USS Salem (Scout Cruiser #3, later CL-3)
Commissioned at Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Qunicy, Massachusetts, on August 1, 1908, USS Salem (Scout Cruiser #3) was one of the U.S. Navy's first turbine-engine warships. In and out of commission during the next few years, she was based out of either New York Navy Yard or Boston Navy Yard, and even served as a receiving ship during this time. On April 15, 1912, when RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg, Salem, along with USS Chester (Scout Cruiser #1), sailed to assist the liner RMS Carpathia return to New York City with survivors. In April 1914, she was assigned duty with Cruiser Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, during the Intervention at Vera Cruz, Mexico. Following United States' entry into World War I and her original Curtis turbines replaced by General Electric ones, she joined scout cruisers assisting convoys across the Atlantic. After the war, she was assigned to the west coast. In July 1920, Salem was designated as CL-3. In August 1921, she was decommissioned at Mare Island, California, struck from the Navy List in November 1929, and sold early the next year for scrapping.
A model of Salem was on display in the World War I section at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Bldg. 76, until 2022.
Image: NH 44245: USS Salem (Scout Cruiser #3), underway during her trials, Trial Run 3, south, makign 13.76 knots, circa 1908. NHHC Photograph Collection.
