USS Worcester, lead ship of a class of two
14,700-ton light cruisers built at Camden, New Jersey, was
commissioned in June 1948. After a year of service in the
western Atlantic, she deployed to the Mediterranean Sea during
September-December 1949 for the first of seven Sixth Fleet
tours. Worcester returned to the "Med" in May
1950, but this cruise was cut short by the outbreak of the
Korean War in late June. Accompanied by four destroyers, she
transited the Suez Canal on 29 July 1950, en route to the Far
East.
From late August to late October 1950, Worcester
operated with the Seventh Fleet off Korea, escorting Task Force
77's aircraft carriers and using her six-inch guns to bombard
enemy targets in support of the Inchon Invasion and the Wonsan
Landings. The cruiser returned to the U.S. east coast in late
November, having steamed around the World on this extended
deployment. During the next half decade, Worcester made
five more trips to the Mediterranean and, on two occasions, also
visited ports in northern Europe.
Worcester was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in
January 1956, subsequently going twice to the Western Pacific
for Seventh Fleet service. She decommissioned at Mare Island,
California, in December 1958, joining the Reserve Fleet there.
Later shifted to Bremerton, Washington, Worcester
remained in "mothballs" until December 1970, when she
was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. She was sold for
scrapping in July 1972.
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