USS Houston ( CL - 81 ) USS " Houston " ( CL - 81 ) , a " Cleveland " - class light cruiser , was the third vessel in the United States Navy named after the city of Houston , Texas . She was active in the Pacific War for several months , then crippled in an attack in October 1944 . She was launched by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Newport News , Virginia on 19 June 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . C . B . Hamill . Originally named " Vicksburg " , her name had been changed on 12 October 1942 in honor of her fallen predecessor . The ship was commissioned on 20 December 1943 , with Captain William W . Behrens , USN , in command . World War II . " Houston " departed Norfolk on 1 February 1944 for her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea , and after a period of training out of Boston , she steamed for the Pacific on 16 April . Pacific . " Houston " arrived at Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal and San Diego on 6 May , and after more training exercises arrived Majuro Atoll on 31 May to join Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher ' s huge Fast Carrier Task Force . " Houston " was to take part in the invasion of the Mariana and Palau Islands , a spectacular amphibious operation and another important step in the drive across the Pacific Islands to Japan . Departing on 5 June 1944 , " Houston " screened carrier strike units which pounded the Mariana Islands on 12 – 13 June and the Bonin Islands on 15 – 16 June . As the forces of Admiral Richmond K . Turner landed on Saipan on 15 June , the Japanese made preparations to close onto that island for a " decisive " naval battle . The great fleets approached each other on 19 June for the largest aircraft carrier battle of the war , and as four large air raids hit the American fleet , the covering fighter s , with some help from anti - aircraft fire from " Houston " and the other screening warships , destroyed the attacking Japanese formations . In the Battle of the Philippine Sea , the first phase of which was called " The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot " , Japan ' s naval air power was struck a severe blow from which it never recovered , and the invasion of the Mariana Islands was secured . After offensive raids had sunk , and with two Japanese large carriers being sunk by submarine s , the battle ended with the task force returning to protect the Marianas . " Houston " remained to screen carrier strikes and engaged on 26 June in shore bombardment on Guam and Rota , destroying a radar station , an airstrip , and about 10 aircraft on the ground . She then returned to Eniwetok on 12 August to prepare for the next operation . Assigned to the newly designated Task Group 38 . 2 ( TG 38 . 2 ) under Rear Admiral Gerald F . Bogan , " Houston " steamed on 30 August for air attacks on Palau on 6 September , after which she and a group of destroyer s bombarded Peleliu and other islands in preparation for the upcoming amphibious landings by U . S . Marines and Army troops . The carrier group next turned to the Philippines for strikes against airfields and shipping , and then returned to Peleliu to support the forces ashore from 17 to 19 September . Returning to Ulithi on 1 October 1944 , " Houston " and her task group steamed five days later for an important operation into the western Pacific , with preliminary air strikes against Okinawa on 10 October . Two days later , the task force moved toward its real objective : Formosa . In the Battle of Formosa , the US naval air force did much to destroy Japanese bases for the island battles still to come . Japanese forces retaliated with heavy and repeated land - based air attacks . " Houston " splashed about four aircraft in one attack on 12 October , and helped repel another attack next day , in which was hit by an aerial torpedo . Taking " Canberra " s old station on 14 October , " Houston " and other ships encountered another heavy air raid . Her gunners shot down three of the attacking torpedo bomber s , but a fourth ' s torpedo hit her engine room , causing the loss of propulsive power . Captain Behrens requested a tow , which was undertaken by . By midnight , both " Canberra " and " Houston " were under tow toward Ulithi for repairs . — a fleet tug — assumed the tow on 16 October . Late that afternoon , one of the Parthian torpedo plane strikes from Formosa , still trying to sink the cruiser , struck " Houston " directly on her stern from the rear . This flooded the hangar for " Houston " s scout plane s . Evacuating all surplus sailors to the escorting ships , Captain Behrens and his damage control officer kept the damage control parties working , and they managed to keep " Houston " afloat , traveling slowly toward Ulithi . Learning that the Japanese believed " Cripple Division I " — as it was called — was the remnants of Task Force 38 ( TF 38 ) , Admiral William F . Halsey hoped to lure them into an attack on the two damaged cruisers . Part of the Japanese fleet did sortie from the Inland Sea , Japanese home islands , but after an air attack , their commanders evidently thought better of the idea , and then retired back to port . " Houston " and " Canberra " were shortly out of range of Japanese land - based air power , and they arrived at Ulithi on 27 October . After temporary repairs , " Houston " then proceeded to Manus Island , where she headed for a floating dry dock to begin repairs . She arrived there on 20 December , and eventually steamed first to Pearl Harbor then to New York Navy Yard , as there was insufficient repair capacity available on the West Coast due to the large number of ships already undergoing repairs and overhauls . She arrived in New York on 24 March 1945 . Post - War . Atlantic . After extensive work in New York , " Houston " steamed out of New York harbor on 11 October 1945 . Following refresher training in the Caribbean Sea , she took part in training exercises from Newport , Rhode Island . She steamed on 16 April 1946 for an extended goodwill tour of European and African ports , visiting cities in Scandinavia , Portugal , Italy , and Egypt . " Houston " returned to the US on 14 December 1946 and engaged in training and readiness operations until 17 May 1947 , when she steamed with Cruiser Division 12 ( CruDiv 12 ) for a Mediterranean Sea voyage . Returning to Philadelphia on 16 August 1947 , " Houston " was decommissioned on 15 December 1947 , and then was placed in reserve for over a decade , and then finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1959 and scrapped . Awards . " Houston " received three battle star s for World War II service .