USS ''Houston'' (CL-81) 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 thi ...
of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, which were built during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
was designed as a development of the earlier s, the size of which had been limited by the
First London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...
. The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so the ''Cleveland''s used the same
hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft
* Submarine hull
Ma ...
as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier. The ''Cleveland''s carried a
main battery
A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a naval gun or group of guns used in volleys, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, th ...
of twelve
guns in four three-gun
turrets
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* ...
, along with a
secondary armament
Secondary armaments are smaller, faster-firing weapons that are typically effective at a shorter range than the main battery, main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored personnel c ...
of twelve
dual-purpose gun
A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets.
Description
Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...
s. They had a top speed of .
She was active in the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
and survived two separate
aerial torpedo
An aerial torpedo (also known as an airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo) is a torpedo launched from a torpedo bomber aircraft into the water, after which the weapon propels itself to the target.
First used in World War I, air-dropped torped ...
hits in October 1944.
Design

The ''Cleveland''-class
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 thi ...
s traced their origin to design work done in the late 1930s; at the time, light cruiser
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was limited to by the
Second London Naval Treaty
The Second London Naval Treaty was an international treaty signed as a result of the Second London Naval Disarmament Conference held in London. The conference started on 9 December 1935 and the treaty was signed by the participating nations on ...
. Following the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in September 1939, Britain announced it would suspend the treaty for the duration of the conflict, a decision the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
quickly followed. Though still neutral, the United States recognized that war was likely and the urgent need for additional ships ruled out an entirely new design, so the ''Cleveland''s were a close development of the earlier s, the chief difference being the substitution of a two-gun
dual-purpose gun
A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets.
Description
Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...
mount for one of the
main battery
A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a naval gun or group of guns used in volleys, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, th ...
gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...
s.
''Houston'' was
long overall
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also u ...
and had a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Radio beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of and a
draft
Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
of . Her
standard displacement
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
amounted to and increased to at
full load
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...
. The ship was powered by four General Electric
steam turbines
A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four oil-fired
Babcock & Wilcox boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generat ...
s. Rated at , the turbines were intended to give a top speed of . Her crew numbered 1285 officers and enlisted men.
The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve
6 in /47-caliber Mark 16 guns in four 3-gun turrets on the centerline. Two were placed forward in a
superfiring pair; the other two turrets were placed aft of the
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
in another superfiring pair. The secondary battery consisted of twelve
/38-caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets. Two of these were placed on the centerline, one directly behind the forward main turrets and the other just forward of the aft turrets. Two more were placed abreast of the
conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
and the other pair on either side of the aft superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense consisted of twenty-four
Bofors guns in four quadruple and four double mounts and twenty-one
Oerlikon guns in single mounts.
The ship's
belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers.
The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to ...
ranged in thickness from , with the thicker section
amidships where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. Her deck armor was thick. The main battery turrets were protected with faces and sides and tops, and they were supported by
barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships.
In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
s 6 inches thick. ''Houston''s conning tower had 5-inch sides.
Service history
''Houston'' was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one ...
at the
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company
Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...
at
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...
on 4 August 1941, originally under the name ''Vicksburg''. On 12 October 1942, she was renamed ''Houston''; some five months before, on 30 May, 1,000 Navy recruits, known as the
Houston Volunteers, were sworn in at a dedication ceremony in downtown Houston but with a nineteen-month period between then and commissioning, only one served aboard the new ''Houston''. The completed hull was
launched on 19 June 1943.
Fitting-out
Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...
work was completed by December that year, and she was
commissioned on the 20th. The ship got underway on 1 February 1944 to begin her
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, refit or overhaul. The shakedown ...
. She initially sailed to the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
, and then returned north for initial training off
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. On 16 April, she left for the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
to join the war effort there. She passed through the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
and sailed north to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, before continuing on to
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
. She arrived there on 6 May and carried out further training exercises for the next few weeks.
World War II operations
''Houston'' departed from Hawaii later in May and arrived in
Majuro Atoll
Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The at ...
on the 31st, where she joined the anti-aircraft screen for the
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
s of the
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...
, then part of the
Fifth Fleet
The Fifth Fleet is a Structure of the United States Navy#Numbered fleets, numbered fleet of the United States Navy. Its area of responsibility encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles, and includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian ...
. There, she was assigned to Task Group (TG) 58.4, which was centered on the aircraft carrier and the
light carrier
A light aircraft carrier, or light fleet carrier, is an aircraft carrier smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only one-half to ...
s and . She and the rest of the fleet then began the
invasion of the Mariana and Palau Islands. The fleet got underway on 5 June and began air strikes on the islands on 12 June to prepare for the
amphibious invasion, which started with the
invasion of Saipan on 15 June. For their part, the Japanese launched their counter-attack with the recently formed
1st Mobile Fleet. In the resulting
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19–20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious r ...
on 19 June, ''Houston'' contributed her anti-aircraft guns to the fleet's defense. After American air strikes on the 1st Mobile Fleet sank two of the Japanese carriers, the Japanese withdrew, allowing the American fleet to return to operations in support of the Marianas campaign. On 26 June, ''Houston'' joined the shore bombardment unit that targeted
Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
and
Rota. During the bombardment, she destroyed ten aircraft, the airstrip they occupied, and a radar installation. ''Houston'' thereafter sailed for
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...
to replenish ammunition for the next operation.
By this time, the Fast Carrier Task Force had passed to the command of the
Third Fleet, and all of the units were renumbered. ''Houston'' was transferred to TG 38.2, which included the carriers , , and , the light carriers and , and the
fast battleship
A fast battleship was a battleship which in concept emphasised speed without undue compromise of either armor or armament. Most of the early World War I-era dreadnought battleships were typically built with low design speeds, so the term "fast ba ...
s and . The task force departed on 30 August to begin air strikes on the
Palau Islands
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...
to prepare for the upcoming
invasion of Peleliu. The carriers struck the islands on 6 September, after which ''Houston'' and several destroyers bombarded Peleliu and other islands in the area. The Fast Carrier Task Force then sailed west to neutralize Japanese airfields in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
before returning for another series of attacks on Peleliu from 17 to 19 September to support American ground forces that had landed on the island on the 15th. The fleet then departed for
Ulithi
Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State.
Name
The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...
atoll to prepare for the next offensive, arriving there on 1 October. There, the fleet was reorganized again, and ''Houston'' was assigned to TG 38.1, which included the carriers and and the light carriers ''Cowpens'' and .
Formosa raid and torpedoing
On 6 October, the Fast Carrier Task Force sortied to carry out a series of air strikes on Japanese targets in the western Pacific. These began with attacks on
Okinawa
most commonly refers to:
* Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture
* Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture
* Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself
* Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
on 10 October, followed by attacks on
Formosa
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...
two days later. The
Formosa Air Battle
The Formosa Air Battle (, ), 12–16 October 1944, was a series of large-scale aerial engagements between carrier air groups of the United States Navy Fast Carrier Task Force (TF38) and Japanese land-based air forces of the Imperial Japanese Nav ...
lasted for three days, and American forces inflicted serious damage to the Japanese
2nd Air Fleet based on the island. ''Houston''s anti-aircraft gunners claimed four aircraft shot down on 12 October, and three more on 14 October. During the latter engagement late in the day, a Japanese
torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...
hit ''Houston'' with a
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
in one of her
engine room
On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the Compartment (ship), compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. The engine room is generally the largest physical compartment of the machinery space. It houses the vessel's prime move ...
s. The hole flooded all four machinery spaces, which disabled power aboard the ship. The torpedo hit from the
starboard
Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front).
Vessels with bil ...
side while ''Houston'' was turning right at a speed of , so her hull was
listing to port; as a result, the torpedo hit on the bottom of the hull. The ship's
damage control
In navies and the maritime industry, damage control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft.
Examples are:
* rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and
* damage from grounding (run ...
teams began work immediately and began efforts to control flooding; eventually, they were able to contain flooding and pump some undamaged compartments empty.
The heavy cruiser took ''Houston'' under tow to evacuate the crippled vessel, though the
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
had taken over the towline later that night. As the ship could no longer feed or house her crew due to the damage, most of the men were evacuated save the captain and damage control teams. She and the heavy cruiser , which had also been disabled by a torpedo hit, came under heavy attack from the 2nd Air Fleet on 16 October, and ''Houston'' was struck by a second torpedo in the
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
, directly above her
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
. The explosion ignited the starboard tank that held fuel for the ship's reconnaissance floatplanes, causing a major fire in the aircraft hangar, though the remaining crew suppressed the blaze within fifteen minutes. Flooding from this hit degraded the ship's buoyancy and stability further. Another 300 men were evacuated afterward, leaving just 200 aboard to continue damage control efforts as the ships withdrew.
The Japanese believed the withdrawing formation might be intercepted, and sortied from the
Inland Sea
An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large in area and is either completely surrounded by dry land (landlocked), or connected to an ocean by a river, strait or " arm of ...
in an attempt to sink them, but an American air attack forced them to withdraw. ''Houston'' and ''Canberra'' had arrived back at Ulithi by 27 October; there, ''Houston'' underwent temporary repairs with assistance from the
repair ship
A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...
. There were no
floating dry dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
s large enough to accommodate ''Houston'', but significant hull repairs were nevertheless effected and much of the flooding was pumped out. This work allowed her to steam to
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
for further work, arriving there on 20 December. There, the floating dry dock took the cruiser aboard, allowing the rest of the hull damage to be plated over and the remaining water pumped out. Two of her boilers were also restored to operation, along with the No. 2 and 3 engines, allowing her to get underway in February. From there, she sailed to the
New York Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...
for permanent repairs, which she reached on 24 March 1945. Work lasted until 11 October, by which time the war had ended with the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
. In the course of the ship's wartime service, ''Houston'' received three
battle stars
A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...
.
File:USS Houston (CL-81) under tow on 17 October 1944.jpg, ''Houston'', low in the water, on 17 October
File:USS Canberra (CA-70) and USS Houston (CL-81) under tow on 18 October 1944, after receiving torpedo hits (NH 98343).jpg, (foreground) and ''Houston'' (background) under tow on 18 October
File:Stern of USS Houston (CL-81) damaged by torpedo hit, October 1944.jpg, ''Houston''s badly damaged stern
File:USS Houston (CL-81) alongside USS Hector (AR-7) at Ulithi in November 1944.jpg, ''Houston'' alongside at Ulithi for repairs
Post-War service

After returning to active service, ''Houston'' conducted refresher training for her crew in the Caribbean. She then joined training maneuvers held off
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
. On 16 April 1946, she embarked on a
goodwill cruise to visit European ports, including cities in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, and
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
; she also stopped in Egypt while cruising the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. ''Houston'' arrived back in the United States on 14 December and thereafter took part in various training exercises through 17 May 1947. At that time, she joined Cruiser Division 12 for another voyage to the Mediterranean. She returned to
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
on 16 August, and was decommissioned on 15 December. She was allocated to the
reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully Ship decommissioning, decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothba ...
, remaining in the Navy's inventory until 1 March 1959, when she was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
and sold to be
broken up
Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...
.
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
hazegray.org: USS ''Houston''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston (CL-81)
Cleveland-class cruisers
World War II cruisers of the United States
1943 ships
Ships built in Newport News, Virginia