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NavSource Online: Cruiser Photo Archive

USS HELENA (CL-50)

CLASS - BROOKLYN (Modified Brooklyn's Sometimes Called St. Louis Class.)
Displacement 10,000 Tons, Dimensions, 608' 4" (oa) x 61' 8" x 25' 10" (Max)
Armament 15 x 6"/47, 8 x 5"/38AA, 8 x 0.5" 4 Aircraft.
Armor, 5" Belt, 6 1/2" Turrets, 2" Deck, 5" Conning Tower.
Machinery, 100,000 SHP; Geared Turbines, 4 screws
Speed, 32.5 Knots, Crew 868.
Operational and Building Data
Launched 27 AUG 1939 by the New York Navy Yard.
Commissioned 18 SEP 1939
Fate: Torpedoed and sunk 06 JUL 1943 during the Battle of Kula Gulf.

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Size Image Description Contributed
By And/Or Copyright
Helena 57k

USS Helena (CL-50) Photographed circa 1940. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute Photograph Collection, Annapolis, Maryland.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph #NH 95812.

USNHC
Helena 82k

USS Helena (CL-50) At anchor in President Roads, Boston, Massachusetts, 15 June 1940. Taken by a USS Wasp (CV-7) photographer. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute Photograph Collection, Annapolis, Maryland.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph #NH 95816.

USNHC
Helena 106k

USS Helena (CL-50) Anchored in President Roads, Boston, Massachusetts, 15 June 1940. Taken by a USS Wasp (CV-7) photographer. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute Photograph Collection, Annapolis, Maryland.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph #NH 95815.

USNHC
Helena 149k

USS Helena (CL-50) View of the starboard side amidships, taken at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 27 June 1942, following repair of combat damage and an overhaul. Note the ship's redesigned forward superstructure, including an open bridge and reduced lower bridge wings. Mark 34 main battery gun director, with antenna for an FC gunfire control radar, is immediately in front of the foremast. The other director, just behind the open bridge, is a Mark 33, with antenna for an FD radar mounted on its front. Weight traversing gear on the main deck, between the forward superstructure and 6"/47 gun turret # 3, indicates that Helena is undergoing an inclining experiment to determine her stability.

Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives #19-N-31213.

National Archives
Helena 30k

USS Helena (CL-50) Off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, following battle damage repairs and overhaul, 1 July 1942. This image has been retouched to censor radar antennas from the gun directors and masts. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute Photograph Collection, Annapolis, Maryland.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph #NH 95813.

USNHC
Helena 32k

USS Helena (CL-50) At a South Pacific base, between battles, circa 1943. This image has been retouched to remove radar antennas from the gun directors and masts. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute Photograph Collection, Annapolis, Maryland.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph #NH 95814.

USNHC
Helena 51k

Munda-Vila Bombardment, 13 May 1943 - USS Helena (CL-50) firing during the night bombardment, as seen from USS Honolulu (CL-48). Gunfire causes wavy pattern of tracers. Collection of Vice Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center #NH 76496.

USNHC
Helena 79k

Central Solomons Campaign, 1943 - Light cruisers maneuvering off Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, during exercises on 20 June 1943, ten days before the invasion of New Georgia. Ships are USS Saint Louis (CL-49), at left; USS Helena (CL-50), at right; and USS Honolulu (CL-48) in the center distance.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives #80-G-57074.

National Archives
Helena 34k

Battle of Kula Gulf, 5-6 July 1943 - USS Helena (CL-50), in the center, firing during the Battle of Kula Gulf, just before she was torpedoed and sunk. The next ship astern is USS Saint Louis (CL-49). Photographed from USS Honolulu (CL-48).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives #80-G-54553.

National Archives

USS HELENA (CL-50) History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray & Underway Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
CL-50 - CA-75 - SSN-725

Contact Name: Mr. Gene Alexander
Address: 7732 Firehorn Ln Las Vegas, NV, 89123-2001
Phone: 702-361-3742
E-mail: None


Note About Contacts.

The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.


Additional Resources
Hazegray & Underway Cruiser Pages By Andrew Toppan.
Pearl Harbor Attack - USS Helena Action Report from the Naval Historical Center.

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This Page Is Created And Maintained By Paul R. Yarnall
All Pages Copyright © 1996 - 2007 Paul R. Yarnall © 2007 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
Last updated 07/10/05