| ID | Name | Commission | Tonnage | Guns | 7Dec41 | to Pacific | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB-33 | Arkansas | 17Sept1912 | 27,243 | 6x2 12" | Maine | Jan 1945 | 4 |
| BB-34 | New York | 15Apr1915 | 27,000 | 5x2 14" | Newfoundland | Dec 1944 | 3 |
| BB-35 | Texas | 12Mar1914 | 27,000 | 5x2 14" | Maine | Dec 1944 | 5 |
| BB-36 | Nevada | 11Mar1916 | 27,500 | 4x3,2 14" | beached | May 1943 | 7 |
| BB-37 | Oklahoma | 2May1916 | 27,500 | 4x3,2 14" | Pearl Harbor | Sunk | 1 |
| BB-38 | Pennsylvania | 12June1916 | 31,400 | 4x3 14" | damaged | April42 | 4 |
| BB-39 | Arizona | 17Oct1916 | 31,400 | 4x3 14" | Pearl Harbor | Sunk | 1 |
| BB-40 | New Mexico | 20May1918 | 32,000 | 12 14" | neutrality patrol | 22Jan'42 | 6 |
| BB-41 | Mississippi | 18Dec1917 | 32,000 | 12 14" | Iceland | 22Jan42 | 8 |
| BB-42 | Idaho | 24Mar1919 | 32,000 | 12 14" | Iceland | 31Jan42 | 7 |
| BB-43 | Tennessee | 3June1920 | 33,190 | 12 14" | damaged | 26Feb42 | 10 |
| BB-44 | California | 10Aug1921 | 32,300 | 12 14" | Sunk, refloated | 31Jan44 | 7 |
| BB-45 | Colorado | 30Aug1923 | 32,600 | 8 16" | W.Coast overhaul | 31Mar42 | 7 |
| BB-46 | Maryland | 21July1921 | 32,600 | 8 16" | damaged | 26Feb42 | 7 |
| BB-47 | Washington | uncompleted | 32,600 | 8 16" | sunk 1924 | Treaty | |
| BB-48 | West Virginia | 1Dec1923 | 33,590 | 8 16" | Sunk, refloated | July 1944 | 5 |
| BB-49 | South Dakota | uncompleted | 43,200 | 12 16" | Treaty'23 | ||
| BB-50 | Indiana | uncompleted | Treaty'23 | ||||
| BB-51 | Montana | uncompleted | 43,200 | 12 16" | Treaty'23 | ||
| BB-52 | North Carolina | uncompleted | Treaty'23 | ||||
| BB-53 | Iowa | uncompleted | Treaty'23 | ||||
| BB-54 | Massachusetts | uncompleted | Treaty'23 | ||||
| BB-55 | North Carolina | 9April1941 | 35,000 | 9 16" | Atlantic | June 1942 | 12 |
| BB-56 | Washington | 15May1941 | 35,000 | 9 16" | Atlantic | Aug 1942 | 13 |
| BB-57 | South Dakota | 20Mar1942 | 35,000 | 9 16" | pre-comm | Aug 1942 | 13 |
| BB-58 | Indiana | 30Apr1942 | 35,000 | 9 16" | pre-comm | Nov 1942 | 9 |
| BB-59 | Massachusetts | 12May1942 | 35,000 | 9 16" | Mar 1943 | 11 | |
| BB-60 | Alabama | 16Aug1942 | 35,000 | 9 16" | Aug 1943 | 9 | |
| BB-61 | Iowa | 22Feb1943 | 45,000 | 9 16" | Jan 1944 | 9 | |
| BB-62 | New Jersey | 23May1943 | 45,000 | 9 16" | Jan 1944 | 9 | |
| BB-63 | Missouri | 11June1944 | 45,000 | 9 16" | Nov 1944 | 3 | |
| BB-64 | Wisconsin | 16April1944 | 45,000 | 9 16" | Oct 1944 | 5 | |
| BB-65 | Illinois | canceled | Aug 45 | 1/4 comp | |||
| BB-66 | Kentucky | canceled | Feb 47 | 2/3 comp | |||
| BB-67 to 71 |
Montana Class:
Montana-67, |
cancelled
July43 Ohio-68, |
65,000 Maine-69, |
12 16" New Hampsire-70. |
Louisiana-71 |
||
| CB-1 | Alaska | 17Jun44 | 32,000 | 9 12" | See | Dec'44 | 3 |
| CB-2 | Guam | 17Sep44 | 27,000 | 9 12" | Cruisers | Jan'45 | 2 |
- Battle Stars earned in WW2.
Bold means operated in the Pacific during the early years.
- There were no operational battleships in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor.
New Mexico departed Maine and
Mississippi and Idaho departed Iceland two days later by way of
Norfolk for San Francisco, arriving 22/31Jan42, six weeks later.
The three formed Task Force 1 based out of San Francisco to patrol and escort
convoys to Hawaii. Tennessee and Maryland were repaired and sailed
from Puget Sound Navy Yard 26Feb42. Colorado finished overhaul a month later,
at about the same time as Pennsylvania finished repair.
The new construction North Carolina arrived in June restoring the battle fleet
and to its prewar number. The new construction Washington
and South Dakota arrived in August to fight at Guadalcanal and Indiana arrived later in
the year.
The newest battleship, Washington (BB-56) and newest carrier, Wasp CV-7, were involved in the prewar Atlantic fiction of neutrality patrol. Both departed to reinforce the British Home Fleet as soon as they could, in March 1942, while new carrier Hornet CV-8 departed for the Pacific about the same time to make Doolittle's Raid on Tokyo. Washington performed convoy escort to northern Russia and North Atlantic; Wasp made two ferry runs through Gibraltar to Malta. When Lexington CV-2 was lost at Coral Sea, Wasp was hurried home to replace her. Wasp and new battleship North Carolina BB-55 departed Norfolk while the Battle of Midway was going on, where Yorktown CV-5 was lost in June. New South Dakota BB-57 was ready to depart for the Pacific in mid-August, followed a week later by Washington who had been recalled when the leadership became convinced that the Pacific War deserved more of the new equipment. But, the Navy was down to one active battleship in an active combat zone for a few weeks, twice, late in 1942. N. Carolina had been torpedoed 6Sep and was in repair at Pearl. S. Dakota was damaged in the defeat at Santa Cruz, 26 Oct, and under repair at New Caldonia. Only Washington BB-56 was active in the South Pacific. The older Colorado BB-45 was rushed to Fiji by 8Nov. Washington and partially repaired S. Dakata fought in the second night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 14-15 Nov, where S.D. was again badly damaged and returned to NY. Washington was again the lone fast BB until 28Nov when Indiana BB-58 arrived fresh from shakedown. Old battleships Arkansas BB-33, New York BB-34, and Texas BB-35 remained in the Atlantic, joined by Nevada BB-36 in mid-1943, where their slower speed of 21 knots was not a handicap for troop convoy escort service. The six early war battleships (BB-55 - BB-60) had speeds of 27.5 knots and even these "fast battleships" could not keep up with carriers at combat speeds (CV 33 knot ; CVL 31 kn.). Only the last four, late war, Iowa class battleships could reach 33 knots.
| Naval Ship Monuments | ||||
| Utah | BB-31 | under Pearl Harbor, HI | Vera Cruz, WWI. | |
| Texas | BB-35 | "Tex" | San Jacinto, La Porte, TX | Vera Cruz, WWI, WW2 |
| Arizona | BB-39 | under Pearl Harbor, HI | ||
| North Carolina | BB-55 | "The Showboat" | Wilmington, NC | WW2 |
| Massachusetts | BB-59 | "Big Mamie" | Fall River, MA | WW2 |
| Alabama | BB-60 | "Mighty A" | Mobile, AL | WW2 |
| Iowa | BB-61 | "Big Stick" | Los Angeles 1 | WW2, Korea, |
| New Jersey | BB-62 | "Big J" | Camden, NJ | WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon |
| Missouri | BB-63 | "Mighty Mo" | Pearl Harbor, HI | WW2, Korea, Desert Storm |
| Wisconsin | BB-64 | "Whisky" | Norfolk, VA | WW2, Korea, Desert Storm |
Early Battleships
| BM-7 Arkansas | 3,225 2-12" | 1902-1919 | Monitor ; submarine tender Ozark. sold 26 January 1922. |
| BM-8 Nevada | 3,225 2-12" | 1903-1918 | Monitor ; submarine tender Tonopah, sold 1922 |
| BM-9 Florida | 3,225 2-12" | 1903-1919 | Monitor ; submarine tender Tallahassee, sold 1922 |
| BM-10 Wyoming | 3,225 2-12" | 1902-1920 | Monitor ; submarine tender Cheyenne, scrapped, 1939 |
| B 2/c- Texas | 6,316 2-12" | 1895-1905 | 6- 6", 4- 14" torpedo tubes. Santiago'98. Target, sunk 1911 |
| B 2/c- Maine | 6,682 4-10" | 1895-1898 | 6- 6", 4- 14" tt. Sunk, explosion, Havana |
| BB-1 Indiana | 10,288 4-13" | 1895-1919 | 8- 8", 4- 6" . Target, aerial bombs, sunk Nov 1920. |
| BB-2 Massachusetts | 10,288 4-13" | 1896-1919 | 8- 8", 4- 6", 6 torpedo tubes. Target, scuttled, 1921 |
| BB-3 Oregon | 11,688 4-13" | 1896-1919 | 8- 8", 4- 6", 6 tt. IX-22, breakwater,Guam,Scrap 1956 |
| BB-4 Iowa | 11,346 4-12" | 1897-1919 | 8- 8", 4 tt., r/c target, sunk 1923 |
| BB-5 Kearserge | 11,540 4-13" | 1900-1920 | 4- 8", 14- 6" . AB-15, Crane Ship 1, scrapped 1955 |
| BB-6 Kentucky | 11,520 4-13" | 1900-1920 | 4- 8", 14- 5" . Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-7 Illinois | 11,565 4-13" | 1901-1919 | 14 6", 6 tt. IX-15, Prairie State; scrapped 1956 |
| BB-8 Alabama | 11,564 4-13" | 1900-1920 | 14 6", 4 tt. Sunk, army bombing tests 27Sep21 |
| BB-9 Wisconsin | 11,565 4-13" | 1901-1920 | 14 6" . Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-10 Maine | 12,846 4-12" | 1902-1920 | 16 6", 2 torpedo tubes |
| BB-11 Missouri | 13,500 4-12" | 1903-1920 | 16 6" . Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-12 Ohio | 12,723 4-12" | 1904-1922 | 16 6" . Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-13 Virginia | 14,980 4-12" | 1906-1920 | 8- 8", 12 6", 4 tt. Sunk, Mitchell bomb test. |
| BB-14 Nebraska | 16,094 4-12" | 1907-1920 | 8- 8", 12 6", 4 tt. Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-15 Georgia | 14,948 4-12" | 1906-1920 | 8- 8", 12-6" . Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-16 New Jersey | 14,948 4-12" | 1906-1920 | 8- 8", 12 6", 4 21" tt. Sunk, Mitchell bomb test. |
| BB-17 Rhode Island | 14,948 4-12" | 1906-1920 | 8- 8", 12-6", 4 tt. Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-18 Connecticut | 16,000 4-12" | 1906-1923 | 8- 8", 12-7" . Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-19 Louisiana | 16,000 4-12" | 1906-1920 | 8- 8", 12-7", 4 tt. Scrapped |
| BB-20 Vermont | 16,000 4-12" | 1907-1920 | 8- 8", 12-7" . Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-21 Kansas | 16,000 4-12" | 18Apr07-16Dec21 | 8- 8", 4 tt. Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-22 Minnesota | 16,000 4-12" | 09Mar07-01Dec21 | 8- 8", 12-7", 4 tt. Scrapped |
| BB-23 Mississippi | 13,000 4-12" | 01Apr08-30July14 | 8- 8", 8 7", 2 tt. [Greece, Kilkis, Sunk Apr'41] |
| BB-24 Idaho | 13,000 4-12" | 01Feb08-21July14 | 8- 8", 8 7", 2 tt. [Greece, Lemnos, Sunk Apr'41] |
| BB-25 New Hampshire | 16,000 4-12" | 19Mar08-21May21 | 8- 8", 12 7", 20 3", 4 21" tt. Scrapped, treaty |
| BB-26 South Carolina | 16,000 8-12" | 01Mar10-15Dec21 | 2 tt. scrapped, treaty |
| BB-27 Michigan | 16,000 8-12" | 04Jan10-11Feb22 | 2 tt. scrapped, treaty |
| BB-28 Delaware | 20,000 10-12" | 04Apr10-10Nov28 | 2 tt. scrapped, treaty |
| BB-29 North Dakota | 20,000 10-12" | 11Apr10-22Nov23 | 2 tt. scrapped, treaty |
| BB-30 Florida | 21,800 10-12" | 12Sep10-16Feb31 | 2 tt. scrapped, treaty |
| BB-31 Utah | 21,800 10-12" | 31Aug11-01July31 | 2 tt. AG-16 Pearl Harbor 1 |
| BB-32 Wyoming | 27,243 6x2-12" | 25Dec12-01Jan31 | 2 tt. AG-17 Platt's Bank, Gun Trainer, WW2 |
| Pic BB-32 AG-17 | |||
| - - - - - | |||
| ARA Rivadavia pic | 28,000 6x2-12" | Aug 1914-1952 | US built for Argentina |
| ARA Moreno pic | 28,000 6x2-12" | Feb 1915-1957 | US built for Argentina |
Spanish American War. Some saw service, but most were commissioned after that War which left the U.S. with colonies to protect.
Great White Fleet, 1907-1909. As America became a world power
with international interests, Teddy Roosevelt sent 16 battleships
on an around the world cruise to show nations, particularly Japan,
that we could send a battle fleet anywhere
These ships were obsolete before they returned because of the
introduction of the dreadnought type of battleship -- two ships building
were of that design, North Carolina BB-26 and Michigan BB-27 in 1910.
Two things the GWF showed was not to depend on foreign colliers and confirmatioin of the need for a Panama Canal.
The Canal was opened for traffic the same day WWI started, Aug 8, 1914.
WWI. See individual ship histories: mostly troop convoy escort.
After WWI, super-dreadnoughts were introduced from the lessons learned in the Battle of Jutland, then an international moratorium on new battleships went into effect. As part of the treaty the U.S. scrapped all pre-dreadnoughts and seven dreadnought battleships, leaving five small and ten larger dreadnought types including West Virginia, BB-48 which was under construction. By the end of the treaty period, the U.S. was three battleships below treaty allowance. The treaty expired in 1936 with Japan immediately starting to build some giant capital ships, double the Treaty limit sizes. The U.S. followed by starting on six new battleships, though smaller because they had been designed to treaty limitations. Eight of the existing sixteen, including West Virginia, were sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor. It was partially a fear that these new ships would strengthen the U.S. Pacific Fleet that encouraged Japan to strike as her new, large ships came into service while she still held a large edge in the Pacific in both battleships and carriers.
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About this page: Battleships. A summary table of US battleships in World War II and also early battleships.
Last updated: 4April 2009. Add that Washington was alone in late 1942.
- 29 Aug 2006 Change BM-8 to Nevada, add subtender names