| Timeline | |
| 21 NOV 1943 | Construction of ship is approved by Congress |
| 02 FEB 1942 | Keel laid at New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, NJ, in Ways K, with the USS Langley (CVL-27) and USS Alaska (CB-1) being constructed on either side. . The Guam was constructed under contract # 436, carrying a price tag of $45.6 million. |
| 12 NOV 1943 | Launched into Delaware River. Sponsored by Mrs. George Johnson McMillan, wife of Captain McMillan, former governor of Guam. |
| 11 JUL 1944 | Organization of Guam's crew begins at NTC, Newport, RI |
| 15 SEP 1944 | Guam is towed down the Delaware River to Philadelphia Navy Yard. The newly formed crew reports aboard ship at 2100, late due to a hurricane. |
| 17 SEP 1944 | Commissioned, Captain Leland P. Lovette in command |
| 25 OCT 1944 | First trial run is taken |
| 08 NOV 1944 | Guam departs for its shakedown off Trinidad, British West Indies. |
| 13 NOV 1944 | Guam arrives at Trinidad via Dragon's Mouth |
| 29 NOV 1944 | The crew and ship practice towing the Springfield (CL-66). |
| 09 DEC 1944 | Guam departs for the US, along with Springfield and Pittsburgh (CA-72). |
| 10 DEC 1944 | Ship practices bombardment off of Culebra Island |
| 13 DEC 1944 | Anchored in Hampton Roads, VA. |
| 15 DEC 1944 | Battle problem in Chesapeake Bay. |
| 17 DEC 1944 | Guam departs Hampton Roads at 2200. |
| 18 DEC 1944 | Anchored in Delaware Bay |
| 19 DEC 1944 | Guam arrives at Philadelphia Navy Yard. The ship is put in dry dock at 1130. |
| 06 JAN 1945 | Rear Admiral Francis S. Low visits the ship. He names Guam the Flagship of Cruiser Division 16. |
| 10 JAN 1945 | Guam is underway at 1100 for river run. |
| 11 JAN 1945 | Ship arrives back at Navy Yard at 1130. |
| 17 JAN 1945 | USS Guam departs Philadelphia to join Pacific Fleet via the Canal Zone. The ship meets with Shangri-La (CVA-38) and Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748), and sails with them to the Canal Zone. |
| 18 JAN 1945 | The ship's No. 2 bearing burns out while at the peak of full power run. |
| 22 JAN 1945 | Guam anchors in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for repairs. |
| 25 JAN 1945 | Guam is underway from Guantanamo Bay in route to Panama Canal. |
| 26 JAN 1945 | Guam, Shangri-La, and Harry E. Hubbard pass through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. Guam arrives in Balboa at 1815, and grants liberty. |
| 27 JAN 1945 | Guam departs Balboa at 0900 with no ships in company. |
| 08 FEB 1945 | USS Guam arrives at Pearl Harbor at 1800. The ship is tied up next to the wreckage of the Arizona (BB-39). |
| 13 FEB 1945 | USS Guam visited by James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy. |
| 03 MAR 1945 | USS Guam departs Pearl Harbor for Ulithi. |
| 06 MAR 1945 | Guam crosses the International Date Line. |
| 13 MAR 1945 | Guam arrives in Ulithi. |
| 14 MAR 1945 | Guam sorties made from Ulithi at 1000. The ship will join the carriers Enterprise (CV-6), Intrepid (CV-11), Independence (CVL-22), Langley (CVL-27)and Shangri-La (CV-38), battleships Missouri (BB-63) and Wisconsin (BB-64), cruisers Alaska (CB-1), St. Louis (CL-49), San Diego (CL-53), and Flint (CL-97) and 15 destroyers, including Stembel (DD-644), Haggard (DD-555), and Miller (DD-535).These ships form another of Admiral Marc Mitscher's famed task groups (Task Force 58, one of the most powerful task forces in naval history). |
| 18 MAR 1945 | Task Force 58 arrives in the vicinity of Kyushu and Shikoku. While about 70 miles off Shikoku, the Guam's battle debut begins. Guam scores one plane, and one probable. |
| 19 MAR 1945 | Guam's battle debut continues with five kamikaze attacks on the carriers. During this attack and continued air attacks during that day, a suicide plane crashed into Intrepid's aft flight deck, and then plunged into the sea. Enterprise suffered a bomb hit near the island superstructure. Despite the damage, both Intrepid and Enterterprise continued to operate. The aircraft carrier Franklin(CV-13) was victim to two bomb hits, and Wasp (CV-7) received bomb hits as well. Guam managed to destroy four of the enemy planes.Guam is assigned to Task Unit 58.2.9, a salvage unit ordered to escort the damaged Franklin from the combat area. This unit was composed of cruisers Guam, Alaska, Pittsburgh and Santa Fe (CL-60) and three destroyer divisions. |
| 20 MAR 1945 | Later in the afternoon, an enemy bomber attempted an attack on the Franklin, but missed. Despite heavy AA fire by Task unit, the plane escaped. |
| 22 MAR 1945 | Guam completes her escort mission, replenishes supplies, and rejoins Task Group 58.4 After rendezvousing with Guam and other ships from Task Unit 58.2.9, Task Force 58.4 departs for Okinawa Gunto, Japan, with Haggard acting as picket destroyer. Near midnight, Haggard detected a submarine on radar, attacked with depth charges, and rammed the submarine I-371 when it surfaced. The submarine subsequently sank within 3 minutes of being rammed |
| 27 MAR 1945 | Guam is assigned to Admiral F.S. Low's Cruiser Division 16 (Task Unit 58.4.9), consisting of cruisers Guam, Alaska, San Diego, and Flint and Destroyer Squadron 47, which included Trathen (DD-530). This unit is ordered to conduct bombardment of Minami Daito Shimo, an island 160 miles east of Okinawa, while en route to a fueling area. At 2245, the unit begins its barrage on the island. |
| 28 MAR 1945 | Task Unit 58.4.9 finishes its shore bombardment at 0030, receiving no return fire from the island. Guam rejoins Task Group 58.4 and supports carrier operations off the Nansei Shoto |
| 01 APR 1945 | Invasion of Okinawa begins. The Guam cruises 50-70 miles offshore to cover the landing. |
| 11 APR 1945 | Guam experiences another air attack, this time with many bogies. One kamikaze crashes into Missouri. The ship suffers little or no damage, and steams on unhurt. Guam splashes one plane. |
| 16 APR 1945 | Task Group is under constant attack all day. Intrepid is hit by a suicide plane. |
| 24 APR 1945 | Commander Gunther leaves the ship. Commander Walden becomes Executive Officer. |
| 11 MAY 1945 | Guam heads for Ulithi for repairs and replenishment |
| 14 MAY 1945 | Guam arrives in Ulithi, after two months of patrols. |
| 24 MAY 1945 | Guam, along with Alaska, Iowa, Ticonderoga and Shangri-La, departs for waters east of Okinawa as part of Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet, Task Group 38.4 where she will support carrier based attacks on the Kyushu airfields. |
| 09 JUN 1945 | Guam, Alaska, and five destroyers conduct a 90 minute bombardment of Okino Daito Shima, just south of Minami Daito Shimo. This island was known to have enemy radar sites located there. |
| 10 JUN 1945 | Guam departs for Leyte Gulf. |
| 13 JUN 1945 | Guam arrives in San Pedro Bay for maintenance, and more importantly, a little rest from almost three months of continuous service in the Okinawa campaign. |
| 13 JUL 1945 | Guam gets her new assignment as flagship for Cruiser Task Force 95, a group composed of: six cruisers, including Guam, Alaska, St. Louis (CL-49) and Columbia (CL-56), and nine destroyers, including Van Valkenburgh(DD-656), Anthony (DD-515), and David W. Taylor (DD-551). |
| 16 JUL 1945 | Cruiser Task Force 95 arrives in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, where the unit took on fuel. |
| 17 JUL 1945 | The task force sails for the East China Sea, a long hunting ground for American planes and submarines. |
| 07 AUG 1945 | Cruiser Task Force 95 ends its raid on Japanese waters and heads for Okinawa. Although the direct results were few, it proved the dominance and mobility of the US naval power considering they had done a surface sweep of Japan's home waters without harm. Captain Lovette comments, "We went prepared to tangle with a hornet's nest and wound up in a field of pansies-but we've proved a point and the East China Sea is ours to do with as we please." |
| 30 AUG 1945 | Guam becomes flagship for Rear Admiral Low's North China Force (Task Group 71.1). This force circled the Yellow Sea parading American naval might throughout the major ports of Asia. |
| 01 SEP 1945 | Guam cruises off Tsingtao. |
| 04 SEP 1945 | Guam cruises off Darien |
| 05 SEP 1945 | Guam cruises off Chefoo and Port Arthur. |
| 06 SEP 1945 | Great Wall of China is visible from the decks of the Guam |
| 08 SEP 1945 | Guam arrives in Jinsen, Korea to guarantee occupation of the liberated country. |
| 06 OCT 1945 | Change of Command. Captain F. T. Watkins assumes command off Guam. |
| 14 NOV 1945 | Guam departs for San Francisco |
| 03 DEC 1945 | Guam arrives in San Francisco with a contingent of Army troops for discharge. |
| 05 DEC 1945 | Guam departs San Francisco. |
| 17 DEC 1945 | Guam arrives in Bayonne, NJ |
| 17 FEB 1947 | Guam is decommissioned and becomes a part of New York Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. |
| 01 JUN 1960 | Guam is stricken from the Navy list. |
| 24 MAY 1961 | Sold for Scrap to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD |
Quick Links
Main Index
USS Guam CB-2 Home