Wreck of USS Quincy (CA-39)

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, cruiser, United States Navy

Laid down at the Fore River Shipyard in her namesake city of Quincy, Massachusetts, USS Quincy was the second New Orleans Class Heavy Cruiser and commissioned into US Navy service in June 1936 as a member of the US Atlantic Fleet. Immediately dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea after her shakedown cruise, Quincy and her crew spent two months working with ships of the German Kriegsmarine in a humanitarian evacuation of refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War before returning stateside and beginning a more routine schedule of cruises and exercises with both the US Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. After the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939, Quincy joined her Atlantic Fleetmates in regular Neutrality Patrols in the North Atlantic and Caribbean, often serving as escort to US Carriers as they conducted operations off the Eastern seaboard.

By early 1941 Quincy was heavily involved with convoy escort duty between the US and Iceland in order to protect American and British shipping from the threat of U-Boat attack, a highly dangerous task often made worse by heavy seas and foul weather. Continuing this duty through October 1941, Quincy joined her sistership USS Vincennes (CA-44) as an escort for a British troopship convoy heading from Canada to South Africa and back, during which both ships received notice that the Empire of Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, starting American involvement with the Second World War. Returning to her North Atlantic convoy duty through the first half of 1942, Quincy was ordered to New York Navy Yard where she spent three months receiving upgrades and repairs in preparation for her deployment to the Pacific Theatre.

Departing New York in May 1942, Quincy transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Diego where she joined Task Force 18 as the Flagship for Admiral Norman Scott in mid-June. Spending the next month involved with intensive training as American forces massed for the planned Invasion of Guadalcanal Island in the Solomons, Quincy steamed in convoy to Noumea, New Caledonia where the remainder of the Allied invasion force was mustering. After provisioning for the upcoming battle Quincy was reassigned to Task Group 62.3, Fire Support Group L along with her sisterships USS Vincennes (CA-44) and USS Astoria (CA-34) and departed in advance of the Allied Invasion Force, arriving off the landing beaches at Lunga Point under the cover of darkness in the early morning hours of August 7th, 1942. Conducting shore bombardment of Japanese installations as US Marines began to move ashore, Quincy’s gunners destroyed several buildings, gun emplacements and a fuel dump before the rapid advance of ground forces brought a cease fire across the fleet. Moving out to screen the landing area and the vulnerable transports, Quincy and her sisterships drove off two separate Japanese air attacks over the next two days and as night fell on the 8th Quincy withdrew to the Northern entrance to Ironbottom Sound with Vincennes and Astoria and began their portion of the Allied defensive patrol guarding the landing area.

Aboard Quincy Capt. Samuel Moore, Quincy's Commanding Officer, had received word along with the rest of the formation that Japanese warships had been spotted enroute to Guadalcanal from Rabaul by coastwatchers, and like his counterparts aboard Vincennes and Astoria Capt. Moore surmised that the Japanese ships would likely stage an attack at or shortly before first light. Posting extra lookouts before retiring to his sea cabin, Capt. Moore left instructions to be awoken if anything seemed amiss during the coming night, but was not disturbed when lookouts sighted numerous flares and flashes to the South shortly after 0100hrs on August 9th. Incorrectly assumed to be related to fighting on Guadalcanal and not the utter decimation of fellow Allied Cruisers HMAS Canberra and USS Chicago (CA-29) by the same Japanese Surface Force her crew expected to arrive the following morning, no actions were taken aboard Quincy and her crew remained largely unaware that the same group of Japanese ships had split formation and were now bearing down on her and her sisterships from both sides.

All remained quiet onboard until 0150hrs when Quincy, Vincennes and Astoria were suddenly lit up by Japanese searchlights to both Port and Starboard, followed shortly thereafter by the rumble of naval artillery. Steaming in the center position of the three Cruisers, Quincy was easily ranged by the seasoned Japanese gunners who were highly proficient in night fighting, and within minutes shells were slamming into her midship hangar area where her scout planes and ready aviation fuel stores provided more than enough fuel for a large fire which made her a brightly lit target. Racing to the bridge, Captain Moore ordered his ship to flank speed and brought Quincy out of formation to Starboard, with all nine guns of her 8-inch main battery barking fire on whichever target her gun directors could find. Sighting the Japanese Cruiser and Flagship HIJMS Chokai, Quincy’s gunners fired several salvoes at the ship, at least one of which caused moderate damage and killed 34 crew when it destroyed her #1 gun turret. Quincy’s offensive stand was short-lived however, as she continued to absorb dozens of hits of Cruiser and Destroyer caliber shells across her length while she inadvertently turned directly towards one of the Japanese formations.

As Quincy completed the Easterly turn Capt. Moore had hoped would reduce his ships’ broadside to its attackers, two “Long Lance” torpedoes slammed into her Stern, followed by a direct hit on her bridge by an 8-inch shell which killed or severely wounded every man present, including the majority of Quincy’s Commanding Officers. Steaming Northeast with nobody at the helm, Quincy’s gunners continued to fire at their assailants until a third torpedo struck the ship ahead of her boiler rooms, which when combined with the dozens of shell holes already flooding the ship began to douse the Cruiser’s boiler fires and rob her of power. Damage control parties arriving at the bridge found the mortally wounded Captain Moore barely alive, but still able to instruct the crewman who had manned the helm to “Beach the Ship” before losing consciousness. Steadily losing forward speed and with her gun mounts all but knocked out by shellfire, Quincy continued to be shelled by Japanese Cruisers from almost point-blank range until they shifted their fire to her sisterships, leaving Quincy a derelict wreck down heavily by the bow, listing to Port and heavily aflame in multiple areas.

Quincy's surviving crew needed little instruction to abandon ship as those who could made their way topside to find the deck a mass of fire, shell holes and rapidly advancing seas. Shortly after the Japanese force had checked their fire and began their withdrawal, USS Quincy sank bow-first at this location at 0238hrs on August 9th, 1942, taking 370 of her crew with her to the bottom.

For her actions on the date of her loss, USS Quincy received her first and final Battle Star for World War Two service.

www.navsource.org/archives/04/039/04039.htm