USS Salem ( CA - 139 ) The third USS " Salem " ( CA - 139 ) is a " Des Moines " – class heavy cruiser , formerly commissioned in the United States Navy . The world ' s last all - gun heavy cruiser to enter commission , she is currently open to the public as a museum ship in Quincy , Massachusetts . Construction and shakedown . " Salem " was laid down on 4 July 1945 by the Bethlehem Steel Co . ' s Fore River Shipyard , Quincy , Mass . ; launched on 25 March 1947 ; sponsored by Miss Mary G . Coffey ; and commissioned on 14 May 1949 , Captain J . C . Daniel in command . Her main battery held the world ' s first automatic 8 " guns and were the first 8 " naval guns to use cased ammunition instead of shell and bag loading . After a visit to Salem , Mass . , on 4 July 1949 , " Salem " underwent three months of shakedown at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , between July and October 1949 , followed by post - shakedown repairs at the Boston Navy Yard . She then made two cruises to Guantanamo in November and December 1949 , and participated in maneuvers with the Atlantic Fleet in early 1950 . Naval service . " Salem " departed the east coast on 3 May 1950 ; and , on 17 May , relieved " Newport News " ( CA - 148 ) as flagship of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . During this , the first of seven deployments to the Mediterranean as fleet flagship , " Salem " visited ports in Malta , Italy , France , Greece , Turkey , Lebanon , and Algeria , and participated in training exercises . On 22 September , she was relieved by " Newport News " and returned to the United States . After three weeks at Boston , " Salem " joined the Atlantic Fleet for maneuvers ; and , on 3 January 1951 , sailed for six weeks of intensive gunnery training at Guantanamo . She completed her training off Bermuda ; and , on 20 March , sailed for the Mediterranean to relieve " Newport News " as 6th Fleet flagship . On 19 September , she was relieved by " Des Moines " ( CA - 134 ) and returned to the United States for four months of overhaul at Boston . " Salem " sailed on 1 February 1952 for refresher training at Guantanamo and returned to Boston on 29 March for brief repairs . On 19 April , she sailed for her third Mediterranean deployment , relieving " Newport News " at Algiers on 28 April . Besides the normal port calls and exercises , " Salem " participated in Exercise " Beehive II , " which involved units of the United States , British , Italian , French , and Greek navies . She was relieved once again by " Des Moines " on 29 September and arrived at Boston on 9 October . After four months of local operations , " Salem " sailed for Guantanamo Bay on 24 January 1953 for training . Returning to Boston on 27 February , she sailed for the Mediterranean on 17 April and again relieved " Newport News " as flagship . Her fourth deployment was marked by Exercise " Weldfest " and by emergency relief work after the 1953 Ionian Earthquake which devastated the Ionian Islands . " Salem " was the first American ship to arrive on the scene , and provided relief supplies and assistance from 13 August until her own stocks ran low four days later . Relieved by " Des Moines " as flagship on 9 October , she returned to Boston on 24 October and entered the shipyard for overhaul . On 6 February 1954 , " Salem " sailed again for Guantanamo Bay and returned on 7 April after refresher training . She left Boston on 30 April ; and , on arrival in the Mediterranean on 12 May , again assumed duties as 6th Fleet flagship . Relieved by " Des Moines " at Lisbon on 22 September , she returned to Boston on 29 September . In October and November 1954 , she participated in war games with the Atlantic Fleet . Between 19 January and 22 February 1955 , " Salem " made her annual cruise to Guantanamo Bay for training . After a two - week reserve training cruise , the cruiser sailed for the Mediterranean on 2 May and relieved " Newport News " on 19 May . During this , her sixth deployment , she participated in a NATO exercise and a Franco - American naval exercise , with Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas S . Gates embarked as observer . " Salem " departed Barcelona on 23 September and returned to Boston on 2 October 1955 for a four - month overhaul . The cruiser left Boston on 16 February 1956 for training at Guantanamo in preparation for a 20 - month cruise as " permanent " flagship of the Commander , 6th Fleet with homeport at Villefranche - sur - Mer . She returned to Boston on 5 April and sailed for the Mediterranean on 1 May . While she was at sea , the Suez Crisis broke out ; and she was diverted to Rhodes in the Eastern Mediterranean where she joined the fleet on 14 May and assumed her flagship duties . She remained in the eastern Mediterranean until mid - June and returned when fighting broke out on 30 October . In April and August 1957 , the 6th Fleet , by its presence in the eastern Mediterranean , twice showed United States support for the government of Jordan threatened by subversion . The cruiser departed the Mediterranean on 26 June 1958 and arrived at Norfolk on 4 July . Later uses . " Salem " was also used to portray the German pocket Battleship " Admiral Graf Spee " in the 1956 film " The Battle of the River Plate " , although the original German ship had a single triple gun turret placed forward of the superstructure where the " Salem " has two triple gun turrets forward of its superstructure . The original hull number of the " Salem " , 139 , is also clearly visible in many exterior shots of " Salem " . This was explained away in the movie by the historic fact that the ship ' s carpenters often camouflaged " Graf Spee " to resemble foreign vessels . " Salem " was scheduled for inactivation after her return from the Mediterranean , but the request of Lebanon on 15 August 1958 for aid against an anticipated coup led to a short reprieve for the cruiser . " Salem " had relieved " Northampton " ( CLC - 1 ) on 11 August as flagship of Commander , 2nd Fleet ; and , on 2 September , she departed Norfolk , visited Augusta Bay and Barcelona during a ten - day cruise in the Mediterranean , and returned to Norfolk on 30 September . She reported to the Norfolk Navy Yard on 7 October for inactivation , disembarked the Commander of the 2d Fleet on 25 October , and was decommissioned on 30 January 1959 . She was stored as part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard . Museum ship . In October 1994 , " Salem " was returned to her birthplace in Quincy , Massachusetts where she is now a museum ship as part of the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum . " Salem " also houses the USS " Newport News " Museum , The US Navy Cruiser Sailors Association Museum , and the US Navy SEALs Exhibit room . The ship is also purported to be haunted and was even featured on " Ghost Hunters " .