On 7 December 1941, when the United States was brought into World War II by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Salt Lake City—under the command of Capt.
Ellis M. Zacharias—was with the Enterprise task group, returning from Wake Island, 200 nmi (230 mi; 370 km) west of Pearl Harbor when they received word of the attack.
The group immediately launched scouting planes in hopes of catching possible stragglers from the Japanese force, but the search proved fruitless.
The ships entered Pearl Harbor toward sundown on the 8th.

After a tedious night refueling, they sortied before dawn to hunt submarines north of the islands.
Submarines were encountered on the 10th-11th.
The first—I-70—was sunk by dive bombers from Enterprise; the second—sighted ahead of the group on the surface—was engaged with gunfire by Salt Lake City as the ships maneuvered to avoid torpedoes.
Screening destroyers made numerous depth charge runs, but no kill was confirmed.
Operations against a third contact brought similar results.
The group returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 December to refuel.

Salt Lake City operated with Task Force 8 (TF 8) until 23 December, covering Oahu and supporting the task force strike that was planned to relieve beleaguered Wake Island.
After Wake fell, Salt Lake City's group moved to cover the reinforcement of Midway and then Samoa.

In February, Enterprise's task force carried out air strikes in the eastern Marshalls at Wotje, Maloelap, and Kwajalein to reduce enemy seaplane bases.
While conducting shore bombardment during those strikes, Salt Lake City came under air attack and assisted in downing two Japanese bombers.
In March, she supported air strikes at Marcus Island.

In April, she escorted TF 16, which launched the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities, and returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 April.
Orders awaited the ships to sail as soon as possible to join the Yorktown and Lexington forces in the Coral Sea.
Although the task force moved fast, it had only reached a point some 450 mi (390 nmi; 720 km) east of Tulagi by 8 May, the day of the Battle of the Coral Sea.
What followed was essentially a retirement, and Salt Lake City operated as cover with her group; on the 11th off the New Hebrides, and from the 12th-16th eastward from Efate and Santa Cruz.
On 16 May, she was ordered back to Pearl Harbor and arrived there 10 days later.

The carrier groups began intensive preparations to meet the expected Japanese thrust at Midway Atoll.
During the battle, early in June, Salt Lake City provided rear guard protection for the islands.

From August–October 1942, Salt Lake City was in the south Pacific to support the campaign to seize and hold Guadalcanal.
She escorted Wasp during the landings of 7–8 August and subsequent operations.

Salt Lake City protected Wasp as she shuttled planes for Saratoga and Enterprise, and provided Combat Air Patrol (CAP) and scouting patrols during the landings.
Salt Lake City was with Wasp on 15 September when the carrier was torpedoed by Japanese submarines and sunk.
She assisted in rescue operations for survivors, and took on board others who had been picked up by Lardner.
On 7 December 1941, when the United States was brought into World War II by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Salt Lake City—under the command of Capt. Ellis M. Zacharias—was with the Enterprise task group, returning from Wake Island, 200 nmi (230 mi; 370 km) west of Pearl Harbor when they received word of the attack. The group immediately launched scouting planes in hopes of catching possible stragglers from the Japanese force, but the search proved fruitless. The ships entered Pearl Harbor toward sundown on the 8th.
After a tedious night refueling, they sortied before dawn to hunt submarines north of the islands. Submarines were encountered on the 10th-11th. The first—I-70—was sunk by dive bombers from Enterprise; the second—sighted ahead of the group on the surface—was engaged with gunfire by Salt Lake City as the ships maneuvered to avoid torpedoes. Screening destroyers made numerous depth charge runs, but no kill was confirmed. Operations against a third contact brought similar results. The group returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 December to refuel.
Salt Lake City operated with Task Force 8 (TF 8) until 23 December, covering Oahu and supporting the task force strike that was planned to relieve beleaguered Wake Island. After Wake fell, Salt Lake City's group moved to cover the reinforcement of Midway and then Samoa.
In February, Enterprise's task force carried out air strikes in the eastern Marshalls at Wotje, Maloelap, and Kwajalein to reduce enemy seaplane bases. While conducting shore bombardment during those strikes, Salt Lake City came under air attack and assisted in downing two Japanese bombers. In March, she supported air strikes at Marcus Island.
In April, she escorted TF 16, which launched the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities, and returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 April. Orders awaited the ships to sail as soon as possible to join the Yorktown and Lexington forces in the Coral Sea. Although the task force moved fast, it had only reached a point some 450 mi (390 nmi; 720 km) east of Tulagi by 8 May, the day of the Battle of the Coral Sea. What followed was essentially a retirement, and Salt Lake City operated as cover with her group; on the 11th off the New Hebrides, and from the 12th-16th eastward from Efate and Santa Cruz. On 16 May, she was ordered back to Pearl Harbor and arrived there 10 days later.
The carrier groups began intensive preparations to meet the expected Japanese thrust at Midway Atoll. During the battle, early in June, Salt Lake City provided rear guard protection for the islands.
From August–October 1942, Salt Lake City was in the south Pacific to support the campaign to seize and hold Guadalcanal. She escorted Wasp during the landings of 7–8 August and subsequent operations.
Salt Lake City protected Wasp as she shuttled planes for Saratoga and Enterprise, and provided Combat Air Patrol (CAP) and scouting patrols during the landings. Salt Lake City was with Wasp on 15 September when the carrier was torpedoed by Japanese submarines and sunk. She assisted in rescue operations for survivors, and took on board others who had been picked up by Lardner.
USS Salt Lake City (CA-25)