USS Raleigh (CL-7) was the fourth light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, built for the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship named for the city of Raleigh, North Carolina. The first being , a 32–gun frigate built in 1776, during the American Revolution, and captured by the British in 1778. The second was the protected cruiser , commissioned in 1894, and decommissioned in 1919. Raleigh spent most of her pre-war career in the Atlantic. Her first duty was to assist in the USAAS's first aerial circumnavigation of the world in 1924. In 1936, Raleigh joined Squadron 40-T in neutrality patrols during the Spanish Civil War where she would serve until 1938, when she would be transferred to the Pacific. This led her to be fatefully moored in Pearl Harbor at berth F-12 on the morning of 7 December 1941, where she took a torpedo in her No.2 boiler room and claimed five victories with her anti-aircraft batteries with no loss of life. Construction and design Raleigh was ordered on 29 August 1916, and contracted to be built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, 21 August 1917. Her keel was laid on 16 August 1920, and launched on 25 October 1922, the cruiser was christened by Miss Jennie Proctor; and commissioned 6 February 1924, with Captain William C. Watts in command. Raleigh was long at the waterline with an overall length of , her beam was and a mean draft of . Her standard displacement was and at full load. Her crew, during peace time, consisted of 29 officers and 429 enlisted men. Raleigh was powered by four Curtis steam turbines geared steam turbines, each driving one screw, using steam generated by 12 Yarrow boilers. The engines were designed to produce and reach a top speed of . She was designed to provide a range of at a speed of , but was only capable of at a speed of Raleighs main armament went through many changes while she was being designed. Originally she was to be mounted by ten /53 caliber guns; two on either side at the waist, with the remaining eight mounted in tiered casemates on either side of the fore and aft superstructures. After the United States entry into World War I the US Navy worked alongside the Royal Navy and it was decided to mount four 6-inch/53 caliber