USS Chicago (CA-29)

The second Chicago (CL-29) was laid down on 10 September 1928 at Vallejo, Calif., by Mare Island Navy Yard; launched on 10 April 1930; sponsored by Miss. Elizabeth Britten, sister of Representative Frederick A. Britten of Illinois, Chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs; and commissioned on 9 March 1931, Capt. Manley H. Simons in command.

In accordance with the provisions of the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament (London Naval Treaty) of 27 October 1930, particularly the terms concerning her main battery of 8-inch guns, Chicago was reclassified to a heavy cruiser (CA-29) on 1 July 1931. Chicago carried out her shakedown cruise to Honolulu, T.H., Tahiti in the Society Islands, and American Samoa. The ship completed some voyage repairs at Mare Island Navy Yard, and then (27 July–15 August 1931) set out for the east coast and put in to Fort Pond Bay off Long Island, N.Y. There, she became the flagship of Commander Cruisers, Scouting Force, and operated with that force until 1940.

The ship sometimes shifted temporarily between coasts for exercises, such as the annual fleet problems, which concentrated the Navy’s power to conduct maneuvers on the largest scale and under the most realistic conditions attainable. Chicago worked with other ships of the Scouting Force during gunnery exercises in February 1932, preliminary to the problem off the California coast. Planners envisioned Fleet Problem XIII (7–18 March) off the West Coast as the first step in an overseas campaign in which an advanced force made an initial move from a concentration point to a first objective. Aircraft carriers Langley (CV-1), Lexington (CV-2), and Saratoga (CV-3) took part in the problem that included scouting and tracking, attacking -- and defending -- a convoy, and attrition attacks by aircraft, light vessels, and submarines. Repairs delayed rigid airship Akron (ZRS-4) from participating. Planes from ‘Blue’ carrier Saratoga and Pearl Harbor bombed ‘Black’ submarine Narwhal (SS-167) and rendered her out of action on 10 March, which forced the command of that submarine division to pass to mine laying submarine Argonaut (SM-1). Blue aircraft subsequently sank Barracuda (SS-163) and Bonita (SS-165). Observers called for increased antiaircraft measures against dive bombers to include installing .50 caliber machine guns on board ships. Evaluators also recommended the addition of six to eight carriers in order to project forces overseas, and noted the vulnerability of submarines to aerial attack, and that battleship and cruiser planes needed better flotation gear.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Chicago II (CL-29)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.