USS Savannah ( CL - 42 ) USS " Savannah " ( CL - 42 ) was a light cruiser of the " Brooklyn " class . She was laid down on 31 May 1934 by the New York Shipbuilding Association in Camden , New Jersey ; launched on 8 May 1937 ; sponsored by Miss Jayne Maye Bowden , the niece of Senator Richard B . Russell , Jr . , of Georgia ; and commissioned in the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 10 March 1938 , with Captain Robert C . Griffin in command . Inter - war period . Following a shakedown cruise to Cuba and Haiti in the spring , the USS " Savannah " returned to Philadelphia on 3 June for alterations followed by final trials off Rockland , Maine . This cruiser , prepared to protect American nationals should war break out in Europe , steamed out from Philadelphia bound for England on 26 September , and she reached Portsmouth on 4 October . However , the Munich agreement had postponed the war , so the " Savannah " returned to Norfolk on 18 October . Following winter maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea , the " Savannah " visited her namesake city , Savannah , Georgia , from 12 to 20 April 1939 . She got underway from Norfolk on 26 May ; transited the Panama Canal on 1 June ; and arrived at San Diego on the 17th . Her homeport was soon shifted to Long Beach , California . The " Savannah " arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 May 1940 , and then she conducted battle readiness and training operations in Hawaiian waters until 8 November . On 8 August Andrew C . Bennett was given command of the ship . The " Savannah " returned to Long Beach on 14 November , and soon thereafter , she was overhauled at the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco Bay . The " Savannah " steamed back into Pearl Harbor on 27 January 1941 and remained there on the U . S . Navy ' s Hawaiian Sea Frontier until 19 May , when she set course back to the Panama Canal and voyaged to Boston via Cuba , arriving on 17 June . The Neutrality Patrol . As the flagship of Cruiser Division 8 ( CruDiv 8 ) , " Savannah " conducted Neutrality Patrol s in waters ranging south to Cuba and back up the seaboard to the Virginia Capes . On 25 August , she got underway from Norfolk to patrol in the South Atlantic as far as Trindade and Martim Vaz in the screen of . The task group then swept north from Bermuda to NS Argentia , Newfoundland , where " Savannah " arrived on 23 September . During the next eight weeks , the cruiser helped cover British merchantmen and Allied convoys to within a few hundred miles of the British Isles , replenishing at Casco Bay , Maine , or at New York . World War II . North Atlantic operations . The " Savannah " was in New York Harbor when the Japan ese Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on 7 December . She steamed that same day toward Casco Bay , Maine , and from there she steamed via Bermuda to Brazil , arriving at Recife on 12 January 1942 . She joined the screen of the aircraft carrier USS ( CV - 4 ) , in patrolling the Atlantic Ocean north of Bermuda . This island became the cruiser ' s temporary base while she watched over Vichy French warships based at Martinique and Guadeloupe in the French West Indies . The " Savannah " departed from Shelly Bay , Bermuda , on 7 June , and entered the Boston Navy Yard two days later for an overhaul . This was completed by 15 August . The " Savannah " received a new commander , Leon S . Fiske , on 12 June . The " Savannah " next steamed to readiness exercises in Chesapeake Bay that would prepare her for the invasion of North Africa . Invasion of North Africa . The " Savannah " became a unit of Admiral H . Kent Hewitt ' s Western Naval Task Force which would land some 35 , 000 Army troops and 250 tanks at three different points on the Atlantic coast of French Morocco . As part of the Northern Attack Group , commanded by Rear Admiral Monroe Kelly , the " Savannah " departed from Norfolk on 24 October , and then rendezvoused with the Western Naval Task Force four days later at a point about 450 mi ( 720 km ) south southeast of Cape Race . The Task Force , including the outer screen , covered an area approximately 20 - 30 mi ( 30 – 50 km ) , making it the greatest warship fleet to be sent out by the United States up to that time . Shortly before midnight on the night of 7 – 8 November , three separate task groups closed in on three different points on the Moroccan coast to begin Operation Torch . The " Savannah ' s " Northern Attack Group was to land Brigadier General Lucian K . Truscott ' s 9 , 099 officers and men , including 65 light tank s , on five widely separated beaches on either side of Mehedia . Their objectives were the Port Lyautey city and its all - weather airfield , the Wadi Sebou , and the Salé airfield . On the morning of the 8th , the " Savannah " commenced firing against Vichy guns near the Kasba , which had been firing on the Army troop ' s landing boats . She also temporarily silenced a battery which had opened up on the USS " Roe " , enabling that destroyer to avoid a disaster . By the next morning , the " Savannah ' s " guns had scored a direct hit on one of the two artillery guns in the fortress of Kasba and had silenced the other . During that same day , the " Savannah ' s " scout planes started a new phase of warfare by successfully bombing some tank columns with their depth charge s , whose fuses had been set to detonate on impact . The scout planes , maintaining about eight hours of flight time daily , struck at other shore targets , and they also kept up antisubmarine patrol s . The " Savannah ' s " warplanes located an enemy battery that had been firing on the destroyer USS , and they eliminated it with two well - placed depth charges . This action aided the USS " Dallas " in winning the Presidential Unit Citation for safely landing a U . S . Army Raider Battalion on the obstacle - strewn Wadi Sebou , just off the airport near Port Lyautey . The " Savannah ' s " scout planes again bombed and strafed enemy tanks on the Rabat Road on the morning of 10 November . Throughout this day , her gunfire aided the Army ' s advance . Hostilities fittingly ended on Armistice Day , 11 November 1942 . Four days later , the " Savannah " headed for home , and she reached Norfolk on 30 November . After brief repairs following her combat missions , at New York City , the " Savannah " steamed on 25 December to join the U . S . Navy ' s South Atlantic Patrol , arriving at Recife , Brazil , on 7 January 1943 . Robert W . Carey was named commander on 17 February . South Atlantic patrol . The " Savannah ' s " primary mission off Brazil was the destruction of any Nazi German blockade runner s spotted in the South Atlantic Ocean . Teamed with the new U . S . Navy escort carrier USS , plus a screen of destroyer , the " Savannah " put to sea on 12 January on a long patrol that resulted in no combat with the enemy . The " Savannah " went back into Recife Harbor on 15 February , and next , she steamed out again to search for blockade runners on the 21st . On 11 March , she left the task group along with the USS to investigate a ship that had been sighted by an aircraft from the USS " Santee " . The " Kota Tjandi " , a former Dutch ship called the " Karin " by her Kriegsmarine crew , was brought to a halt by shots fired across her bow by the two American warships . Just as a boarding party from the " Eberle " arrived alongside , powerful time bombs , planted just before " Karin ' s " lifeboats got underway , exploded . Eleven sailors of the boarding party were killed , but one of the " Savannah ' s " boat rescued three men from the water . The " Savannah " also took 72 German sailors on board , and quartered them below decks as prisoners - of - war . The " Savannah " returned to New York Harbor on 28 March , where she was overhauled in preparation for her next assignment in the Mediterranean Sea . Invasion of Sicily . The USS " Savannah " departed from Norfolk on 10 May to protect Army troop transports en route to Oran , Algeria . She arrived there on 23 May , and then began preparing for Operation Husky , the amphibious landing s on the southern coast of Sicily near Gela . The cliffy coast there was topped by heavy coastal defense batteries , and no landing place could be found besides a 5 , 000 yd ( 4 , 600 m ) stretch of shore about 1 mi ( 2 km ) east of the mouth of the Gela River . Poised on the plateau above the beach was the Wehrmacht ' s Hermann Göring " Panzer " Division , ready to strike back against any amphibious landing , along with other German and Italian troops . The " Savannah " provided naval gun fire support to the American 1st Infantry Division ' s " Rangers " before dawn on 10 July . As soon as the first light of dawn appeared , the " Savannah " launched two scout planes . Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf - 109 s intercepted them , with fatal results . Lieutenant C . A . Anderson was killed in flight , although his radioman , Edward J . True , was able to land the riddled plane on the sea . He was picked up shortly after their airplane sank into the sea . Three of the " Savannah ' s " four spotter planes were shot down on that day . On the morning of 11 July , the " Savannah " was the first warship to respond to a call for naval gunfire at two points on a road leading into Gela . She knocked out several tanks before shifting her fire to the Butera road to aid advancing American infantry soldiers . Soon friend and foe became so enmeshed in the battle , that her naval gunfire could no longer intervene . The " Savannah " destroyed more tanks later in the afternoon , however , and next she finished out the remaining hours of daylight by helping the Army Rangers in repelling an Italian infantry attack . The next morning , the " Savannah " supported the Army troops with more than 500 rounds of six - inch shells as they advanced toward Butera . That day , the " Savannah ' s " doctors and hospital corpsmen also gave medical care to 41 wounded infantrymen , while the warship bombarded enemy troop concentrations far inland , and also shelled their artillery batteries high in the hills . On 13 July , the " Savannah " had but one call for naval gunfire support . She answered by hurling several salvos on the hill town of Butera . Before the 1st Infantry Division pressed on into the interior , it thanked the " Savannah " for crushing three infantry attacks and silencing four artillery batteries , as well as for demoralizing the Italian troops by the effect of her fire . On the next day , the " Savannah " steamed towards Algiers . The " Savannah " returned to Sicily on 19 July to support the American 7th Army ' s drive along the eastern and northern coasts of Sicily . On 30 July , carrying the pennant of Rear Admiral Lyal A . Davidson , the USS " Savannah " arrived at Palermo Harbor to provide daily fire support . Her guns helped to repel enemy aircraft raiding the harbor from the first to the fourth of August . On the 8th , her task force supported the landing of the 30th Regimental Combat Team , including army artillery and tanks , on a beach nine miles east of " Monte Fratello " . Invasion of Salerno . The USS " Savannah " returned to Algiers once again on 10 August in order to train with U . S . Army troops for the Operation Avalanche amphibious landings to be made at Salerno , Italy . Leaving Mers - el - Kebir Harbor on 5 September , her Southern Attack Force entered Salerno Bay a few hours before midnight of the 8th . The " Savannah " was the first American ship to open fire against the German shore defenses in Salerno Bay . She silenced a railroad artillery battery with 57 rounds , forced the retirement of enemy tanks , and completed eight more fire support missions that day . She continued her valuable support until the morning of 11 September , when she was put out of action . A radio - controlled Fritz X glide - bomb had been released at a safe distance by a high - flying German warplane and it exploded 49 ft ( 15 m ) distance from the USS . The " Savannah " increased her speed to 20 kn ( 23 mph , 37 km / h ) as a Dornier Do 217 K - 2 bomber approached from out of the sun . The USAAF ' s P - 38 Lightning s and the " Savannah ' s " anti - aircraft gunners , tracking this warplane at 18 , 700 ft ( 5 , 700 m ) , failed to stop the Fritz X bomb , trailing a stream of smoke . The missile pierced right through the armored turret roof of the No . 3 gun turret of the " Savannah " , passed through three decks into the lower ammunition - handling room , where it exploded , blowing a gaping hole in her keel , and also tearing open a seam in the cruiser ' s port side . For at least 30 minutes , secondary explosions in the turret and its ammunition - supply rooms hampered any fire - fighting efforts . Working quickly , the officers and sailors of the " Savannah ' s " crew sealed off flooded and burned compartments , and then corrected her list . With some assistance from the USS and the USS , the " Savannah " got underway on her own steam by 1757 hours , and steamed for the seaport at Malta . The USS " Savannah " lost 197 crewmen in this German counterattack . 15 other sailors were seriously wounded , and four more were trapped in a watertight compartment for about 60 hours . These four sailors were not rescued until the " Savannah " had already arrived at Grand Harbor , Valletta , Malta on the 12th of September . After having emergency repairs carried out at Malta , the USS " Savannah " departed on the 7th of December , bound for the Philadelphia Naval Yard by way of Tunis , Algiers , and Bermuda . She arrived at the Naval Yard on the 23rd of December , just before Christmas , and she remained there , undergoing heavy repair work for the next eight months . While the " Savannah ' s " battle damage was being repaired , an additional secondary battery of five - inch naval guns and a new set of up - to - date antiaircraft gun s were installed . Later wartime activities . The USS " Savannah ' s " Navy Yard repairs of combat damage , and the upgrading or her weapons , were completed on 4 September 1944 . Nonetheless , she was never sent to a combat zone for the remainder of the war . She steamed out of Philadelphia Harbor on the next day , and then reported to the Commander , Fleet Operational Training Command on 10 September for a shakedown cruise and sailor ' s refresher training . She returned to Norfolk on 12 October for readiness training with CruDiv 8 and sailed on 21 January 1945 to rendezvous with the heavy cruiser USS , which was carrying President Franklin D . Roosevelt to the Mediterranean Sea , " en route " to Yalta , Crimea , of the Soviet Union for a conference with Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin . The " Savannah " entered Grand Harbor , Valletta , Malta , on 2 February . At that island , the President and his party debarked , and they continued on to Yalta by airplane . A memorial service was held at the graves of the USS " Savannah ' s " sailors and marines killed in her bombing off Salerno . Next , the " Savannah " departed from Malta on 9 February and steamed to Alexandria , Egypt , to await the President when he returned to the USS " Quincy " on the 12th . The Presidential convoy departed from Alexandria on the 15th , and it arrived back home at Hampton Roads , Virginia on the 27th of February . The " Savannah " was underway on the next day , and she steamed towards a new homeport , Newport , Rhode Island , on 8 March . Until 24 May 1945 , the " Savannah " was used as a school ship for the nucleus of crews of warships that had not yet been commissioned . Post - war . After a visit to New York and installation of radar - guided fire control equipment for her 40 mm anti - aircraft guns , the USS " Savannah " became the flagship of a midshipmen ' s training squadron under Rear Admiral Frank E . Beatty . The " Savannah " departed from Annapolis on 7 June for training at sea with over 400 midshipmen embarked . After two such cruises to Cuba and back , the " Savannah " debarked the midshipmen at Annapolis on 30 September , took on others , and steamed on 1 October towards Pensacola , Florida . She spent the Navy Day celebrations from the 25th to the 30th of October 1945 in her namesake city of Savannah , Georgia . She then returned to Norfolk on 1 November to prepare for service in the huge " Operation Magic Carpet " naval fleet which was returning hundreds of thousands of overseas war veterans home to the United States The " Savannah " departed from Norfolk on 13 November , and she reached Le Havre , France , on 20 November . The following day , she put to sea with 1 , 370 enlisted men and 67 officer passengers , bringing them to New York Harbor on 28 November . She completed another similar voyage on 17 December . The USS " Savannah ' s " home base was shifted to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 December for her deactivation overhaul . She was placed in commission in reserve on 22 April 1946 , and was finally decommissioned on 3 February 1947 . As one of two " Brooklyn " - class cruisers to be modernized with twin 5in / 38 guns and Mark 37 directors , " Savannah " was retained by the USN when most of her surviving sister ships were sold to South American navies . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1959 , and she was sold for scrapping on 25 January 1966 to the Bethlehem Steel Company . Awards . " Savannah " received three battle star s for World War II service .