Colorado class
USS COLORADO
Except for their main batteries, the Colorado class of ships were almost identical to the previous Tennessee class with the primary difference being the elimination of 12 x 14in guns and replacing them with eight more powerful 16in models in four twin-gun turrets on the centreline. This class was the last of the planned standard type of battleship.
USS Colorado was commissioned on 30 August 1923. Her speed of 21 knots was produced from eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers that turned four General Electric turbo-electric drives that gave the ship a rating of 28,900 shaft horsepower. Her normal cruising range was 9,206 miles at full speed but the ship had the ability to store additional fuel if needed and that distance could be increased to as many as 24,166 miles if the speed were reduced to 10 knots.
She made her combat debut in the Marshall Islands providing fire support for the landings on Tarawa in November 1943 and subsequently pounded Japanese positions ashore on Eniwetok.
After a short overhaul in the spring of 1944 at Puget Sound, Colorado departed on 5 May and beginning on 14 June, commenced shelling targets on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam.
During the shelling of Tinian on 24 July she was hit 22 times by 150mm Japanese shore batteries killing 43 sailors and wounding 198 more. Despite the damage, the battleship continued to operate against the enemy until 3 August.
Colorado was repaired on the West
Coast and arrived in the Philippines on 20 November to support the invasion of Leyte.
Seven days later, she took two kamikaze hits killing 19 and wounding 72. Although damaged, Colorado shelled targets on Mindoro in early December.
She was refurbished and steamed north to cover the landings on Luzon on 1 January 1945. Nine days later Colorado was tragically struck in the superstructure by friendly fire killing 18 and injuring
51. Her last action was in late March, shelling targets on Okinawa to support the invasion. She subsequently joined the occupation forces.
USS MARYLAND
Commissioned in July 1921, USS Maryland was the second Colorado-class battleship and in addition to her eight 16in guns, she had a secondary battery of 16 x 5in/51cal guns singly mounted in casemates alongside the amidships area of the superstructure. The ship was also originally armed with an anti-aircraft battery of eight 3in/50cal guns in separate mounts. Armament would be enhanced throughout the war years.
Maryland was moored inboard of USS Oklahoma on the morning of 7 December 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Her position protected her from torpedo attacks although she did sustain hits from two armour-piercing bombs that resulted in controllable flooding.
She underwent a refit at Puget Sound Navy Yard in mid-December, where many of her 5in/51cal guns were replaced with 5in/38cal dual purpose models. She left the yard on 26 February 1942.
In early 1943 she began her islandhopping tour operating off Efate before moving south to Espiritu Santo. After a five week refit at Pearl Harbor in August to enhance her AA batteries, Maryland put to sea on 20 October to provide gunfire support for the Marines invading Tarawa. Her next action was covering the landings
USS Colorado
Class: Colorado
Displacement: 33,100 tonnes
Length: 624ft
Beam: 114ft
Draft: 30ft 6in
Speed: 21 knots
Range: 9,206 miles
Crew: 1,080 men
Armament: 8 × 16in guns • 16 × 5in guns • 40 × 1.6in Bofors guns • 43 × .75in Oerlikon cannons Armour: Deck - 3.5in, Waterline belt – 8in-13.5in