USS San Francisco (CA-38)

San Francisco off the Mare Island Shipyard on 13 October 1944
History
United States
Name	San Francisco
Namesake	City of San Francisco, California
Ordered	13 February 1929
Awarded	11 October 1930 (date assigned to ship yard and beginning of construction period)
Builder	Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California
Cost	$11,318,000 (limit of cost)
Laid down	9 September 1931
Launched	9 March 1933
Sponsored by	Barbara M. Bailly
Commissioned	10 February 1934
Decommissioned	10 February 1946
Stricken	1 March 1959
Identification	Hull symbol: CA-38 Code letters: NIJZ
Nickname(s)	"Frisco Maru"[1] "Frisco"[1]
Honors and awards	17 × battle stars Presidential Unit Citation
Fate	Sold for scrap on 9 September 1959 Scrapped at Panama City, Florida, May 1961
General characteristics (as built)[2]
Class and type	New Orleans-class cruiser
Displacement	9,950 long tons (10,110 t) (standard)
Length	588 ft (179 m) oa 574 ft (175 m) pp
Beam	61 ft 9 in (18.82 m)
Draft	19 ft 5 in (5.92 m) (mean) 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) (max)
Installed power	8 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 107,000 shp (80,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × Westinghouse geared turbines 4 × screws
Speed	32.7 kn (37.6 mph; 60.6 km/h)
Capacity	Fuel oil: 1,650 tons
Complement	101 officers 803 enlisted
Armament	9 × 8 in (200 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3) 8 × 5 in (130 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns 2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns 8 × caliber 0.50 in (13 mm) machine guns
Armor	Belt: 3–5 in (76–127 mm) Deck: 1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in (32–57 mm) Barbettes: 5 in (130 mm) Turrets: 1+1⁄2–8 in (38–203 mm) Conning Tower: 5 in (130 mm)
Aircraft carried	4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities	2 × Amidship catapults
General characteristics (1945)[3][4]
Armament	9 × 8 in (200 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3) 8 × 5 in (130 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns 2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns 6 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns 26 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons
Aviation facilities	1 × Amidship catapult

USS San Francisco (CL/CA-38), a New Orleans-class cruiser, was the second ship of three of the United States Navy named after the city of San Francisco, California. Commissioned in 1934, she was one of the most decorated ships of World War II, earning 17 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.

Like most of her sister ships, she saw extensive action during the Guadalcanal campaign, including the Battle of Cape Esperance and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, during which she was heavily damaged and her captain and admiral killed. Earlier in the battle she mistakenly fired on the light cruiser Atlanta, causing serious damage and inflicting numerous casualties.

Decommissioned immediately after the end of the war, she was sold for scrap in 1959.

Her bridge wings, damaged during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and removed during repairs, are now mounted on a promontory in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. They are set on the great circle course from San Francisco to Guadalcanal.