USS Providence (CL-82)
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USS ''Providence'' (CL-82/CLG-6/CG-6) was a
light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...
and the fourth ship of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
to be named after the city of
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
. ''Providence'' was commissioned between 1945 and 1949. From 1957 to 1959, she was converted to a guided missile cruiser and flagship. She served in that role from 1959 to 1973. After her decommissioning, she was finally scrapped in 1980.


Construction and commissioning

She was laid down 27 July 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.; launched 28 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Mary Roberts; and commissioned 15 May 1945. Departing
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
13 June 1945, ''Providence'' completed shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. Upon arrival at Newport, R.I., 4 September, she trained prospective cruiser and carrier crews until 6 October.


Service


1940s

Departing Boston in November 1945, she visited
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, on 6 December, making the first cruise intended to expand American prestige through naval visits lasting until 1947. Then,
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
with from 5 to 9 April 1946, and
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
, in May, where she ran aground. Leaving the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
16 June, she arrived at
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
on the 25th. Following departure from the Delaware Capes in October and training out of Guantanamo Bay and Norfolk, Va., she left Hampton Roads for the Mediterranean 3 February 1947. After exercises and port visits in the Mediterranean, she departed
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece, in May, and arrived at Boston later that month. Departing Newport, R.I., in November, she operated in the Mediterranean from 20 November 1947 to 2 March 1948, visiting
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
in December,
Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...
in January, and
Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
and
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
in February, returning to Newport in March. Sailing from Newport in September 1948, she served the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean from 23 September 1948 to 14 January 1949, visiting
Thessalonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
in October, Marseilles in November, Trieste and Venice in December, and Oran in January, returning to Newport later in January. She decommissioned at Boston 14 June 1949, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.


1950s

Reclassified CLG–6 on 23 May 1957, she commenced conversion to a ''Providence''-class guided missile light cruiser at Boston in June 1957. Provided with
RIM-2 Terrier The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. It underwent significant upgrades while in service, starting with ...
missiles, command ship facilities, and a nuclear weapons capability, she recommissioned 17 September 1959, Captain Kenneth L. Veth in command. As a missile cruiser, she retained the #1 6-inch gun turret. The #2 turret was replaced with a dual 5"/38 caliber mount; the aft armament was wholly replaced by missiles and the after side of the superstructure completely rebuilt.


1960s

Following shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, ''Providence'' arrived at her new home port of
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
, 29 July 1960. After a six-month tour of duty with the
7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of ...
, she returned to Long Beach 31 March 1961. She appeared as the fictional U.S.S Almira in the motion picture "The Honeymoon Machine" (1961) using stock footage taken of her at anchor in harbor. Following exercises off the West Coast, she arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, in May 1962, and relieved as flagship of the 7th Fleet. During 1962 and 1963 she participated in 7th Fleet exercises. During a three-day visit to Saigon in January 1964, she hosted South Vietnamese and American dignitaries, and delivered more than 38 tons of "Project Handclasp" materials to local humanitarian organizations. Departing
Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...
in July 1964, she returned to Long Beach in August. In October 1964 she began exercises in the Eastern Pacific. During January to June 1965, she received modern communications equipment. Spending the remainder of 1965 off the West Coast with the 1st Fleet, she participated in exercises and visited various West Coast ports. Deployed to WestPac 12 November 1966, she again relieved ''Oklahoma City'' (CLG–5) as flagship of the 7th Fleet on 1 December 1966 at Yokosuka, Japan. She contributed to a major bombardment of enemy positions in Vietnam 1 April 1967. She duelled with an enemy shore battery off the DMZ on 25 May. In July she provided gunfire support for amphibious operations. She bombarded enemy storage areas south of Da Nang 10 October. During 1968, she provided gunfire support off Vietnam during each month except June and December. In February 1968 ''Providence'' was involved in the
Tết Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces ...
. She contributed by shelling the wall around "The Citadel" in
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
, during the Battle of Hue. After this, as part of
Operation Formation Star Operation Formation Star was the code name for the emergency re-deployment of U.S. Seventh Fleet warships to the Sea of Japan off the eastern coast of North Korea following that country's seizure of the in international waters on 23 January 196 ...
, ''Providence'' along with three carrier groups headed for the
Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...
as the was captured by
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
. ''Providence'' received her first Navy Unit Commendation for service during the period of 25 November 1966 to 8 November 1968. During 1969 she operated with the 1st Fleet off the West Coast.


1970s

''Providence'' left San Diego to provide naval gunfire support off the coast of Vietnam from April to December 1972. For her service in Vietnam, she received her second Navy Unit Commendation in 1973: "The Secretary of the Navy takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Unit Commendation to USS ''Providence'' (CLG-6) for service as set forth in the following citation:
For exceptionally meritorious service from 20 April 1972 to 1 December 1972 while participating in combat operations off the coast of North and South Vietnam. In her primary role of providing naval gunfire support to allied forces in Vietnam, USS ''Providence'' inflicted serious losses on the enemy. Her outstanding support of South Vietnamese forces played a significant role in containing the North Vietnamese invasion. During the South Vietnamese counteroffensive, ''Providence'' time and again provided the firepower when and where it was needed by the forces ashore. ''Providence'' was also called upon on numerous occasions to participate in operations to interdict the flow of supplies in North Vietnam. She accomplished this mission with daring and skill, often coming under intense hostile fire. ''Providence'' took part in the first multi-cruiser strike since World War II. This daring and successful raid on military targets in the Haiphong harbor area demonstrated superior teamwork and professionalism by the officers and men of USS ''Providence''. Their sustained superior performance reflected great credit upon themselves, their ship, and the United States Naval Service.
John W. Warner, Secretary of the Navy, 14 May 1973".


Decommissioning

''Providence'' was decommissioned on 31 August 1973. She was stricken on 30 September 1978 and sold to National Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA Sale # 160018 on 15 July 1980, removed from custody 31 July 1980 and scrapped.


Awards


References


USS Providence (CL-82)


External links

*

of ''Providence'' (CLG-6) * from Chief Engineer Willard Searle, aboard the ''Providence'' from 1959 to 1961 {{DEFAULTSORT:Providence (Clg-6) Cleveland-class cruisers Providence-class cruisers Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1944 ships Cold War cruisers of the United States Vietnam War cruisers of the United States