USS ''Salem'' (CS-3/CL-3), Scout Cruiser No. 3, was a

scout cruiser A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. Intended for fleet scouting duties a ...

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 ...

. She was the first Navy ship named for the city of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

. ''Salem'' was laid down on 28 August 1905, by the

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree, Massachusetts, Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on ...

; launched on 27 July 1907, sponsored by Mrs. Lorna Pinnock; and commissioned on 1 August 1908.

Pre-World War I

As one of the Navy's first

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

-engined warships, ''Salem'' departed

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 17 October 1908 to carry out extensive trials along the Atlantic coast. Joining her sister ships, and , in the Scout Cruiser Division in June 1909, ''Salem'' cruised in the Atlantic, making one voyage to

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

. Assigned to the 5th Division, Atlantic Fleet, in, 1910, ''Salem'' briefly deployed to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an waters during August 1911, returning 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 ...

on 11 September. Subsequently placed in reserve at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

on 20 April 1912, ''Salem'' relieved as

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. 'Hulk' may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or a ship whose propulsion system is no longer maintained or has been r ...

there on that date and served until 7 October. Then reassigned to the Reserve Force, Atlantic Fleet, ''Salem'' subsequently made a cruise to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

and returned to the United States in late March 1913. Arriving at

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

on 25 March, she shifted 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 30 March. ''Salem'' remained at Philadelphia, in reduced commission, into 1914. On 23 April, ''Salem'' was placed in full commission and assigned to the

Special Service Squadron The Special Service Squadron was a component of the United States Navy during the earlier part of the 20th century. The squadron patrolled the Caribbean Sea as an instrument of gunboat diplomacy. It was headquartered in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. ...

for duty in Mexican waters. She cruised off the Mexican port of

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

supporting US operations ashore until assigned to the Cruiser Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, on 2 September. Departing Veracruz on 19 September, ''Salem'' arrived at Boston on 1 October for service with the Atlantic Fleet but was detached from the Cruiser Squadron on 25 November, and was again placed in reserve on 1 December. She relieved ''Brooklyn'' as a receiving ship at the Boston Navy Yard on 12 March 1915 and served there until assigned to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

on 21 May 1916. Cruising off Mexican and Dominican ports, ''Salem'' transported Marine detachments, assisted in radio communication links, and protected United States interests until returning to the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

to be placed out of commission on 2 December 1916.

World War I

Following US entry into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, ''Salem'' was recommissioned on 21 April 1917 for duty as a receiving ship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Two days later, however, she was decommissioned and towed to the Boston Navy Yard to have her original Curtis turbines replaced by General Electric turbines. Recommissioned on 25 July, while still undergoing overhaul, ''Salem'' stood out of Boston harbor on 12 March 1918 for

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, to join a force gathering to convoy submarine chasers across the Atlantic. On 21 March 1918 she damaged the Barge "William C. Moore" in a collision, the Barge later sank at dock in

. From 31 March-15 June, she served as flagship for two convoys of submarine chasers, leaving both at

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

, and returning westward. On 18 June, she became a flagship of a flotilla of 12 submarine chasers assigned to

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

to operate against German submarines. Arriving at Key West on the 22nd, ''Salem''s force carried out antisubmarine patrols off Florida and as far south as the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

through the remainder of World War I. On 27 November, the force was disbanded; and, after an overhaul at the Boston Navy Yard, ''Salem'' steamed to the west coast. Designated CL-3 on 17 July 1920, she was decommissioned at Mare Island on 16 August 1921; 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 ...

on 13 November 1929; and, with cruisers ''Albany'' and ''New Orleans'', sold on 11 February 1930 to D. G. Seagraves of

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 ...

, California, for scrapping.

References

External links

''Mare Island Navy Yard''
– 1928.

Elbridge Ayer Burbank Elbridge Ayer Burbank (April 10, 1858 – March 21, 1949) was an American artist who sketched and painted more than 1200 portraits of Native Americans from 125 tribes. He studied art in Chicago and in his 30s traveled to Munich, Germany, for addit ...

pencil sketch. {{DEFAULTSORT:Salem (CL-3) Chester-class cruisers World War I cruisers of the United States Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1907 ships