USS Houston (CA-30)By: MIDN 3/C Sutton

Overview• By the end of this PowerPoint, cadets will be familiar with:

Time line of the USS Houston’s service General characteristics of the vessel Service history and battle record Important members and fate of crew Legacy of the ship Importance of vessel

Timeline• Sept 1st, 1927- Planned heavy cruiser designated USS Houston

• May 1st, 1928- Keel laid in Newport News, Virginia

• June 17th, 1930- USS Houston officially commissioned

• July 1st, 1934- First of four Presidential Cruises

• Oct 2nd, 1935- Second Presidential cruise

• July 1st, 1938- Third Presidential cruise

• Feb 18th, 1939- Fourth Presidential cruise

• May 31st, 1940- Designated flagship of the Asiatic Fleet

• Dec 8th, 1941- Sails from Manila to join ABDACOM

• Feb 4th, 1942- Battle of Makassar Strait

• Feb 27th, 1942- Battle of the Java Sea

• Mar 1st, 1942- Battle of Sunda Strait

General Characteristics• Northampton Class Heavy Cruiser

Six constructed and three sunk Displacement of 9,200 tons

Similar in size to modern Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer

570 feet long, 66 foot beam, and 17 foot draft Propulsion: 107,000 total horsepower

Same horsepower as 246 2015 Mustangs at max output

Max Speed of 33 knots Similar speed of modern surface combatants

Size of crew: 1,100 105 Officer and 995 Enlisted Compared to 33 officers and 370 enlisted on Ticonderoga Class Cruiser

Armament Nine 8-inch guns (Main Battery) Eight 5 inch guns (Secondary Battery) 16 1.1 inch AA guns, 8 .5 inch AA guns

Armor 3 inch belt, 2 inch deck

President Roosevelt's Cruiser• Hosted first Presidential cruise in 1934

12,000 miles total to Haiti, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Columbia, and Hawaii

• Hosted second Presidential cruise in 1935 Vacation cruise to Cerros Island and concluding in Charleston

• Hosted third Presidential cruise in 1938 Inspection Cruise and fishing expedition of 6,000 total miles from California to

Pensacola via the Galapagos and Panama

• Final Presidential cruise in 1939 Training exercise Fleet Problem 20 with President and Chief of Naval

Operations, ADM Leahy, as guests

“I knew that ship and loved her. Her officers and men were my friends.”

-President Roosevelt, Memorial Day 1942

Cruise Photos

Wartime Leadership• Admiral Karl Doorman, RDN

ABDACOM Combined Striking Force

• Admiral Thomas C. Hart Commander, U.S. Asiatic Fleet Commander, ABDAFLOAT

• Captain Albert H. Rooks Commanding Officer, USS Houston Medal of Honor Recipient USNA Class of 14’

• Commander Arthur Maher Gunnery Officer, USS Houston Senior survivor of Sunda Strait Awarded Navy Cross and Silver Star

Battle of Makassar Strait• Confontration between American and Dutch surface and

air forces of the Japanese Empire on 4 February, 1942.

• Attempted interception of Japanese invasion convoy bound for Surabaya

• Result: USS Houston aft turret knocked out of action. DeRuyter damaged. Japanese invasion force

unhindered.

Allied Strength Japanese Strength

4 Cruisers 36 G4M1 “Betty” Bombers

7 Destroyers 24 G3M2 “Nell” Bombers

Battle of the Java Sea • Confrontation between ABDACOM forces and Imerial Japanese Navy on

27 February, 1942.

• ABDACOM naval force, commanded by RADM Doorman, sailed Northeast of Surabaya to intercept Eastern Invasion Force convoy.

Allied Strength Japanese Strength

2 Heavy Cruisers 2 Heavy Cruisers

3 Light Cruisers 2 Light Cruisers

9 Destroyers 14 Destroyers

10 Transports

Battle of the Java Sea (Cont.)• Large surface clash

Largest since Battle of Jutland in 1916 Japanese possessed superior torpedo's and were more experienced

92 torpedoes launched during battle.

IJN heavy cruisers had larger armament (10x8 inch each) 20 8 inch guns compared to 15 8 inch (3 KIA) for ABDACOM

Friendly Fire 2 out of 4 ABDACOM destroyers sunk

USS Houston and HMAS Perth only survivors

• “I attack, follow me.”

• Result Overwhelming Japanese victory (2 cruisers, 3 destroyers sunk. 1 IJN DD damaged) Allied forces effectively removed from Indonesian waters Japanese invasion of Java and other Southwestern territories essentially unopposed Battle of Sunda Strait

Battle of Java Sea Photos

Crew• Captain Albert Rooks

Commanding Officer Medal of Honor Recipient USNA Class of 14’ Leadership Qualities and Persona

Crew (Cont.)• Commander George S. Rentz

Ship Chaplain Navy Cross Recipient Princeton Theological Seminary Grad of 09’ Importance to Crew

• Gunnery Sergeant Walter Standish Enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1919 Second highest ranking NCO of the Marine Detachment

Fate• 368 of 1,061 men aboard survived the Battle of Java Sea

• All were eventually captured by Japanese on Java Island or lost at sea

• Survivors moved to Prisoner of War Camps in Burma

• Forced by Japanese Army to construct Burma-Thailand Railway “We will build the railroad if we have to build it over the white man’s body. It

gives me great pleasure to have a fast-moving defeated nation in my power. You are merely rubble but I will not feel bad because it is your rulers. If you want anything you will have to come through me for same and there will be many of you who will not see your homes again. Work cheerfully at my command.”

-Colonal Yoshitada Nagatomo, Commander

Life on the Railway• Incredibly dense jungle

• Forced marches

• Monsoon season

• Malnourished and mistreated

• Disease stricken (Malaria, dysentery, etc.)

• 288 survivors of original 368

• 13,000 total Allied POW deaths and 100,000

natives killed.

Legacy of the Ship

Legacy of the Ship (Cont.)• The Houston Volunteers

1,000 men from Houston area who volunteered for Naval Service following loss of USS Houston

$85,000,000 worth of war bonds raised by City of Houston residents Paid for USS Houston (CL-81) and USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)

“Not one of us doubts that the thousand naval recruits sworn in today will carry on with the same spirit shown by the gallant men who have gone before them. Not one of us doubts that every true Texan and every true American will back up these new fighting men, with all our hearts and all our efforts.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Commander in Chief

Source and Motivation• Hornfischer, James D. Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston,

FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors. New York: Bantam, 2006. Print.