne helicopters in contemporaneous conversions across the fleet, though Chicago retained heavy gun batteries rather than full conversion to a guided-missile cruiser unlike later conversions exemplified by ships such as USS Boston (CA-69/CG-10).

Decommissioning and Fate

With changing naval strategy favoring guided missile platforms and nuclear-powered vessels, Chicago was decommissioned on 6 November 1969 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register. Transferred to the Merritt-Chapman & Scott for disposal, she was expended as a target and sunk on 27 June 1970 during fleet exercises that reflected tactics developed in conjunction with units like Carrier Strike Group elements and submarine forces of Submarine Force Atlantic Command. Her hull and remaining artifacts have since been subjects of naval historians and museums commemorating United States Navy surface warfare heritage.

Category:Baltimore-class cruisers Category:Ships built in Philadelphia Category:1944 ships Category:World War II cruisers of the United States