USS Wichita (CA-45) was a unique heavy cruiser of the United States Navy built in the 1930s. The last American cruiser designed to meet the limits of London Naval Treaty, she was originally intended to be a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser, accordingly with the maximum main armament of three triple 8-inch (203 mm) gun turrets. These were instead placed on an improved hull derived from the Brooklyn-class light cruisers, with increased armoring. This design would go on to form the basis for the later World War II-era heavy cruisers such as the Baltimore-class cruisers. The ship was authorized by the 1929 Cruiser Act, laid down at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in October 1935, launched in November 1937, and commissioned into the US Navy in February 1939.

Following her commissioning, Wichita was assigned to neutrality patrols in the Atlantic. After the United States entered World War II, the ship saw heavy service throughout the conflict. She was first assigned to convoy escort duty on the Murmansk Run in early 1942, and supported amphibious landings during Operation Torch in November 1942. During the Naval Battle of Casablanca, Wichita engaged several French coastal batteries and warships, including the battleship Jean Bart. In 1943, Wichita was transferred to the Pacific Theater, where she remained for the rest of the war. She frequently provided antiaircraft defense for the Fast Carrier Task Force during operations in the central Pacific, including the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf in 1944. During the latter engagement, Wichita assisted in the sinking of the Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda.

Wichita was heavily engaged during the invasion of Okinawa for 67 days, where she provided heavy gunfire to bear on Japanese pillboxes, gun emplacements and troop concentrations. The bombardment of Okinawa was the heaviest and most prolonged in naval history and the Wichita played a vital part. She was one of the first ships to open fire and one of the last to cease. Her guns sent more than 2,000,000 pounds of steel and destruction into Japanese defenses on Okinawa.

After the Japanese surrender, the ship served as part of the occupation force in Japan and assisted in the repatriation of American military personnel under Operation Magic Carpet. After returning to the United States, she was decommissioned and placed in the mothball fleet in 1946. She remained in reserve until 1959, when she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and sold for scrapping in August 1959.

USS Wichita (CA-45) "Witch"

Article from the Pawnee Chief, Pawnee, Oklahoma, 4 Oct 1945.

Lamont Clark Kaulay