Inter-war period , 1925–1926 (NH 43054)
Omaha spent most of August 1923, near
Puget Sound where she conducted her
sea trials. On 6 October, she proceeded to
Puget Sound Navy Yard to have her aircraft catapults installed. She then sailed for
Mare Island Navy Yard,
Vallejo, California, on 17 October, where she loaded ammunition for target practice. At the end of November and into early December 1923,
Omaha conducted "Short Range Battle Practice" with the
battleship before joining the Battle Fleet on 8 December. Not satisfied with s suitability as a
flagship,
Rear Admiral Sumner E. W. Kittelle, Commander
Destroyer Squadrons, sought a replacement.
Omaha was chosen by RADM Kittelle and reported at
San Diego, California, 27 December 1923. She only held the post until 14 March 1924.
Omaha fell into a routine of operations along the Pacific coast, Central America, and exercises in the Caribbean, with occasional trips to
Pearl Harbor. In 1925, she visited
Australia and
New Zealand, and in 1930, she embarked member of the American Samoa Commission for their
Congressional investigation of conditions at
Pago Pago. In 1931, she sailed for the Caribbean where she joined in exercises from the end of March until early May. She then transferred to the Atlantic, where she participated in joint maneuvers with the
US Army in
Hampton Roads, at the end of May. From there she continued in maneuvers at
Newport, Hampton Roads, and the Southern Drill Ground.
Omaha sailed into the
Boston Navy Yard at the end of October, where she remained until January when she set sail for her return to the Pacific. Once again
Omaha fell into her routine of steaming along the western coast until July 1937. In addition she returned to Panama several times for exercises and fleet problems, operated in Hawaiian waters and around the
Aleutian Islands.
Grounding in the Bahamas In July 1937,
Omaha was serving as flagship of the
Special Service Squadron when she was relieved by the year old
gunboat . On 19 July,
Omaha became
grounded on a reef at
Castle Island, Bahamas, near . During the investigation it was stated that, "she quickly and evenly decelerated as the bottom engaged the smooth reef." The grounding had occurred during
high tide, which made dislodging the cruiser more difficult. After removing as much as possible in an attempt to lighten the ship the salvagers employed tugs to pull on
Omaha while destroyers circled around them to create waves. After ten days of attempts, on 29 July,
Omaha was finally floated free. She got underway the following day for the
Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, where she underwent repairs. A general court martial, held on 11 October 1937, found that Captain Howard B. Mecleary,
Omahas commanding officer at the time of the grounding, was guilty of negligence "resulting in the stranding of the vessel", he was sentenced to the loss of 25 numbers on the captain's list. On 14 February 1938,
Omaha got underway after having the damage to her hull repaired, with Captain Wallace L. Lind, as her new commanding officer. She conducted sea trials while en route to
Guantánamo.
Germany invades Poland , France, in 1938. Her lower torpedo tubes have been removed and plated over but her lower aft
6-inch/53-caliber guns are still in place. Her
SOC "Seagulls" are on the catapults.
Omaha set sail for
Gibraltar on 30 March 1938, for service in the
Mediterranean Sea. Arriving in
Marseille, France, 27 April 1938, she would remain in the Mediterranean for over a year, until 2 May 1939. She visited
Villefranche-sur-Mer, and
Menton, France, during her time before departing from
Malta, for her return to the US and an extensive overhaul from 17 June until October 1939. It was during this time that, on 1 September 1939,
Germany invaded Poland, starting what would become
World War II.
Omaha operated in the Caribbean after her overhaul conducting gunnery and tactical exercise from the end of October until 6 December 1939, when she arrived at Havana. She had been tasked with the duty of transporting the body of
J. Butler Wright, the
US Ambassador to Cuba, who had died 4 December, to
Washington, D.C. Upon completion,
Omaha reported to
Naval Operating Base (NOB), staying there until 1 April 1940. On 1 April 1940, set sail for the Philadelphia Navy Yard before getting underway for the Caribbean. She entered
San Juan, Puerto Rico, then proceeded to Guantánamo and Havana, before returning again to Philadelphia, 5 May. On 28 May,
Omaha would return to Norfolk, before leaving on 22 June, for Lisbon, Portugal, and her new assignment as flagship of the temporary
Squadron 40-T, which had been formed to protect US civilians and interests in Spain, during the
Spanish Civil War.
Omaha was to relieve her
sister ship in Lisbon. As
Trenton, returning to the US, and
Omaha passed each other upon her arrival the two crews cheered and waved.
Omahas band played "
Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" while
Trentons musicians responded with "
Empty Saddles (in the Old Corral)".
Omaha remained near Lisbon, during her service as flagship, until early October 1940, when the squadron was disbanded. On 3 October, she set sail for her return to the US.
Omaha visited
Monrovia, Liberia, on 10 October. During her stay the necessary conditions for modern military training and equipment for the
Liberian Frontier Force were set aboard
Omaha at a meeting of the US admiral
David McDougal LeBreton with the Liberian Secretary
Clarence Simpson. Her final stop was
Pernambuco, Brazil, on 14 October, before making way for NOB the next day, where she arrived 23 October, and remained through 7 November. From November 1940 until February 1941,
Omaha was again in the Caribbean for more tactical and gunnery exercises. In February 1941, she entered the
New York Navy Yard for overhaul and the installation of a
radar system, her first.
Omaha got underway 28 April 1941, but engine trouble soon developed and she was forced to return to Brooklyn, for repairs to her No. 4 turbine until 25 June.
Task Force (TF) 3, which was at the time commanded by RADM
Jonas H. Ingram, had initiated patrol operations out of the ports of Recife and
Bahia, Brazil, on 15 June 1941.
Omaha, along with three of her sisters, were among the resources that were available for Ingram's Southern Atlantic operations, along with five destroyers. On 30 June, with the propulsion and engineering issues having been resolved,
Omaha steamed out of Brooklyn, to begin her Neutrality Patrols between Brazil and
Ascension Island, which was part of the
British Overseas Territories at the time.
Omaha was tasked with enforcing a
blockade against Germany by intercepting, boarding, and inspecting vessels that may have been German merchants or agents conducting trade in the region. In addition, she also tasked with escorting and protecting the convoys using the shipping lanes between
South American port and the ports in
Western Africa, from
Axis U-boats and
merchant raiders. She visited
Montevideo, Uruguay, in addition to Bahia and
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and although not at war during this time she still operated under war conditions.
Search for blockade runners On 4 November 1941, with the report from the
British oiler RFA Olwen that a German surface raider had attacked her at ,
Vice Admiral Algernon Willis, RN,
Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, ordered his
heavy cruiser , along with the
armed merchant cruiser , to search for the raider. The light cruiser and the special service vessels and were additionally ordered to assist in the search and departed from
Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Dorsetshire and
Canton separated, with
Dorsetshire steaming southeast and
Canton setting an opposite course.
Omaha and the destroyer , TG 3.6, which were positioned far northwest of the stated siting at that time, were tasked with supporting the Royal Navy ships. and the destroyers and , who were near to the area reported by
Olwen, were able to search the area, but were unable to locate the "German raider", while
Omaha and
Somerss search for survivors was also unsuccessful. The search continued the next day.
Capture of Odenwald Even though the hunt for the "raider" had been unsuccessful it ultimately proved to not be entirely fruitless. On 6 November, as
Omaha and
Somers were en route back to Recife, returning from a patrol in the equatorial waters of the Atlantic, smoke was spotted, at 05:06, on the horizon. Captain
Theodore E. Chandler,
Omahas commander, put her on an intercept course with the sighting. As
Omaha approached the ship, which was
flying US colors with the name
Willmoto, out of
Philadelphia, identifying her on her stern, she began taking
evasive action. While multiple attempts were made to signal the merchant ship, they either went unanswered or they were given suspicious responses.
Omahas lookouts also reported that many of the crew visible on the deck of the ship were "uniquely un-American in appearance." The ship, which identified herself as
Willmoto, did not satisfactorily identify herself to the American warships. After ordering "
Willmoto" to
heave to,
Omahas captain dispatched an
armed boarding party. At 05:37
Lieutenant George K. Carmichael, along with the boarding party, began to make way for the vessel. Around this time, the merchant hoisted the
signal flags "Fox Mike", indicating that the ship was sinking and that they required assistance. Two distinct explosions could be heard within the ship when the boarding party began to climbing the ship's ladder. In an attempt to leave the sinking ship, several of the crew had lowered
lifeboats, but Lt. Carmichael ordered them to return to the ship. At 05:58, Carmichael signaled to
Omaha that the ship was indeed a German ship and that the crew had attempted to
scuttle her. She was identified as
Odenwald, a German blockade runner and that her holds were filled with of
rubber, along with 103
B. F. Goodrich truck tires and
sundry other cargo that totaled total. A diesel engine specialist was brought over from
Somerss crew to assist with the repairs and prevent
Odenwalds sinking.
Omahas SOC floatplanes and
Somers guarded the area while the boarding party made
Odenwald sea worthy. With repairs finished the three ships set course for
Port of Spain, Trinidad, to avoid possible difficulties with the government of Brazil.
Omaha arrived at Port of Spain, on 17 November 1941, with
Odenwald flying the
German flag on the mast with the
US flag flying over it. On the following day, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the United States sued the
Odenwald, on its own behalf as well as that of the ''Omaha's'' crew, seeking an award for
marine salvage services. Judgment for salvors did not come until April 30, 1947. The court awarded the United States $72, 212.40 in compensation and expenses. Members of the '' Omaha's'' boarding party each won $3000, and the remainder of her crew won two months' pay and allowances. The judgment was affirmed on appeal.
World War II On 7 December 1941,
Omaha was steaming with
Somers from San Juan to Recife, when she received a communication that informed her captain that the
Japanese had attacked the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. She was ordered to "execute
WPL (war plan) 46 (Rainbow 5) against Japan." Captain Chandler
mustered the crew to read them the message. On 8 December, the US Congress would officially
declare war on
Japan with
Germany declaring war on the US three days later, on 11 December 1941.
Merchant sinkings While
Omaha was on patrol with
Jouett on 8 May 1942, she came across the
Swedish ship
Astri.
Omahas boarding party found
Ensign John F. Kelly,
USNR, from the US freighter , along with six members of her
armed guard detachment and eight crewmen. She had been sunk on 23 April, by (Kapitänleutnnt Ulrich Folkers) southeast of
Bermuda. The men had drifted for two days before being picked up. The Office of Naval Operations (OpNav) had informed
Omaha that they suspected the Swedish ship of being a tender for German U-boats.
Jouett was left to investigate
Astri while
Omaha set a course to Recife, with the survivors of
Lammot Du Pont. Having been pointed to the area by a patrolling aircraft, the destroyer was able to rescue another 23 survivors from
Lammot Du Pont on 16 May.
Omaha spotted a light on the horizon at 01:30, on 1 June 1942. The light was from a small lifeboat with eight surviving crewmen aboard from the sunken British merchant
Charlbury. She had been heading to
Buenos Aires, Argentina, when she had been attacked on 28 May, by the . The first torpedo fired by
Barbarigo had missed
Charlbury, at which point the submarine surfaced to attack with her
deck guns before submerging again. With her second torpedo attack
Barbarigo struck
Charlbury which caused the merchant to sink by the stern.
Omaha went on to pull another 32 survivors of the sinking from the water and transported all of them to Recife. On 8 June 1942, only a week later, eight British seamen, from the British merchant
Harpagon, where found aboard the Argentinian merchantman
Rio Diamante by
Omaha. They were the only survivors, 41 had died in the 20 April, attack by (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt) near the island of Bermuda. The survivors, being adrift for 35 days, stayed in
Rio Diamante, which transported them to Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a two-day period, 16–17 August 1942, five Brazilian merchantmen were sunk by (Korvettenkapitän Harro Schact). More than 500 men had been killed in these attacks on Brazilian shipping which were outside of the
territorial waters of Brazil.
U-507 then destroyed a sixth vessel on 19 August, that was flying Brazilian colors. On 22 August 1942, while
Omaha was waiting for her
harbor pilot to take her in at Montevideo, Uruguay, her crew were able to observe the rusting hulk of the that had been scuttled almost three years earlier on 18 December 1939, after the
Battle of the River Plate. When
Omaha had moored, a
Brazilian naval officer visited Captain Chandler and informed him Brazil was preparing for a
formal declaration of war against both Germany and Italy. The declaration was
promulgated that day.
Hazards of life at sea Even as the threat from Germany and Italy had diminished by August 1942, there were still many ways for the men of
Omaha to be harmed. One day, as she was at anchor in Carenage Bay, Trinidad, one of her sailors had returned from an especially "hard
liberty" and found a spot on
Omahas direction finder deck to sleep off the effects. When the ship rolled unexpectedly the inebriated sailor rolled from the deck, down an awning, across the quarterdeck and then over the side and into the water. According to Captain Chandler, "probably due to his perfectly relaxed condition", the sailor was uninjured. Other such occurrences did not always end as well. On 30 October 1942, while in Trinidad, six of
Omahas baseball team were injured when one of the sides of the truck carrying them fell off. Just six days later, while
Omaha and were on escort duty, one of her newly arrived Vought OS2U Kingfishers flipped upon landing, while the aviator was able to make it out safely, the plane sustained serious damage which required it to need overhauling when
Omaha put back into port. Tragedy did strike
Marblehead though in November 1942. As her
whaleboat was being hoisted back aboard, a sailor from her landing party fell overboard and failed to ever resurface. The sailor had a newly issued style of life vest on that required being inflated by mouth. This incident brought Captain Chandler to order that
Omahas boarding party's return to wearing the older style life jackets that had proven themselves effective even though they were more cumbersome and bulky.
Collision with Milwaukee on 10 February 1943 (NH 97972) The year 1943 proved to be quiet for
Omaha. Escorting the stores ship regularly out of Recife, and patrolling the southern Atlantic with her sister ships ,
Memphis, , and the destroyer , she did not come in contact with any enemy ships or submarines or the aftermath of their attacks. The only damage she took that year occurred 30 April 1943, while she was changing stations on formation,
Milwaukee struck
Omahas starboard bow. The collision destroyed one of her
paravanes and rupturing some plating, which caused some flooding.
Omahas damage control party shored up one hole with two mattresses and were able to stop the leak. One compartment was completely flooded with another compartment requiring pumping out every two hours. On
Milwaukee, the 6-inch guns and torpedo tubes on her port side were unserviceable. Several holes had opened up along her port side that were above the main deck, along with some leaks under the waterline from damage to plates and rivets.
Milwaukee also lost her No.3 main circulation pump. The damage was determined not to be serious enough to halt their mission and the two cruisers, after completing their patrol, put into Rio de Janeiro for the needed repairs at the
Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal.
Sinking of Rio Grande and Burgenland Omahas time of relatively ordinary operations came to an end very early in 1944. While patrolling out of Recife, with
Jouett on 4 January, one of
Omahas aircraft spotted a ship about northeast of the Brazilian coast.
Omaha challenged the vessel at 10:20, with one of her searchlights, that produced no response from the unknown contact. Lookouts were able to spot two guns mounted on the ship's bow though, and soon after a large cloud of heavy smoke was observed coming from the stern of the ship, indicating that her crew were probably in the process of scuttling the ship to avoid capture. As
Omaha pulled along the unknown ship's port side she began to fire with her starboard battery as
Jouett also began firing. The ship's crew were then observed attempting to escape off her stern in lifeboats.
Omaha crew tried to force the sailors back aboard with machine gun fire, but it became clear that the vessel was not salvageable.
Omaha began firing on the vessel again, which soon sank by her stern. With fears that this surface action may have alerted enemy U-boats in the area,
Omaha and
Jouett withdrew without picking up any of the survivors. The ship was later identified as a German blockade runner named
Rio Grande.
Marblehead was able to rescue 72 survivors later on 8 January.
Omaha returned the following day to the vicinity that
Rio Grande had been sunk and again encountered an unknown merchant steamer. She once again challenged the unknown contact with her searchlight, and again received no response to her signals. This time
Omaha fired two warning shots over the unknown ship's bow, due to the fact that it appeared that she was dead in the water. An explosion was observed, followed by smoke billowing from her. Captain Elwood M. Tillson ordered
Omahas 6-inch battery to train on the unknown contact and open fire. Captain Tillson then allowed members of the crew to rotate topside to observe the gunfire since many of the men were unable to view the action against
Rio Grande the previous day. The ship, later identified as another German blockade runner,
Burgenland, sank by her stern thirty minutes later. Two days later 21 of her survivors were rescued by
Davis with able to retrieve an additional 35 crewmen on 8 January.
Recovery of U-177 survivors Eleanor Roosevelt and RADM Oliver M. Read, Commander, Surface Patrol Force (TF 41), 16 March 1944, at Recife, Brazil.
Omaha was out patrolling with
Memphis and
Jouett on 6 February 1944, when the ships were given orders to be on the lookout for the survivors of a U-boat that had been sunk earlier in the day near their location. A yellow life raft was later spotted by
Omahas lookouts. The occupants were German sailors that had survived the sinking of their boat, , that had been sunk by a
Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator from
Bombing Squadron (VB) 107 that was operating out of Ascension Island.
U-177 had been sitting on the surface while some of the crew were sunning and swimming. According to
Leutnant zur See Hans-Otto Brodt, their commanding officer
Korvettenkapitän Heinz Bucholz and another 50 men of the crew of 64, went down with the ship. The prisoners were sent to the sick bay for treatment of shock and exposure and supplied with fresh clothing that had been provided by the
Red Cross. Until
Omaha put in at Bahia, on 15 February, where they debarked and were transported to Recife, the Germans were placed under armed guard.
Transfer to the European Theater On 4 July 1944,
Omaha got underway to the
European Theater with
destroyer escorts , , and
troop transport . On 13 July, the convoy arrived at Gibraltar, with the addition of , , and the destroyer .
Omaha set sail for
Palermo, Sicily, on 18 July, in company with the battleships and .
Operation Dragoon On 7 August 1944,
Omaha was guarding the flank of a formation consisting of the US heavy cruisers and , the battleship
Nevada and the , bombarding
Toulon, France.
Omaha assisted in the bombardment firing 24 rounds. An enemy shore battery began firing on
Omaha at 17:17,
Quincy was able to lay a smoke screen out for her while she fired rockets in an attempt to jam their radar. Again on 20 August, while she was supporting
Nevada, she once again drew fire from the enemy as she was departing from the area with the shells splashing off her stern and off of her port quarter. Shortly after, while she was at
Porquerolles, France,
Omaha responded to the
net tender , that had come under fire from a German shore battery, by firing 73 6-inch rounds into the enemy position.
Omaha departed the assault area on 27 August 1944, and returned to Palermo, before getting underway to
Oran, Algeria, with
Cincinnati,
Marblehead,
Quincy, and the destroyer . This group then sailed from Oran, on 1 September, after being joined by , for the Atlantic. When the formation exited the Mediterranean,
Marblehead detached from the group and proceeded west independently. After
Omaha returned to Bahia, 9 September, she once again resumed her previous duties of patrolling the southern Atlantic and providing escort services. A break in this routine occurred when she returned to the North Atlantic while escorting the transport in company with the Brazilian s and to Gibraltar. They reached their destination on 4 December, where
Omaha handed her escort duty off to . She then proceeded by herself to
Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where she arrived on 14 December, and put in the next day to the New York Navy Yard.
Omaha ended 1944 in New York, while undergoing repairs and alterations that would improve the living spaces for her crew.
Search for the Brazilian cruiser Bahia When the (C.12) was reported sunk by a submarine,
Omaha set out from Recife, on 8 July 1945, on a
search and rescue operation. A report came in from the British steamer
Balfe that they had picked up 33 survivors from
Bahia.
Omaha set course to intercept
Balfe so she could transfer her medical staff and aid in treatment of the remaining survivors. In all, only 44 sailors were rescued, with seven dying from their injuries, and eight bodies recovered, out of a crew of 346. An investigation into the sinking of
Bahia later determined that on 4 July 1945, while conducting anti-aircraft training, a gunner that had shot down a trailing target kite continued to fire as he was trailing the target's descent. Because the proper safety stops had not been installed on the gun he was able to inadvertently fire into a rack of live depth charges that were positioned on the fantail of the ship. ==Decommissioning==