USS Salem (CA-139) & German midget sub Seehund in Quincy, MA (Google Maps)

USS Salem is the third and last ship of the Des Moines class of heavy cruisers. She is comparable in size to some of the famous dreadnoughts of World War I. Her tremendous firepower is perhaps Salem's most important feature. The main battery of nine 8-inch guns were loaded automatically from the ammunition handling rooms to the gun muzzles. They were capable of firing at a rate nearly four times faster than any others of the same or larger caliber.

While her armament was awesome, Salem never once fired her guns in anger. For eight years she served as Flagship of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. In 1953, she was the first ship to arrive at the earthquake-devastated Ionian Islands of Greece, where her crew worked for days caring for the injured and distributing supplies to the homeless. For her efforts, Salem earned the praise of the King and Queen of Greece.

Throughout her career, she played host to many distinguished visitors, among them U.S. Ambassador to Spain John D. Lodge, Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates, and the Shah of Iran. Salem was decommissioned in 1959. She returned to her Fore River Shipyard "home" in October 1994, and opened for visiting in May 1995.

Salem is home to the USN Cruiser Sailors Association Memorial, USS Salem Exhibit, the USS Saint Paul Memorial and the Military Archives and Research Center.

A two million dollar drydocking and overhaul of the cruiser was completed in early 2000.

The midget sub is on the shore just aft of the two forward gun mounts, beside the main superstructure.

The Seehund (seal) was the most successful of several Nazi attempts to perfect a midget submarine. Operated by two men and carrying two underslung torpedoes, the Seehund was used very effectively in the waning months of World War II, sinking over 120,000 tons of allied shipping. Their small size and rapid evasive action made them virtually undetectable and depth charges seemed to bounce off of their resilient hulls. In the final months of the war, the Seehunds were used as "butter boats", to replenish the dwindling supplies of German garrisons stranded along the coast.

USS Salem is the third and last ship of the Des Moines class of heavy cruisers. She is comparable in size to some of the famous dreadnoughts of World War I. Her tremendous firepower is perhaps Salem's most important feature. The main battery of nine 8-inch guns were loaded automatically from the ammunition handling rooms to the gun muzzles. They were capable of firing at a rate nearly four times faster than any others of the same or larger caliber.

While her armament was awesome, Salem never once fired her guns in anger. For eight years she served as Flagship of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. In 1953, she was the first ship to arrive at the earthquake-devastated Ionian Islands of Greece, where her crew worked for days caring for the injured and distributing supplies to the homeless. For her efforts, Salem earned the praise of the King and Queen of Greece.

Throughout her career, she played host to many distinguished visitors, among them U.S. Ambassador to Spain John D. Lodge, Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates, and the Shah of Iran. Salem was decommissioned in 1959. She returned to her Fore River Shipyard "home" in October 1994, and opened for visiting in May 1995.

Salem is home to the USN Cruiser Sailors Association Memorial, USS Salem Exhibit, the USS Saint Paul Memorial and the Military Archives and Research Center.

A two million dollar drydocking and overhaul of the cruiser was completed in early 2000.

Sea - Military - Other, Museums - Sea, Sea - Military - Submarines
Links: www.hnsa.org
By: kjfitz

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