- USS Concord (CL-10)
USS "Concord" (CL-10) was an "Omaha"-class
light cruiser of theUnited States Navy . She was the fourth Navy ship named for the city of Concord, the capital ofNew Hampshire ."Concord" was launched
15 December 1921 byWilliam Cramp and Sons , Philadelphia, Pa.; sponsored by Miss H. Butterick; and commissioned3 November 1923 , Captain O. G. Murfin in command.On her maiden cruise, between
23 November 1923 and9 April 1924 , "Concord" called atMediterranean ports, passed through theSuez Canal to round theCape of Good Hope , and exercised with the fleet in the Caribbean before returning to Philadelphia. As flagship of Commander, Destroyer Squadrons, Scouting Fleet, she cruised theCaribbean and sailed through thePanama Canal to exercise in theHawaiian Islands in 1924 and 1925. Continuing to operate in theAtlantic , she joined in thePresidential Fleet Review taken byCalvin Coolidge on4 June 1927 .Serving as flagship of Commander, Cruiser Division 3, Battle Force, "Concord" cruised the
Pacific from her base atSan Diego after early 1932, exercising in the Canal Zone and the Caribbean in 1934. She took part in Presidential Fleet Reviews taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt on30 September 1935 and12 July 1938 , and joined in fleet exercises in the Hawaiian area, in the Canal Zone, and offAlaska . After operating on the east coast in the winter of 1938-39, she returned to Pacific operations, and from1 April 1940 was based atPearl Harbor for a training schedule which intensified as war came closer.Pacific War When the United States entered the war, "Concord" was at San Diego preparing for a shipyard overhaul which she completed early in February 1942. Assigned to the Southeast Pacific Force, she escorted convoys to
Bora Bora in theSociety Islands , exercised in the Canal Zone, and cruised along the coast ofSouth America and to the islands of the southeast Pacific, serving from time to time as flagship of her force.Between
5 September and24 November 1943 , she carriedRear Admiral Richard E. Byrd on a tour to survey the potential use of a number of southeast Pacific islands in national defense and commercial aviation. During this cruise, she suffered a gasoline explosion which killed 22 men including her executive officer, and caused considerable damage, which was repaired atBalboa, Panama .With repairs completed in March 1944, Concord set sail northward to join the Northern Pacific Force at Adak
2 April . Serving as TF 94's flagship at the beginning of this duty, she joined in bombardments of theKuriles which continued at intervals until the close of the war, preventing effective use by the Japanese of their bases there. Harassing the northern shipping lanes ofJapan , her force sank several small craft, and on25 August 1944 , the destroyers of the force made an attack on a Japanese convoy.On
31 August 1945 , "Concord" stood out from Adak, covered the occupation landings atOminato ,Japan , between8 September and14 September , and sailed on to Pearl Harbor, the Canal Zone,Boston , and Philadelphia, where she was decommissioned12 December 1945 and sold21 January 1947 ."Concord" received one
battle star forWorld War II .References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c12/concord-iv.htm
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.