Warships of the US Navy: Battleships, Colorado-class: USS Colorado (BB-45), USS Maryland (BB-46), and USS West Virginia (BB-48)

US Navy Battleships in the Second World War

Colorado-class battleships

The Colorado-class battleships were a group of four United States Navy super-dreadnoughts, the last of its pre-Treaty battleships. Designed during the First World War, their construction overlapped the end of that conflict and continued in its immediate aftermath. Though all four keels were laid, only three ships entered service: Colorado, Maryland, and West Virginia. Washington was over 75% completed when she was canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922. As such, the 16" gun Colorado-class ships were the last and most powerful battleships built by the U.S. Navy until the North Carolina class entered service on the eve of the Second World War.

The Colorado-class were the final group of the Standard-type battleships, designed to have similar speed and handling to simplify maneuvers with the line of battle. The cancelled South Dakota class which was to follow would have been a departure from this practice in several ways. Apart from an upgrade in striking power with their eight 16-inch guns, the Colorados were essentially repeats of the earlier Tennessee class. The Colorados were also the last American capital ships built with four main armament turrets and twin-mounted guns.

All three ships had extensive careers during the Second World War. Maryland and West Virginia were both present during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. While Maryland escaped relatively unscathed, West Virginia was sunk in the shallow waters of the harbour but subsequently raised and repaired. All three ships served as naval gunfire support ships during numerous amphibious operations. Maryland and West Virginia were present at the last surface action between battleships, the Battle of Surigao Strait during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. All three ships were placed into the reserve fleet after the end of the war and were scrapped by the late 1950s. (Wikipedia)

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Colorado (BB-45) steaming off lower Manhattan, New York City, c1932

USS Colorado (BB-45) was a battleship ofthe United States Navy that was in service from 1923 to 1947. She was the leadship of the Colorado class of battleships. Her keel was laid down on 29 May1919, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched on 22 March1921, and commissioned on 30 August 1923. She was armed with eight 16-inch (406mm) guns and fourteen 5-inch (127 mm) deck guns; two 5-inch guns were removedin an overhaul.

Colorado took her maiden voyage in 1923, to Europe. She later operated with theBattle Fleet and sailed through the Pacific during the interwar years. She alsounderwent a further refit, during which her four 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraftguns were replaced with an equal number of 5 in (127 mm)/25 cal guns.

During the Second World War, in May 1942, soon after USA's entry into the war, Coloradoundertook a defensive patrol near the Golden Gate Bridge to stop a possibleJapanese invasion. She then sailed to Fiji, to stop any further Japaneseadvance into the Pacific. Next, she supported the landings on Tarawa, theMarshall Islands, Saipan, Guam, and Tinian. On 24 July 1944, during theshelling of Tinian, Colorado received 22 shell hits from shore batteries, butcontinued to support the invading troops until 3 August. She later arrived inLeyte Gulf on 20 November 1944, to support American troops fighting ashore. On27 November, she was hit by two kamikazes which caused moderate damage.

After that, Colorado sailed to Luzon on 1 January 1945, where she participatedin the preinvasion bombardments in Lingayen Gulf. She returned to Okinawa on 6August and sailed from there to Japan for the occupation of the country,arriving in Tokyo on 27 August. Departing Tokyo Bay on 20 September, shearrived at San Francisco on 15 October. She was placed out of commission inreserve in Pearl Harbor on 7 January 1947, and sold for scrapping on 23 July1959. She won seven battle stars during her service. Many of Colorado'santi-aircraft guns are in museums across the state of Colorado (her bell and teak decking are also in museums and the USO in the Seattle-Tacoma airport) ormounted on the museum ship Olympia. (Wikipedia)

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USS Colorado (BB-45) comes about after making a wide turn, possibly near San Diego in October 1924.

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Off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 9 February 1942, with three Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes on her catapults. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.

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USS Colorado off Tinian, on 24 July 1944, with hull damage, the result of 22 hits from shore batteries.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Maryland (BB-46) underway in 1935.

USS Maryland (BB-46), also known as"Old Mary" or "Fighting Mary" to her crewmates, was aColorado-class battleship. She was the third ship of the United States Navy tobe named in honor of the seventh state. She was commissioned in 1921, andserving as the flagship of the fleet, cruised to Australia, New Zealand, andBrazil.

During the Second World War, she was on Battleship Row during the Attack on PearlHarbor, and was lightly damaged by Japanese bombs. Returning to duty in 1942,she saw service in the Pacific War, first supporting the rest of the fleet atthe Battle of Midway, and then patrolling the Fiji Islands to guard againstJapanese incursion. Next, she went on the offensive, commencing shorebombardments in the Battle of Tarawa and later in the Battle of Kwajalein.During the Battle of Saipan she took torpedo damage to her bow, necessitatingrepairs and refits. She then participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf where shewas hit by a kamikaze. She took another kamikaze hit at the Battle of Okinawa,then completed repairs and upgrades at Bremerton, WA. She was sailing back tothe Pacific Theater when word was received that the war had ended, so sheturned around and returned to the Port of Long Beach, CA.

After service in Operation Magic Carpet, she was decommissioned in 1947, andsold for scrap in 1959. She received seven battle stars for her Second WorldWar service. (Wikipedia)

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Maryland (BB-46) alongside the capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37) at Pearl Harbor. The USS West Virginia (BB-48) is burning in the background.

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USS Maryland (BB-46). Running post-overhaul speed trials in Puget Sound, Washington, 26 April 1944.

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USS Maryland in Puget Sound Navy Yard in August 1945, with her refit completed just as the war ended.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) off the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington (USA), 2 July 1944, following reconstruction. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 7D.

USS West Virginia (BB-48) was the fourthdreadnought battleship of the Colorado class, though because Washington wascancelled, she was the third and final member of the class to be completed. TheColorado class proved to be the culmination of the standard-type battleshipseries built for the United States Navy in the 1910s and 1920s; the ships wereessentially repeats of the earlier Tennessee design, but with a significantlymore powerful main battery of eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns in twin-gun turrets.West Virginia was built between her keel laying in 1920 and her commissioninginto the Navy in 1923. The ship spent the 1920s and 1930s conducting routinetraining exercises, including the typically annual Fleet Problems, whichprovided invaluable experience for the coming war in the Pacific.

West Virginia was moored on Battleship Row on the morning of 7 December 1941when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II.Badly damaged by torpedoes, the ship sank in the shallow water but was laterrefloated and extensively rebuilt over the course of 1943 and into mid-1944.She returned to service in time for the Philippines Campaign, where she led theAmerican line of battle at the Battle of Surigao Strait on the night of 24–25October. There, she was one of the few American battleships to use her radar toacquire a target in the darkness, allowing her to engage a Japanese squadron inwhat was the final action between battleships in naval history.

After Surigao Strait, the ship remained in the Philippines to support troopsfighting during the Battle of Leyte in 1944 and then supported the invasion ofLingayen Gulf in early 1945. The ship also took part in the Battles of Iwo Jimaand Okinawa later that year, providing extensive fire support to the groundforces invading those islands. During the latter operation, she was hit by akamikaze that did little damage. Following the surrender of Japan, WestVirginia took part in the initial occupation and thereafter participated inOperation Magic Carpet, carrying soldiers and sailors from Hawaii to themainland United States before being deactivated in 1946. She was decommissionedin 1947 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained until1959 when she was sold to ship breakers and dismantled. (Wikipedia)

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USS West Virginia (BB-48) Photo #: 80-G-1027204 In San Francisco Bay, California, circa 1934.

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Photograph of the damage done to the USS West Virginia, sunk in the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, 7 Dec 1941.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) off the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington, 2 July 1944, following reconstruction. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 7D.

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