South Dakota class

2023-02-01 -

USS SOUTH DAKOTA

The US Navy initially planned on building two additional North Carolina class battleships in 1938, but the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) was adamant a new design was needed to maintain a status quo with other nations.

The challenge facing the designers was to improve the performance of the previous class of battleships while trying to maintain the 35,000 tonnes limit as set under terms of the Second London Naval Treaty. This situation was overcome by naval architects reducing the overall length of the ship by 50ft and utilising an incline underwater armour system.

South Dakota was 680ft long, had a beam of 108ft 2in, a draft of 35ft 1in and she displaced 44,519 tonnes fully loaded. The ship could reach a speed of 27 knots with her eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers, and she carried three Vought

OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes for aerial reconnaissance.

She was armed with nine 16in/45cal guns in three triple gun turrets on the centreline, with the forward two placed in a super firing position and a secondary battery consisting of 16 x 5in/38cal dual purpose guns. South Dakota was completed with a battery of seven quadruple 1.6 in Bofors guns, seven quadruple 1.1 in guns, 34 x 0.79in Oerlikon autocannon and eight .50cal guns. As the war progressed, additional Bofors guns and autocannons were added. Two ships of the class were ordered but rising tensions in the world necessitated increasing that order to four. Commissioned in March 1942, the lead ship of the class, USS South Dakota, was transferred to the Pacific where she provided supporting artillery fire for the invasion of Guadalcanal. Moving on to the Santa Cruz Islands, she played a significant role in the invasion, during which a Japanese bomb hit her forward 16in gun turret on 26 October. More damage was incurred when she collided with a destroyer, the USS Mahan. Fortunately, the damage from both incidents could be repaired locally and the ship returned to Guadalcanal to re-join the invasion.

During the night of 14-15 November, South Dakota was hit during a slug fest with a Japanese battleship and had to return stateside for repair followed by a short re-assignment to the Atlantic where she operated with the British Home Fleet until August 1943.

Returning to the Pacific, she participated in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands then provided land and AA coverage during the Battle of Tarawa on 20–23 November and the subsequent Battle of Makin during 20–24 November 1943. Moving to the Marshall Islands, she provided bombardments for the invasion of Japanese bases at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Majuro in January and February 1944.

The next action was in June 1944 when she shelled enemy positions on Saipan and Tinian. Later, on 19 June during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the ship was hit by another Japanese bomb.

Following repairs stateside, she participated in the invasions of Leyte, Luzon, and Iwo Jima. In March and April 1945, South Dakota bombarded Okinawa and targets in the Japanese Home Islands in July and August.

USS INDIANA

The second South Dakota class ship, the USS Indiana, commissioned on 30 April 1942 was identical to the lead ship of the class. Superior to the other previous classes of battleships, she had an armoured belt of 12.2in and her main deck was up to 6in thick. Her main battery gun turret faces were 18in thick mounted atop barbettes of 17.3in and 16in of armour protected the

USS South Dakota / USS Indiana

Class: South Dakota

Displacement: 44,519 tonnes

Length: 680ft

Beam: 108ft 2in

Draft: 35ft 1in

Speed: 27.5 knots

Range: 17,261 miles

Crew: 2,500 men

Armament: 9 × 16in/45cal Mark 6 guns • 16 × 5in/38cal dual purpose guns • 14 × quad 1.6in Bofors guns • 7 × quad 1.1in guns • 53 × 0.79in Oerlikon cannons • 8 × .50cal machineguns Armour: Deck - 6in, Waterline belt - 12.2in

USS MASSACHUSETTS

The Massachusetts was commissioned in April 1942, one of four of the South Dakota class battleships that would join the fleet that year. She carried the same nine 16in/45cal guns as the others in her class, with the secondary battery consisting of 20 x 5in/38cal dual purpose guns mounted in twin turrets clustered amidships, six quadruple 1.6in Bofors guns and 28 x .79in Oerlikon autocannons. The latter two were increased in number as the war progressed.

She first saw action in Operation Torch on 8 November 1942 during the invasion of North Africa. Tasked with neutralising the prime Vichy French defences, she began shelling and as she steamed close to Casablanca pier, the French battleship Jean Bart opened fire with only half of her main battery completed.

Firing the first American 16in shell of the war the Massachusetts neutralised the French ship with five hits. She continued shelling shore batteries, blew up an ammunition dump, helped sink two destroyers, two merchant ships, a floating dry-dock, and damaged buildings and docks in Casablanca.

After the French surrendered, Massachusetts returned to Boston for refitting and resupply and in March 1943, commenced operations in the South Pacific, protecting convoy routes in the Solomons. She sailed with a carrier group striking in the Gilbert Islands delivering AA coverage them while they launched air attacks on Tarawa; bombarded the island between 21-23 November; shelled Japanese positions at Nauru on 8 December; and on 31 January 1944, covered the landings at Kwajalein on 1 February.

The battleship also supported the carrier strikes against Truk later in the month. She shelled enemy land positions during the raids on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, participated in the attack on the Caroline’s in late March and bombarded the shore for the invasion at Hollandia on 22 April. Massachusetts’ last mission prior to going to Puget Sound Navy Yard was shelling Ponape Island on 1 May. From there she went to the Yard to reline her worn out gun barrels, add eight more quad Bofors guns and install another 35 Oerlikon autocannons. After work was completed, she participated in the landings on Leyte Gulf; shelled Okinawa on 10 October; protected forces hitting Formosa between 12 and 14 October; and participated in the Battle for Leyte Gulf 22 to 27 October. Massachusetts supported the invasion of Mindoro in the Philippines on 14 December 1944 and between 30 December and 23 January 1945, shelled Formosa and supported the landing at Lingayen.

The battleship guarded carriers during raids on Honshu from 10 February to 3 March, shelled Iwo Jima and on 17 March, protected carriers during the strikes against

Kyushu. The next week she bombarded Okinawa, then on 10 June, bombarded Minami Daito Jima.

The ship shelled Kamaishi on the mainland of Japan on 14 July destroying the Imperial Iron and Steel Works, bombarded the industrial complex at Hamamatsu two weeks later, and returned to shell Kamaishi again on 9 August 1945. It was during this action that the USS Massachusetts discharged what is believed to be the final 16in shell fired during WWII.

USS ALABAMA

Commissioned on 16 August 1942, USS Alabama was the last of four identical South Dakota-class battleships built. Alabama’s first duty was with her sister ship South Dakota in the Atlantic serving with the British Home Fleet in early 1943 to strengthen the Mediterranean forces in preparation for the invasion of Sicily. Afterwards, she departed for Norfolk. Once arrived, Alabama underwent an overhaul that installed SG surface search radar then sailed for Efate in early September. After training with carrier forces, she sailed on 11 November to support landings on Tarawa and Makin islands. After bombarding Nauru on 8