USS Springfield ( CL - 66 ) USS " Springfield " ( CL - 66 / CLG - 7 / CG - 7 ) was one of 27 " Cleveland " - class light cruiser s 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 star s 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 guided missile cruiser s . 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 ( later redesignated as CG - 7 ) . In her second career , she served entirely in the Atlantic and Mediterranean . She was decommissioned for the final time in 1974 and was scrapped shortly thereafter . Construction and commissioning . " Springfield " was laid down on 13 February 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Corp . at its Fore River yard , Quincy , Mass . ; launched on 9 March 1944 ; co - sponsored by Mrs . Angelina Bertera and Miss Norma McCurley ; and commissioned on 9 September 1944 at Boston , Mass . , Capt . Felix L . Johnson in command . On 7 November , the light cruiser headed out of Boston harbor on her maiden voyage . Two days later , she put in at Norfolk , Va . ; and , after several days of gunnery practice in the Chesapeake Bay , she started south for the British West Indies . The ship arrived in the Gulf of Paria , Trinidad , on the 21st and conducted shakedown training in that area during the following month . " Springfield " completed her shakedown training on 21 December and sailed back to Boston . Service . 1940s . She steamed out of Boston again on 10 January 1945 to conduct further training exercises in the vicinity of Bermuda . At the completion of this assignment , " Springfield " cleared the area for Norfolk on the 13th . She remained in the Norfolk area and engaged in upkeep and gunnery drills in the Chesapeake Bay until 23 January . That morning , she weighed anchor and joined Task Group ( TG ) 21 . 5 off the entrance to Thimble Shoal Channel to accompany on the first leg of the heavy cruiser ' s voyage to Malta carrying President Roosevelt . There , the President would board a plane to take him to the Crimea for the " Big Three " conference at Yalta . On the 28th , at a point about south of the Azores , the ships of TG 21 . 5 were relieved by another group of American warships , and " Springfield " headed for the Panama Canal . She transited the canal on 5 February and arrived in Pearl Harbor on the 16th . The light cruiser spent five days there taking on water , fuel , stores , and ammunition ; and conducting antiaircraft gunnery practice before getting underway for the Western Pacific . She stopped at Eniwetok Atoll on 2 March and arrived at Ulithi Atoll on the 6th . " Springfield " stood out of Ulithi on 14 March and joined the Fast Carrier Task Force ( TF 58 ) on the next day . For the next two and one - half months , " Springfield " cruised with TF 58 . After a raid on Kyūshū and Honshū on 18 and 19 March , the task force zeroed in on Okinawa . From 23 March until 1 April , the cruiser helped ward off enemy air attacks while the carriers launched their planes to weaken the island ' s defenses . On 27 and 28 March , the light cruiser herself joined in the softening - up operation as she brought her guns to bear on Minami Daito Shima . After the assault of 1 April 1945 , the carriers ' role changed from one of preparation to one of support to the invasion troops on Okinawa . " Springfield ' s " mission , however , remained the same - to protect the carriers . For almost two months , she sailed in the huge screen of TF 58 to the east and southeast of Okinawa . Her crew members were subjected to frequent calls to general quarters , and they fought and watched as Japan ' s " Divine Wind " blew itself out against the combined strength of American combat air patrol s and the surface antiaircraft screen . Her guns destroyed at least three enemy suicide planes . On 17 April , just after she had splashed one Japanese plane , " Springfield " narrowly escaped the fate of many of her sister ships when a kamikaze attempted to crash her . Due to quick thinking and good seamanship , she dodged the plane which splashed harmlessly into the sea a scant away . On 10 and 11 May , " Springfield " departed from the antiaircraft screen to bombard Minami Daito Shima again . During the period from 23 March to 28 May , she left the Okinawa area only once , on 13 and 14 May , when she sailed with TF 58 to strike at Japanese air bases on Kyūshū . On 27 May 1945 , the 5th Fleet was redesignated the 3rd Fleet when Admiral Halsey relieved Admiral Spruance . Three days later , " Springfield " anchored in San Pedro Bay at Leyte in the Philippines for maintenance and upkeep . One month later , she departed Leyte and joined TF 38 for further air strikes against the Japanese home islands . On 10 and 11 July , the carriers launched planes against Tokyo . On the 13th and 14th , their targets were northern Honshū and Hokkaidō . The task force conducted an anti - shipping sweep along the coast of Honshū on the night of 14 / 15 July , and then , two days later , returned to hit Tokyo and Yokohama again . The planes bombed battleships " Nagato " and " Haruna " , on 18 July ; then pounded Kobe and Kure on 24 , 25 , and 28 July . " Springfield " joined in a bombardment again on the night of 24 / 25 July ; this time the targets were shore installations on southern Honshū . On 30 July , Tokyo once more suffered from the wrath of the flattops . Sweeping the coast of Honshū for enemy ships as they went , TF 38 returned to bomb northern Honshū and Hokkaido on 9 and 10 August . Three days later , the carriers sent their planes against Tokyo for the last raid of the war — on the 15th , hostilities in the Pacific ended . " Springfield " entered Sagami Wan with TF 35 and anchored there on 27 August . Three days later , she covered both the entry of TF 31 into Tokyo Bay and the occupation of the Yokosuka Naval Base ; and then returned to her anchorage . On 3 September , the light cruiser entered Tokyo Bay itself . On 20 September , while she was still in Tokyo Bay , the 3rd Fleet became the 5th Fleet again upon the return of Admiral Spruance . " Springfield " remained in the Far East until early January 1946 . During the intervening three months , she visited Sasebo and Yokosuka in Japan ; Shanghai , Taku , Tsingtao , and Chinwangtao in China ; and Jinsen , Korea . On 9 January 1946 , she departed Tsingtao and headed east . She arrived in San Pedro , Calif . , on 25 January en route to the Navy Yard at Mare Island . The light cruiser returned to San Pedro on the 15th . She operated along the West Coast until 1 November , when she headed back to the Western Pacific . " Springfield " arrived at Guam on the 15th and operated in the Marianas , primarily between Guam and Saipan , until 19 February 1947 . She stopped at Kwajalein Atoll from 25 to 27 February ; then continued east . After a week stopover at Pearl Harbor , 11 to 18 March , she got underway for San Pedro , Calif . , and arrived on 24 March 1947 . " Springfield " operated along the West Coast for just over 18 months , before voyaging again to the Far East . She reached Yokosuka on 3 November and cruised with the 7th Fleet until mid - May . During this deployment , she visited such familiar places as Sasebo , Yokosuka , Kure , Tsingtao , Shanghai , and Okinawa ; and stopped at Hakodate and Otaru in Japan , and Hong Kong , all three of which were new ports of call for the light cruiser . 1950s . She returned to the West Coast again on 1 June 1949 and three and one - half months later , commenced inactivation overhaul . In January 1950 , " Springfield " joined the San Francisco Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet . She remained berthed at San Francisco until March 1959 . At that time , she was towed from the West Coast , via the Panama Canal , to Boston , Mass . On 15 May , she returned to the Fore River Yard of the Bethlehem Steel Co . at Quincy , Mass . , to be converted to a " Providence " - class guided missile light cruiser , and redesignated CLG - 7 . " Springfield ' s " conversion took more than three years , with the last three months of work being completed at the Boston Naval Shipyard . 1960s . On 2 July 1960 , she recommissioned at Boston , under the command of Capt . 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 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 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 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 Oslo , Norway ; Le Havre , France ; Lisbon , Portugal ; and Portsmouth , England ; she made 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 Norfok 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 . 1970s . On 14 January 1970 , " Springfield " relieved " Newport News " again as flagship of the 2nd Fleet . However , seven months later , the commander ' s flag returned to " Newport News " ; and , on 10 August , " Springfield " headed back to the Mediterranean . On the 22nd , she relieved " Little Rock " as flagship of the 6th Fleet . The guided - missile cruiser spent almost four years cruising with the American fleet in the Mediterranean . During that time , she resumed her routine of exercises and diplomacy , hosting many dignitaries , among whom were President Richard Nixon and the Secretary of the Navy . On 28 September 1970 , for example , " Springfield " hosted a major conference including Nixon , Secretaries Laird and Rogers , CJCS Admiral Moorer , General Goodpaster ( SACEUR ) , Kissinger ( National Security Advisor ) , Admiral Rivero ( CINCAFSOUTH ) , and the commanders of U . S . Naval Forces , Europe , and the Sixth Fleet . " Springfield " passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on four occasions during the long Mediterranean stint , visiting Casablanca , Morocco , and Lisbon , Portugal , twice each . In April 1973 , flying the flag of Vice Admiral Gerald E . Miller , Commander , Sixth Fleet , she served as the command ship for flood relief operations in Tunisia , after four days of heavy rain had left 40 , 000 people homeless . Other ships involved included , , and . " Springfield " remained in the Mediterranean Sea until relieved by " Little Rock " again on 1 September 1973 . She sailed west , stopped at Gibraltar and in the Azores , and reached Boston , Mass . , on 14 September . The Terrier missile system that the ship carried had become obsolete by the late 1960s , and an expensive refit would have been required to upgrade her radars and other systems to install the Standard Missile ( SM ) system . The ship ' s " flagship " suites made her an attractive candidate for the " SM " upgrade but funding was drying up in the Navy for old ships like the " Springfield " , and she was decommissioned instead . Decommissioning . " Springfield " remained in Boston until 17 September , then sailed south to Norfolk for inactivation . The guided - missile cruiser made Norfolk on 19 September and , just under three months later , entered the Inactive Ship Facility at Portsmouth , Va . " Springfield " decommissioned on 15 May 1974 and was berthed with the inactive fleet at Philadelphia , Pa . Awards . " Springfield " earned two battle star s during World War II .