HELENA USS. 1938

[john sefton]

HELENA USS. Cruiser. Built by New York Navy Yard. Keel laid 9th December 1936. Launched on 27th August 1938. Commissioned 18th September 1939. Displacement 10000 tons. 43kn. Armed with Fifteen 6" guns. Complement 1300. At Pearl Harbour she was struck amidships on the starboard side by an aerial torpedo but did not sink. Partially repaired she sailed to San Francisco for permanent repair and overhaul. On 15th September 1942 she assisted in the rescue of survivors from the aircraft carrier USS WASP. Participated in the battle of Cape Esperance in Oct 1942 helping to sink a Japanese cruiser and destroyer. She also participated in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. On the 6th July 1943 at the battle of Kula Gulf she was hit by three torpedoes. One sheared off her bow, the other two hit her under the second stack. She quickly sank losing 168 of her crew. A lot of the survivors were not rescued until some 11 days later - Gren. st. Vincent 1991. MS SG?, Sierra Leone 1992. MS (P G Longhurst, G Pulham, WP March1995)