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This one is one of three Des Monies-class heavy cruisers that were built for the Navy. The ship was commissioned in 1949 and is the heaviest cruiser in the world to be used for service as well as the only one still in existence to this day. The ship was decommissioned in 1959 after sailing in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and now serves as a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts.


The USS Salem docked in Quincy, Massachusetts now serves as a museum of its naval history opened on weekends.

Boat

The ship was commissioned for service on May 14, 1949 by the Navy led by Captain John C. Daniel and sponsored by Mary G. Coffey. The ship had the world’s first automatic 8-foot guns and they were the first 8-foot guns to use cased ammunition instead of shell bullets. The ship then visited Salem, Massachusetts before heading towards Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where it entered three months of shakedown. Salem made two trips to Guantanamo Bay in November and December 1949 as well as practiced maneuverability with the Atlantic Fleet in 1950.

Salem would depart from the east coast and would visit different ports in countries like Malta, Italy, and France mainly to help participate in training exercises. The ship would be relieved by the USS Newport News and would return to the United States on September 22, 1950. Three weeks later after stationing in Boston, the ship would then have gunnery training at Guantanamo Bay and completed her training off Bermuda. Salem would be relieved by the USS Des Monies later on and return to the United States for four months of overhaul. Later on, Salem would participate in the exercise “Beehive II,” which involved units of the United States, British, Italian, French, and Greek navies.

Salem’s fourth deployment was for another exercise called “Weldfest” and to provide relief work after the 1953 Ionian earthquake that devastated the Ionian islands. The ship was the first American ship to provide relief to the islands. In October and November 1954, Salem competed in war games with the Atlantic Fleet. During its sixth deployment, Salem participated in a NATO exercise between France and America supervised by Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates. On February 16, 1956, the cruiser left for Guantanamo Bay for training since it was set for a 20-month cruise as a permanent flagship of the Commander, 6th fleet in Villefranche-sur-Mer. While out at sea for this expedition, the Suez Crisis broke out, but the ship was diverted to Rhodes in the Eastern Mediterranean where it was able to continue its flagship duties.

Salem would remain sailing the Mediterranean until the middle of June and returned when fighting broke out on October 30. In 1958, Salem sailed to Monaco to witness the birth of Albert II, son of Prince Rainer III and Princess Grace Kelly. Salem set sail for the Norfolk Navy Yard for inactivation and was decommissioned in 1959. It was up for possible reactivation in 1981, but the funding could not be secured by Congress so the suggestion was dropped. Since October 1994, the ship has served as a museum open to the general public in its home of Quincy, Massachusetts. The ship also hosts the USS Newport News Museum, the US Navy Cruiser Sailors Association Museum, and the US Navy SEALs Exhibit Room.

Mooney, James Longuemare. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Dept. Office of the Chief Naval Operations, Naval History Division, 1959-1991. Accessed May 3rd 2021.

USS Salem Naval Shipbuilding Museum. Ship History, USS Salem CA-139. Accessed May 3rd 2021. https://www.uss-salem.org/ship-history/.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.bostoncentral.com/activities/museums/p2137.php