USS Santa Fe ( CL - 60 ) USS " Santa Fe " ( CL - 60 ) , a " Cleveland " - class light cruiser was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Santa Fe , New Mexico . Construction . " Santa Fe " was laid down on 7 June 1941 by New York Shipbuilding Co . of Camden , New Jersey , launched on 10 June 1942 , sponsored by Miss Caroline T . Chavez , and commissioned on 24 November 1942 , Captain Russell S . Berkey in command . Service history . 1943 . After shakedown on the east coast , " Santa Fe " sailed for the Pacific , arriving at Pearl Harbor on 22 March 1943 " en route " to the Aleutians . On 25 April , six days after reaching Alaska , she bombarded Attu . The next four months were occupied primarily by patrols off the Aleutians to prevent Japan ese naval operations there . This duty was varied by bombardments of Kiska on 6 July and 22 July to prepare for the invasion of that island and by gunfire support for the landings there on 15 August . " Santa Fe " departed the Aleutians on 25 August and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 September . The rest of the cruiser ' s war service was spent in Cruiser Division 13 ( CruDiv 13 ) with the fast carrier task force s , which spearheaded the Allied advance across the Pacific . She first escorted two carrier raids from Pearl Harbor ; one against Tarawa on 18 – 19 September and one against Wake Island on 5 – 6 October . On the latter attack , the cruisers shelled Wake , silencing return fire from shore . " Santa Fe " departed Pearl Harbor with a carrier force on 21 October , but was detached from her division to cover transports carrying reinforcement to Bougainville . She arrived on 7 November ; and , for the next two days , fought off heavy enemy air attacks . After a brief period in port , she sailed from Espiritu Santo on 14 November , escorting the transport force to the Gilbert Islands and from 20 – 22 November , bombarded enemy positions on Tarawa to support the landings . On 26 November , she rejoined the fast carriers and escorted three of the mighty flattops for strikes on Kwajalein on 4 December before returning to Pearl Harbor five days later . 1944 . Late in the year , the busy cruiser returned to the United States to devote the first weeks of 1944 to amphibious training off San Pedro , California . She sortied on 13 January with the task force which would invade the Marshall Islands . The cruisers moved ahead of the main body on the 29th to neutralize Wotje in advance of the landings . After a morning of bombardment on 30 January , " Santa Fe " rejoined the main force off Kwajalein and , on 31 January – 1 February , provided gunfire support as American troops fought for that key island . She arrived at Majuro on 7 February . Five days later , she sailed with a fast carrier force which struck the great enemy base at Truk on 16 – 17 February and hit Saipan on 22 February . She then proceeded via Majuro to Espiritu Santo . She got underway again on 15 March , escorting and as those aircraft carrier s supported landings on Emirau Island on 20 March and struck Palau , Yap , and Woleai on 30 March – 1 April . On 13 April , she sortied with a task group built around carrier , to support the landings at Hollandia ( currently known as Jayapura ) , New Guinea . Air strikes hit Wakde and Sawar on the 21st , and the surface ships bombarded the same islands the next day to neutralize them during the Hollandia landings . Released from their covering duties on 28 April , the carriers raided Truk , Satawan , and Ponape from 29 April to 1 May before returning to Kwajalein on the 4th . " Santa Fe " sortied from the Marshalls with a group centered around carrier , and guarded her consorts during intense air strikes on Saipan , Tinian , and Guam from 11 – 16 June in support of landings on Saipan . But the Japanese fleet raced into the area to make a major effort to save the Marianas . On the morning of 19 June , swarms of Japanese carrier aircraft attacked the American 5th Fleet . " Santa Fe " s guns contributed to an almost impenetrable shield of " flak " which protected the US carriers while American naval aviators destroyed Japan ' s naval air arm . Through the night and into the following day , the 5th Fleet pursued the retiring enemy warships , located them at mid - afternoon , and launched planes for a successful attack . That night , " Santa Fe " , ignoring possible Japanese submarine s , turned on her lights to help guide the American planes back to their carriers . After strikes on Pagan Island on 24 June , " Santa Fe " s group entered Eniwetok for replenishment on the 27th . Three days later , the cruiser rejoined " Hornet " s group ; and , after morning air strikes , carried out a surface bombardment of Iwo Jima on 4 July . From the 6th - 21st , the carrier group alternated strikes between Guam and Rota to prevent enemy use of airfields there ; and , from the 25th - 28th , while striking Yap and Ulithi , the naval aircraft obtained invaluable photographic intelligence . After six hours at anchor off Saipan on 2 August , the force struck again at Iwo Jima on the 4th - 5th . On the 4th , the cruisers engaged a small Japanese convoy , sinking several vessels including escort " Matsu " ; and , on the 5th , they bombarded Iwo Jima . The carrier group returned to Eniwetok on the 11th . From 30 August 1944 to 26 January 1945 , " Santa Fe " operated in carrier groups centered about . Their first mission was a strike on Peleliu in the Palaus from 6 – 8 September and Mindanao in the Philippines on the 9th - 10th . On the 9th , the cruisers engaged a second Japanese convoy , sinking a number of small vessels . Further air strikes in the Visayan Sea came between 12 and 14 September , and targets in the Philippines received attention from the 21st - 24th before the task force retired to Kossol Passage in the Palaus on the 27th . A new series of strikes to neutralize Japanese air power during the invasion of the Philippines started with attacks on Okinawa and Formosa from 10 – 13 October . That evening , Friday 13th , after and had been damaged by torpedoes , " Santa Fe " , , and were detached to help tow the damaged cruisers out of danger . On the 16th , a single engine torpedo plane slipped through in an attempt to hit the " Santa Fe " , dropping it ' s torpedo into the wake , where it exploded . Under fire from the " Santa Fe " and damaged the plane turned in an attempt to hit the bow of the " Santa Fe " . The plane hit the water off the starboard bow , showering flaming gasoline and plane parts on the 20mm gun tubs . Five Marines one sailor and two " Houston " survivors were burned . On the 17th , " Santa Fe " rejoined the carriers for direct support to the Leyte landings . The " Essex " group launched strikes on Visayan airfields on the 21st ; refueled the next day ; and , on the 23rd - 24th , carried out searches for Japanese naval forces reported approaching the Philippines . On the 24th , a heavy Japanese air attack was repulsed ; but a single , undetected Japanese plane followed the American planes back to their carriers and put a bomb into carrier , which later had to be sunk . Later in the afternoon , a Japanese carrier force was located to the north of Luzon , and the American carriers raced north to intercept . Early on the 25th , six battleships and seven cruisers , including " Santa Fe " , were sent ahead of the carriers to be ready for a gun action ; and , at daybreak , the carriers began launching strikes . Late in the morning , one carrier group , with most of the battleships and cruisers , was rushed back south to intercept the Japanese Center Force , which had swept through San Bernardino Strait . But the remaining four cruisers , under the Commander of CruDiv 13 in " Santa Fe " , continued north and in mid - afternoon opened fire on Japanese cripples , sinking carrier , and destroyer in the Battle off Cape Engaño , before retiring that night . " Santa Fe " rejoined the carriers for the next day and arrived at Ulithi on 30 October after strikes on Japanese stragglers in the Visayan Sea on the 27th . The " Essex " group , with " Santa Fe " , started for Manus for upkeep on 1 November , but was diverted to the Philippines because of a report that Japanese surface units were approaching Leyte . Although the rumor proved false , the carrier planes were nevertheless needed to cope with heavy enemy air attacks on the troops and shipping around Leyte . Friendly airfields were not yet fully ready . " Santa Fe " s group struck at Manila on 5 – 6 November and experienced its first " kamikaze " attack on the 5th . After additional strikes on the Philippines from 11 – 14 November , the cruisers arrived at Ulithi on 17 November . Three days later , while the cruiser was replenishing in the lagoon , Japanese midget submarines got into the anchorage and torpedoed . " Santa Fe " s float planes rescued some of the tanker ' s survivors . The " Essex " group , with " Santa Fe " , got underway again on 22 November , carried out strikes on the Philippines on the 25th , and remained on station until 1 December . After another stop at Ulithi , the carrier group was again at sea supporting the Mindoro landings when Typhoon Cobra sank three destroyers on 18 – 19 December . After searching for survivors , the ships returned to Ulithi on the 24th . 1945 . Back at sea on 30 December 1944 , the " Essex " force struck Formosa and Okinawa on 3 – 4 January 1945 , Luzon on the 6th - 7th , and Formosa again on the 9th , to neutralize Japanese air fields during landings on Luzon from Lingayen Gulf . The ships then entered the South China Sea , raided shipping along the Indochina coast on 12 January , and along the China coast on the 15th and 16th . Leaving the South China Sea on 20 January , the carriers struck Formosa on the 21st and Okinawa on the 22nd before returning to Ulithi on the 26th . " Santa Fe " sailed with and other units on 10 February ; and , on 16 – 17 February , her group launched strikes on air fields around Tokyo to destroy aircraft that might interfere with landings on Iwo Jima . " Santa Fe " was detached from the carriers on the 18th , and bombarded Iwo Jima between 19 – 21 February , silencing Japanese gun batteries on Mt . Suribachi and firing illumination missions at night . She rejoined the carriers for another raid on Tokyo on the 25th and then retired to Ulithi on 1 March . On 14 March , the cruiser joined the group , which launched strikes on Kyūshū on 18 March and on Japanese fleet units at Kure and Kobe on the 19th . Just as the first strikes were being launched on the 19th , a single Japanese plane dropped two bombs into a cluster of planes on ' s deck , setting off immense explosions and fires . " Santa Fe " maneuvered alongside the carrier , and despite a hail of exploding ammunition , rescued survivors and fought fires . After the cruiser had been alongside for nearly three hours , 833 survivors had been rescued , the major fires were under control , and cruiser was ready to tow the carrier . " Santa Fe " escorted the carrier to Ulithi ; and , needing repairs herself , left Ulithi on 27 March for a trip back to the United States , escorting " Franklin " as far as Pearl Harbor . She received a Navy Unit Commendation for her part in the salvage of " Franklin " . Overhaul at San Pedro lasted from 10 April to 14 July . The cruiser returned to Pearl Harbor on 1 August and sailed from there on the 12th with carrier and cruiser " Birmingham " to attack Wake Island . The raid was canceled when Japan capitulated on the 15th , and the ships were diverted , first to Eniwetok and then to Okinawa , anchoring in Buckner Bay on 26 August , " Santa Fe " arrived in Sasebo on 20 September ] and , from 17 October to 10 November , assisted in the occupation of northern Honshū and Hokkaidō . She reported for " Magic Carpet " duty on 10 November and made two trips bringing troops home from Saipan , Guam , and Truk before arriving on 25 January 1946 at Bremerton , Washington . " Santa Fe " was decommissioned on 29 October 1946 and attached to the Bremerton Group , US Pacific Reserve Fleet . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1959 and sold on 9 November to Zidell Explorations , Inc . , for scrapping . Awards . " Santa Fe " received 13 battle star s for her World War II service .