USS Salem (CA-139) is a Des Moines class heavy cruiser built for the United States Navy in Quincy, MA and that is where the Salem resides today.
This class was the last of the Navy’s “All Gun” ships, and while smaller, one ship of this class had the fire power of three of her predecessors and with a cruising speed of 33 knots could out perform any of the older battleships in service at that time.
Salem was ordered in June of 1943 and the keel was laid in Quincy on July 4, 1945.
She was launched in March of 1947 and finally commissioned in May of 1949 as the third U.S.S. Salem in the United States Navy’s history, sponsored by Miss Mary G. Coffey, sister of the Honorable Edward A. Coffee, Mayor of her namesake, Salem, MA. She celebrated her commissioning with a cruise to Salem two weeks later and then spent the next four months on shakedown cruises between Boston and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, earning the nickname “Gitmo Express”.
She went into service in January of 1950, participating in maneuvers with the US Atlantic Fleet between January and March and in May left Boston for the Mediterranean. Upon her arrival she relieved the U.S.S. Newport News and began her first of seven deployments as Flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, alternating with Newport News and her sister ship, the U.S.S. Des Moines in that capacity.
Salem sailed for the Mediterranean in April of 1953 and again relieved Newport News as flagship. It was her fourth deployment, and was marked by Exercise Weldfest and by emergency relief work after an earthquake devastated the Ionian Islands in Greece. Salem was the first American ship to arrive on the scene, and provided humanitarian aid in the form of relief supplies and assistance from August 13 until her own stocks ran low four days later.
The cruiser left Boston in February of 1956 for training at Guantanamo Bay in preparation for a 20-month cruise as "permanent" flagship of the Commander, 6th Fleet with homeport at Villefranche, France.
She returned to Boston in April and again sailed for the Mediterranean on May 1. While she was at sea, the Suez Crisis broke out; and she was diverted to Rhodes in the Eastern Mediterranean where she joined the fleet on May 14 and assumed her flagship duties.
She stayed in the eastern Mediterranean until mid-June and returned when fighting broke out on October 30. In April and August 1957, the 6th Fleet, by its presence in the eastern Mediterranean, twice showed United States support for the government of Jordan threatened by subversion. Salem left the Mediterranean on June 26, 1958 and arrived at Norfolk on July 4.
In 1958, the cruiser arrived in Monaco to celebrate the birth of Albert II, born to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and Princess Grace Kelly.
Salem was scheduled for inactivation after her return, but the government of Lebanon specifically requested her in August for aid against an anticipated coup. This led to a short reprieve.
Salem had relieved the Light Cruiser Northampton (CLC-1) (Northhampton was also Quincy Built) in August as flagship of Commander, 2d Fleet; and, on September 2, she left Norfolk, visited Augusta Bay and Barcelona during a ten-day cruise in the Mediterranean, and returned to Norfolk on September 30.
She reported to the Norfolk Navy Yard on October 7 for inactivation, disembarked the Commander, 2d Fleet, on October 25, and was decommissioned from Navy’s active roles January 30, 1959.
In October of 1994 Salem returned to her birthplace in Quincy, Massachusetts where she now resides as a museum ship as part of the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum. Salem also houses the USS Newport News Museum, the US Navy Cruiser Sailor's Museum and a US Navy SEALs Exhibit Room.
Late in her life Salem was a movie star!
Salem was used to portray the German pocket Battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate, although the original German ship had a single triple gun turret placed forward of the superstructure where the Salem has two triple gun turrets forward of its superstructure. The original hull number of the Salem, 139, is also clearly visible in many exterior shots of Salem. This was explained away in the movie by the historic fact that the ship's carpenters often camouflaged "Graf Spee" to resemble foreign vessels. The movie was released in the U.S. under the name Pursuit of the Graf Spee.
An interesting sidelight is that many of the closer shots of Graf Spee were actually a British Destroyer rather than Salem. This was because at the last moment Salem’s Commanding Officer refused to allow the production company to fly a German flag or Naval Ensign aboard Salem, which was still a commissioned US Navy vessel at the time.
More recently, in 2016's The Finest Hours, starring Casey Affleck and Chris Pine, Salem played the role of the doomed tanker SS Pendleton, which broke in half during a storm off Cape Cod on February 15, 1952.
For those of us familiar with the ship many scenes in the passageways and engine spaces are very familiar...
This class was the last of the Navy’s “All Gun” ships, and while smaller, one ship of this class had the fire power of three of her predecessors and with a cruising speed of 33 knots could out perform any of the older battleships in service at that time.
Salem was ordered in June of 1943 and the keel was laid in Quincy on July 4, 1945.
She was launched in March of 1947 and finally commissioned in May of 1949 as the third U.S.S. Salem in the United States Navy’s history, sponsored by Miss Mary G. Coffey, sister of the Honorable Edward A. Coffee, Mayor of her namesake, Salem, MA. She celebrated her commissioning with a cruise to Salem two weeks later and then spent the next four months on shakedown cruises between Boston and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, earning the nickname “Gitmo Express”.
She went into service in January of 1950, participating in maneuvers with the US Atlantic Fleet between January and March and in May left Boston for the Mediterranean. Upon her arrival she relieved the U.S.S. Newport News and began her first of seven deployments as Flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, alternating with Newport News and her sister ship, the U.S.S. Des Moines in that capacity.
Salem sailed for the Mediterranean in April of 1953 and again relieved Newport News as flagship. It was her fourth deployment, and was marked by Exercise Weldfest and by emergency relief work after an earthquake devastated the Ionian Islands in Greece. Salem was the first American ship to arrive on the scene, and provided humanitarian aid in the form of relief supplies and assistance from August 13 until her own stocks ran low four days later.
The cruiser left Boston in February of 1956 for training at Guantanamo Bay in preparation for a 20-month cruise as "permanent" flagship of the Commander, 6th Fleet with homeport at Villefranche, France.
She returned to Boston in April and again sailed for the Mediterranean on May 1. While she was at sea, the Suez Crisis broke out; and she was diverted to Rhodes in the Eastern Mediterranean where she joined the fleet on May 14 and assumed her flagship duties.
She stayed in the eastern Mediterranean until mid-June and returned when fighting broke out on October 30. In April and August 1957, the 6th Fleet, by its presence in the eastern Mediterranean, twice showed United States support for the government of Jordan threatened by subversion. Salem left the Mediterranean on June 26, 1958 and arrived at Norfolk on July 4.
In 1958, the cruiser arrived in Monaco to celebrate the birth of Albert II, born to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and Princess Grace Kelly.
Salem was scheduled for inactivation after her return, but the government of Lebanon specifically requested her in August for aid against an anticipated coup. This led to a short reprieve.
Salem had relieved the Light Cruiser Northampton (CLC-1) (Northhampton was also Quincy Built) in August as flagship of Commander, 2d Fleet; and, on September 2, she left Norfolk, visited Augusta Bay and Barcelona during a ten-day cruise in the Mediterranean, and returned to Norfolk on September 30.
She reported to the Norfolk Navy Yard on October 7 for inactivation, disembarked the Commander, 2d Fleet, on October 25, and was decommissioned from Navy’s active roles January 30, 1959.
In October of 1994 Salem returned to her birthplace in Quincy, Massachusetts where she now resides as a museum ship as part of the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum. Salem also houses the USS Newport News Museum, the US Navy Cruiser Sailor's Museum and a US Navy SEALs Exhibit Room.
Late in her life Salem was a movie star!
Salem was used to portray the German pocket Battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate, although the original German ship had a single triple gun turret placed forward of the superstructure where the Salem has two triple gun turrets forward of its superstructure. The original hull number of the Salem, 139, is also clearly visible in many exterior shots of Salem. This was explained away in the movie by the historic fact that the ship's carpenters often camouflaged "Graf Spee" to resemble foreign vessels. The movie was released in the U.S. under the name Pursuit of the Graf Spee.
An interesting sidelight is that many of the closer shots of Graf Spee were actually a British Destroyer rather than Salem. This was because at the last moment Salem’s Commanding Officer refused to allow the production company to fly a German flag or Naval Ensign aboard Salem, which was still a commissioned US Navy vessel at the time.
More recently, in 2016's The Finest Hours, starring Casey Affleck and Chris Pine, Salem played the role of the doomed tanker SS Pendleton, which broke in half during a storm off Cape Cod on February 15, 1952.
For those of us familiar with the ship many scenes in the passageways and engine spaces are very familiar...
Since arriving in Quincy, Salem has become a well known haunted location and has been investigated by many in the paranormal community and YOU COULD BE NEXT!
Since arriving in Quincy, Salem has become a well known haunted location and has been investigated by many in the paranormal community and YOU COULD BE NEXT!