Warships of the US Navy: Battleships, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota-class

North Carolina-class battleships

The North Carolina class were a pair offast battleships, North Carolina and Washington, built for the United StatesNavy in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

In planning a new battleship class in the 1930s, the US Navy was heavilyconstrained by international treaty limitations, which included a requirementthat all new capital ships have a standard displacement of under 35,000 LT(35,600 t). This restriction meant that the navy could not construct a shipwith the firepower, armor, and speed that they desired, and the balancinguncertainty that resulted meant that the navy considered fifty widely varyingdesigns.

Eventually, the General Board of the United States Navy declared its preferencefor a battleship with a speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), faster than any inUS service, with a main battery of nine 14-inch (356 mm)/50 caliber Mark Bguns. The board believed that these ships would be balanced enough toeffectively take on a multitude of roles. However, the acting Secretary of theNavy authorized a modified version of a different design, which in its originalform had been rejected by the General Board. This called for a 27-knot (50km/h; 31 mph) ship with twelve 14-inch guns in quadruple turrets and protectionagainst guns of the same caliber. In a major departure from traditionalAmerican design practices, this design prioritized firepower at the cost ofspeed and protection. After construction had begun, the United States invoked aso-called "escalator clause" in the international treaty to increasethe class' main armament to nine 16-inch (406 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 guns.

Both North Carolina and Washington saw extensive service during the SecondWorld War in a variety of roles, primarily in the Pacific Theater where theyescorted fast carrier task forces, such as during the Battle of the PhilippineSea, and conducted shore bombardments. Washington also participated in asurface engagement, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where its radar-directedmain batteries fatally damaged the Japanese battleship Kirishima. Bothbattleships were damaged during the war, with North Carolina taking a torpedohit in 1942 and Washington colliding with Indiana in 1944. After the end of thewar, both ships remained in commission for a brief time before being laid up inreserve. In the early 1960s, North Carolina was sold to the state of NorthCarolina as a museum ship, and Washington was broken up for scrap. (Wikipedia)

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USS North Carolina (BB-55) photographed from an altitude of 300 feet, 3 June 1946.

USS North Carolina (BB-55) is the lead ship of the North Carolina class of fast battleships, the first vessel of the typebuilt for the United States Navy. Built under the Washington Treaty system,North Carolina's design was limited in displacement and armament, though theUnited States used a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty to increase themain battery from the original armament of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns inquadruple turrets to nine 16 in (406 mm) guns in triple turrets. The ship waslaid down in 1937 and completed in April 1941, while the United States wasstill neutral during the Second World War.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, North Carolinamobilized for war and was initially sent to counter a possible sortie by theGerman battleship Tirpitz, though this did not materialize and North Carolinawas promptly transferred to the Pacific to strengthen Allied forces during theGuadalcanal campaign. There, she screened aircraft carriers engaged in the campaign and took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24–25 August1942, where she shot down several Japanese aircraft. The next month, she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine but was not seriously damaged. After repairs,she returned to the campaign and continued to screen carriers during thecampaigns across the central Pacific in 1943 and 1944, including the Gilberts and Marshall Islands and the Mariana and Palau Islands, where she saw actionduring the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

The ship was undergoing a refit during the invasion of the Philippines but tookpart in the later stages of the Philippines campaign and was present when thefleet was damaged by Typhoon Cobra. She took part in offensive operations insupport of the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945, including numerousattacks on Japan. Following the surrender of Japan in August, she carried Americanpersonnel home during Operation Magic Carpet. North Carolina operated brieflyoff the east coast of the United States in 1946 before being decommissioned thenext year and placed in reserve. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in1960, the ship was saved from the breaker's yard by a campaign to preserve thevessel as a museum ship in her namesake state. In 1962, the North Carolinamuseum was opened in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Wikipedia)

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USS North Carolina (BB-55). Anchored off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, 24 September 1944. She is painted in what may be a variant of Camouflage Measure 32, Design 18D.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) at sea off New York City, 3 June 1946.

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USS North Carolina (BB-55) during Marshall islands campaign, 25 January 1944.

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USS Washington (BB-56) in Puget Sound, 10 September 1945.

USS Washington (BB-56) was the second andfinal member of the North Carolina class of fast battleships, the first vesselof the type built for the United States Navy. Built under the Washington Treatysystem, North Carolina's design was limited in displacement and armament,though the United States used a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty toincrease the main battery from the original armament of nine 14 in (356 mm)guns to nine 16 in (406 mm) guns. The ship was laid down in 1938 and completedin May 1941, while the United States was still neutral during World War II. Herinitial career was spent training along the East Coast of the United Statesuntil Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, bringing the UnitedStates into the war.

Washington was initially deployed to Britain to reinforce the Home Fleet, whichwas tasked with protecting convoys carrying supplies to the Soviet Union. Shesaw no action during this period, as the German fleet remained in port, andWashington was recalled to the US in July 1942 to be refitted and transferredto the Pacific. Immediately sent to the south Pacific to reinforce Allied unitsfighting the Guadalcanal campaign, the ship became the flagship of Rear AdmiralWillis Lee. She saw action at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of14–15 November in company with the battleship USS South Dakota and fourdestroyers. After South Dakota inadvertently drew heavy Japanese fire bysailing too closely to Admiral Nobutake Kondō's squadron, Washington took advantageof the Japanese preoccupation with South Dakota to inflict fatal damage on theJapanese battleship Kirishima and the destroyer Ayanami, while avoiding damageherself. Washington's attack disrupted Kondō's planned bombardment of U.S.Marine positions on Guadalcanal and forced the remaining Japanese ships towithdraw.

From 1943 onward, she was primarily occupied with screening the fast carriertask force, though she also occasionally shelled Japanese positions in supportof the various amphibious assaults. During this period, Washington participated in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, theMariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944, and the Philippines campaign inlate 1944 and early 1945. Operations to capture Iwo Jima and Okinawa followedin 1945, and during the later stages of the Battle of Okinawa, Washington was detached to undergo an overhaul, though by the time it was completed, Japan had surrendered, ending the war. Washington then moved to the east coast of the US, where she was refitted to serve as a troop transport as part of Operation Magic Carpet, carrying a group of over 1,600 soldiers home from Britain. She was thereafter decommissioned in 1947 and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained until 1960 when she was stricken from the naval register and sold for scrap the next year. (Wikipedia)

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USS Washington (BB-56) off New York City, New York, 21 August 1942. Note barge alongside amidships and OS2U floatplane afloat off her stern.

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U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless of bombing squadron VB-16 flies an antisubmarine patrol low over the battleship USS Washington (BB-56) en route to the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, 12 November 1943. The ship in the background is USS Lexington (CV-16), the aircraft's home carrier. Note the depth charge below the SBD.

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USS Washington off Port Angeles, Washington, 29 April 1944.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) underway off New York City (USA) during the Naval Review before President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 31 May 1934. Pennsylvania was then serving as flagship of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, Admiral David F. Sellers, USN.

Pennsylvania-class battleships

The Pennsylvania-class consisted of twosuper-dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy just before theFirst World War. Named Pennsylvania and Arizona, after the American states ofthe same names, the two battleships were the United States' second battleshipdesign to adhere to the "all or nothing" armor scheme. They were thenewest American capital ships when the United States entered the First WorldWar.

The Nevada-class battleships represented a marked increase in the UnitedStates' dreadnought technology, and the Pennsylvania class was intended tocontinue this with slight increases in the ships' capabilities, including twoadditional 14-inch (356 mm)/45 caliber guns and improved underwater protection.The class was the second standard type battleship class to join the US Navy,along with the preceding Nevada and the succeeding New Mexico, Tennessee andColorado classes.

In service, the Pennsylvania class saw limited use in the First World War, as ashortage of fuel oil in the United Kingdom meant that only the coal-burningships of Battleship Division Nine were sent. Both were sent across the Atlanticto France after the war for the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and were thentransferred to the Pacific Fleet before being significantly modernized from1929 to 1931. For the remainder of the inter-war period, the ships were used inexercises and fleet problems. Both Pennsylvania and Arizona were present duringthe Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into theSecond World War. Arizona was sunk by a massive magazine explosion and wasturned into a memorial after the war, while Pennsylvania, in dry dock at thetime, received only minor damage. After a refit from October 1942 to February1943, Pennsylvania went on to serve as a shore bombardment ship for most of theremainder of the war. Pennsylvania was present at the Battle of Surigao Strait,the last battle ever between battleships, but did not engage. Pennsylvania wasseverely damaged by a torpedo on 12 August 1945, two days before the cessationof hostilities. With minimal repairs, she was used in Operation Crossroads,part of the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll, before being expended as a targetship in 1948. (Wikipedia)

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USS Pennsylvania, probably during 1925 visit to Australia.

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USS Pennsylvania at 1927 naval review.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) drydocked in an Advanced Base Sectional Dock (ABSD) at the Pacific, circa 1944. Note the extensive anti-torpedo "blister" built into her hull side and paravane streaming chains running from her forefoot to her foredeck. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 21.

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USS Arizona (BB39) port bow, before being modernized at Norfolk Naval Shipyard between May 1929 and January 1930.

USS Arizona was a standard-type battleshipbuilt for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48thstate, she was the second and last ship in the Pennsylvania class. After beingcommissioned in 1916, Arizona remained stateside during the First World War butescorted President Woodrow Wilson to the subsequent Paris Peace Conference. Theship was deployed abroad again in 1919 to represent American interests duringthe Greco-Turkish War. Two years later, she was transferred to the PacificFleet, under which the ship would remain for the rest of her career.

The 1920s and 1930s saw Arizona regularly deployed for training exercises,including the annual Fleet Problems, excluding a comprehensive modernizationbetween 1929 and 1931. The ship supported relief efforts in the wake of a 1933earthquake near Long Beach, California, and was later filmed for a role in the1934 James Cagney film Here Comes the Navy before budget cuts led tosignificant periods in port from 1936 to 1938. In April 1940, the Pacific Fleet'shome port was moved from California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a deterrent toJapanese imperialism.

On 7 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Arizona was hit byseveral air-dropped armor-piercing bombs. One detonated an explosive-filledmagazine, sinking the battleship and killing 1,177 of its officers and crewmen.Unlike many of the other ships attacked that day, Arizona was so irreparablydamaged that it was not repaired for service in the Second World War. Theshipwreck still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor beneath the USS ArizonaMemorial. Dedicated to all those who died during the attack, the memorial isbuilt across the ship's remains. (Wikipedia)

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USS Arizona (BB-39), 1930.

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USS Arizona (BB-39) In the East River, New York City, at the time of her trials, circa mid-1916. She is accompanied by many tugs, and has small pine trees mounted in her mast tops. Tug Hudson is in the lower center.

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USS Arizona (BB-39), 1931.

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SS Arizona (BB-39), underway with President Herbert Hoover on board, March 1931. The Presidential Flag is flying from her mainmast peak.

South Dakota-class battleships

The South Dakota-class was a group of fourfast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class ofbattleships to be named after the 40th state; the first were designed in the1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. Four shipscomprised the class: South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama. Theywere designed to the same treaty standard displacement limit of 35,000 longtons (35,600 t) as the preceding North Carolina class and had the same main batteryof nine 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 guns in three-gun turrets, but were morecompact and better protected. The ships can be visually distinguished from theearlier vessels by their single funnel, compared to twin funnels in the North Carolinas.

Construction began shortly before the Second World War, with Fiscal Year(FY) 1939 appropriations. Commissioning through the summer of 1942, the fourships served in both the Atlantic, ready to intercept possible German capitalship sorties, and the Pacific, in carrier groups and shore bombardments. Allfour ships were retired shortly after the Second World War; South Dakota andIndiana were scrapped in the 1960s, Massachusetts and Alabama were retained asmuseum ships. (Wikipedia)

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U.S. Navy battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57) off the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia (USA), on 20 August 1943.

USS South Dakota (BB-57) was the leadvessel of the four South Dakota-class fast battleships built for the UnitedStates Navy in the 1930s. The first American battleships designed after theWashington treaty s ystem began to break down in the mid-1930s, the SouthDakotas were able to take advantage of a treaty clause that allowed them toincrease the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm) guns. However, congressionalrefusal to authorize larger battleships kept their displacement close to theWashington limit of 35,000 long tons (35,562 t). A requirement to be armoredagainst the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with thedisplacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships. Overcrowding wasexacerbated by wartime modifications that considerably strengthened theiranti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased their crews.

South Dakota saw extensive action during the Second World War; immediately uponentering service in mid-1942, she was sent to the south Pacific to reinforceAllied forces waging the Guadalcanal campaign. The ship was damaged in anaccidental grounding on an uncharted reef, but after completing repairs shereturned to the front, taking part in the Battle of Santa Cruz in October andthe Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November. During the latter action,electrical failures hampered the ability of the ship to engage Japanese warships and she became the target of numerous Japanese vessels, sustainingover two-dozen hits that significantly damaged her superstructure but did notseriously threaten her buoyancy. South Dakota returned to the United States forrepairs that lasted into 1943, after which she was briefly deployed tostrengthen the British Home Fleet, tasked with protecting convoys to the SovietUnion.

In mid-1943, the ship was transferred back to the Pacific, where she primarilyoperated with the fast carrier task force, contributing her heavy anti-aircraftarmament to its defense. In this capacity, she took part in the Gilbert andMarshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, the Mariana and PalauIslands campaign in mid-1944, and the Philippines campaign later that year. In1945, she participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and bombardedJapan three times. Following the end of the war in August 1945, she took partin the initial occupation of the country before returning to the United Statesin September. She later moved to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she waslaid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until 1962, when she was sold for scrap. (Wikipedia)

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U.S. Navy battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57), 1 July 1942.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57) anchored in Hvalfjörður, Iceland, on 24 June 1943.

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USS South Dakota (BB-57) departing Philadelphia for shakedown exercises on 4 June 1942. VO-6 Kingfishers perch on her fantail. Months later at Santa Cruz, her guns would shoot down approximately 25 IJN aircraft from the sky.

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USS South Dakota (BB-57) in Puget Sound, 21 Aug 1944.

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USS Indiana (BB-58) steaming with Task Force 58.1 on 27 January 1944, en route to attack Taroa Island airfield, Maloelap Atoll, Marshall Islands.

USS Indiana (BB-58) was the second of fourSouth Dakota-class fast battleships built for the United States Navy in the1930s. The first American battleships designed after the Washington treatysystem began to break down in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of anescalator clause that allowed increasing the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm)guns, but refusal to authorize larger battleships kept their displacement closeto the Washington limit of 35,000 long tons (35,562 t). A requirement to bearmored against the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with thedisplacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships, a problem that wasexacerbated as wartime modifications that considerably strengthened theiranti-aircraft batteries significantly increased their crews.

Indiana entered service in April 1942, by which time the United States wasengaged in World War II, and the ship was immediately pressed into action inthe Pacific War against Japan. Her first combat came in late 1942 when shesupported marines fighting during the Guadalcanal campaign. Over the next threeyears, she was occupied with two primary roles: naval gunfire support foramphibious assaults across the Pacific and anti-aircraft defense for the fastcarrier task force. She shelled Japanese positions during the Battle of Tarawain November 1943 and the Battle of Kwajalein in February 1944. During thelatter operation, she collided with the battleship Washington and was forced towithdraw for repairs.

After returning to the fleet in April 1944, she took part in the Mariana andPalau Islands campaign, bombarding Saipan and helping to defend the fleetduring the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Engine problems prevented her fromparticipating in the Battle of Peleliu in September, but she was present forthe Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945. In the latter action, she shot down a number of kamikazes. Following the Japanese surrender in August, shecontributed men to the occupation force before returning to the United States in September. After a final refit, she was placed in reserve and remainedinactive in the Navy's inventory until 1962 when she was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register and sold for scrap the following year. (Wikipedia)

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Indiana (BB-58) on 8 September 1942 at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The ship still had not yet sailed on her shakedown cruise.

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USS Indiana (BB-58) at Majuro after collision with USS Washington, February 1944.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59) underway, most probably after her refit at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington (USA), circa in July 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 22.

USS Massachusetts (BB-59) is the third offour South Dakota-class fast battleships built for the United States Navy inthe late 1930s. The first American battleships designed after the Washingtontreaty system began to break down in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of anescalator clause that allowed increasing the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm)guns, but refusal to authorize larger battleships kept their displacement closeto the Washington limit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t). A requirement to be armoredagainst the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with thedisplacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships, a problem that wasexacerbated by wartime modifications that considerably strengthened theiranti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased their crews.

On completion, Massachusetts was sent to support Operation Torch, the invasionof French North Africa, in November 1942. There, she engaged in an artilleryduel with the incomplete French battleship Jean Bart and neutralized her.Massachusetts thereafter transferred to the Pacific War for operations againstJapan; she spent the war primarily as an escort for the fast carrier task forceto protect the aircraft carriers from surface and air attacks. In thiscapacity, she took part in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in 1943and early 1944 and the Philippines campaign in late 1944 and early 1945. Laterin 1945, the ship supported Allied forces during the Battle of Okinawa andthereafter participated in attacks on Japan, including bombarding industrialtargets on Honshu in July and August.

After the war, Massachusetts returned to the United States and wasdecommissioned and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk in 1947. Sheremained out of service until 1962, when she was stricken from the Naval VesselRegister. Three years later, she was transferred to the Massachusetts MemorialCommittee and preserved as a museum ship at Battleship Cove in Fall River,Massachusetts. Some material was removed in the 1980s to reactivate theIowa-class battleships, but the ship otherwise remains in her wartimeconfiguration. (Wikipedia)

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USS Massachusetts (BB-59) 5 Dec 1942, Boston Harbor.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59) refueling from the fleet oiler USS Saugatuck (AO-75) on 20 April 1945.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59) underway at 15 knots off Point Wilson, Washington (USA), on 11 July 1944.

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USS Massachusetts in Puget Sound, January 1946.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Alabama (BB-60) underway in the Pacific with Task Force 58.2, circa 1943-1944.

USS Alabama (BB-60) is a retired battleship. She was the fourth and final member of the South Dakota class of fast battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1940s. The firstAmerican battleships designed after the Washington Treaty system began to breakdown in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of an escalator clause that allowedincreasing the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm) guns, but Congressional refusalto authorize larger battleships kept their displacement close to the Washingtonlimit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t). A requirement to be armored against thesame caliber of guns as they carried, combined with the displacementrestriction, resulted in cramped ships. Overcrowding was exacerbated by wartimemodifications that considerably strengthened their anti-aircraft batteries andsignificantly increased their crews.

After entering service, Alabama was briefly deployed to strengthen the BritishHome Fleet, tasked with protecting convoys to the Soviet Union. In 1943, shewas transferred to the Pacific for operations against Japan; the first of thesewas the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign that began in November that year.While operating in the Pacific, she served primarily as an escort for the fastcarrier task force to protect the aircraft carriers from surface and airattacks. She also frequently bombarded Japanese positions in support ofamphibious assaults. She took part in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign inJune–September and the Philippines campaign in October–December. After a refitin early 1945, she returned to the fleet for operations during the Battle ofOkinawa and the series of attacks on the Japanese mainland in July and August,including several bombardments of coastal industrial targets.

Alabama assisted in Operation Magic Carpet after the war, carrying some 700 menhome from the former war zone. She was decommissioned in 1947 and assigned tothe Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained until 1962 when she was strickenfrom the Naval Vessel Register. A campaign to save the ship from the breakers'yard succeeded in raising the necessary funds, and Alabama was preserved as amuseum ship in Mobile Bay, Alabama. (Wikipedia)

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USS Alabama (BB-60), 1 December 1942.

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USS Alabama (BB-60), Casco Bay, Maine, cDecember 1942.

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USS Alabama (BB-60), off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 7 February 1943, following post-shakedown availability and repainting.