USS Reno (CL-96)
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USS ''Reno'' (CL-96) was an updated
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 ...
- sometimes referred to as an "''Oakland''-class" - designed and built to specialize in
antiaircraft warfare Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...
. She was the first
warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...
to be named for the city of
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
. was a
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
named for Lt. Commander Walter E. Reno. ''Reno'' was laid down by
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco-based shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917, it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuil ...
, at
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, on 1 August 1941. She was launched on 23 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. August C. Frohlich; and commissioned on 28 December 1943. The USS ''Reno'' saw combat in the Pacific theater from April 1944 until it was torpedoed and damaged in November that year. The light cruiser was repaired and performed several transport voyages to Europe before being decommissioned in November 1946.


Service history


Shakedown

Following a shakedown cruise off the coast of
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 ...
, the USS ''Reno'' departed from
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
on 14 April 1944, steaming west to join the 5th Fleet, under the command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. As an active unit in
Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Marc Mitscher Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during World War II. E ...
's
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 ...
(Task Force 58), ''Reno'' first came in contact with the enemy while supporting minor air raids against
Marcus Island sometimes Minami-Tori-shima or Minami-Torishima, also known as Marcus Island, is an isolated Japanese coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located some southeast of Tokyo and east of the closest Japanese island, South Iwo Jima of the ...
on 19–20 May. Three days later, she also supported
air strike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and Unmanned combat aerial ...
s on Japanese-held
Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...
.


Battle of the Philippine Sea

During the months of June to July 1944, ''Reno'' joined the fast
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 in air attacks against
Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...
on 11 June,
Pagan Island Pagan is a volcanic island in the Marianas archipelago in the northwest Pacific Ocean, under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It lies midway between Alamagan to the south and Agrihan to the north. The islan ...
on 12–13 June, and against the
Volcano Islands The or are a group of three Japanese-governed islands in Micronesia. They lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and belong to the municipality of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The islands are all active volcanoes lying ato ...
and the
Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...
- namely
Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...
, Haha Jima, and
Chichi Jima is the largest and most populous island in the Japanese archipelago of Bonin or Ogasawara Islands. Chichijima is about north of Iwo Jima. in size, the island is home to about 2,120 people (2021). Connected to the mainland only by a day-long ...
on 15–16 June. Three days later, ''Reno'' aided in repelling a large-scale Japanese Navy aircraft carrier
task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...
attempt to defeat the American invasion of the
Marianas Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...
(including
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 ...
,
Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...
, and
Tinian Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...
, during the
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 ...
- the world's largest carrier vs. carrier battle of all time, and an overwhelming victory by the U.S. Navy.


Guam

From 20 June to 8 July 1944, ''Reno'' joined operations covering the conquest of Saipan. She then covered
amphibious landing Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...
s on
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 ...
from 17 to 24 July, and two days later, she took part in air strikes against 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 ...
from 26 to 29 July. The 5th Fleet then became the 3rd Fleet, as Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., rotated in to command this fleet. Doubling back northward again, one more series of air strikes were made on the
Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...
on 4–5 August. Then on 7 September, TF 38 (formerly TF 58) returned south to hit the Palaus again.


Philippines

After steaming west across the
Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean east of the list of islands of the Philippines, Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the List of seas#Largest seas ...
, ''Reno'' and TF 38 carried out some of the first American air raids against 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 ...
hitting the southern island of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
, and its adjacent islands, from 9–13 September 1944. TF 58 supported the amphibious landings on two of the Palau's from 15 to 20 September, and then on 21–22 September, it carried out air strikes against the Manila area of
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
in the northern Philippines. While striking the island of
Nansei Shoto The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands ( Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami) and Okinawa Prefecture ( Daitō, Miyako, Ya ...
on 8 October, ''Reno'' and TF 38 came closer to the
Japanese Home Islands The is an archipelago of 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine seas in the southwest along the Pacific coast of the Eurasian continent, and cons ...
than any other major units of the U.S. Navy had been 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 ...
. During a 3-day series of air strikes by TF 38 on Japanese
airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
s on the previously-touched island of
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 ...
from 12 to 14 October 1944, ''Reno'' shot down at least six enemy aircraft. At the height of this aerial battle, one
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
torpedo plane A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
crashed on ''Reno's'' fantail, exploding and partially incapacitating turret #6, but the turret officer in charge succeeded in maintaining his defensive fire against the attacking Japanese planes.


USS ''Princeton''

On 24 October 1944, four days after the amphibious invasion of
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
, while supporting air strikes against Japanese airfields on Luzon, TF 38 was subjected to a large-scale air attack by land-based aircraft from
Clark Field Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...
, Luzon. The light aircraft carrier took the brunt of the attack; she was hit by an
aerial bomb An aerial bomb is a type of Explosive weapon, explosive or Incendiary device, incendiary weapon intended to travel through the Atmosphere of Earth, air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircra ...
and forced to withdraw from the Task Force. ''Reno'' was assigned to help fight fires on board ''Princeton'' by bringing her fire hoses to bear, and also to rescue her crewmen. ''Reno'' closed ''Princeton'' five times but could not remain on station because of intense heat and smoke from the burning carrier. While ''Reno'' was assisting ''Princeton'', the carrier began listing and her flight deck struck ''Reno'', crushing one of her
40 mm This is a general collection of the world's many types of ammunition for grenade launchers in caliber. Several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 mm caliber. NATO NATO currently uses three standardized 40 mm grenad ...
mounts. Efforts to save the aircraft carrier continued, but when ''Princeton''s
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 ...
warhead magazine exploded, ''Reno'' was ordered to sink ''Princeton'' with her own torpedoes. On 25 October, having rejoined TF 38, ''Reno'' and the other warships steamed northward to engage the Japanese Northern Force, setting off the
Battle off Cape Engaño The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...
, which was the final engagement of the
Battle for Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...
.


I-41 attack

On the night of 3 November 1944, well east of the
San Bernardino Strait The San Bernardino Strait () is a strait in the Philippines, connecting the Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon from Samar (island), Samar of Visayas. History During an ill-fated expedition, only one ship ...
, as part of Admiral Sherman's Task Group 3 (TG 38.3) of Task Force (TF 38)
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 ...
, ''Reno'' received two torpedo hits on her port side fired from while escorting . One torpedo lodged in the outer hull of ''Reno'' and was later defused. The second hit exploded four decks below topside. This was the first time in almost two years that a Japanese submarine successfully attacked a ship operating with fast carriers. Casualties were 46 dead and many injured. After a night dead in the water, she survived yet another attempt to sink her by an unknown Japanese submarine firing three torpedoes that missed, but was rescued by a destroyer left behind to defend her. ''Reno'' was towed 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to the major American base at
Ulithi Atoll 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 Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diwo''. Overview U ...
for some temporary repairs by fleet tug . Among other measures taken to reduce topweight, her starboard torpedo tubes were jettisoned to help preserve stability in the damaged state. During this 700-mile voyage, a crew of 242 remained aboard. A total of 1250 tons of seawater was pumped from flooded compartments, a feat noted favorably by Vice Admiral
Charles McMorris Charles Horatio "Soc" McMorris (August 31, 1890 – February 11, 1954) was an American rear admiral during World War II, most notably commanding forces at the Battle of the Komandorski Islands during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Early life and ...
in his November 1944 endorsement of ''Reno's'' report on the torpedoing.
Gunnery officer The gunnery officer of a warship was the officer responsible for operation and maintenance of the ship's guns and for safe storage of the ship's ammunition inventory. Background The gunnery officer was usually the line officer next in rank to the ...
Arthur R. Gralla received the
Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat Military awards of the United States Department of the Navy, decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United State ...
for his role leading the
dewatering Dewatering is the removal of water from a location. This may be done by wet classification, centrifugation, filtration, or similar solid-liquid separation processes, such as removal of residual liquid from a filter cake by a filter press as pa ...
effort in difficult conditions.


Repairs in Charleston, South Carolina

She then steamed under her own power across the Pacific, 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 ...
, then to Charleston, S.C., where she entered
Charleston Navy Yard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River (South Carolina), Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and p ...
on 22 March 1945 for heavy repairs. Emerging seven months later, ''Reno'' was ordered to the
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
coast, then back to Charleston for the addition of hundreds of bunk spaces. She then reported for "
Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post–World War II operation by the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA) to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European (ETO), Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Libert ...
," steaming roundtrip twice to
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
bringing home
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
troops.


Decommission

In early 1946, ''Reno'' steamed to
Port Angeles, Washington Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, Clallam County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most populous city in t ...
, where she decommissioned on 4 November 1946, and then entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet, berthed at
Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...
. Reclassified CLAA-96 18 March 1949, she remained at Bremerton until her name was struck 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 ...
1 March 1959. Her hulk was sold on 22 March 1962 to the Coal Export Co., of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, for scrapping. One of ''Renos 5-inch gun turrets was kept for display at the U.S. Navy Museum, in eastern
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The ship's bell and flag are on display in City Hall in Reno, Nevada. During the BLM riots in May/June 2020 the flag was taken by a concerned citizen to protect it from being burned after the Reno City Hall and downtown was attacked and looted. It was returned anonymously later with a note that said it "needed protecting.".


Awards

''Reno'' earned three
battle star 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 ...
s for
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 ...
service.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reno (CL-96) Atlanta-class cruisers World War II cruisers of the United States Ships built in San Francisco 1942 ships