Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"USSHouston off San Diego, California, in October 1935." (photo posted at Wikipedia)
The Houston was a U.S. Navy heavy cruiser that was sunk by the Japanese in the Battle of Sunda Strait (28 February 1942). Captain Albert H. Rooks was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism.
"USSHouston off San Diego, California, in October 1935." (photo posted at Wikipedia)
The Houston was a U.S. Navy heavy cruiser that was sunk by the Japanese in the Battle of Sunda Strait (28 February 1942). Captain Albert H. Rooks was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism.
It was a desperate time. Much of our Fleet had been sunk at Peral Harbor. At that time we were heavily outnumbered and the Japanese were fully prepared. But Japan had limited resources. They needed the oil of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). After that they would head for Australia and New Zealand. Once these were secure the Americans would not be able to build up their forces there much as they did England in Europe. The plan was to sieze these and offer peace to the Americans on the basis of each would stay on their own side of the Pacific.
The USS Houston was a "Treaty Cruiser", designed and built to conform to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1921-22 and the London Naval Treaties. Treaty cruisers could be no larger than 10,000 tons in standard displacement. This limited both the overall size and the amount/thickness of armor, leading some to call them "tinclads."
The US had 18 of them including the USS Indianapolis, the ship that delivered the atomic bombs to the B-29 airfield on Tinian. She was subsequently torpedoed and sunk, leading to what may be the largest man-shark encounter in history. The encounter was highlighted in the movie Jaws.
Although Japan was a signatory to the Washington Naval Treaty, most of its heavy cruisers were much larger than that, some by around 50%.
Last edited by Nighteyes; 08-20-2014 at 12:40 PM..
The sailors who survived the sinking faced years of abuse and torture at the hands of the Japanese. They were slave laborers on the infamous Burma Thailand Death Railway. Their ordeal wasn't over until 1945 when Japan was defeated.
The US and Allied cruisers did alot of fighting in 1942 in the Pacific. I know the US also lost the heavy cruiser the Quincy the same night I believe two other allied cruisers were lost. I believe the Canberra was one of the other cruisers sunk that night. It was a big help when the new battleships starting coming on line like the USS North Carolina and the USS Washington. And then the South Dakota class battleships started coming on line. Ron
The US and Allied cruisers did alot of fighting in 1942 in the Pacific. I know the US also lost the heavy cruiser the Quincy the same night I believe two other allied cruisers were lost. I believe the Canberra was one of the other cruisers sunk that night. It was a big help when the new battleships starting coming on line like the USS North Carolina and the USS Washington. And then the South Dakota class battleships started coming on line. Ron
I believe you're thinking of the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942, a nighttime surface battle where the American heavy cruisers Quincy, Astoria and Vincennes, and the Australian heavy cruiser Canberra, were sunk.
Houston's only company at the Battle of the Sunda Strait was the Australian light cruiser Perth, and Perth actually went down first. It is easy to get the two battles confused because (a) both were at night, and (b) the 'star of the show' in both was the powerful Japanese Type 93 Long Lance torpedo.
Possibly the best performance by Allied cruisers was at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal just after midnight on Friday the 13th of November, 1942. Two American heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and eight destroyers faced off against a Japanese force of two fast battleships (Hiei and Kirishima), a light cruiser and eleven destroyers. The Allied formation sank one battleship (Hiei), the cruiser and four destroyers at the cost of two light cruisers and four destroyers. It was an Allied victory because they prevented the Japanese from shelling the Allied positions on Guadalcanal.
Last edited by Nighteyes; 08-26-2014 at 05:20 PM..
Those Treaty cruisers were often called 'broke backs' because of of the space between for and aft deckhouses. Despite their limitations, they were fast and formidable fighting ships that proved their worth many times over in the Pacific.
Those Treaty cruisers were often called 'broke backs' because of of the space between for and aft deckhouses. Despite their limitations, they were fast and formidable fighting ships that proved their worth many times over in the Pacific.
They were also notably handsome ships.
They were also called 'tinclads' by their detractors, because the treaty limitations placed significant de facto limits on the extent and thickness of their armor.
In the book In Harm's Way (poorly made into a John Wayne movie), Captain Rockwell Torrey's heavy cruiser was referred to as "Old Swayback" because of that same spacing between fore and after deckhouses.
[I suspect said cruiser was loosely based on the USS Portland, which left Pearl Harbor on December 5th to escort the carrier Lexington to Midway.]
They were also called 'tinclads' by their detractors, because the treaty limitations placed significant de facto limits on the extent and thickness of their armor.
In the book In Harm's Way (poorly made into a John Wayne movie), Captain Rockwell Torrey's heavy cruiser was referred to as "Old Swayback" because of that same spacing between fore and after deckhouses.
[I suspect said cruiser was loosely based on the USS Portland, which left Pearl Harbor on December 5th to escort the carrier Lexington to Midway.]
I believe "Old Swayback" was actually referring to the US heavy cruiser the USS Salt Lake City. It had a very good war record. Ron
I read in a book I had about naval feats that the Houston was famous for getting into the midst of the Japanese fleet during night, and then Japanese started to shoot and sank each other. I believe that the Houston sank a lot of ships practically shooting at very close range. They showed a lot of courage and the ship became a myth.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
