USS Los Angeles (CA-135)
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The third USS ''Los Angeles'' (CA-135) was a , laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, on 28 July 1943 and launched on 20 August 1944. She was sponsored by Mrs.
Fletcher Bowron Fletcher Bowron (August 13, 1887 – September 11, 1968) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He was the 35th mayor of Los Angeles, California, from September 26, 1938, until June 30, 1953. He was at the time the city's longest-serving ...
and commissioned on 22 July 1945, with Captain John A. Snackenberg in command.


Service history


1944–1948

After a
shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise s ...
out of
Guantánamo Bay Guantánamo Bay ( es, Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off ...
, Cuba, ''Los Angeles'' sailed on 15 October for the Far East via the west coast and arrived at Shanghai, China, on 3 January 1946. During the next year she operated with the 7th Fleet along the coast of China and in the western Pacific to the
Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
. She returned to San Francisco, California, on 21 January 1947, and was decommissioned at Hunters Point on 9 April 1948, and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...
.


1951–1953

''Los Angeles'' was recommissioned on 27 January 1951, Capt. Robert N. McFarlane in command. In response to the American efforts in the Korean War, she sailed for the Far East 14 May and joined naval operations off the eastern coast of Korea on 31 May as flagship for Rear Admiral
Arleigh A. Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy ...
's CRUDIV 5. During the next six months she ranged the coastal waters of the Korean Peninsula from Hungnam in the east to Haeju in the west while her guns pounded enemy coastal positions. After returning to the United States on 17 December for overhaul and training, she made her second deployment to Korean waters on 9 October 1952 and participated on 11 October in a concentrated shelling of enemy bunkers and observation points at Koji-ni. During the next few months, she continued to provide off-shore gunfire support for American ground operations, and cruised the Sea of Japan with fast carriers of the 7th Fleet. While participating in the bombardment of Wonsan late in March and early in April 1953, she received minor damage from enemy shore batteries, but continued operations until sailing for the west coast in mid-April. She arrived at Long Beach on 15 May.


1953–1963

Between November 1953 and June 1963 ''Los Angeles'' made eight more deployments to the Far East where she served as a cruiser division flagship with the 7th Fleet in support of "keeping the peace" operations in that troubled part of the world. Her operations sent her from the coast of Japan to the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East and South China Seas; and with units of the 7th Fleet she steamed to American bases in the Philippines and Okinawa, as well as to Allied bases in South Korea, Hong Kong,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and Taiwan. During the Quemoy-Matsu crisis in 1956, she patrolled the Taiwan Strait to help protect ROC Army units from possible landing offenses from Communist China. When not deployed in the western Pacific, ''Los Angeles'' operated out of Long Beach along the west coast and in the Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands. She returned to Long Beach from her final Far East deployment on 20 June 1963.


Decommissioning and sale

While some consideration was made to convert ''Los Angeles'' into a single-end Talos missile cruiser, with flagship facilities (in essence a heavy cruiser version of the ''Oklahoma City'') funds were not appropriated for this or for a general overhaul to enable her continued fleet service, so she was decommissioned at Long Beach on 15 November 1963 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego. Stricken on 1 January 1974, and sold on 16 May 1975 (sale #16-5049) to the National Steel Corporation for $1,864,380.21, and scrapped in San Pedro, California. The flying bridge and a small portion of the bow section of the Los Angeles is on display at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in
San Pedro, CA San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located w ...
.


In popular culture

* USS ''Los Angeles'' was featured in '' The Adventures of Tintin'' comic '' The Red Sea Sharks'' by Hergé. She is shown patrolling in the Red Sea and is involved in the rescue of
Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
and his friends from a post-war
Type II U-boat The Type II U-boat was designed by Nazi Germany as a coastal U-boat, modeled after the CV-707 submarine, which was designed by the Dutch dummy company NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw Den Haag (I.v.S) (set up by Germany after World War I ...
operated by slave traders. * In a scene (approximately 47:40–53:00) from the 1977 film '' MacArthur'' depicting a Pearl Harbor shipboard strategy meeting between President Roosevelt, Nimitz, and MacArthur, a painting of the USS ''Los Angeles'' is clearly seen on the bulkhead.


Awards

* Occupation Germany/Japan * Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal * China Service Medal * 2 Jan – 30 Aug 46 * National Defense Service Medal with star * Korean Service Medal with 5 battle stars * Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with 2 battle stars *
United Nations Korea Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by t ...
*
Korean Presidential Unit Citation The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation () is a military unit award of the government of South Korea that may be presented to South Korean military units, and foreign military units for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic o ...
31 May-14 Jun 51 K5 27 Jun-8 Jul 51 K5 9–29 Jul 51 K6 8 Aug-5 Sep 51 K6 19 Sep-18 Oct 51 K6 31 Oct-27 Nov 51 K6 28–29 Nov 51 K7 11 Oct-4 Nov 52 K8 21–30 Nov 52 K8 1–17 Dcc 52 K9 31 Dec 52-27 Jan 53 K9 10 Feb-5 Mar 53 K9 20 Mar-23 Apr 53 K8 Only one star is authorized for participation in one or more engagements with the same code.br>


References

* *


External links

*
USS ''Los Angeles'' site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Los Angeles Baltimore-class cruisers Korean War cruisers of the United States Cold War cruisers of the United States Ships built in Philadelphia 1944 ships San Pedro, Los Angeles