- From The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Columbia
The personification of the United States of America. The capital
of South
Carolina and a river in the north-western United States between
Oregon and
Washington.
Columbia , a 44-gun frigate with a displacement of 1,508
tons, was burned on the
stocks while under construction at Washington Navy Yard in 1814,
to prevent her
from falling into enemy hands.
VI
CL -
66:
dp.
10,000
l.
610'1"
b. 66'6" dr.
20'
s.
33
k.
cpl.
992
a. 12 x 6", 12 x 5" cl. Cleveland
The sixth Columbia (CL-56) was launched 17 December 1941
by New York Shipbuilding
Corp., Camden, N.J.; sponsored by Miss J. A. Paschal; and
commissioned 29 July
1942, Captain W. A. Heard in command. Sailing from Norfolk 9
November 1942,
Columbia arrived at Eapiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 10
December, and joined in the
patrols west of the New Hebrides in support of the continuing
struggle for
Guadalcanal. On 29 January 1943, while cruising off Rennel Island
to cover the
movement of transports to Guadalcanal, Columbia 's group
came under heavy air
attack, and the 2- day Battle of Rennel Island followed, with land
and
carrier-based aircraft joining in to protect the American ships.
Columbia aided
in splashing three enemy planes in this battle. Based on Efate
from 1 February,
Columbia continued her patrols in the Solomons, and in
June carried out a
bombardment and mining mission on the 29th and 30th, coordinated
with the New
Georgia landings. On 11 and 12 July, she bombarded Munda, and
until 5 September,
when she sailed for a brief overhaul at Sydney, patrolled
southeast of the
Solomons. Columbia rejoined her division on 24 September
1943 off Vella LaVella,
as patrols to intercept Japanese shipping continued. As Marines
stormed ashore on
Bougainville 1 November, Columbia 's guns pounded targets
on Buka and Bonis and in
the Shortlands. On the night of 2 November, her force intercepted
a Japanese
group sailing to attack transports Iying off Bougainville. In the
furious
fighting of the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay which resulted,
Columbia joined in
sinking a Japanese cruiser and a destroyer, and turning the
attackers back from
their goal. She continued to support the Bougainville landings and
bombard
targets in the Solomons through December. After training exercises
in the New
Hebrides in January 1944, Columbia helped spearhead the
attack and occupation of
Nissan, one of the Green Islands, from 13 to 18 February. Early in
March her
group swept along the line between Truk and Kavieng in search of
enemy shipping,
then covered the assault and occupation of Emirau Island from 17
to 23 March. On
4 April Columbia sailed from Port Purvis for an overhaul
at San Francisco,
returning to the Solomons 24 August. Columbia sortied
from Port Purvis 6
September 1944 with the covering force for the landings in the
Palaus, and
remained off Peleliu to provide gunfire support to forces ashore
and protection
to assault shipping until her return to Manus 28 September. She
sailed on 6
October, guarding the force which was to seize Dinagat and other
islands at the
entrance of Leyte Gulf which must be neutralized before the vast
Leyte invasion
fleet could enter the Gulf. These islands were taken on 17
October, and Columbia
sailed on to give gunfire cover to the main landings 3 days later.
But as the
landings proceeded, the Japanese fleet sailed south to give
battle, and on the
night of 24 October, its southern force entered Leyte Gulf through
Surigao
Strait. Gallant attacks by motor torpedo boats and destroyers on
the Japanese
force opened this phase of the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf.
Columbia with
other cruisers had joined the old BBs and lay in wait. In a
classical maneuver
the American ships capped the T of the Japanese column and opened
heavy gunfire
which sank the battleship Yamashiro, and forced the heavily
damaged cruiser
Mogami and other units to retire. Toward dawn, Columbia
sped to deliver the final
blows which sank destroyer Asagumo, crippled in earlier attacks.
After
replenishing at Manus early in November, Columbia
returned to Leyte Gulf to
protect reinforcement convoys from air attack. In December,
operating from Kossol
Roads in the Palaus, she covered Army landings on Mindoro, and on
14 December
lost four of her men when a gun misfired during an air attack. On
1 January 1945
Columbia sailed for the landings in Lingayen Gulf and on
6 January, as
preinvasion bombardments were getting underway, desperate Japanese
suicide
attacks began. Columbia was first crashed close aboard by
one of the kamikaze
planes, then was struck on her port quarter by a second. The plane
and its bomb
penetrated two decks before exploding with tremendously damaging
effect, killing
13 and wounding 44 of the crew, putting her after turrets out of
action, and
setting the ship afire. Prompt flooding of two magazines prevented
further
explosions, and impressive damage control measures enabled
Columbia to complete
her bombardment with her two operative turrets, and remain in
action to give
close support to underwater demolition teams. On the morning of
the landings, 9
January, as Columbia lay close inshore and so surrounded
by landing craft that
she was handicapped in maneuver, she was again crashed by a
kamikaze, knocking
out six gun directors and gun mount. Twenty-four men were killed
and 97 wounded,
but drastically shorthanded as she was, Columbia again
put out fires, repaired
damage, and continued her bombardment and fire support.
Columbia sailed that
night, guarding a group of unloaded transports. Her crew's
accomplishments in
saving their ship and carrying out their mission without
interruption were
recognized with the Navy Unit Commendation for this operation.
Columbia received
emergency repairs at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, and sailed on to an
overhaul on the
west coast, returning to Leyte 16 June 1945. Three days later she
sailed for
Balikpapan, Borneo, off which she lay from 28 June, guarding
minesweeping which
preceded the invasion of the island on 1 July. She covered the
landing of
Australian troops, and gave them gunfire support through the next
day, sailing
then to join TF 95 in its repeated sweeps against Japanese
shipping in the East
China Sea. At the close of the war, she carried inspection parties
to Truk, the
important Japanese base bypassed during the war, and carried Army
passengers
between Guam, Saipan, and Iwo Jima until sailing for home 31
October. After
calling on the west coast, Columbia arrived at
Philadelphia 5 December 1945 for
overhaul and service training Naval Reserve men until 1 July 1946.
She was
decommissioned and placed in reserve at Philadelphia 30 November
1946, and sold
18 February 1959. In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation,
Columbia received 10
battle stars for World War II service.
Transcribed by: hubertypc@hol.fr
HTML by: epm@qadas.com
Date: 6 Dec 1998