USS Quincy ( CA - 39 ) USS " Quincy " ( CA - 39 ) was a United States Navy " New Orleans " - class heavy cruiser sunk at the Battle of Savo Island in 1942 . " Quincy " , the second ship to carry the name , was laid down by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company , Quincy , Massachusetts on 15 November 1933 , launched on 19 June 1935 , sponsored by Mrs . Henry S . Morgan , and commissioned at Boston on 9 June 1936 , Captain William Faulkner Amsden in command . Inter - war period . Soon after being assigned to Cruiser Division 8 ( CruDiv8 ) , Atlantic Fleet , " Quincy " was ordered to Mediterranean waters on 20 July 1936 , to protect American interests in Spain during the height of the Spanish Civil War . " Quincy " passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on 26 July and arrived at Málaga , Spain on 27 July to assume her duties . While in Spanish waters , she operated with an international rescue fleet that included , , and . " Quincy " evacuated 490 refugees to Marseille and Villefranche , France , before being relieved by on 27 September . " Quincy " returned to the Boston Navy Yard on 5 October for refit preparatory to final acceptance trials which were held from 15 – 18 March 1937 . She got underway for the Pacific on 12 April to join CruDiv 7 , transited the Panama Canal from 23 – 27 April and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 10 May . " Quincy " sortied with Cruiser Divisions , Pacific Fleet on 20 May on a tactical exercise which was the first of many such maneuvers that she participated in during 1937 – 1938 . From 15 March to 28 April , she engaged in important battle practice off Hawaii with the Pacific Fleet in Fleet Problem XIX . After an overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard , " Quincy " resumed tactical operations with her division off San Clemente , California , until her redeployment to the Atlantic on 4 January 1939 . " Quincy " transited the Panama Canal on 13 January bound for Guantanamo Bay where she engaged in gunnery practice and amphibious exercises . She also took part in Fleet Problem XX with the Atlantic Fleet from 13 – 26 February . " Quincy " later made a South American goodwill tour from 10 April to 12 June , and upon returning to Norfolk , embarked reservists for three training cruises from 9 July to 24 August . She spent the remainder of 1939 on patrol in the North Atlantic due to the outbreak of World War II . After overhaul at Norfolk until 4 May 1940 , " Quincy " again visited Brazil , Uruguay and Argentina , returning to Norfolk on 22 September . She completed three more reserve training cruises from 1 October to 20 December . " Quincy " was occupied in Atlantic Fleet maneuvers and landing force exercises off Culebra Island , Puerto Rico from 3 February to 1 April 1941 . With the growth of hostilities in Europe , she was ordered to Task Force 2 ( TF 2 ) and operated with in the mid - Atlantic , preserving US neutrality from 26 April to 6 June . Later , she operated with and TF 28 until sailing for home on 14 July . World War II . On 28 July , " Quincy " sailed with TF 16 for Iceland on neutrality duty which included a patrol in the Denmark Straits from 21 – 24 September . She returned to Newfoundland with a convoy on 31 October . " Quincy " then proceeded to Cape Town , South Africa , via Trinidad , where she met a convoy which she escorted back to Trinidad on 29 December . " Quincy " returned on 25 January 1942 to Icelandic waters on convoy duty with TF 15 and made a patrol in the Denmark Straits from 8 – 11 March . She departed on 14 March for the United States and an overhaul at the New York Navy Yard that lasted until the end of May . " Quincy " sailed for San Diego on 5 June via the Panama Canal and arrived on 19 June . She was then assigned to TF 18 as the flagship of Rear Admiral Norman R . Scott , Commander , Cruisers . " Quincy " got underway for the South Pacific in July with other vessels assembling for the invasion of Guadalcanal . Prior to the Marine assault on Guadalcanal on 7 August , " Quincy " destroyed several Japan ese installations and an oil depot during her bombardment of Lunga Point . She later provided close fire support for the Marines during the landing . Loss at the Battle of Savo Island . While on patrol in the channel between Florida Island and Savo Island , in the early hours of 9 August , " Quincy " was attacked by a large Japanese naval force during the Battle of Savo Island . " Quincy " , along with sister ships USS " Astoria " " " and USS " Vincennes " , had seen aircraft flares dropped over other ships in the task force , and had just sounded general quarters and was coming alert when the searchlights from the Japanese column came on . Quincy ’ s captain , Samuel N . Moore , gave the order to commence firing , but the gun crews were not ready . Within a few minutes , Quincy was caught in a crossfire between " Aoba " , " Furutaka " , and " Tenryū " , and was hit heavily and set afire . " Quincy " ’ s captain ordered his cruiser to charge towards the eastern Japanese column , but as she turned to do so Quincy was hit by two torpedoes from " Tenryū " , causing severe damage . " Quincy " managed to fire a few main gun salvos , one of which hit " Chōkai " ’ s chart room 6 meters ( 20 ft ) from Admiral Mikawa and killed or wounded 36 men , although Mikawa was not injured . At 02 : 10 , incoming shells killed or wounded almost all of " Quincy " ’ s bridge crew , including the captain . At 02 : 16 , the cruiser was hit by a torpedo from " Aoba " , and the ship ' s remaining guns were silenced . " Quincy " ’ s assistant gunnery officer , sent to the bridge to ask for instructions , reported on what he found : " When I reached the bridge level , I found it a shambles of dead bodies with only three or four people still standing . In the Pilot House itself the only person standing was the signalman at the wheel who was vainly endeavoring to check the ship ' s swing to starboard to bring her to port . On questioning him I found out that the Captain , who at that time was laying near the wheel , had instructed him to beach the ship and he was trying to head for Savo Island , distant some four miles ( 6 km ) on the port quarter . I stepped to the port side of the Pilot House , and looked out to find the island and noted that the ship was heeling rapidly to port , sinking by the bow . At that instant the Captain straightened up and fell back , apparently dead , without having uttered any sound other than a moan . " " Quincy " sustained many direct hits which left 370 men dead and 167 wounded . She sank , bow first , at 02 : 38 , being the first ship sunk in the area which was later known as Ironbottom Sound . Awards . " Quincy " earned one battle star during World War II .