USS Nashville ( CL - 43 ) USS " Nashville " ( CL - 43 ) , a " Brooklyn " - class light cruiser , was laid down on 24 January 1935 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation , Camden , New Jersey ; launched on 2 October 1937 ; sponsored by Misses Ann and Mildred Stahlman ; and commissioned on 6 June 1938 , Captain William W . Wilson in command . Early service . " Nashville " departed Philadelphia on 19 July 1938 for shakedown in the Caribbean . In early August , she sailed for Northern Europe on a good will visit , arriving at Cherbourg , France on 24 August . Getting underway on 21 September from Portland , England , with $ 25 , 000 , 000 in British gold bullion aboard , " Nashville " arrived at Brooklyn Navy Yard on 30 September , off - loaded the gold , and returned to Philadelphia on 5 October . In the spring of 1939 , " Nashville " carried American representatives to the Pan American Defense Conference in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , returning them to Annapolis , Maryland on 20 June 1939 . On 23 June , she steamed westwards from Norfolk , Virginia for the Pacific via the Panama Canal , arriving at San Pedro , California , on 16 July for two years of operations . In February 1941 , she and three other cruisers carried US Marines to Wake Island . On 20 May , she departed Pearl Harbor for the east coast , arriving Boston on 19 June to escort a convoy carrying Marines to Iceland . World War II . From August – December 1941 , " Nashville " was based at Bermuda for the Neutrality Patrol in the Central Atlantic . With the bombing of Pearl Harbor , " Nashville " steamed to Casco Bay , Maine , where she joined with a troop and cargo convoy to escort them to Iceland . She continued escort duty to Bermuda and Iceland until February 1942 . Doolittle Raid . On 4 March 1942 , she rendezvoused with off the Virginia Capes , and then escorted the aircraft carrier to the West Coast via the Panama Canal , arriving on 20 March at San Diego . " Hornet " and " Nashville " steamed from San Francisco on 2 April , with the carrier laden with 16 Army B - 25 Mitchell medium bombers on her flight deck , bombers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle , USAAF , for the Doolittle Raid on Japan . On 13 April , they rendezvoused with other US Navy warships , under Vice Admiral William F . Halsey , Jr . , north of Midway Atoll , and then they set course for Japan . When about away from Japan on 17 April , the destroyers of the task force were detached due to lack of fuel , and then " Nashville " , the other escorting cruisers , and " Hornet " and made a high - speed dash to the air raid launching point from Japan . The next day , the task force was sighted by a Japanese picket boat , which reported the presence of the carrier task force before being sunk by scout planes from " Enterprise " . A second picket boat was then sunk by gunfire from " Nashville " , but the advantage of surprise was lost . The B – 25s were launched short of the intended launching point in heavy seas . Immediately after the launch , the strike force reversed course and steamed eastwards for Honolulu . The " Shangri - La " task force returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 April . Flagship . " Nashville " left Hawaii on 14 May 1942 to become the flagship of Task Force 8 ( TF 8 ) defending Alaska and the Aleutians , and arrived at Dutch Harbor , Alaska on 26 May . She steamed for Kodiak , Alaska two days later to join with other units of the task force . On 3 – 4 June , Japanese carrier planes struck Dutch Harbor . " Nashville " and her accompanying warships were unable to make contact with the enemy due to heavy fogs . Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto withdrew his diversionary force from the Aleutians after his defeat at the Battle of Midway . As the Japanese departed , they left occupying forces behind on Attu and Kiska Islands in the Aleutians . From June – November , " Nashville " patrolled the North Pacific Ocean , and participated in the attack on Kiska on 7 August , in which heavy damage was inflicted on Japanese shore installations . " Nashville " arrived at Pearl Harbor on 22 November and proceeded south to the Fiji Islands on 24 December . At Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides , she became flagship of TF 67 . After escorting troopships to Guadalcanal , " Nashville " , , and inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese air base at Munda on the night of 4 January 1943 . Subsequent attacks were made on Kolombangara and New Georgia in the next several months . While shelling Vila airfield on Kolombangara on the night of 12 May , she suffered a powder charge explosion in one of her forward turrets , killing 18 and injuring 17 . Leaving Espiritu Santo on 22 May , " Nashville " arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard for repairs and modernization . Departing from San Francisco on 6 August , she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 12 August to join carrier task forces for strikes on Marcus Island and Wake Island during the next two months . " Nashville " returned to Espiritu Santo on 25 October and for the next seven months , she shelled targets on New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands . Against the Japanese , " Nashville " provided fire support for the landings on Bougainville Island and Cape Gloucester , New Britain . After bombarding Wake Island on 21 – 22 April 1944 , " Nashville " provided fire support and carried General of the Army Douglas MacArthur to the amphibious operations at Hollandia ( currently known as Jayapura ) , Tanahmerah Bay , and Aitape , on 22 – 23 April . On 27 May , the light cruiser was a member of the assault force shelling Biak , Schouten Islands , where on 4 June , she sustained moderate damage from a near miss while repelling a Japanese air attack . After repairs at Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides , " Nashville " twice more carried General MacArthur and his staff to the invasion of Morotai , Dutch East Indies in mid - September . She carried General MacArthur on his return to the Philippines , for which she sailed from Manus on 16 October . She provided fire support for the Leyte Island landings on 20 October , and she remained on station at the mouth of Leyte Gulf until 25 October , guarding the troops on the beachhead and the nearby transports . Returning to Manus Island for brief repairs , " Nashville " left the Admiralties on 28 November as the flagship for the Commander , Visayan Attack Force , " en route " to the invasion of Mindoro . Kamikaze attack . On 13 December , she was struck by a " kamikaze " off Negros Island . The aircraft crashed into her port gun mount , with both bombs exploding about 10 ft ( 3 m ) off her deck . Gasoline fires and exploding ammunition made her midships area an inferno , but although 133 sailors were killed and 190 wounded , her remaining 5 in ( 127 mm ) guns continued to provide anti - aircraft fire . The Attack Group Commander shifted his flag to another warship , and " Nashville " steamed via San Pedro Bay in the Philippines and Pearl Harbor , Oahu , to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , arriving on 12 January 1945 , for heavy repairs . Underway on 12 March , " Nashville " departed westward from San Diego , California on 15 April after training exercises . Arriving at U . S . Naval Base Subic Bay , on 16 May , " Nashville " became the flagship of TF 74 . The closing months of the war were spent providing fire support for the landings at Brunei Bay , Borneo , and protecting aircraft carriers in the Makassar Straits , Dutch East Indies . On 29 July , " Nashville " made a brief sortie from Subic to intercept a Japanese convoy reported off Indochina , but the sortie was soon canceled , ending her final wartime operation . Post - war . " Nashville " , with Commander TF 73 ( CTF 73 ) embarked , entered Shanghai harbor on 19 September 1945 . CTF 73 hauled down his flag on 17 November , and " Nashville " sailed for the US West Coast with 450 returning soldiers , as part of Operation Magic Carpet . Picking up 90 more soldiers in Hawaii , she reached San Pedro , California on 3 December , and then immediately steamed west to Eniwetok and Kwajalein to pick up more returning troops and Marines . Nearing the US West Coast on 3 January 1946 , " Nashville " came to the aid of , laboring in heavy seas with engine breakdowns and 1 , 800 men aboard . The cruiser took " St . Mary ' s " in tow , pulling her to safety to the tugs at the San Francisco Lightship on 6 January 1946 . Chilean Navy . " Nashville " departed eastward from San Francisco on 21 January 1946 , and she arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for a pre - inactivation overhaul . Decommissioned on 24 June , she remained in reserve until 1950 . After an overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval Yard , she was sold to Chile on 9 January 1951 , and she served in the Chilean Navy as " Chilean cruiser Capitán Prat ( CL - 03 ) " until the arrival of the Chilean destroyer Capitán Prat ( 1967 ) in 1982 . Then , the old " Prat " was renamed " Chacabuco " und served until 1985 .