 |
| Career |
 |
| Launched: |
23 February 1943 |
| Commissioned: |
31 August 1943 |
| Decommissioned: |
29 August 1946 |
| Struck: |
September 1961 |
| Nickname: |
The Busy Bee |
| Fate: |
Scrapped in 1962 |
| General characteristics |
| Displacement: |
10,000 tons |
| Length: |
610 feet 1 inch (186.0 m) |
| Beam: |
66 feet 4 inches (20.2 m) |
| Draft: |
26 feet 6 inches (8.1 m) |
| Speed: |
33 knots |
| Complement: |
992 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
12 × 6 in (152 mm) guns, 12 × 5 in (127 mm) guns |
USS Biloxi (CL-80) was a United States Navy Cleveland-class light cruiser, the first ship named after the city of Biloxi, Mississippi.
She was launched 23 February 1943 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., of Newport News, Virginia, and commissioned on 31 August 1943, with Captain Daniel Michael McGurl in command; and then reported to the Cruiser Division 13 (CruDiv 13) of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
From January 1944 until April 1945 Biloxi screened fast carrier task groups, bombarded shore installations and covered amphibious landings:
The Biloxi was damaged by a Japanese kamikaze off Okinawa on 27 March 1945, in an attack that could easily have been much more serious. She continued in action, delivering anti-aircraft fire against further attacks. After the suicide attack, a 500-kilogram (1100 pound) Japanese dud bomb was found aboard her, that had failed to explode. Once rendered harmless by bomb-disposal personnel, that bomb was put on display in the quarterdeck for a period of time.
The Biloxi departed from the fighting area on 27 April 1945, en route to the West Coast of the U.S. for an overhaul. She steamed westward again in July, took part in the attack on Wake Island on 18 July, and arrived at Leyte Gukf on 14 August 1945. Following the immediate surrender of Japan, she assisted in the evacuation of Allied prisoners of war from the port of Nagasaki. Remaining on occupation duty of Japan until 9 November 1945 she then steamed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Territory, and then to the U.S. West Coast. She steamed to Port Angeles, Washington, on 15 January 1946 and reported to the Commander of the 19th Fleet, for deactivation. On 18 May 1946, she was placed in reserve while still in commission, at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard; but and on 29 October 1946, she went out of commission in reserve. She was part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet for the next decade and a half. The Biloxi was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 01 September 1961, and she sold for scrapping on 05 March 1962 to Zidell Explorations, Portland, Oregon. The cruiser's superstructure, however, was set aside and re-erected in the Guice Park near the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor, on Interstate 10 where it still stands today. The ship's bell is housed in the lobby of the Biloxi City Hall.
Awards
The Biloxi received nine battle stars for her service in the Pacific during World War II.
External links
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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