


Minneapolis
Country | United States |
Ship Class | New Orleans-class Heavy Cruiser |
Builder Name | Philadelphia Navy Yard |
Laid Down | 27 Jun 1931 |
Launched | 6 Sep 1933 |
Commissioned | 19 May 1934 |
Decommissioned | 10 Feb 1947 |
Displacement | 9,950 tons standard |
Length | 588 feet |
Beam | 62 feet |
Draft | 19 feet |
Speed | 32 knots |
Crew | 708 |
Armament | 9x8in guns, 8x5in guns, 8x0.50cal guns |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseUSS Minneapolis held her shakedown cruise in European waters between Jul and Sep 1934. On 4 Apr 1935, she departed from the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania, United States for San Diego, California, United States via the Panama Canal. Upon arrival on 18 Apr, she joined the Scouting Force of United States Navy Cruiser Division 7. In early 1939, she cruised in the Caribbean Sea, ending that tour at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii in 1940.
ww2dbaseWhen Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese aircraft on 7 Dec 1941, Minneapolis was performing gunnery exercise about 20 miles away. She patrolled the waters around Hawaii until late Jan 1942, and then joined the screening force for carrier Lexington as Lexington's aircraft struck Japanese positions in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in Feb and disrupted Japanese shipping in Central and South Pacific in Mar 1942. In this role, she shot down three G4M bombers on 1 Feb. Between 4 and 8 May, she escorted Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea; Minneapolis shot down three Japanese aircraft during the battle and rescued Lexington's survivors when the carrier was lost. Between 3 and 6 Jun 1942, she participated in the Battle of Midway, and then underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor. Between 7 and 9 Aug, she escorted carriers during the landings at Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. On 30 Aug, she towed the torpedo-damaged carrier Saratoga out of the front lines. Between Sep and Oct, she remained in the Guadalcanal region in support of operations.
ww2dbaseOn 29 Nov 1942, as the flagship of Rear Admiral Carleton Wright's Task Force 67, USS Minneapolis sailed to intercept a Japanese force attempting to reinforce Guadalcanal, and was engaged in the Battle of Tassafaronga. At 2306, the first Japanese destroyer was detected, but Wright delayed the order to launch torpedoes until 2320 because he thought the range was still too far at 2306. At 2320 hours, 20 torpedoes were launched by destroyers, followed by cruiser and destroyer gunfire. Japanese destroyers charged forward at 24 knots and used American gunfire flashes as target to launch their torpedoes. At 2327 hours, two torpedoes struck Minneapolis at the port bow and at number two fireroom, disabling her. Behind her, USS New Orleans turned hard to avoid a collision with Minneapolis, only to run into another torpedo, which sheered off her bow. Damage control teams of both cruisers would be successful in keeping them afloat so they could receive repairs at Tulagi. Minneapolis was out of commission for months as she received extensive repairs at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California.
ww2dbaseUSS Minneapolis returned to the Pacific War in Aug 1943. She bombarded Wake Island on 5 Oct. In Nov and Dec, she screened a carrier group during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaigns. As the carriers attacked Palau, Truk, Satawan, Ponape, and other islands across the Pacific Ocean, Minneapolis followed, providing anti-aircraft protection. On 14 Jun 1944, her guns fired on Japanese targets on Saipan in the Mariana Islands ahead of the amphibious invasion. Between 19 and 20 Jun, during the Battle of the Philippine Sea where Japanese air power was seriously damaged, she again provided anti-aircraft support for carriers. Between 8 and 9 Aug, she bombarded Guam, Mariana Islands. Between 6 Sep and 14 Oct, she provided naval gunfire support for the ground operations in the Palau Islands. On 17 Oct, she entered Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Islands during the invasion, and shot down five Japanese aircraft and participated in the Battle of Surigao Strait on 25 Oct. Between 4 and 18 Feb 1945, screened carriers as well as provided gunfire support for the operations at Lingayen Gulf, Bataan, and Corregidor at Luzon, Philippine Islands. On 25 Mar, she bombarded Kerama Retto off Okinawa, Japan in preparation for the invasion of that island at the start of the Okinawa Campaign. On 1 Apr, she bombarded the Japanese airfield and other targets near Naha, Okinawa. On 12 Apr, off Okinawa, she shot down four suicide planes launched during Operation Kikusui. In the evening of 12 Apr, with badly worn gun barrels, she sailed for the Bremerton Navy Yard in Washington, United States for repairs. She returned to the Pacific War near the end.
ww2dbaseOn 9 Sep 1945, USS Minneapolis was Admiral Thomas Kinkaid's flagship as the admiral accepted the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea. Minneapolis then covered the United States Marines landing at the forts of Dagu (Wade-Giles romanization: Taku) in Tianjin, China and Qinhuangdao (Postal Map romanization: Chinwangtao), Hebi Province, China. In late 1945, she brought troops back to the United States, and was placed in reserve on 21 May 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was decommissioned in the following year. She was sold for scrapping on 14 Aug 1959 to Union Metals and Alloys Corporation. She was broken up in Jul 1960 at Chester, Pennsylvania.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Nov 2008
Heavy Cruiser Minneapolis Interactive Map
Minneapolis Operational Timeline
19 May 1934 | Minneapolis was commissioned into service. |
10 Feb 1947 | Minneapolis was decommissioned from service. |
Photographs
![]() | ![]() |
Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Visitor Submitted Comments
11 Apr 2011 09:27:43 PM
I am looking for a George Rogers. I found his log book in a junk box form my uncles old fleet lockers club in long Beach CA. Last entry was in Honolulu 1941.
30 May 2011 06:29:29 AM
My brother was reassigned to the Minneapolis, after the USS W.Va. was destroyed at Pearl Harbor. I wish to contact any person that also served on the Minneapolis.
15 Aug 2012 02:29:02 PM
My dad was on the ship during the war. I have a b/w sketch of the ship that I have admired all my life. Dad passed in 2010. Sadly I never knew where it came from. Pearl or somewhere else? I have contacted a few people and no one knows. I want to find out if it's a print or an original. Ok to contact me at [email protected]
13 Jun 2013 11:22:34 PM
my father was on board the minnie in '44 and '45. he is 92 and maintaining, living next door to me here in ohio. he has the book, the war cruise of the uss minneapolis. it is the 1990 revised copy of the orignal 1946 edition that he picked up at the reunion in las vegas. in it, are ship's rosters. chouser...there is a george rogers listed as being on board prior to oct. '45 the chapter containing the rosters indicates that one of the original writers had addresses (i think wartime home addresses. there is an address in idaho for this writer. keep in mind that this info is from 1990, and don't know at this moment if he is still with us. i will check with him and see if he knows. there hasn't been a reunion in many many many years. michel, anonymous, lisa... what are their names??? feel free, [email protected] timm
14 Jun 2013 01:16:21 PM
when i said i would check with him, i am refering to my father. i don't know the fellow from idaho
13 Feb 2015 03:10:01 AM
my grandfather was charles"Tommie or Pinky" tomlin. he has been gone for 9 years now. I miss him dearly. He was my PawPaw
23 May 2015 06:46:07 AM
my dad norman sperre was a 1st class pharmacists mate on lci 350 441 and terror.he spoke of having a buddy gervase keefe of ct,who was killed in action.he may have been on uss minnnesota.
8 Oct 2015 05:29:17 PM
my father served as gunneres mate 1st class from 1942 to 1945
22 Jun 2016 06:25:54 PM
My father charles j sutton was cpo metal smith on minn. from 1939 to 1945 [hi brothers and sisters
22 Feb 2017 02:40:42 PM
My Dad George K. Rost WT3C I've been trying to find someone that knew him
21 Aug 2017 09:06:44 PM
My father, Alfred R. Poudrier (died 2010), was a Seaman F/C on the Minnie under command of Adm. "Ollie" Oldendorf during the Battle of Surigao Strait (10/25/44). Does anyone remember him ? You may email me at [email protected] Please put "I Remember Your Dad" in the heading of the email.
20 Sep 2017 01:08:14 PM
My father, James L. Leggett (Jim), was on the Minnie from 1939 to 1945 approximately. Wondered if anyone knew him. Put "Your Dad" in the heading
13 Aug 2018 06:39:16 PM
My Father was on The Minneapolis and i wouldn’t be here if anything had happened to him. He passed in 2002
12 Oct 2018 06:17:55 AM
John Charles Curd, S2c, USN-I service number 839 44 54 served on the ship 26 June 1943 until 1945. His brother Lloyd is 99 years old and will be delighted with these discoveries and would enjoy hearing from family.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
» Battle of Coral Sea
» Battle of Midway and the Aleutian Islands
» Guadalcanal Campaign
» Gilbert Islands Campaign
» Marshall Islands Campaign
» Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot
» Philippines Campaign, Phase 1, the Leyte Campaign
» Philippines Campaign, Phase 2
Document(s):
» US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Enclosure E, USS Minneapolis
- » 1,067 biographies
- » 331 events
- » 37,111 timeline entries
- » 1,055 ships
- » 333 aircraft models
- » 186 vehicle models
- » 346 weapon models
- » 104 historical documents
- » 202 facilities
- » 463 book reviews
- » 26,097 photos
- » 311 maps
Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, Aug 1939
15 Dec 2010 11:32:24 AM
my father inlaw served on the minneapoilis when pearl harber was attacked n after any way to get info hes still alive 88