The ship was authorized by the 1929 Cruiser Act, laid down at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in October 1935, launched in November 1937, and commissioned into the US Navy in February 1939.

She was first assigned to convoy escort duty on the Murmansk Run in early 1942, and supported amphibious landings during Operation Torch in November 1942.

During the Naval Battle of Casablanca, Wichita engaged several French coastal batteries and warships, including the battleship Jean Bart.

She frequently provided antiaircraft defense for the Fast Carrier Task Force during operations in the central Pacific, including the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf in 1944.

After the Japanese surrender, the ship served as part of the occupation force in Japan and assisted in the repatriation of American military personnel under Operation Magic Carpet.

[5] When the rest of the 5-inch guns were installed, it was found that the ship was too top-heavy, and so 200.4 long tons (203.6 t) of pig iron had to be added to her bottom to balance the cruiser.

She carried 1,323 to 1,984 long tons (1,344 to 2,016 t) of fuel oil, which gave her a maximum cruising range of 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km; 11,510 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).

She arrived on 20 April 1939 and took part in the dedicatory and memorial service at the San Jacinto Battle Monument and War Relic Museum.

The ship left Houston on 1 May for her shakedown cruise, during which she visited the Virgin Islands, Cuba, and the Bahamas before she returned to Philadelphia for post-shakedown repairs.

On 25 September, a few weeks after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Wichita was assigned to Cruiser Division 7 in the Atlantic Squadron, based in the Hampton Roads.

Included in the ports of call were Rio de Janeiro and Santos in Brazil, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay.

[12] Over the next three months, Wichita served as a training ship for Naval Reserve midshipmen and conducted gunnery practices off the Virginia capes.

She then joined the aircraft carrier Ranger and the heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa for a patrol in the North Atlantic, during which the ships sailed to within 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi) of Ireland.

Wichita was damaged by the storm, including a collision with the freighter West Nohno and the British trawler Ebor Wyke.

[6] On 26 March, Wichita, assigned to Task Force 39, departed the United States to reinforce the British Home Fleet based in Scapa Flow.

Task Force 39, commanded by Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox, Jr., included Wasp, the battleship Washington, the cruiser Tuscaloosa, and eight destroyers.

The Germans organized a powerful task force, centered on the battleship Tirpitz and three heavy cruisers, to attack the convoy; the operation was codenamed Rösselsprung (Knight's Move).

Wichita conducted training off the Virginia Capes for the rest of the month, after which she steamed to Casco Bay in Maine for further maneuvers.

[6] At the end of October, Wichita was assigned to Task Group 34.1, under the command of Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, who flew his flag in Augusta.

The ships were tasked with neutralizing the primary French defenses, which included coastal guns on El Hank, several submarines, and the incomplete battleship Jean Bart which lay at anchor in the harbor.

Hewitt broke off the attack temporarily, but by 13:12, several American warships began firing on French vessels exiting the harbor.

[27] On the night of 29 January 1943, the Task Force was steaming off Rennell Island; wary of the threat from Japanese submarines, which Allied intelligence indicated were likely in the area, Giffen arranged his cruisers and destroyers for anti-submarine defense, not expecting an air attack.

[32] On 19 July, a powerful American fleet, including the battleships New Mexico, Idaho, and Mississippi joined Wichita to conduct another attack on Kiska three days later.

The force departed Majuro on 12 February and conducted Operation Hailstone, a major air strike on the Japanese base at Truk, four days later.

After arriving, she joined the screen for the Fast Carrier Task Force, which struck Japanese bases on Yap, Woleai, and in the Palaus.

She screened for the fast carrier task group while they launched airstrikes on Japanese targets in Palau, the Carolines, the Philippines, and Dutch East Indies.

Task Force 34 was detached to finish off several of the crippled Japanese ships with gunfire; Wichita and three other cruisers sank the light carrier Chiyoda and the destroyer Hatsuzuki.

The ship was assigned to join Task Group 51.19 the next day to bombard Tsugen Shima in company with Tuscaloosa and the battleships Maryland and Arkansas.

[43] A 5-inch round struck the port aircraft catapult; shell fragments hit the shield of an antiaircraft director, killing one man and injuring eleven others.

[4] On 1 March 1959, the ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and sold on 14 August to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation.