USS Raleigh ( CL - 7 ) USS " Raleigh " ( CL - 7 ) was an " Omaha " - class light cruiser of the United States Navy . She was the third Navy ship named for the city of Raleigh , North Carolina . " Raleigh " was laid down by Bethlehem Steel Corporation , Quincy , Massachusetts on 16 August 1920 ; launched on 25 October 1922 ; sponsored by Miss Jennie Proctor ; and commissioned in the Boston Navy Yard on 6 February 1924 , Captain William Carleton Watts in command . Inter - war period . " Raleigh " shifted to the New York Navy Yard on 26 February 1924 to complete fitting out and cleared that port on 16 April for shakedown off the Virginia Capes . Final building yard alterations were completed at Quincy on 24 June . After shifting to Provincetown , Mass . , " Raleigh " put to sea from that harbor on 30 July to join the Cruiser Division , Scouting Fleet , in northern European waters for duty in connection with the Army World Flight . After calling at ports in Norway , Denmark , and Scotland , she took up her reconnaissance station on 31 July off Hvalfjörður , Iceland . She shifted her station to the east coast of Greenland on 10 August and upon completion of duty with the flight operations , she returned to the Boston Navy Yard on 3 September for voyage repairs . She stood out from Boston Harbor on 16 October for maneuvers off the Virginia Capes , followed by operations and battle problems off Panama , California , and the Hawaiian Islands . Steaming from Honolulu on 10 June 1925 , she touched at San Diego with the Scouting Fleet and then returned to the Boston Navy Yard on 13 July . " Raleigh " continued to operate out of Boston for the next two years , spending most of the winter months with the Scouting Force in Cuban and Panamanian waters . Clearing Boston Harbor on 1 February 1927 , " Raleigh " embarked two detachments of Marines at Charleston , South Carolina . After participating in maneuvers at Guantánamo Bay , Cuba , she transited the Panama Canal for Corinto , Nicaragua , arriving on 5 February to land the Marines , who were needed to deal with the bandit - plagued countryside . The cruiser stood by for possible assistance until 23 March , when she returned to Boston and resumed Atlantic coastal operations . During the spring of 1928 , " Raleigh " operated off the California coast and in Hawaiian waters , returning to Boston on 26 June to prepare for European duty . Departing on 17 August , she steamed for Hampton Roads , Va . , where , on 15 September , she relieved as flagship of Vice Admiral John H . Dayton , Commander , Naval Forces , Europe . After touching at Boston , " Raleigh " made diplomatic calls to many principal European ports before returning to Hampton Roads , Va . on 4 September 1929 . The next day , she hauled down the flag of Commander , Naval Forces , Europe . " Raleigh " then rejoined Cruiser Division 3 ( CruDiv 3 ) of the Scouting Force , operating for the next few years out of Boston for battle practice , maneuvers , and port calls . Based at San Diego , Calif . on 15 August 1933 , she trained off the California coast , with occasional runs to the Caribbean , as well as to Alaskan and Hawaiian waters . She departed San Diego on 27 April 1936 in company with the US Fleet , transited the Panama Canal , touched at Charleston , S . C . , and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 15 June for overhaul . As " Raleigh " repaired in the Norfolk Navy Yard , Squadron 40 - T , a special temporary squadron , was organized for duty in Spanish waters to evacuate American nationals from the Spanish Civil War areas . Rear Admiral Arthur P . Fairfield broke his flag in " Raleigh " at Norfolk on 17 September 1936 . The next day , the cruiser steamed independently for Gibraltar , arriving on 27 September . , and , in company with " Raleigh " , initially comprised the Squadron . Together , the ships saved hundreds of Americans and other nationals from the dangers of the war in Spain . " Raleigh " was next assigned to Flotilla One , Destroyer Squadron , US Battle Force . Clearing Norfolk on 16 August , she trained at Guantanamo Bay and then arrived at her new base of San Diego on 5 September . In early 1939 , she participated in the fleet problem in the Caribbean , returning to San Diego in May to resume coastal operations . Next assigned to the Hawaiian Detachment , " Raleigh " steamed for Pearl Harbor on 5 October . As the flagship of Destroyer Flotilla One , she engaged in fleet maneuvers which took her from the central Pacific to the California coast . World War II . " Raleigh " was moored at berth F - 12 , on the east side of the north channel at Pearl Harbor , when the Japanese made their surprise attack . In the first attack wave a torpedo passed ahead and a second hit " Raleigh " portside amidships . The cruiser took such a list to port that it appeared she might capsize . As she fought to survive , jettisoning topside weight , her gunners helped to destroy five enemy planes . Her valiant men won her from the enemy and the sea in a struggle which almost miraculously , left her with only a few wounded . The next day , yard craft and came alongside to render assistance , and " Raleigh " was towed into the Navy Yard for repairs on 22 December . She departed Pearl Harbor on 21 February 1942 as an escort of a five - ship convoy which arrived San Francisco on 1 March . After overhaul at Mare Island , she cleared San Francisco Bay on 23 July as a unit of Task Force 15 ( TF 15 ) assigned to convoy escort duty between San Francisco , Hawaii , Samoa and the Fiji Islands . " Raleigh " steamed from Pago Pago on 3 November to search out and destroy four Japanese picket ships reportedly operating between the Gilbert and Ellice Islands . Finding no trace of the enemy , she touched at Pearl Harbor from 13 – 17 November , then steamed independently to Dutch Harbor , Unalaska , Aleutians , arriving on 24 November . The following months were spent searching for enemy ships carrying reinforcements in the Rat and Near Islands and escorting troop and supply ships between Dutch Harbor and Kulak Bay . " Raleigh " put to sea on 10 January 1943 with Task Group 8 . 6 ( TG 8 . 6 ) to cover the occupation of Amchitka Island . On 12 January , she conducted patrols off Amchitka , with infrequent sweeps off Kiska with her task group . Detached from the group on 10 February , she convoyed ships between Dutch Harbor and Kulak Bay , then entered Puget Sound Navy Yard on 23 March for repairs . Sailing on 22 April , she arrived Adak on the 28th and joined TG 16 . 6 , patrolling the approaches to the Near Islands and covering the southern approach to Kiska . " Raleigh " participated in the bombardment of Kiska on 2 August , blasting targets in Gertrude Cove , and shelled enemy positions again on 12 August , before heading for San Francisco and overhaul . " Raleigh " stood out of San Francisco Bay on 15 September and resumed support of operations in the Aleutians , sweeping the ocean from Kiska to west of Attu . As part of TG 94 . 6 , she steamed from Massacre Bay , Attu on 1 February 1944 . to bombard enemy installations in Kurabu Zaki , Paramushiru , Northern Kuriles . In the early morning darkness of 4 February , she took her bombardment station off that enemy shore to blast an area where two dual - purpose batteries were located . She also took an airfield under fire , destroying a hangar and several barracks buildings . Her gunners also scored hits on a small merchant ship anchored inshore . After touching at Attu on 5 February , " Raleigh " returned to Puget Sound Navy Yard on 1 March for a three - month overhaul . Joining TF 94 at Massacre Bay on 6 June , she suffered a casualty to her number two main engine while " en route " to Matsuwa Island . After repairs at Puget Sound , " Raleigh " departed Seattle on 22 June , touched at San Pedro , California , thence proceeded via the Panama Canal to Hampton Roads and then to Norfolk . Calling at Annapolis , Md . on 1 July , she conducted two midshipman training cruises , in the Caribbean and along the east coast . There , she steamed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 29 September 1945 , there decommissioned on 2 November , and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 November . Her hulk was sold for scrap at Philadelphia on 27 February 1946 . Awards . " Raleigh " received three battle star s for World War II service .