A Distinguished Ancestry
USS Los Angeles
The first naval ship to be named after the City of Los Angeles was actually a civilian overseas tanker. She was built by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California, for the Union Oil Company and was launched in 1916. Because of World War I, on August 9, 1917 the U.S. Navy commissioned her as a naval overseas tanker under the command of LCDR Alexander Mackenzie, USNRF. LOS ANGELES operated during that war along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts during 1917 and in 1918 she was assigned to make trans-Atlantic crossings carring needed fuel oil to Brest, France, and Portsmouth and Davenport, England. In 1919, at the end of the war, LOS ANGELES was decommissioned and returned to her former owner --Union Oil.
The second naval ship to be named after the city of Los Angeles was an airship which was commissioned USS LOS ANGELES (ZR-3) on November 25, 1924 and remained in commission until June 30, 1932. The air ship LOS ANGELES was built by the Zeppelin Airship Company at Fredrichshafen, Germany, for the United States Government. She was christened by Mrs. Grace Coolidge, wife of President Calvin Coolidge, and placed under the command of LCDR Maurice R. Pierce, USN. LOS ANGELES served for more than seven years as an aerial laboratory and testing platform for the development of coordinated naval air and sea tactics. She conducted the first mid-air docking of a fixed wing fighter by an airship.
USS Los Angeles (ZR-3)
The third naval ship to be named Los Angeles was a heavy cruiser. She was commissioned USS LOS ANGELES (CA-135) on July 25, 1945, and placed under the command of CAPT John A. Snackenburg, USN. Her sponsor was Mrs. Fletcher Bowron, wife of the Mayor of Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES' building was financed almost entirely by war bonds purchased by the citizens of the city and county of Los Angeles. USS LOS ANGELES (CA-135) served in the Seventh Fleet cruising off the coast of China and in the Western Pacific to the Marianas, from January 3, 1946 until January 21, 1947 and was deactivated on April 9, 1948. In January 1951, USS LOS ANGELES (CA-135) was recommissioned and deployed to the Far East in support of operations in the Korean conflict.
USS Los Angeles (CA-135)
USS LOS ANGELES (CA-135) served as the Flag Ship for RADM Arleigh E. Burke, Commander Cruiser Division FIVE, providing gunfire support at KoNiji and Wonsan and other coastal areas. From 1953 to 1963 the USS LOS ANGELES made six deployments to the Far East, participating in the Quemoy-Matsu operation of 1956, and was overhauled twice by Mare Island Naval Shipyard. On November 15, 1963 USS LOS ANGELES (CA-135) was decommissioned.
Today, the distinguished history of each of these naval ships are being preserved for the next generation at the city's Los Angeles Maritime Museum and USS Los Angeles Naval Monument. The historical role and significance in history will forever continue to honor the city of Los Angeles ---as does the Navy's "First and Finest," USS LOS ANGELES (SSN-688), continues to do so today.
USS Los Angeles (CA-135)
Flying Bridge of USS Los Angeles (CA-135)
USS Los Angeles (CA-135) Patch
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History of the Ships named Los Angeles
