USS ASTORIA CA-34
The Official Home of 'Nasty Asty'
The Pineapple Fleet 1940-41
In October 1939, USS ASTORIA was one of several ships permanently reassigned to join the "Pineapple Fleet" at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leaving behind her homeport of San Pedro, CA.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
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A late 1930s view of downtown Honolulu, where ASTORIA sailors joined the large U.S. Navy presence.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
An ASTORIA sailor in a rare photograph taken inside the ship's wheelhouse, circa 1940.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Cruiser anchorage at Lahaina Roads off Maui, 24 April 1940. The fleet had gathered for Fleet Problem XXI, the last of the annual exercises before Navy attention began to focus on Atlantic convoy duty.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
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USS ASTORIA CA-34 circa 1940 during a main battery tracking exercise.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 80-G-1027107
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Throughout 1940-41 the seven ASTORIA-class heavy cruisers underwent modernization. In this photo taken on 23 May 1940, USS TUSCALOOSA CA-37 undergoes refit at Brooklyn Navy Yard.
-Chicago Tribune photo in Brent Jones collection
On 13 September 1940, CAPT Richmond K. Turner was succeeded in command of ASTORIA by her fifth skipper, CAPT Preston Bennett Haines.
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Pan-American Airways helped ASTORIA Sailors and Marines keep in touch with relatives after the ship relocated to Hawaii. In addition to passengers, the Pan-Am clippers carried Air Mail to the mainland.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
An example of Trans-Pacific Air Mail sent via Pan-Am clipper. This letter was sent from a USS ASTORIA 4th Division sailor on 21 September 1940.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
In September 1940, painter Arthur Beaumont was commissioned by National Geographic to create a series of paintings on United States Naval power. Eight images were published and sold as prints, including this painting of USS ASTORIA CA-34 steaming ahead of PHOENIX CL-46.
-National Geographic image from Brent Jones collection
On Christmas Day 1940, LT(j.g.) Willie Isham descends from an ASTORIA SOC floatplane dressed as Santa Claus. This was an annual tradition for children of ASTORIA families, both in San Pedro and Oahu.
-photo reproduced from Jones ed., USS ASTORIA (CA-34) and the Men Who Sailed Her
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Above and below: Views of USS ASTORIA CA-34 shortly before her 1941 refit.
-U.S Navy photo from NARA collection 80-G-1027109
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 80-G-1027108
In April 1941, USS ASTORIA returned to the West Coast to undergo a yard period at Mare Island, Vallejo, CA. She was modernized with the addition of quad 1.1-inch antiaircraft guns fore and aft. Her masts were cropped in preparation to receive a new technology that was a closely guarded secret: Radar.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ASTORIA CA-34's port bridge wing on 9 July 1941. The photo shows one of the ship's four new 1.1-inch antiaircraft mounts with associated director and clipping room. At upper left is a new Sky Forward lookout position.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ASTORIA CA-34's cropped foremast on 9 July 1941. The photo shows the foundation built for installation of a new air search radar.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A closeup of one of USS ASTORIA CA-34's newly added 1.1-inch antiaircraft mounts.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ASTORIA CA-34's fantail with newly-installed 1.1-inch antiaircraft mounts. Positions for gun directors have been installed just afore the mounts. At upper right men sunbathe on the teakwood deck.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A USS ASTORIA CA-34 SOC floatplane from VCS-6 in its wheeled configuration in 1941. The SOCs were typically converted and based ashore during yard periods.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A port bow view of USS ASTORIA as fitted out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 11 July 1941. In addition to mast, radar, and AA upgrades, she has been painted in Measure 1 camouflage, which significantly de-emphasizes her upper masts and gunfire directors.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A port beam view of USS ASTORIA as fitted out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 11 July 1941.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A port quarter view of USS ASTORIA as fitted out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 11 July 1941.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
December 1941
Following USS ASTORIA's yard period, she returned to Pearl Harbor in late July. As U.S. Navy attention began to focus on protecting shipping from German raiders, ASTORIA participated in convoy duty between Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines over the following months. On 5 December 1941, ASTORIA departed Pearl Harbor with Task Force 12, built around USS LEXINGTON CV-2 transporting aircraft to Wake Island and Midway.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
PORTLAND CA-33 departs Pearl Harbor on 5 December 1941. In column behind PORTLAND are ASTORIA CA-34 and INDIANAPOLIS CA-35.
-Bob Landry photo in LIFE/Getty collection
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A signalman aboard PORTLAND CA-33 trades messages via shutter lamp with ASTORIA CA-34. At left another sailor records the communication exchange.
-Bob Landry photo in LIFE/Getty collection
Above: A bow-on view of ASTORIA CA-34 taken from aboard PORTLAND CA-33 during the Task Force 12 plane ferrying mission. INDIANAPOLIS CA-35 is the cruiser behind ASTORIA. This photo was taken in the days immediately surrounding the Japanese attacks on Oahu. It was featured in the January 5th, 1942 issue of LIFE magazine for an article titled "The First Ten Days of the War at Sea."
Below: ASTORIA CA-34 in the same sequence taken from PORTLAND CA-33.
-LIFE Magazine photos
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
In column behind PORTLAND, USS ASTORIA CA-34 takes water over her bow.
-Bob Landry photo in LIFE/Getty collection
Two days later, when USS ASTORIA was 700 miles west of Oahu, the Empire of Japan struck American military facilities across the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. The heaviest attack came at ASTORIA's home port of Pearl Harbor.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ARIZONA BB-39 burns furiously at her berth following the detonation of her forward magazine from a Japanese bomb, 7 December 1941. She was one of eight battleships heavily damaged or sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
At the opposite end of "Battleship Row," USS CALIFORNIA BB-44 is obscured by intense fires from burning fuel oil. A significant number of her crew, their ship torpedoed and sunk, were later transferred to USS ASTORIA for sea duty.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
Sources
Jones, Brent. Private photo and document collection.
Jones, Pat (ed.) The USS ASTORIA (CA-34) and the Men Who Sailed Her. USS ASTORIA Reunion Association. Privately printed, 1992.
National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/research/
Weimer, Robert S. Private photo and document collection.
Continue to Lines of Advance
BACK TO USS ASTORIA HOMEPAGE
In October 1939, USS ASTORIA was one of several ships permanently reassigned to join the "Pineapple Fleet" at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leaving behind her homeport of San Pedro, CA.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A late 1930s view of downtown Honolulu, where ASTORIA sailors joined the large U.S. Navy presence.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
An ASTORIA sailor in a rare photograph taken inside the ship's wheelhouse, circa 1940.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Cruiser anchorage at Lahaina Roads off Maui, 24 April 1940. The fleet had gathered for Fleet Problem XXI, the last of the annual exercises before Navy attention began to focus on Atlantic convoy duty.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ASTORIA CA-34 circa 1940 during a main battery tracking exercise.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 80-G-1027107
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Throughout 1940-41 the seven ASTORIA-class heavy cruisers underwent modernization. In this photo taken on 23 May 1940, USS TUSCALOOSA CA-37 undergoes refit at Brooklyn Navy Yard.
-Chicago Tribune photo in Brent Jones collection
On 13 September 1940, CAPT Richmond K. Turner was succeeded in command of ASTORIA by her fifth skipper, CAPT Preston Bennett Haines.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Pan-American Airways helped ASTORIA Sailors and Marines keep in touch with relatives after the ship relocated to Hawaii. In addition to passengers, the Pan-Am clippers carried Air Mail to the mainland.
-photo from Brent Jones collection
An example of Trans-Pacific Air Mail sent via Pan-Am clipper. This letter was sent from a USS ASTORIA 4th Division sailor on 21 September 1940.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
In September 1940, painter Arthur Beaumont was commissioned by National Geographic to create a series of paintings on United States Naval power. Eight images were published and sold as prints, including this painting of USS ASTORIA CA-34 steaming ahead of PHOENIX CL-46.
-National Geographic image from Brent Jones collection
On Christmas Day 1940, LT(j.g.) Willie Isham descends from an ASTORIA SOC floatplane dressed as Santa Claus. This was an annual tradition for children of ASTORIA families, both in San Pedro and Oahu.
-photo reproduced from Jones ed., USS ASTORIA (CA-34) and the Men Who Sailed Her
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Above and below: Views of USS ASTORIA CA-34 shortly before her 1941 refit.
-U.S Navy photo from NARA collection 80-G-1027109
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 80-G-1027108
In April 1941, USS ASTORIA returned to the West Coast to undergo a yard period at Mare Island, Vallejo, CA. She was modernized with the addition of quad 1.1-inch antiaircraft guns fore and aft. Her masts were cropped in preparation to receive a new technology that was a closely guarded secret: Radar.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ASTORIA CA-34's port bridge wing on 9 July 1941. The photo shows one of the ship's four new 1.1-inch antiaircraft mounts with associated director and clipping room. At upper left is a new Sky Forward lookout position.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ASTORIA CA-34's cropped foremast on 9 July 1941. The photo shows the foundation built for installation of a new air search radar.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A closeup of one of USS ASTORIA CA-34's newly added 1.1-inch antiaircraft mounts.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ASTORIA CA-34's fantail with newly-installed 1.1-inch antiaircraft mounts. Positions for gun directors have been installed just afore the mounts. At upper right men sunbathe on the teakwood deck.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A USS ASTORIA CA-34 SOC floatplane from VCS-6 in its wheeled configuration in 1941. The SOCs were typically converted and based ashore during yard periods.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A port bow view of USS ASTORIA as fitted out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 11 July 1941. In addition to mast, radar, and AA upgrades, she has been painted in Measure 1 camouflage, which significantly de-emphasizes her upper masts and gunfire directors.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A port beam view of USS ASTORIA as fitted out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 11 July 1941.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A port quarter view of USS ASTORIA as fitted out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 11 July 1941.
-U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection 19-LCM
December 1941
Following USS ASTORIA's yard period, she returned to Pearl Harbor in late July. As U.S. Navy attention began to focus on protecting shipping from German raiders, ASTORIA participated in convoy duty between Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines over the following months. On 5 December 1941, ASTORIA departed Pearl Harbor with Task Force 12, built around USS LEXINGTON CV-2 transporting aircraft to Wake Island and Midway.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
PORTLAND CA-33 departs Pearl Harbor on 5 December 1941. In column behind PORTLAND are ASTORIA CA-34 and INDIANAPOLIS CA-35.
-Bob Landry photo in LIFE/Getty collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A signalman aboard PORTLAND CA-33 trades messages via shutter lamp with ASTORIA CA-34. At left another sailor records the communication exchange.
-Bob Landry photo in LIFE/Getty collection
Above: A bow-on view of ASTORIA CA-34 taken from aboard PORTLAND CA-33 during the Task Force 12 plane ferrying mission. INDIANAPOLIS CA-35 is the cruiser behind ASTORIA. This photo was taken in the days immediately surrounding the Japanese attacks on Oahu. It was featured in the January 5th, 1942 issue of LIFE magazine for an article titled "The First Ten Days of the War at Sea."
Below: ASTORIA CA-34 in the same sequence taken from PORTLAND CA-33.
-LIFE Magazine photos
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
In column behind PORTLAND, USS ASTORIA CA-34 takes water over her bow.
-Bob Landry photo in LIFE/Getty collection
Two days later, when USS ASTORIA was 700 miles west of Oahu, the Empire of Japan struck American military facilities across the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. The heaviest attack came at ASTORIA's home port of Pearl Harbor.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
USS ARIZONA BB-39 burns furiously at her berth following the detonation of her forward magazine from a Japanese bomb, 7 December 1941. She was one of eight battleships heavily damaged or sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
At the opposite end of "Battleship Row," USS CALIFORNIA BB-44 is obscured by intense fires from burning fuel oil. A significant number of her crew, their ship torpedoed and sunk, were later transferred to USS ASTORIA for sea duty.
-U.S. Navy photo from Brent Jones collection
Sources
Jones, Brent. Private photo and document collection.
Jones, Pat (ed.) The USS ASTORIA (CA-34) and the Men Who Sailed Her. USS ASTORIA Reunion Association. Privately printed, 1992.
National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/research/
Weimer, Robert S. Private photo and document collection.
Continue to Lines of Advance
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