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CA-44 Vincennes

USS Vincennes, a 9400-ton New Orleans class heavy cruiser built at Quincy, Massachusetts, was commissioned in February 1937. Beginning in April of that year, she made a shakedown cruise to northern European waters. In early 1938, Vincennes steamed through the Panama Canal to participate in Fleet Problem XIX and other exercises in the Pacific. She returned to the Atlantic in June 1939. Upon the outbreak of war in Europe in September, she began patrols to enforce U.S. neutrality and in June 1940 brought a shipment of gold from Morocco to the United States. In 1941, the cruiser took part in combat readiness exercises in the Caribbean area, including a large amphibious practice landing, conducted more neutrality patrols, brought another gold shipment from South Africa to the U.S. and escorted convoys through the north and south Atlantic.

In March 1942, with the United States now engaged in worldwide war operations, Vincennes transferred to the Pacific. The next month, she escorted the carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) as she launched a deckload of Army B-25 bombers on the Doolittle Raid against targets in Japan. She continued with the carrier force during its abortive voyage to the south Pacific at the time of the Battle of the Coral Sea, then returned to Pearl Harbor in late May, in time to participate in the Battle of Midway on 4-6 June. During that action, she screened USS Yorktown (CV-5) when she was attacked and disabled by Japanese dive and torpedo bombers.

Following repairs and tactical exercises in Hawaiian waters, Vincennes was sent to the south Pacific in mid-July to take part in the upcoming invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi, in the southern Solomon Islands. She was present during the landings on 7-8 August 1942, shelling targets ashore in support of U.S. Marines and providing protection to transports offshore against Japanese aircraft. During the early hours of 9 August Vincennes was patrolling westward from Tulagi with her sister ships Astoria (CA-34) and Quincy (CA-39) when a force of Japanese cruisers attacked. In a brief, intense gunfire and torpedo battle, the three American cruisers were utterly devastated. Vincennes and Quincy sank within an hour, and Astoria followed them under shortly after noon. They, with the Australian cruiser Canberra, were the first large ships lost in a body of water that would soon be known as "Iron Bottom Sound".