Warships of the US Navy: Battleships, South Dakota-class: USS South Dakota (BB-57), USS Indiana (BB-58), USS Massachusetts (BB-59), and USS Alabama (BB-60)

US Navy South Dakota-class battleships

South Dakota-class battleships

The South Dakota-class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th state; the first were designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. Four ships comprised the class: South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama. They were designed to the same treaty standard displacement limit of 35,000 long tons (35,600 t) as the preceding North Carolina class and had the same main battery of nine 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 guns in three-gun turrets, but were more compact and better protected. The ships can be visually distinguished from the earlier 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 four ships served in both the Atlantic, ready to intercept possible German capital ship sorties, and the Pacific, in carrier groups and shore bombardments. All four ships were retired shortly after the Second World War; South Dakota and Indiana were scrapped in the 1960s, Massachusetts and Alabama were retained as museum 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.

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