Stuff You Should Know
USS Phoenix was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser laid down on April 25, 1935 and launched on March 19, 1938. It was commissioned on October 3, the same year under Capt. John W. Rankin’s command with the hull number CL-46 and served in the US Navy for 8 years until it was decommissioned on July 3, 1946. During its activities, the ship carried a complement of 868 people on board and had the main missions in Australia, Brisbane, San Pedro, Santos, Leyte or Morotai. After the decommissioning, the ship was struck from the Navy List on January 27, 1951 and sold to Argentina where it was renamed 17 de Octubre. For the services brought to the country during the World War II, USS Phoenix received 11 battle stars.