[2] Northampton was laid down on 12 April 1928, by Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts; launched on 5 September 1929; sponsored by Grace Coolidge (wife of the former president); and commissioned on 17 May 1930, Captain (later Vice Admiral) Walter N. Vernou in command.

Redesignated CA-26 in 1931 in accordance with the London Naval Treaty, she operated primarily in the Pacific from 1932, homeported at San Pedro, and later at Pearl Harbor.

[6] Northampton was at sea with Admiral William Halsey, Jr. in Enterprise task force during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, returning to port the next day.

As Northampton retired from the island, enemy seaplanes, landbased planes, and patrol craft attacked, but all were destroyed or repulsed.

Obviously doomed, the carrier was abandoned after failing to be scuttled and later finished by Japanese destroyer torpedo and gunfire, while the American force retired to the southwest.

The Battle of Tassafaronga began 40 minutes before midnight on 30 November 1942, when three American destroyers made a surprise torpedo attack on the Japanese.

[5] Close to the end of the engagement, Northampton was struck by two torpedoes, which tore a huge hole in her port side, ripping away decks and bulkheads.

U. S. Navy archives contain a photo of PT-109 entering the anchorage at Tulagi, her topside crowded by Northampton survivors, some of them seriously wounded or dying.

[5] The senior officer killed on Northampton during the battle of Tassafaronga was Chief Engineer, Commander (select) Hilan Ebert of Alliance, Ohio.

Commanding officer of the ship, Captain Willard A. Kitts survived the sinking and was also decorated the Navy Cross for handling the evacuation of Northampton.

[5] Northampton plays a prominent role in Herman Wouk's novel War and Remembrance as Victor Henry's first seagoing command in many years.