USS Minneapolis ( CA - 36 ) USS " Minneapolis " ( CA - 36 ) was a " New Orleans " class heavy cruiser built for the United States Navy before the outbreak of World War II , the second ship named for Minneapolis , Minnesota . She was laid down on 27 June 1931 by Philadelphia Navy Yard ; launched on 6 September 1933 ; sponsored by Miss Grace L . Newton ; and commissioned on 19 May 1934 , Captain Gordon W . Haines in command . Inter - war period . After shakedown in European waters from July – September 1934 and alterations in Philadelphia Navy Yard , the new heavy cruiser departed on 4 April 1935 for the Panama Canal and San Diego , arriving on 18 April to join Cruiser Division 7 ( CruDiv 7 ) , Scouting Force . She operated along the west coast , aside from a cruise to the Caribbean early in 1939 , until arriving at Pearl Harbor in 1940 . World War II . When Japan attacked her base on 7 December 1941 , " Minneapolis " was at sea for gunnery practice about from Pearl Harbor . She immediately took up patrol until late January 1942 when she joined a carrier task force about to raid the Gilberts and Marshalls . While screening on 1 February , she helped turn back an air attack in which three Japanese Mitsubishi G4M " Betty " medium bomber s were shot down . She screened the carriers during their successful raids on 20 February and again on 10 March , when they blasted Japanese shipping at Lae and Salamaua , disrupting enemy supply lines to those garrisons . When the war broke out , Richard Waller Bates was a student at the Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island . He continued at the College as a member of the staff until 1943 when he took command of the cruiser USS MINNEAPOLIS ( CA - 36 ) . Under his command the ship engaged in the bombardment of Wake Island , participated in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands and sank the Japanese light cruiser KATORI off Truk in April 1944 Battle of the Coral Sea . " Minneapolis " took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea from 4 – 8 May , screening " Lexington " through the great air engagement and shooting down three Japanese bombers . She rescued survivors when " Lexington " was lost , part of the price for preserving the vital lines of communication to Australia and New Zealand and stopping further Japanese expansion southward . Battle of Midway . The cruiser was also engaged in the second key battle of the early phase of the Pacific war , the Battle of Midway from 3 – 6 June , again protecting the carriers as their aviators dealt a deadly blow to Japanese naval aviation , sinking four enemy carriers and downing 250 planes with their trained pilots . This victory was not only critical in preserving the American position in the central Pacific , but meant the beginning of the end for Japanese sea / air power , so decisive in modern naval warfare . Battle of Tassafaronga . After replenishing and repairing at Pearl Harbor , " Minneapolis " sailed to protect the carriers as they covered the landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi from 7 – 9 August . Remaining with the flattops , she went to the aid of on 30 August , when the carrier took a torpedo hit , and towed her from the danger area . Through September and October , she supported landings west of Lunga Point and on Funafuti . As flagship of Task Force 67 ( TF 67 ) , she sortied on 29 November to intercept a Japanese force attempting to reinforce Guadalcanal . At 23 : 05 the next night , she spotted six Japanese ships , and the Battle of Tassafaronga was opened by her fire . She scored many hits on , which sank . Now a second group of Japanese warships , which had been giving distant cover to the transport group , entered the action , and " Minneapolis " took two torpedo hits , one on the port bow , the other in her number two fireroom , causing loss of power and severe damage ; her bow collapsing back to the chain pipes , her port side badly ruptured , and two firerooms open to the sea . Magnificent damage control work and skillful seamanship kept her afloat and enabled her to reach Tulagi . There , camouflaged with palm fronds and shrubs to protect her from frequent air raids , she was temporarily repaired by her own crew with the help of a Seabee unit stationed on the island , and was able to sail for extensive repairs at Mare Island Naval Shipyard . Of the battle , American naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison wrote , " It is a painful truth that the Battle of Tassafaronga was a sharp defeat inflicted on an alert and superior cruiser force by a partially surprised and inferior destroyer force . " By August 1943 , " Minneapolis " was back in the Pacific for 20 months of frontline duty which would include every major Pacific operation save Iwo Jima . Her first was the bombardment of Wake on 5 October , then from 20 November to 4 December she joined in the assault and capture of Makin in the Gilberts . In December , she screened a carrier group in the preinvasion strikes against Kwajalein and Majuro , serving on in the capture of the Marshalls into mid - February 1944 . With the carriers blasting the Marianas and the Carolines , " Minneapolis " continued to guard them through raids on the Palaus , Truk , Satawan , Ponape , and other key Japanese bases into April . The latter raids were coordinated with the landings at Hollandia ( currently known as Jayapura ) , New Guinea . Battle of the Philippine Sea . In May , " Minneapolis " prepared at Majuro for the assaults in the Marianas , firing on Saipan in preinvasion bombardment on 14 June . As word came that a large Japanese force was sailing to attempt a disruption of the operation , " Minneapolis " rejoined TF 58 to screen the carriers during the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 – 20 June . As American aviators won another great victory , " Minneapolis " screened the carriers and provided antiaircraft fire . After taking a bomb miss close aboard , her crew again patched her up . Guam . From 8 July to 9 August , " Minneapolis " brought her heavy guns to the support of the Marines winning Guam back from the enemy . Firing deep support , night harassing , and call fire , she won grateful praise from General A . H . Turnage , commanding the 3rd Marine Division : " . . . a prime factor in the success of this operation . . . a job well done . " From 6 September to 14 October , she gave similar essential aid to the capture of the Palaus , her operations at the close of that period preparing directly for the assault on Leyte . In the preinvasion bombardment force , she entered Leyte Gulf on 17 October , and she downed five enemy planes during the initial resistance to the assault . Battle of Surigao Strait . As the Japanese launched the three - pronged naval attack which would develop into the Battle for Leyte Gulf , " Minneapolis " was assigned on 24 October to Rear Admiral Jesse B . Oldendorf ' s bombardment group with other cruisers and older battleships . With them , she deployed across Surigao Strait that night , alert to any sign of contact with the enemy by the plucky PT - boats and destroyers fanned out ahead . As the Japanese ships steamed in column , they ignored the flank attacks of the smaller ships , heading straight for Oldendorf ' s battleline , which opened fire with an enormous coordinated salvo , quickly sinking the Japanese battleship " Yamashiro " . The battleline , including " Minneapolis " , also crippled the heavy cruiser " Mogami " and the destroyer " Shigure " ( the drifting " Mogami " was sunk by aircraft later that day ) . Admiral Oldendorf , in this Battle of Surigao Strait , had performed the classic maneuver of " crossing the T " , meeting the individual fire of the enemy with his own massed fire . Continuing to alternate carrier screening and bombardment duties in the Philippines , " Minneapolis " was on the scene for the attack and landings at Lingayen Gulf , Luzon from 4 – 18 January 1945 and the landings on Bataan and Corregidor from 13 – 18 February . During March she prepared for the assault on Okinawa , off which she arrived for preinvasion bombardment on the 25th . She fired at once on Kerama Retto , seized first in a brilliant move to provide a safe haven for ships during the assault on Okinawa proper . When the main invasion began 1 April , " Minneapolis " bombarded the Japanese airfield at Naha , rendering it useless to the enemy , then began call fire as ground forces pinpointed her targets by radio . After months of such action , her gun barrels were worn so badly as to need replacement , and she prepared to sail on 12 April . Her departure was delayed that day by the largest air attack yet of the Okinawa operation , during which she splashed four would - be " kamikaze s " and watched three others crash harmlessly into the sea . At nightfall , she sailed for Bremerton , Washington , where she repaired and replaced the linings of her gun barrels . Headed back for more action , she was in Subic Bay , Philippines , at the end of hostilities . She flew the flag of Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid as he accepted the Japanese surrender of Korea on 9 September , then patrolled the Yellow Sea , covering the landing of Marines at Taku and Chinwangtao , China . After carrying homeward bound veterans to the west coast , she sailed on 14 January 1946 for the Panama Canal and Philadelphia . Here she was placed in commission , in reserve , on 21 May , and out of commission on 10 February 1947 . She was sold for scrapping on 14 August 1959 to Union Metals and Alloys Corp . Awards . " Minneapolis " received 17 battle star s for World War II service , placing her among the highest decorated US ships of the Second World War .