Wreck of USS Astoria (CA-34)

Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal / Honiara /
 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, cruiser, United States Navy
Laid down at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in September 1930 as the lead ship in her class of Heavy Cruisers, USS Astoria commissioned into US Navy service in April 1934 as a member of the US Pacific Fleet. Operating primarily with Cruiser Divisions 6 & 7 out of San Pedro for the balance of the 1930’s, Astoria and her crew conducted regular deployments and took part in several Fleetwide training exercises and war games known as Fleet Problems in both the Pacific and Atlantic through 1939. Reassigned to Pearl Harbor as relations between the United States and Japan continued to worsen, the Astoria was en route to Midway Atoll when word came of the Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of war with Japan. Immediately dispatched to hunt down the Japanese strike force, Astoria began what turned into two straight months of intensive patrols and abortive missions around Hawaii, frustrated by Japanese Submarines and the lack of fleet auxiliaries.

February 1942 found the US Navy on solid enough footing to go on the offensive, and Astoria departed Hawaii escorting Task Force 17 bound for the South Pacific, where US carriers conducted air raids in New Guinea and the surrounding areas. Subsequently involved in the Battle of Coral Sea in early May, Astoria returned to Pearl Harbor immediately after the battle escorting the damaged USS Yorktown and put to sea less than a month later to again meet the Japanese Fleet, this time off of Midway Atoll. Screening the Yorktown during the Battle of Midway, Astoria became the Flagship of TF17 after several torpedo and bomb hits knocked Yorktown out of action and left her dead in the water. Standing by the battered carrier until she was torpedoed and sunk two days after the battle, Astoria returned to Pearl Harbor where she spent over a month being upgraded and repaired at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for further action.

Reassigned to Task Group 62.3, Fire Support Group L, Astoria stood out of Pearl Harbor for the final time and shaped a course for the Solomon Islands with orders to support the first American amphibious invasions of the Second World War at Guadalcanal and Tulagi Islands. Finding little land-based resistance and only moderate airborne opposition to the landings on August 7th & 8th, Astoria joined her sisterships USS Vincennes (CA-44) and USS Quincy (CA-39) on the night of August 9th on a patrol loop at the Northern entrance to Ironbottom Sound. Shortly before 0200hrs the crew of Astoria watched flashes and flares erupting to the South, which were incorrectly assumed to be part of fighting on Guadalcanal itself. In reality, the crew of Astoria were watching a powerful Japanese Cruiser and Destroyer force inflicting a savage beating on the HMAS Canberra and the USS Chicago (CA-29); Allied Cruisers operating to the South of Astoria’s position. That same Japanese force then split in two separate formations and steamed directly for the Astoria and her sisters, who were all totally unaware of the approaching danger.

Any illusions of a routine night patrol aboard the Astoria were dispelled at 0150hrs, when she and her sisters were illuminated by Japanese searchlights. While the duty officer elected to summon the then-sleeping Captain William Greenman to the bridge, Astoria’s Gunnery Officer took matters into his own hands and ordered all weapons to open fire. After barking out several rounds at the source of the searchlights, Captain Greenman ordered all guns to cease firing until the identity of the vessels could be determined. However, by this time Japanese gunners had taken their aim on Astoria and began sending dozens of shells hurtling towards the Cruiser. Bracketed by the first rounds of enemy fire, Astoria was soon struck across her midship aircraft hangars, which quickly became a gasoline-fueled inferno as her wrecked search planes dumped out their fuel loads and provided a brightly lit target in the moonless night. By the time Captain Greenman ordered the ship to resume firing and accelerate to maneuvering speed, Astoria was already doomed. Dozens of Japanese shells of Cruiser and Destroyer Caliber were soon slamming into Astoria’s superstructure and hull, knocking out her forward gun mount, gun director and severely damaging her bridge. Maneuvering frantically to avoid the rain of shells hitting her from both sides, Astoria narrowly avoided a collision with Quincy as she cut across her bow but managed to send off a full 12 salvos of 8-inch shells before turning Southwards to open the distance between herself and her assailants. Fires forward eventually made steering from the bridge impossible and as control was passed to the midship conn around 0225hrs the Japanese attack ceased as suddenly as it had started.

Slowing to a crawl with more than 65 shells in her hull, Astoria’s crew waited for the Japanese to finish the ship off but by 0300hrs it was clear that the enemy had withdrawn. Astoria’s crew immediately began firefighting efforts, resorting to a bucket brigade since the ships water main had been destroyed. Her crew were able to make steady headway against the fires and at 0445hrs the Astoria was joined by the USS Bagley (DD-386) which sent pumps and firefighting equipment aboard. By 0700hrs topside efforts had extinguished all fires and pumps seemed to be making headway against the heavy flooding below decks, so the Astoria was ordered towed to shallow waters off Guadalcanal. While several Destroyers attempted to get the battered and waterlogged Cruiser under tow, several fires burning deep within Astoria’s hull began to grow out of control. After 1000hrs crews topside began hearing numerous explosions below deck, signifying that the flames had located one of Astoria’s ammunition magazines. Shortly thereafter Astoria began listing to Port with increasing speed and swamping by the Stern, allowing water to enter her hull through the topside shell holes and flood more compartments. With her Port rail slipping underwater at Noon and her list still increasing, Captain Greenman passed the order to abandon ship onto awaiting Destroyers. After rolling fully onto her Port side, USS Astoria sank by the stern at this location at 1216hrs on August 9th, 1942.

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

www.navsource.org/archives/04/034/04034.htm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Astoria_(CA-34)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   9°12'33"S   159°52'3"E

Comments

  • My grandfather LCPO John L. Naughton was on the Astoria in the IronBottom when she went down.
  • My uncle, Charles Blay was also on the Astoria and was killed in the action
  • my uncle, charles e kent was there and servived
  • My father was on the Astoria.Trapped below decks in knee deep water when a destroyer came by and worked on opening the hatches and getting them out. He was lucky, so many were not. He served aboard many ships throughout the war, made many landings. I do not have the words to describe how proud I am of my father. As many Veterans, he did not like to talk about it until many years later. When he was sick in the hospital, there was a Marine there also. He was on Guadalcanal and saw the shelling between the islands. They thought they were really giving the Japanese hell, but it was not to be.
This article was last modified 12 years ago