page_title: USS Springfield (CL-66)
section_title: 1960s
hierarchical_section_title: USS Springfield (CL-66) / Service / 1960s
caption_attribution_description: English: The U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS Springfield (CLG-7) underway. She received two new radars in 1964, SPS-37A (foremast) and SPS-30 (main mast). The SPS-42 (aft) was replaced by SPS-52 in 1967.
context_page_description: USS Springfield was one of 27 Cleveland-class light cruisers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the third US Navy ship to be named after Springfield, Illinois. Commissioned in 1944, she served briefly in the Atlantic before transferring to the Pacific. There she served with fast carrier task forces, primarily in an anti-aircraft role, but also in a shore bombardment role in the last stages of the Pacific War. She earned two battle stars for wartime service. Like all but one of her sister ships, she was decommissioned and laid up soon after the end of World War II.
  In the late 1950s she was one of three Cleveland-class ships to be converted into Providence-class guided missile cruisers. As part of this conversion, she was modified to become a flagship, which involved expanding her forward superstructure and removing most of her forward armament. She was recommissioned in 1960 as CLG-7. In her second career, she served entirely in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. She was decommissioned for the final time in 1974 and sold for scrap six years later.
context_section_description: On 2 July 1960, she was recommissioned at Boston, under the command of Captain Francis D. Boyle. Between early July and November 1960, Springfield conducted acceptance trials off the New England coast and shakedown training in the vicinity of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On 4 December, she stood out of Boston and headed for the Mediterranean Sea. Ten days later, she relieved Des Moines as flagship of the Commander, 6th Fleet. With the exception of the period from 11 May to 15 December 1963, which she spent in overhaul at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Springfield cruised continuously with the 6th Fleet until 1967. During these years, she visited all the major ports of the Mediterranean, as well as some less well-known cities such as Dubrovnik and Split in Yugoslavia; Famagusta, Cyprus; and Ajaccio, Corsica. She also joined other units of the fleet and those of other nations in numerous national and multinational exercises. In addition, her role as flagship meant that many dignitaries visited her; among her guests were Constantine, King of Greece; Princess Grace of Monaco; several dozen ambassadors; and a host of prominent military figures. On 20 January 1967, Springfield's home port was changed from Villefranche-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera, to Boston, Mass. Eight days later, she turned her duties as flagship over to Little Rock and headed, via Portsmouth, England, to the United States.
  The guided-missile cruiser arrived in Boston on 16 February 1967 and immediately began a six-month yard overhaul. On 1 August, near the completion of the yard period, Springfield again changed home ports - this time to Norfolk, Va. She arrived at Yorktown, Va., on 6 August and, on 1 September, relieved Newport News as flagship of the Commander, 2nd Fleet. She moved south in early September to the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range, where she fired several missiles and conducted gunnery exercises. After fueling at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, the guided-missile cruiser sailed for Portsmouth, England, the first stop on an itinerary which also included Amsterdam in the Netherlands; Lisbon, Portugal; Barcelona, Spain; and Pollensa Bay at Majorca. Springfield returned to Norfolk on 6 November.
  For the next 10 months, she operated out of Norfolk, conducting exercises and participating in a midshipman cruise. On 12 September 1968, Springfield headed northeast across the Atlantic to join NATO exercise "Silver Tower" in the Norwegian Sea north of the Arctic Circle. On 27 September, she cleared the exercise area and sailed south. Stopping at Rosyth, Scotland; Oslo, Norway; Portsmouth, England;Le Havre, France; Lisbon, Portugal; and arrived at Rota, Spain, on 23 October. There, another conference was held between the commanders of the 2nd and 6th Fleets. Springfield departed Rota on the 24th and sailed back to Norfolk, where she arrived on 1 November. She resumed normal operations out of Norfolk until 8 July, when the Commander, 2nd Fleet, shifted his flag to Newport News in order that Springfield might prepare for and commence a restricted availability.
caption: USS Springfield (CLG-7), underway in July 1962
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