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Photo # NH 98209:  USS Springfield underway, circa the 1960s

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Springfield (CL-66, later CLG-7 & CG-7), 1944-1980

USS Springfield, a 10,000-ton Cleveland class light cruiser built at Quincy, Massachusetts, was commissioned in September 1944. She made her shakedown cruise along the U.S. East Coast and in the West Indies then, in late January 1945, helped to escort President Franklin D. Roosevelt part way on his voyage to the Yalta Conference. Shortly afterwards Springfield passed through the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet. Arriving in the Western Pacific in mid-March, she served with Task Force 58 during air strikes against the Japanese home islands and during the Okinawa campaign. In May 1945 Springfield briefly left the carrier force to use her guns to bombard the island of Minami Daito. During the war's final month of raids against targets on Honshu and Hokkaido, the cruiser mainly served with the carriers, but also fired another bombardment and made anti-shipping sweeps.

Following Japan's surrender on 2 September 1945, Springfield continued to operate in the China-Korea-Japan area. She left the Far East in early January 1946 and served off the U.S. West Coast for nearly two years, with time out from November 1946 until March 1947 for a cruise through the Central Pacific. Springfield deployed again to Asiatic waters between October 1947 and May 1949. After inactivation preparations, in January 1950 she entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Francisco, California.

In March 1957, Springfield was towed to Quincy, Massachusetts, where she began conversion to a guided-missile cruiser. Redesignated CLG-7 in May 1957, she was recommissioned in July 1960 with her armament and appearance greatly altered. Late in the year the ship crossed the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea, where she began a lengthy tour as flagship of the Sixth Fleet. Between mid-1967 and mid-1970 Springfield operated in the Atlantic, generally as Second Fleet flagship. She visited Europe in September-October 1968 for a NATO exercise and several port calls. A final cruise as Sixth Fleet flagship commenced in August 1970 and lasted until September 1973. USS Springfield was decommissioned in mid-1974 and laid up at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Redesignated CG-7 in June 1975, she had no further active service and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register at the end of July 1978. The ship was sold for scrapping in March 1980.

This page features, or provides links to, all the views we have of USS Springfield (CL-66, later CLG-7 & CG-7).

For more images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Springfield (CLG-7) -- On Board Views; and
  • USS Springfield (CL-66, later CLG-7 & CG-7) -- National Archives Photos.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: 80-G-301391

    USS Springfield (CL-66)


    Underway off Boston, Massachusetts, 6 January 1945.
    Photographed from a Squadron ZP-11 blimp.
    The ship's camouflage is Measure 33, Design 24d.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 116KB; 740 x 600 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-301395

    USS Springfield (CL-66)


    Steaming near Boston lightship, Massachusetts, 10 January 1945.
    Photographed from a Squadron ZP-11 blimp.
    The ship's camouflage is Measure 33, Design 24d.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 610 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-706316

    USS Springfield (CL-66)


    Fires her 6"/47 and 5"/38 guns, during gunnery practice in the Pacific, circa 1947-1948.
    Note that the cruiser still retains one aircraft catapult.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 110KB; 740 x 610 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     


    The following views show USS Springfield after her conversion to a guided-missile cruiser (CLG-7):

    Photo #: NH 98205

    USS Springfield (CLG-7)


    Underway at sea, 10 July 1960.
    Photographed by PH2 Sain.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 94KB; 740 x 610 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98206

    USS Springfield (CLG-7)


    Fires a "Terrier" guided missile on the Ceres Missile Range, in the Mediterranean Sea, 6 June 1961.
    Photographed by PH1 D.C. Grant.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 87KB; 740 x 605 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98207

    USS Springfield (CLG-7)


    Moored off Villefranche, France, 13 January 1967, while serving as flagship of the Sixth Fleet.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 113KB; 740 x 535 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98208

    USS Springfield (CLG-7)


    Underway, circa the 1960s.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 87KB; 740 x 635 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 98209

    USS Springfield (CLG-7)


    Underway, circa the 1960s.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 107KB; 740 x 595 pixels

     
    Photo #: KN-20967

    USS Springfield (CLG-7)
    ,
    flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet

    Moored in a Mediterranean port, circa 1973.
    A guided-missile escort ship (DEG) and several merchant ships are in the background.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

    Online Image: 77KB; 740 x 615 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-KN-20967.
    Though reproductions of this photo from the Naval Historical Center's collections are available in black & white only, those from the National Archives should be available in color.

     
    Photo #: K-121961

    Philadelphia Naval Base, Pennsylvania


    Three stricken cruisers await disposal in the Reserve Basin, October 1978. The ships, whose hull numbers have been painted out, are (from left to right):
    ex-Newport News (CA-148);
    ex-Springfield (CG-7); and
    ex-Northampton (CC-1).

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

    Online Image: 79KB; 740 x 525 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-K-121961.
    Though reproductions of this photo from the Naval Historical Center's collections are available in black & white only, those from the National Archives should be available in color.

     
    Photo #: NH 69610-KN (Color)

    USS Springfield (CLG-7)

    Jacket patch of the insignia used in 1967.

    Courtesy of Captain G.F. Swainson, USN, 1969.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 128KB; 550 x 765 pixels

     

    For more images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Springfield (CLG-7) -- On Board Views; and
  • USS Springfield (CL-66, later CLG-7 & CG-7) -- National Archives Photos.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 27 November 2002