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USS California (Battleship #44) BB-44 |
Hull Number: |
Battleship #44 (until July 17, 1920) BB-44 |
Type: |
Battleship |
Class: |
Tennessee |
Number In Class: |
2 |
Sister Ships: |
Tennessee BB-43 |
Builder: |
Mare Island Naval Shipyard Vallejao, California |
Keel Laid Down: |
Oct. 25, 1916 |
Launched: |
Nov. 20, 1919 |
Christened By: |
Mrs. Barbara Stephens Zane daughter of William Stephens, Governor of California |
Commissioned: |
Aug. 10, 1921 |
Decommissioned: |
Feb. 14, 1947 |
Stricken: |
Mar. 1, 1959 |
Disposition: |
July 10, 1959 Sold to Bethlehem Steel Co. and scrapped |
Crew: |
2,375 |
Dimensions |
Length: |
624' 6" (190.3m) |
Beam: |
97' 4" (29.6m) |
Draft: |
34' (10.3m) |
Displacement: |
32,600 40,354 Full |
Armament |
Type |
1921 |
1922 |
1929 |
1935 |
1941 |
14"/50 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
5"/51 |
14 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
10 |
3"/50 |
4 |
8 |
- |
- |
4 |
5"/25AA |
- |
- |
8 |
8 |
8 |
3"/38AA |
- |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
Torpedo Tubes 21" Submerged |
2 |
2 |
2 |
- |
- |
Service Timeline |
1921 - 1941: |
Flagship Pacific Fleet, Flagship Battle Fleet, Battleship Force US Fleet |
Dec. 7, 1941: |
Sunk by Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor 98 of the crew were killed and 61 were wounded |
Mar. 25, 1942: |
Repaired enough to sail to Puget Sound Navy Yard for repairs |
Jan. 31, 1944: |
Departed Puget Sound Navy Yard |
June 1944: |
Shore bombardment at Saipan *June 14, 1944 Hit by a shell fired from Saipan 1 crewman was killed and wounding 9 others |
July 18 - Aug. 9, 1944: |
Shore bombardment at Guam and Tinian |
Aug. 1944: |
Collided with USS Tennessee BB-43 which damaged the bow |
Oct. 17 - Nov. 20, 1944: |
Supported the Leyte operation *Oct. 24-25, 1944: Battle of Surigao Strait |
Jan. 1945: |
Supported the invasion of the Philippines *Jan. 6, 1945 Hit by Kamikaze while providing shore bombardment at Lingayen Gulf 44 of the crew were killed and 155 were wounded |
Feb. 15, 1945: |
Arrived at Puget Sound Navy Yard for repairs |
June 14 - July 21, 1945: |
Supported operations at Okinawa |
July 1945: |
Minesweeping escort duty in the East China Sea |
Sept. 1945 - Oct. 15, 1945: |
Supported occupation forces in Japan |
Oct. 15, 1945: |
Departed Japan to return to the U.S. (via Singapore, Colombo and Cape Town) |
Dec. 7, 1945: |
Arrived at Philadelphia |
Aug. 7, 1946: |
Placed in reserve at Philadelphia |
Combat Victories |
N/A |
Commanders |
Aug. 10, 1923 |
H.J. Ziegemire |
Casualties |
December 7, 1941 June 14, 1944 January 6, 1945 |
Notable Visitors |
N/A |
Awards |
Battle Efficiency pennant for 1921-22 Gunnery "E" for 1925-26 Received 7 battle stars for service in World War 2 * Pearl Harbor * * Marianas operation: Capture and occupation of Saipan * * Tinian capture and occupation * * Leyte operation: Battle of Surigao Strait * * Luzon operation: Lingayen Gulf landing * * Okinawa operation: Assault and occupation of Okinawa * * 3rd. Fleet operations against Japan *
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Page revised Jan. 22, 2007 |