YOUR SHIP IN ACTION

CLEVELAND CLASS LIGHT CRUISER WWII C... This WWII color film "Your Ship in Action" shows the construction and launch of a Cleveland class light cruiser USS Denver (CL-58). It was intended as an "industrial incentive" film, shown to the American public to raise money for the WWII war effort. The ship shows the Camden, New Jersey shipyard manned by Rosie the Riveter women war workers (1:29) circa 1942. At 2:35 a commissioning ceremony is shown with the ship being prepared for sea and future combat in the Pacific. USS Denver (CL-58) was a Cleveland-class light cruiser. Denver launched on 4 April 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey; and commissioned on 15 October 1942, Captain Robert Carney in command. The ship served in combat in the Solomons in March of 1943, and was heavily damaged in a Japanese attack in November of that year. In 1944 she bombarded Angaur, and participated in the Leyte landings and the destruction of the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Her service continued in 1945 supporting amphibious landings at Brunei Bay, Borneo, and later at Balikpapan. She helped support the landing of occupation forces in Japan before returning to the USA in November of 1945. The ship won the Navy Unit Commendation and Denver received 11 battle stars for her World War II service. Colorado was scrapped in 1960. The Cleveland class ships were built for the U.S. Navy during World War II, and were the most numerous class of light cruisers ever built. The Cleveland-class was a development of the preceding Brooklyn-class. The ships were designed with the goal of increased cruising range, anti-aircraft armament, torpedo protection, etc., compared with earlier U.S. cruisers. To achieve this, the fifth 6 inch gun turret was omitted. This also gave room for the enlargement of the bridge spaces to accommodate the new combat information center and the necessary radars. However, the increase of light anti-aircraft artillery made the class top-heavy towards the end of World War II. To compensate for the weight increase, some ships had one catapult removed, also the range finders were removed from turret A. Fifty-two ships of this class were originally planned, but nine of them were completed as the light aircraft carriers of the Independence class, and two of them were completed to a somewhat different design, with more compact superstructures and just a single stack. These two were called the Fargo class. Of the 27 Cleveland-class cruisers that were commissioned, one (Galveston) was completed as a guided missile cruiser and five were later modified as Galveston and Providence-class guided missile cruisers. Two of each of the guided missile cruiser-classes had enlarged superstructures to serve as flagships. Following the naming convention at the time, all the ships completed as cruisers were named for US cities and towns.

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Transcription

this is your ship look at her she's over 600 feet long she's a light cruiser with six inch guns from keel to four peak she's a symbol of our american industrial skill the same skill that also builds landing poles and battleships and airplanes and makes the equipment so that they can do their job she was built for one purpose to hit the enemy hard to hit him fast and often here in this busy shipyard is where your cruiser was born on a warm may morning in 1942 the same morning when across the world other cruisers struck at the enemy in the battle of the coral sea here is the very beginning of your ship her first keel plate swinging into place among all the workers who built this ship not the least for short-handed girls hurrying to break production records and thus to break the enemy hurry the marines have landed at guadalcanal hurry rommel's in egypt hurry americans in africa and here finished and ready for launching ahead of schedule is your ship and her sistership workers can be proud of these fast fighting ships the navy is proud of them our enemies fear them and their dreadful destructive power ready for commissioning ready to take her place for the fleet here are the men who will fight your ship here is their captain on whom all the responsibility will fall he accepts command of your ship pledging himself and his crew to fight her as american ships have always been fought bravely completely and victorious now she's being walked into a loading dock to take on stores for the long cruise to the battlegrounds products from every state in the union will be needed for your ship to accomplish her mission first aboard are the shells which will carry death and destruction for the japanese navy both star shells and armor piercing shells deep down in the magazines they're stowed away when the call to battle towns the hoist will bring them up faster than they went down next there is food your ship may be gone for a long time she must have supplies enough for 3 000 meals a day your ship then weighs anchor and puts out the sea every day all day there is gunnery practice here is the secondary battery crew making practice runs with their dual purpose guns when contact is made with the enemy this gun crew will be ready for action below decks there's a pharmacy or drugstore just like there is at home your ship is home now to almost a thousand men there's a barber shop aboard and a ship service store or soda fountain for everything from razor blades to ice cream there's a machine shop for repairs and always there's plenty for fighting men to eat ciao in sailor language good chow like thick steaks there are turkeys for holidays when the men of your ship would like most to be at home and to go with them there are well-baked pies now she's at the panama canal making the trance of promotion to ocean and route to her rendezvous somewhere in the south pacific full speed ahead your ship and all her men are in battle trim here is her landfall one of our island stepping stones on the long road to japan from offshore if blue mountains show no signs of the savage desperate man-to-man fighting which rested them from the enemy there's a landing field on island x begun by the jabs but americans are completing it and army and navy planes will fly from it to attack the jeff held islands to the north but on this very island there's still fighting to be done the japs never give up without the battle they have to be pried out to get at them our trucks and tools and men must slog along through the muck to the front lines deep in the steaming jungle our men must also fight the nerve-wracking heat the mosquitoes and malaria time out for a needed rest even though the enemy is not far off then on your toes and forward march up the beach on the alert for the enemy meanwhile your ship takes position in its task force permission to silence shore batteries on an island to the north but wait a minute our patrol plane reports an enemy force of major size is moving for the same objective probably to attempt the landing sometime late tonight the task force takes the bone in its teeth and surges ahead to meet the enemy conditionable general quarters for all hands fighters from the landing field take off to intercept the enemy bombers and here's your ship's baptism of fire gunners put up a barrage against the scouting plane from the jeff island at the same time she opens up on the shore batteries slugging at them softening them up so the marines can take over scratch one [ __ ] our gunners got the scouting plane all afternoon the gunners pour it on but the big job the main bout will be tonight when your ship closes with a japanese fleet with somebody your own size most naval engagements fought by ships like your ship are fought at night the two sides feel for each other with detecting devices and then they let go like this this is war on the seas and your ship is in there slugging now another island belongs to us jeff transports and cargo ships will rot on these shores for years and so will what's left of tojo's little warriors its first mission successfully accomplished your ship again takes position with her task force shell cases are sorted and stowed away for salvage later on and the proof of her victory is painted on the bridge there will be other trophies to hang up but this one is the first and the hardest your ship has been in action an action victorious not alone for the navy but for all who build so well the ships and parks of ships and planes that fight upon the seas to win that action the men of your ship gave up their lives to win new actions to scatter the enemy and drive him from the seas the navy and its men need other ships and parts of ships and planes and building them will bring us victory you

Sources

YouTube channel: PeriscopeFilm · video ↗ — title, year, format, description, catalog record, video

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