Nueve de Julio

History

USS Boise (CL-47) was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn class in the United States Navy. The cruiser was named for Boise, the capital city of the state of Idaho. Commissioned in 1938, she saw extensive service during World War II, taking part in fighting in the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters. Following the war the ship was decommissioned in 1946 and lay idle until sold to Argentina in 1951. Renamed Nueve de Julio, the ship remained in service with the Argentinian Navy until 1978, after which she was taken to Brownsville, Texas and scrapped in 1983.

Design

After the London Naval Treaty in 1930 restricted the construction of heavy Cruisers, the major naval forces of Japan, Great Britain and the United States started looking for alternatives which would combine similar strong firepower without violating the Treaty. The solution were light Cruisers, but instead of preceding classes they would mount a lot more guns, and would feature an improved armor protection. In Japan this led to the Mogami-class, armed with a heavy Torpedo armament and five 15.5cm three gun turrets, though these ships would be converted into heavy Cruisers. The Royal Navy started developing what would become the Town-class, featuring a Torpedo armament as well and in total twelve 152mm guns in three turrets.

The United States dropped the idea of a Torpedo armament on their ships with the Pensacola-class which were the last class of American Cruisers carrying Torpedoes (excluding the later-built Atlanta class, which would fill a special role) and would see them being removed in the 30s. Thus, the Brooklyn class was not intended to carry any Torpedoes, and rather focus on other aspects. Five 152mm triple turrets, mounted along the centerline, were the primary armament. Compared to the armament of the preceding Omaha-class the firepower the Brooklyn class had almost twice the firepower in a broadside, and the improved shells would also ensure better damage-dealing and penetration. The Secondary armament would consist of eight single mounted 127mm guns, which would also be used against aircraft. Eight .50 cal machine guns were to ensure the close-range defense. The armor protection was vastly improved compared to the older light Cruisers, with a 127mm thick belt protecting the vital areas of the vessel and a 51mm deck on the citadel. Steam turbines would create 100,000 shp, which over four shafts would allow a design speed of 32.5 knots. Unlike all the other Cruisers of the USN so far, the aircraft facilities including the hangar and the catapult(s) were moved to the stern of the ship, with the hangar being a part of the ship’s hull. This freed up a lot of space midships which would later be used for additional armament.

The ship’s displacement upon its construction was 9,767 tons standard, and when fully loaded 12,200 tons. Thus they fitted into the London Naval Treaty and were, unlike their Japanese counterparts, not overweight.

With the attack on Pearl Harbor demonstrating the need of strong AA defenses on warships, the US realized that the AA on most ships was insufficient. However, as the famous 40mm Bofors had yet to enter service in the US in the quantity needed, stop-gap measures were accepted. These included the 28mm Chicago pianos, and even some older 76.2mm guns. It was not until late-1942 when the ships of the Brooklyn-class started having the envisioned AA firepower, which would consist of up to twenty-eight 40mm Bofors guns, twenty 20mm guns with the dual-purpose armament remaining unchanged.

• 

  USS Boise, during trials, 7 July 1938.

• 

  The ship's bell, which was saved whilst she was being scrapped, is on display at the Idaho Military History Museum