USS Roanoke CL-145 Assoc.

 USS Roanoke CL-145 Association

 

This association has been organized to: promote the social welfare of the war veterans who served aboard the USS Roanoke CL-145; to carry on programs to perpetuate the memory of the deceased veterans who served aboard the USS Roanoke CL-145 and to comfort the survivors; to sponsor or participate in activities of a patriotic nature; and to provide social and recreational activities for veterans who served aboard the USS Roanoke CL-145.

General Information:
Assoc. Officers:

  • President: Thomas Carter, 1st Div. '55 to '56
    Vice Pres.: Richard Jones, S-1 Div '55 to '57
    Secretary/Editor: Victor Russell, Fox Div. '53 to '56
    Treasurer: Thomas Bevan, OR Div. '55 to '57
    ------------------
    Chaplain: Mickey Meadows, 5th Div. '55 to '58
    Master-at-Arms: George Clifton, Fox Div. '56 to '57
    Historian: Roger Thomas, 3rd & 4th Div. '52 to '58
    Board of Directors:
    Jack Falls, S2 & 3 Div. '52 to '56
    Pat O'Brian, OS Div. '54 to '57
    George Clifton, Fox Div. '56 to '57
    Roger Thomas, 3rd & 4th Div. '52 to '58
    Advisor: Capt. Forrest Doucette, S Div '49 to '50
    Founder:
    Neil (Clem) Long, GMC 4th Div. '49 to '56 Deceased 7/7/2000


    Qualifications for Membership:
    All persons, sailors and marines, officers and enlisted who were assigned to active United States Navy Service aboard the USS Roanoke CL-145; also, all persons who were members of other services who were temporarily assigned to or transported by the USS Roanoke CL-145. Widows of members in good standing are also welcome to join at no charge.
    The Association dues are $15 per year (January 1st to December 31st) to cover the cost of the printing and mailing the newsletter.

    *The Association Newsletter:
    The Roanoke's Lookout - will be sent via USPS upon request - please send Victor Russell, Secretary, your (USPS) mailing address and include phone number, e-mail address and division, rank on Roanoke, highest rank & dates served on Roanoke.

    Newsletters are published quarterly and contain reunion information, information from the Associations officers, enrollment information, letters from shipmates, (and others) E-mail and interesting articles. We encourage ALL former shipmates to send in letters, e-mails, interesting tidbits acquired while serving aboard Roanoke; anything suitable for publication.

    Once or twice a year the newsletter will contain a reunion notice form and we ask everyone to make copies, fill them out and send them to your local newspaper, etc..

    ** Reunions:
    The USS Roanoke has had 16 reunions: (1) Myrtle Beach, SC 1993 ~ (2) Roanoke, VA 1994 ~ (3) Norfolk, VA 1995 ~ (4) Charleston, SC 2001 ~ (10) Baltimore, MD 2002 ~ (11) Tucson, AZ 2003 ~ (12) Myrtle Beach, SC 2004 ~ (13) Valley Forge, PA 2005 ~ (14) Nashville, TN 2006 ~(15) Roanoke, VA 2007 ~(16) will be in Jacksonville, FL ~(17) will be in San Antonio, TX in 2009 ~ (18) will be in Hampton, VA in 2010

  • Our 2009 reunion will be held in San Antonio, TX. at the Radisson Hotel, April 30th, to May 3rd, 2009. Watch for your Lookout Newsletter for more information, or Contact your Secretary for more information.

  • Ships History:

    The USS WORCESTER, CL-144 was conceived in idea, on May 13, 1942. . It was designed to fulfill the requirements of several functional needs. She was the first U.S. Navy ship of her class on which all guns could be used for anti-aircraft fire as well as for surface targets.
    The WORCESTER was the first of six in her class, planned to be built, but only two would be completed, the WORCESTER (CL-144) and the ROANOKE (CL-145). They embodied many of the lessons learned during Word War-Il, as hard-hitting, dual-purpose cruisers.
    Combining Destroyer maneuverability with cruiser size, the new ROANOKE could carry out scouting operations, lead a flotilla of destroyers, and could still keep the sea in any kind of weather. She had a fuel capacity for long voyages and speed to overtake other vessels and maneuver rapidly. She could provide armor protection against gunfire and carried superior guns that were capable of out-shooting the enemy’s hard-hitting cruiser units, and still repel mass air attacks.
    ROANOKE, at her commissioning, displaced 17,000 tons, was 680 feet long, 71 feet wide, had a draft of 26 feet, and could make 33 knots at flank speed. She carried a ships complement of 1,070 men. Her keel was laid down on 15 May 1945 at Camden, N.J. by the New York Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Corp., and was launched on 16 June 1947 and christened by Miss Julia Ann Henebry. The Roanoke was commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Base on 4 April 1949 with Capt. John D. Kelsey in Command.
    The main battery consisted of twelve six-inch dual-purpose guns mounted in six turrets. The 3-inch 50’s were installed in late 1949 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. There were five dual 3”50 Cal. mounts on the port side, five on the starboard side and one on the bow, plus a pair of single 3” on blisters each side of the fantail, for a total count of 24 three-inch guns.
    At commissioning, the search radars were SR-2, SR-6, SG-6, and SP-1, with the SR-2 and SG-6 on the Mainmast, the SR-6 on a mast just forward of the rear stack, and the SP- 1 on the After-mast. The SR-2 antenna was fed with a rigid coax tube 1.5 inches in diameter, with a ¼” diameter center conductor, held in place by ceramic donuts as spacers, and was not very effective, so it was eventually replaced with the SR-6 from the mast ahead of the after stack, which was then removed.. Fire Control radar consisted of 2 ea. MK-13, 4 each ~ MK-25, 4 each ~ MK-35, 6 each & MK-27’s mounted in each of the 6 main turrets. There were also individual radars on the bow and fantail 3-inch gun mounts, for a total count of 19 fire-control radars.
    After commissioning, ROANOKE spent the first year of her commissioned service completing her fitting out, conducting shakedown training off the eastern seaboard of the U.S. Upon completing her fitting out she departed on 25 June 1949 and arrived at Norfolk Naval Base 28 June. Departed Norfolk on 12 July for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and arrived Guantanamo 22 July 1949 to begin her shakedown period. She operated in and out of Guantanamo Bay and Cristobal, Canal Zone until 25 Sept. (5-8 Aug. - Kingston, Jamaica, 12-14 Aug. – Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, 24 Aug. – 2 Sept. – Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone, 14-19 Sept. – San Juan and Culebra, Puerto Rico). Then she departed Guantanamo on 25 Sept. for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and arrived on 28 Sept. 28 Sept.-31 Oct. – Post Shakedown, Philadelphia. 31 Oct. -22 Nov. – Second Task Fleet Exercises. 14 Nov. Crossed the Artic Circle. 22-24 Nov.- Norfolk, Va., 24-25 Nov.-Enroute to Philadelphia, 25 Nov.-6 Jan.- Technical Availability, Philadelphia, 6-16
    Med Cruise: Jan. Enroute Gibraltar, 16-21, Jan. 1950 –Gibraltar, B.C.C., 21-26 Jan. – At Sea Exercises, 26-31 Jan. – Augusta, Sicily, 31 Jan.-3 Feb. – Exercises At Sea,(2 Feb. – Marines Landed on Malta), 3-8 Feb.- Augusta, Sicily, 9-14 Feb. –Messina, Sicily, 14-15 Feb. – At Sea, 16 Feb. Sfax, Tunisia, 17-20 Feb. – At Sea, 21-23 Feb. – Famagusta, Cyprus, 24 Feb. – Port Said, Egypt, 25 Feb. – Transit of Suez Canal, 25-27 Feb. – At Sea, 27 Feb.-2 March –Jidda, Saudi Arabia, 4-6 March – At Sea, 6-9 March – Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey, 9-11 March - At Sea, 11-14 March – Piraeus, Greece, 15-18 March – Suda Bay, Crete, 18-24 March – At Sea Exercises, (20 March – Marines Landed on Crete), 24 March – 3 April – Genoa, Italy, 4 April – 1st Anniversary of USS Roanoke, 4-7 April – At Sea Exercises, 7-13 April – Piraeus, Greece, 14-18 April – Salonika, Greece, 18-22 April – At Sea, 22-27 April – Naples, Italy, 28 April- 4 May – Marseille, France, 4-6 May – At Sea, 6-9 May Algiers, Algeria, 9-12 May – At Sea, 12-15 May – Lisbon, Portugal, 15-23 May Enroute Norfolk, Va., 23 May 1950 – End of Mediterranean Cruise.
    3rd Med Cruise 1951-52: Departed Norfolk 28 Nov 1951 – Gibraltar, BCC, 10 Dec, ’51 – Augusta, Sicily, 13-18 Dec. – St. Jean, France, 20-24 Dec. – Villefranche, France, 24 Dec.-3 Jan. ’53 – Barcelona, Spain, 9-15 Jan. – Gibraltar, BCC, 21-25 Jan. – Augusta, Sicily, 31 Jan.-6 Feb. – Naples, Italy, 9-18 Feb. – LaSpezia, Italy, 21-26 Feb. – Operations, GRAND SLAM, with British, France and Italy – Messina, Sicily, 6-10 Mar. – Toulon, France, 15-20 Mar. – Golfe Juan, France, 20-27 Mar. – Phaleron, Greece, 1-4 Apr. – Suda Bay, Crete, 5-9 Apr. – Izmir, Algeria, 11-16 Apr. – Cannes, France, 22-28 Apr. – Oran, Algeria, 3-9 May – Arrive Norfolk, VA 19 May, 1952
    She alternated 6th Fleet deployments with operations in the western Atlantic until the summer of 1952 when she added a midshipman’s cruise to Europe and the Caribbean to her schedule.
    Training Cruises: Departed Norfolk 22 Sept. 1952 – Arrive Key West, FL, 25 Sept. – Havana, Cuba, 4 Oct. – Key West, FL 6 Oct. – Havana, Cuba, 17 Oct. – Arrive Norfolk, VA 31 Oct. 1952. Departed Norfolk, VA 10 Nov. – Arrive Gitmo, Cuba, 15 Nov. – Norfolk 29 Nov. 1952.
    4th Mediterranean Cruise 1953: Departed Norfolk 7 Jan. - Oran, Algeria, 20-27 Jan. – Palermo, Sicily, 3-7 Feb. – Augusta, Sicily, 8-13 Feb. – Cannes, France, 21 Feb-3 March – Genoa, Italy, 10-15 March – Phaleron, Greece, 26 March-2 April - Izmir, Turkey, 4-10 April - Venice, Italy, 18-23 April - Trieste, (F.T.), 23-27 April - Gibraltar, B.C.C., 4-9 May – Arrive Norfolk, 19 May, 1953.
    Entered dry-dock in Portsmouth, Va. Naval Ship Yard for routine maintenance until Jan. 1954. Departed Norfolk 26 Jan. – Arrived Gitmo Bay, Cuba, 28 Jan.-12 Feb. – Kingston Jamaica, 13-14 Feb. – Gitmo Bay, Cuba, 15-19 Feb. – Port-Au Prince, Haiti, 20-22 Feb. – Gitmo Bay, 23 Feb.-5 March – Arrive Norfolk, Va. 8 March.
    5th Med Cruise 1954: Depart Norfolk 23 March – Palma, Spain, 5-13 April – Cannes, France, 21-24 April - Marseilles, France, 24-29 April - Leghorn, Italy, 6-10 May - Gibraltar, 12-15 May – Algiers, Algeria, 17-24 May – Cannes, France, 29 May-3 June – Genoa, Italy, 9-17 June – Naples, Italy, 23-28 June – Cannes, France, 3-9 July – Toulon, France, 9-15 July – Palermo, Sicily, 23-27 July – Naples, Italy, 27-29 July – Valencia, Spain, 3-9 Aug. – Saint Raphael, France, 13-16 Aug, - Phaleron Bay, Greece, 19-24 Aug. – Istanbul, Turkey, 25-30 Aug. – Cannes, France, 10-15 Sept. – Gibraltar, 17-19 Sept. – Norfolk, Va. 28 Sept.-18 Oct. - Yorktown, Va. 18-20 Oct. – ( Lant Flex Ops) - Return Norfolk, Va. 20 Nov.
    Midshipmen Cruise: Depart Norfolk 14 Jan.1955 – Gitmo Bay, 17 Jan.-2 Feb. – San Juan, Puerto Rico, 5-7 Feb. – Norfolk, 14 Feb.-23 March
    6th Med Cruise 1955: Depart Norfolk 23 March - Gibraltar, 2-5 April – Toulon, France, 7-14-April – Naples, Italy, 23-30 April – Barcelona, Spain, 7-13 May – Gibraltar, 14-17 May – Norfolk 26 May-13 June
    Midshipmen: New York City, NY, 17-20 June – Norfolk, 24 June-18 July – Panama Canal Zone, 25-29 July – Havana, Cuba, 5-9 Aug. – Gitmo, 9-26 Aug. – Norfolk, Va. 31 Aug.-22 Sept.
    Continuing to operate in the Battleship-Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet until the fall of 1955, Roanoke completed her sixth Mediterranean deployment in May, then prepared for transfer to the Pacific Fleet.
    Good bye Atlantic, Hello Pacific: Depart Norfolk 22 Sept. Arrive Panama Canal 26 Sept. – Rodman, CZ, - 26-28 Sept. – San Diego, CA. 5-7 Oct. – Long Beach, CA. 7-14 Oct. – San Francisco, CA. 15-18 Oct. – NAD Banger, WA. 20-20 Oct. – Seattle, WA. 20-24 Oct. – Arrive Bremerton, WA. Naval Ship Yard 29 Oct. until 13 Feb. 1956.
    Depart Bremerton, WA. 13 Feb. for NAD Bangor, WA, 13-14 Feb. – Arrive Long Beach, CA. 17 Feb. – Refresher Training over 5 April.
    First WestPac Cruise: Depart Long Beach, CA. 29 May, arrive Pearl Harbor, 4-11 June – Guam, M.I. 21-26 June – Sasebo, Japan 30 June -3 July – Hong Kong, B.C.C. 7-12 July – Yokosuka, Japan 25 July-4 Aug. – Sasebo, Japan 7-9 Aug. – Hong Kong, B.C.C. 14-18 Aug. – Subic Bay, Okinawa 20-21 Aug. – Manila, Philippines 21-24 Aug. – Sasebo, Japan 28 Aug.-11 Sept. – Nagasaki, Japan 28 Sept.-1 Oct. – Inchon, Korea 3-8 Oct. – Sasebo, Japan 10-12 Oct – Yokosuka, Japan 24 Oct.-3 Nov. – Buckner Bay, Okinawa 10-12 Nov. – Yokosuka, Japan 16-23 Nov. – Yokohama, Japan 23 Nov.-1 Dec. – Pearl Harbor 8-10 Dec. – Arrive Long Beach, CA 16 Dec.
    1957 Ops Long Beach:
    Second WestPac Cruise: Departed Long Beach, Ca. 3 Sep 57, Commanding Officer, Capt J.L.Chew, Executive Officer Cdr W.B. Fargo,- arrive Pearl Harbor, T.H. 7-8 Sep 57 - Overnight stay for supplies and fuel,- 11 Sep 57- Crossed Equator, embarked KING NEPTUNE and COURT to initiate 950 crew members as SHELLBACKS - 15 Sep 57- Special meal prepared for Captain and other crew members celebrating their birthdays. - Sydney, Australia 18-24 Sep 57 - After departing Sydney and were at sea, the onboard helicopter crashed and was lost at sea. All crew members of helo were recovered safely. - Sasebo, Japan 5-17 Oct 57 - At sea, we met up with the supply ship and replenished at sea with supplies and fuel. 18-25 Oct 57 - Kobe, Japan 26 Oct - 2 Nov - Yokosuka, Japan 8-15 Nov 57 - Nagaski, Japan 23-25 Nov 57 - Buckner Bay, Okinawa 29 Nov-3 Dec 57 – (Adm. Fenno and Staff embarked from LOS ANGELES to conduct an ORI - COMCRUDIV FIVE embarked. Adm. J.L. Davidson and Staff to observe South China Sea exercise). Spent the next 27 days at sea, including the holidays. Subic Bay, P.I. 30-31 Dec 57 - Hong Kong, BCC 2-8 Jan 58 - Sasebo, Japan 11-15 Jan 58 – (Change of Command. Capt J. L. Chew Departed. Capt J.I. Cone Reported aboard) 15 Jan 58 - Nagoya, Japan 23-26 Jan 58 - Inchon, Korea 3-6 Feb 58 - Yokosuka, Japan 10-23 Feb 58 - At Sea – (Cruised to area around New Guinea to standby to evacuate US citizens which had become endangered by the local tribes that were uprising. Crossed the Equator once again, embarked KING NEPTUNE and COURT to conduct initiation of approximately 30 crew members as SHELLBACKS). - Subic Bay, P.I, 7-8 Mar 58 - HOMEWARD BOUND 9 Mar 58 - ARRIVE Long Beach, CA 24 Mar 58
    Roanoke steamed a total of 48,258 miles on her second WestPac cruise, before decommissioning on 31 October 1958
    ****************************************************************************
    Home ported at Long Beach, she conducted nine Naval Reserve cruises and completed two WestPac cruises.
    In October 1958, ROANOKE departed Long Beach and steamed for the Mare Island Naval Shipyard to commence the de-activation process. She was decommissioned 31 October 1958.
    She was then transferred to Bremerton, Washington, Naval Shipyard before being struck from the U.S. Navy list of active ships in December 1960. She was then sold for scrap to the Levin Metals Corporation of San Jose, California on 22 February, 1972. She was towed to the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, WA where she was cut up for scrap by ZIDEL’S .
    The revolutionary light cruiser, that never had a chance to prove herself, in her designed role, but proved herself and her crew well, was broken up for scrap. She was the last of the “All-Gun”, Light Cruiser concept designs, the new cruisers being armed with Missiles.
    Approximately 200 tons of her armor plate was sent to the Fermi National Accelerator Lab at Batavia, Illinois, west of Chicago, and the armor is being used for absorption shielding in the particle accelerator. USS WORCESTER, (CL-144) also supplied 200 tons of armor plate, along with the Heavy Cruisers MACON, (CA-132); FALL RIVER,(CA-131) and BALTIMORE, (CA-68) with 300 tons of armor plate each. Five Essex Class Carriers; PRINCETON, (CVA-37); ANTIETAM, (CVA-36); BUNKER HILL, (C VA-1 7); PHILIPPINE SEA, (CVA-47); and LAKE CHAMPLAIN, (CVA-39), each supplied 600 tons of armor plate to the Fermi Lab as absorption shielding material.



    CONTACT: Vic Russell, Secretary USS Roanoke CL-145 Assoc.
    7 River Drive
    Toms River, NJ 08753-7028
    E-Mail: vrussell26@comcast.net
    Home Phone: (732) 929-0671

  • www.trea.org

    The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA) is providing the Military Reunion Listings as a FREE service to the veteran community. Please take a look at our website, www.trea.org, scroll down the left side and click on Reunions/Buddies, and this will bring up the reunion page. I'm sure many of your shipmates have been on other ships and may wonder if those ships have a reunion. I appreciate any help you can provide in getting the word out to the Veterans.        "UNITED WE STAND"


 
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