by David Hlusak
1/700 USS New Orleans CA-32, 1942 (Wave-Line)
USS New Orleans (CA-32) was laid down march 14 1931 by New York Navyyard; and commissioned February 15 1934. in 1935 she join CruiserDivision 6 in operations in the eastern Pacific for over a year. She served out of California ports until joining the Hawaiian Detachment, October 12 1939 for exercises, training, and as war drew close, vigilant patrol. Present at Pearl Harbor during the attack December 7 1941. With power lines from the docks cut she operated her 5' 25 AA guns manually. A number of her crew were injured when a fragmentation bomb exploded close aboard, And was here when her chaplan spoke the famous words, 'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!' The New Orleans later participated in The Battle of Coral Sea, The Battle of Midway, the invasion of The Soloman Islands, The Battle of the eastern Solomons, The Battle of Tassafaronga in which her bow was severed betweenthe #1 and #2 turrets by a Japanese torpedo. The bow swung around and punching several holes in the length of the hull and damaging a propeller before sinking. Now slowed to 2 knots, and blazing forward, the ship fought for survival. Individual acts of heroism and self-sacrifice alongwith skillful seamanship kept her afloat. The crew later reenforced the bulkheads with cocoa logs before heading to Australia for temporary repairs then back home where she'd be under repair for the next 9 months. After a new bow was fitted and all battle damage repaired she made bombardments on Wake, The Gilberts, The Marshalls, Raids on Truk and Carolines, supported landings on New Guinea, raids on Satawan,Bombardments on Siapan, participated in The Battle of Coral Sea, Bombardments on Tinian, Bonins, Iwo Jima, Palaus, Okinawa, Formosa and the Northern Luzon. Par took in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She earned 17 Battle Stars for her efforts in WWII, however is usuanlly only given credit for 16.
