Wreck of USS Chicago (CA-29)

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

The USS Chicago was the 4th member of the Northampton Class of Heavy Cruisers, laid down in September 1928 and commissioned into the US Pacific Fleet in March 1931. Engaged in routine training and operations during the first decade of her service, the Chicago would take an active role in the early stages of the Second World War, beginning with her defense of Sydney Harbor from Japanese midget submarines in May 1942 and followed by her brief role in the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942. During the latter action, Chicago and her patrolmate HMAS Canberra were engaged by a vastly superior Japanese surface force in a night action, with Chicago taking a torpedo in her bow and Canberra damaged so severely she was scuttled the following morning. Forced to return stateside for battle damage repairs, Chicago and her crew were out of the action for over five months.

After repairs and upgrades at San Francisco, USS Chicago returned to the Solomon Islands in January 1943 and resumed her duties as a convoy escort and naval artillery platform to support US ground forces fighting on Guadalcanal. It was in this role she found herself under air attack by Japanese torpedo bombers in what would later be known as the Battle of Rennel Island. At sunset on January 29th two waves of Japanese bombers located and attacked the Chicago along with the six Cruisers and eight Destroyers of her task force as they maneuvered in the waters between Rennel and Guadalcanal Islands. Though the first wave of Japanese bombers were repelled by anti-aircraft fire and were unable to score any hits on the well-defended American formation, a second wave attacking in the near-darkness around 2000hrs found more success among the largely radar-less ships and succeeded in planting two torpedoes in the Chicago’s Port side. Suffering heavy damage from the pair of impacts, Chicago quickly lost headway and onboard power as massive amounts of seawater inundated her firerooms and extinguished her boiler fires, leaving the Cruiser dead in the water and listing. Shielded by the increasing darkness and assisted by several vessels in her formation, the Chicago’s damage control parties labored to check the water ingress and by the early morning hours had corrected Chicago’s list and shored up her hull enough to permit her sistership USS Louisville (CA-28) to place her under tow heading for the Allied base at Espiritu Santo.

Still unable to relight her boilers and make her own way by daybreak on January 30th, the tow of Chicago was passed from the Louisville to a the Fleet Tug USS Navajo (AT-64) as the majority of the Cruisers and Destroyers of Chicago’s task force withdrew from the area. Still bound for Espiritu Santo with an escort of six Destroyers and a small flight of fighter aircraft from the USS Enterprise (CV-6) providing air cover, the Chicago was quickly reconnoitered by Japanese scout aircraft and by 1600hrs the first formation of what would become eleven Japanese torpedo bombers were sighted on the horizon. Using manual means to operate her anti-aircraft weaponry, Chicago’s gunners added their fire to the ensuing melee, and though eight of the attacking bombers were shot down by the combination of anti-aircraft fire or the fighter cover, the large and immobile Cruiser presented an easy target for the experienced Japanese pilots and by the time the last aircraft withdrew the Chicago had taken a further four torpedoes along her entire Starboard length.

Down heavily by the Stern and with uncontrollable flooding from being torpedoed six times in two days claiming multiple areas of the ship, Chicago’s Captain ordered the ship abandoned before she gave out. Remaining afloat for barely 20 minutes after the order was passed, Chicago rolled onto her Starboard side and sank by the Stern at this location, mysteriously firing off a single round from one of her eight inch main guns before disappearing below the waves. Of her crew of 1,156, 62 perished in the attacks and 1,094 were picked up by the escorting Destroyer force.

USS Chicago earned her third and final Battle Star for her role in the Battle of Rennel Island.

www.navsource.org/archives/04/029/04029.htm