USS Salem (CA-139) is a Des Moines-class heavy cruiser completed for the United States Navy shortly after World War II and commissioned in 1949.

[1] Salem was laid down on 4 July 1945 by the Bethlehem Steel Co.'s Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts; launched on 25 March 1947, sponsored by Miss Mary G. Coffey and commissioned on 14 May 1949, with Captain John C. Daniel in command.

[citation needed] Salem departed the United States East Coast on 3 May 1950 and, on 17 May, relieved Newport News (CA-148) as flagship of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.

During this, the first of seven deployments to the Mediterranean as fleet flagship, Salem visited ports in Malta, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, and Algeria, and participated in training exercises.

Salem was the first American ship to arrive on the scene, and provided relief supplies and assistance from 13 August until her own stocks ran low four days later.

[2] The cruiser left Boston on 16 February 1956 for training at Guantanamo in preparation for a 20-month cruise as "permanent" flagship of the Commander, 6th Fleet with homeport at Villefranche-sur-Mer.

In April and August 1957, the 6th Fleet, by its presence in the eastern Mediterranean, twice showed United States support for the government of Jordan threatened by subversion.

[3] Salem was scheduled for inactivation after her return from the Mediterranean, but the request of Lebanon on 15 August 1958 for aid against an anticipated coup led to a short reprieve.

[citation needed] Scheduled since the wharf closure to be moved to a location in East Boston, the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum signed a deal with the landowner in February 2016 to keep Salem at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy until at least 2021 and was again opened for visits on weekends starting April 2016.

[citation needed] USS Salem depicted the German pocket battleship, Admiral Graf Spee, in the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate.

She served as the set of the tanker SS Pendleton which broke in two off of Cape Cod on 15 February 1952 making for the most daring and notable United States Coast Guard search and rescues.

The event was a fundraiser for USS Salem and saw thousands of people visit the ship during the month of October to see the haunted houses that were built.

The show featured tour guides and visitors who claimed to see the ghost of a former sailor who was badly burned in an explosion while on board USS Cleveland.