The Saga of the U.S.S. Birmingham CL-62; A Compilation of Her officers & Men

Farmville, VA: Buffalo Heights Printing, 1986. Reprint [This was originally published in San Angelo, Texas by the Newsfoto Publishing Company in 1946, or by one source 1945]. Comb bound. Format is approximately 11 inches by 7 inches. Unpaginated (approximately 200 pages). Black and white photographs, maps, Honor Roll, rosters, and substantial narratives., This reprint apparently was available at a reunion held in September 1986. This copy has been autographed by more than a dozen individuals, presumed to be former WWII crewmembers of the U.S.S. Birmingham. Perhaps the highest ranking former crew member to sign this copy was Captain Winston P. Folk, U.S.N. He graduated from Annapolis in 1923 and served as Executive Officer. A major action was the attempt to save the aircraft carrier USS Princeton. Captain Inglis, He earned the Navy Cross for his attempt to save the Princeton. By the end of 1945, he had been promoted to rear admiral and chief of Naval Intelligence. The Birmingham meanwhile earned a Navy Unit Commendation for her performance on 24 October 1944 and returned to duty early in 1945, taking a kamikaze hit off Okinawa in May of that year. Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison later said of the Birmingham: “She had set a new precedent for fire fighting on the high seas, which was put to good use later on [the carriers] Bunker Hill and Franklin.”33 The cruiser’s crew had absorbed heavy losses... the Birmingham had lived up to the highest traditions of the U.S. Navy." Perhaps the last organized reunion of the crew was in 2006, when some two dozen veterans of the ship gathered in the city of Birmingham to remember their service on the warship that bore that city's name. USS Birmingham (CL-62), a United States Cleveland-class light cruiser named for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, the "Pittsburgh of the South", was laid down at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Newport News, Virginia, on 17 February 1941 and launched on 20 March 1942 by Mrs. Cooper Green, wife of the president of the Birmingham City Commission. She was commissioned on 29 January 1943, Captain John Wilkes in command. Birmingham earned eight battle stars, receiving heavy damage on at least three occasions. Following her shakedown cruise, Birmingham was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Departing Norfolk, Virginia on 7 June, she steamed to the Mediterranean and gave gunfire support during the invasion of Sicily (10–26 July 1943). Returning to the United States on 8 August, she was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 September. Joining the fast carrier task force screen, she took part in the raids on Tarawa (18 September 1943) and Wake Island (5–6 October). At the Solomons, she took part in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (8–9 November), along with her sister ships Cleveland, Columbia, Montpelier, and Denver. This was the first major action by the new Cleveland-class light cruisers that were entering the fleet. Birmingham's gunners shot down at least four enemy Japanese aircraft. During the daytime, Japanese planes hit Birmingham with two bombs and a torpedo. The ship's casualties included two killed and 34 wounded. The hits kept her out of the night surface battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet that followed. Birmingham retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted until 18 February 1944, when she rejoined the Pacific Fleet. Assigned to Task Force 57 (TF 57), she took part in the battle of Saipan (14 June – 4 August); the Battle of the Philippine Sea (19–20 June); battle of Tinian (20 July – 1 August); battle of Guam (21 July); and Philippine Islands raids (9–24 September). She then served with TF 38 during the Okinawa raid (10 October), northern Luzon and Formosa raids (15 October and 18–19 October), and the Battle of Leyte Gulf (24 October). During the latter, she suffered great topside damage from explosions on board the aircraft carrier Princeton while courageously attempting to aid that stricken vessel. 239 men died, 408 were wounded, and the bodies of four were never recovered. Birmingham retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted from November 1944 to January 1945. Rejoining the Pacific Fleet, the cruiser supported the battle of Iwo Jima (4–5 March 1945) and joined Task Force 54 (TF 54) for the invasion of Okinawa (25 March – 5 May). On 4 May, after fighting off three attacks, she was damaged for a third time when a Japanese kamikaze plane hit her forward. The resulting explosion killed 47, with 4 missing and 81 wounded. Returning to Pearl Harbor, she underwent repairs from 28 May to 1 August. Birmingham rejoined the 5th Fleet at Okinawa on 26 August, and then in November steamed to Brisbane, Australia. She visited other Australian ports, including Melbourne on 8 November 1945. She returned to San Francisco on 22 March 1946 and was taken out of commission and placed in reserve there on 2 January 1947. An 8-foot (2.4 m) long waterline model of USS Birmingham, owned by the U. S. Navy, has been loaned for display at Birmingham City Hall, at the Southern Museum of Flight, and currently, at the Birmingham History Center. Condition: Good.

Keywords: Tarawa, Wake Island, Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, Task Force 57, Saipan, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Battle of Tinian, Battle of Guam, Okinawa, Formosa, Battle of Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Kamikaze, Fifth Fleet, U.S.S. Birmingham

[Book #82005]

Price: $500.00