After Commander (later Vice Admiral) Edward Hanson graduated, in May 1935, from the Naval War College, he was ordered to see the fitting-out of Erie and to captain her upon commissioning.

The next seven months, June 1935 to mid-January 1936, saw significant progress in the assembly of the main deck components, the navigational bridge, the pilothouse, and the chart house.

Erie, the heavy cruisers Indianapolis and New Orleans, and the destroyers Mahan and Flusser held open houses for the general public, while docked in the Yard.

Indianapolis and Erie greeted President Franklin D. Roosevelt with twenty-one gun salutes as he approached Bedloe's Island and as he departed.

[7] Sailing from New York on 31 October 1936, Erie spent November and December 1936, on a shakedown cruise and in temporary duty with Squadron 40-T, protecting US interests and citizens during the Spanish Civil War.

Negotiations between British, Basque, and US government officials were also held while in port, that led to the release of $400,000 in certificated securities owned by a United States utility company.

[4] Leaving Bilbao on 15 December, Erie set sail for Santander and Gijon, to check on US nationals living in these two towns.

The ship arrived in Port Musel, Gijon, around 08:00 on 17 December, and began to prepare a shore party for bringing back aboard any persons seeking evacuation.

Around 08:30 a naval bombardment was launched by the rebel Spanish battleship España, her twelve-inch guns lofting three rounds into the harbor, with one landing within 300 yd (274 m) of Erie.

[4] Newspapers back in the United States declared the incident as an attack on Erie, with some going as far as saying that seven rounds had been fired at her, with one landing as close as 100 yards (91 m).

However, it appears, and Commander Hanson agreed, that the battleship's actions were merely part of an ongoing operation against loyalist forces that controlled Gijon.

The statement was published in The New York Times on 3 January 1937: At 8 AM we dropped anchor behind the breakwater at Port Musel near Gijon in the Basque Republic, a Loyalist stronghold overlooking the Bay of Biscay.

Nearby, a second later, the crashing sound of a large shell landing was accompanied by the sight of harbor water and sand cascading on high.

[4]Beginning on 18 December, Erie retraced its route across the northern coast of Spain to San Juan de Luz, landing eight Filipino, Puerto Rican, and Polish evacuees, along with the consular officials.

After sailing through heavy seas for the Azores, Erie reached Ponta Delgada, on 22 December, and set course the next day for the New York Navy Yards.

The raked clipper bow had done well in keeping green water off the forward six-inch gun turret, even in the very rough sea conditions that had been encountered.

[4] To celebrate the friendship visit of Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan in 1853, the Naval Academy hosted Japanese officials at a colorful re-enactment pageant on the Severn River and the Dewey Basin on 29 May.

[4] On 24 January 1938, with an overhaul finished, Erie got underway for the homeport of SPERON, Balboa in the Panama Canal Zone, with a first stop at the Naval Operating Base at Norfolk to turn in aviation equipment and spares, and to take ammunition aboard.

Admiral William Leahy, Chief of Naval Operations, would state in his fiscal year 1938 report that the planes were removed because of technical difficulties in handling the aircraft.

[4] The only other major events for Erie would be spending the rest of April through 21 July, on a three-month goodwill tour of ten ports in eight Central and South American countries.

On 29 April, Erie's first "Crossing the Line" ceremony was held, which saw all of the ship's Navy and Marine "Pollywogs" initiated into the "Ancient Order of the Deep."

Erie arrived in Guayaquil, on 30 April, for an eight-day stop, during which the ship hosted Ecuadorian officials and made shore visits that were both political and social in nature.

Erie finished the year on a special mission to the Galapagos Islands, in December, to explore their suitability for enhancing the defense of the Panama Canal.

[5] On 21 January 1939, Erie participated in search-and-rescue efforts related to the ditching and sinking of the Imperial Airways Short Empire flying boat Cavalier in the Atlantic Ocean.

Erie transferred a doctor to the commercial tanker Esso Baytown, which rescued the airliner's 10 survivors, but because of the high seas and darkness had to discontinue the search for the other three people who had been aboard Cavalier.

On 16 December, Erie crewmen boarded MV Santa Margarita and ordered it to Puntarenas, and later the same day, towed a disabled motor boat, Orion, into the same port.

[9] In June 1942, Erie was transferred to Cristóbal, at the Atlantic end of the Canal, and joined the Battle of the Caribbean against German U-boats operating between Panama and Cuba.

After salvaging the lifeboat, Erie joined with a patrol plane in prosecuting a submarine contact, ultimately dropping six depth charges with no result.

[9] On 15 June 1942, Erie rescued the master and 22 survivors of the U.S. bulk carrier Lebore, off St. Andrews Island, after it had been sunk by U-172 the day before.

Erie had been struck in one of its oil bunkers, and immediately started burning with all engines stopping and loss of electrical power.