South Dakota class (1942)

This article describes a class of four US Navy battleships from World War II. For the six unfinished South Dakota class battleships built in the 1920s, see South Dakota class (1920) .

South Dakota class
USS South Dakota not far from Norfolk Navy Yard, August 20, 1943
Overview
Type	Battleship
units	4th
Namesake	State of South Dakota
period of service	1942-1947
Technical specifications
displacement	38,665 ts (construction) 46,200 ts (use)
length	207.30 m
width	32.94 m
Draft	8.50 m
crew	1793-2325
drive	4 propellers, driven by 4 steam turbines; 130,000 WPS (99 MW )
speed	27.8 kn
Range	17,000 nm at 15 kn
Armament	1941 (South Dakota) 9 × 16 "guns in 3 triplet turrets 16 × 5 "guns in 8 twin turrets 28 × 1.1 "- Flak in 4 quadruple mounts 8 × 12.7 mm MG 1945 (Massachusetts) 9 × 16 "guns 20 × 5 "guns 72 × 40 mm anti-aircraft guns in quad mounts 34 × 20 mm MK in single and double mounts
Aircraft	3 OS2U Kingfisher

The South Dakota-class battleship was a class of four battleships of the US Navy . It was developed in the late 1930s from the North Carolina class , with which it formed the backbone of the American battleship fleet at the start of the war . The ships, which were in service with the US Navy from 1942 to 1947, were mainly used in the Pacific theater of war , but also temporarily in the Atlantic . Two ships of the class are now preserved as museum ships .

history

Planning

Planning for the successor to the North Carolina class began in March 1937. They should have the same combat strength as their predecessors, but the protection of the ships should be reinforced so that they could withstand 16-inch shells. Since battleships were still limited in their tonnage by the Washington Naval Treaty , a strengthening of the citadel could only be achieved by shortening it. With the shortening of the citadel, the entire hull was also shortened; the almost constant width of the hull therefore worsened the length / width ratio. The required speed of 27.5 knots made it necessary to use a more powerful propulsion system with 10% more power than the predecessor. By the summer of 1937, various studies had been submitted that provided for a wide variety of arrangements of guns and propulsion systems. With the definition of 16 inch guns as primary armament and the required speed of at least 27.5 knots, the draft was worked out and submitted to Congress on April 4, 1938 for approval. The two units originally planned in the naval draft to replace the outdated battleships Texas and Nevada were increased to four after concerns of congressmen about the tensions in Europe. The approval of the two other units was given despite the emerging increase in the displacement limit to 45,000 ts for battleships on the condition that the tonnage limit of 35,000 ts was not exceeded.

Launched in Alabama on February 16, 1942

construction

The construction contracts for the first three ships of the class were given on December 15, 1938 to New York Shipbuilding , Newport News Shipbuilding and the Fore River Shipyard of Bethlehem Steel Corporation . The construction contract for the fourth ship was issued on April 1, 1939 to the naval Norfolk Navy Yard . The South Dakota and Massachusetts were laid down in July 1939, the Indiana followed on November 20, 1939, the Alabama on February 1, 1940. The South Dakota was launched after 23 months of construction on June 7, 1941, the Massachusetts followed on September 23, 1941. The Indiana was launched on November 21, 1941, the Alabama on February 16, 1942. The commissioning of the four ships took place after additional equipment work between March and August 1942. The total construction time for the Indiana was 30 months , for the other three ships between 32 and 34 months. These short construction times were achieved through close cooperation between the shipyards. Newport News took over the construction work for the naval shipyard in Norfolk, New York Shipbuilding supported Bethlehem Steel with the work. The construction costs per vessel were about 77 million US dollars .

units

USS South Dakota

The South Dakota during the naval battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in late 1942

The lead ship of the South Dakota class, the South Dakota , entered service with the US Navy on March 20, 1942. The ship named after the US state of South Dakota had its first use in October 1942 together with the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Hornet during the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands . It set an air defense record with 26 Japanese fighter jets shot down by its own flak. On the night of November 14th to 15th, 1942, the South Dakota was taken under fire by the Japanese battleship Kirishima and the heavy cruisers Atago and Takao during the second naval battle off Guadalcanal . Blinded by the loss of the radar and temporarily unable to return fire due to a power failure, the South Dakota suffered 27 hits from heavy artillery, which did not cause any damage to vital ship systems. 38 crew members died and 60 were wounded. After the battle, the ship was repaired in the New York Navy Yard until February 1943. In February 1943, the battleship was moved together with the Ranger to reinforce the British Home Fleet in the Atlantic . In September 1943, the South Dakota was deployed again in the Pacific, in November it supported the operations against the Marshall Islands . In an explosion on the ammunition transporter Wrangell , the South Dakota was slightly damaged on May 6, 1944, and eleven crew members of the battleship died. In May 1944 operations against Ponape followed , in June against Truk , the Karolinen and Saipan . On June 19, the South Dakota was involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea , in which it was hit by a 250 kg bomb that did no damage but killed 27 crew members. In October it was part of the attacks against Formosa , the Philippines and the sea ​​and air battles in the Leyte Gulf . 1945 began for the battleship with attacks on Formosa and the Ryūkyū Islands , from February the South Dakota accompanied the Fast Carrier Task Force for the first time in attacks on the Japanese mainland. In March she supported the preparations for the conquest of Okinawa . The last missions during the war were to accompany the carrier combat groups during attacks on the main Japanese islands in July and August. The South Dakota entered Tokyo Bay on August 29 and returned to the US west coast a month later. In January 1946 she moved to Philadelphia for overhaul, where she was decommissioned on January 31, 1947. On June 1, 1962, she was struck from the ship's registers and sold for scrapping on October 25, 1962.

USS Indiana

The Indiana in December 1942 in the South Pacific

The second ship of the class, the Indiana , named after the state of Indiana , entered service with the US Navy on April 30, 1942. The first missions took her to Tarawa at the end of November 1942 as a replacement for her damaged sister ship South Dakota . From January to May 1943 she then operated in Melanesia , and in June and July in the Coral Sea . In August 1943 the Indiana took part in operations against the Gilbert Islands , on December 8th the bombardment of Nauru followed , in January 1944 Kwajalein was the target of the fleet. The Indiana was badly damaged on February 1, 1944 in a collision with the battleship Washington , the repairs lasted until April 1944. In early May, the ship was then involved in the operations against Truk and Ponape. In the summer of 1944, the Indiana operated off Saipan, it was also involved in the battle in the Philippine Sea. In the fall of 1944, the battleship operated against the southern Palau Islands. At the end of September, Indiana was targeting the Philippines, from November 1944 to January 1945 it operated against Iwo Jima and the main Japanese islands, after which Okinawa was the target. From July until the end of the war, she then accompanied the aircraft carriers on their operations against the main Japanese islands and fired at targets on the islands. On September 5, she entered Tokyo Bay, and the Indiana arrived in California at the end of September . On September 11, 1946, the ship was decommissioned and placed under the reserve. On June 1, she was struck from the ship's lists and sold for scrapping in September of the following year.

USS Massachusetts

The Massachusetts takes the Japanese island of Honshu under fire, July 1945

The USS Massachusetts , named after the New England state of Massachusetts , entered service on May 15, 1942 as the third South Dakota-class ship. The ship's first use was in November 1942 in the Atlantic , where the Massachusetts provided fire support to landing troops during Operation Torch . She landed several hits on the French battleship Jean Bart . After a stay in the shipyard in Boston, the first deployment in the Pacific followed in February 1943. In November 1943, Massachusetts was involved in the attacks on the Gilbert Islands, and in late January 1944 in the attacks on the Marshalls. Attacks on Truk followed in February, Hollandia in May , Saipan in June, and the Palau Islands in July. In October 1944, the Massachusetts was involved in the battle of the Gulf of Leyte, in January 1945 it accompanied the aircraft carriers in attacks on Formosa and the Ryukyus. In February Tokyo and Iwo Jima were the target of the carrier fleet. From April 1, the battleship provided support for the landing on Okinawa. From mid-July until the end of the war, the Massachusetts operated together with the Fast Carrier Task Force against the main Japanese islands. After an overhaul in Bremerton , maneuvers off the California coast followed until April 1946, after which it ran to Norfolk , where it was decommissioned on March 27, 1947. After the deletion from the ship's registers on June 1, 1962, the Massachusetts escaped scrapping, she was towed to Fall River , Massachusetts, where she has been a museum ship since 1965. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as a National Historic Landmark .

USS Alabama

The Alabama as a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama

The USS Alabama , named after the southern state of Alabama , entered service on August 26, 1942 as the last South Dakota-class ship. The first mission was from March to July 1943 to support the British Home Fleet in the North Atlantic, then missions in the Pacific followed from August. With her sister ships, the Alabama took part in the bombardments of the Gilberts in November, followed by targets on Kwajalein and Majuro in early 1945. In February she participated in attacks on Truk and the Mariana Islands. At the end of March Yap, Palau, Woleai and Ulithi were the target of the Alabama , at the end of April Hollandia, and again at the beginning of May Truk as well as Ponape and Satawan . There were attacks on Saipan in June; like her sister ships, the Alabama took part in the naval battle in the Philippine Sea. In July 1944, Guam was the target, after which she accompanied aircraft carriers in attacks against Palau, Yap and Ultihi as well as the Bonin Islands. Attacks against the Philippines, Okinawa and Formosa were carried out from September to October, and at the end of October the ship was involved in the sea battle in the Leyte Gulf. From the beginning of November to December there were attacks against Luzon, after which the Alabama went into dock in Bremerton in January 1945. At the end of April it was ready for action again, followed by attacks against Okinawa in May and operations against mainland Japan from July to August. On September 5, the Alabama entered Tokyo Bay, and two weeks later it returned to the United States. In February 1946, she left California for Bremerton, where she was decommissioned on January 9, 1947. After the deletion from the shipping registers on June 1, 1962, the Alabama was bequeathed to the eponymous state on July 7, 1964. She was towed to Mobile , where she has been open to the public as a museum ship since 1965.

Modifications and conversions

During their service life, the ships were only subject to minor changes. They related primarily to a strengthening of the anti-aircraft armament and a modernization of the radar equipment, with USS Massachusetts in July 1944 receiving the most comprehensive upgrade of any ship in the class.

The fore and main masts were modified on all ships to accommodate additional and larger radar systems. In addition, the number and position of the ship's cranes for the dinghies , as well as the number of dinghies, was varied. The first three ships were completed with both cranes, but the USS South Dakota surrendered both cranes as early as 1943, with only the port crane remaining on the Indiana and the starboard crane on the USS Massachusetts . The Alabama has already been put into service without cranes. The number and position of anti-aircraft guns on the ships also changed constantly, depending on the shipyard stays and the allocation of weapons to the ships.

As with the North Carolina class, the extent to which the ships could be converted for operations in Fast Task Forces was investigated in the mid-1950s. A speed of 31 knots would have been necessary for this. That would have made it necessary to increase the drive power to 256,000 WPS. Apart from the expansion of the third turret of the heavy artillery to reduce weight, this would have required either the installation of a completely new drive system or, as an alternative, the use of a gas turbine as a booster for the previous machine system. The modifications to the machinery alone would have cost 40 million US dollars per ship, not including the modernization of weapons technology. For cost reasons, the considerations were dropped after a short time.

technology

Hull and superstructure

View from starboard aft of the superstructure of the Massachusetts during a sea ​​supply maneuver

The ships of the South Dakota class, like their predecessors, corresponded to the new ship architecture of the US Navy. They had a continuous main deck, the so-called “flush deck”, and a stiffened bow stem . The ships were 202.98 meters long at the construction waterline, the overall length was 207.30 meters. They were thus the shortest battleships of their time and even shorter than some contemporary cruiser classes . The maximum width of the hull was 32.94 meters over the entire height, the length-to-width ratio was 6.16. The draft of the construction displacement of 38,665 standard tons was 8.5 meters. The maximum operational displacement, including fuel, ammunition and water supplies, was 46,200 ts, the maximum draft was 11.00 meters.

The hull, which was about 30% electrically welded , was divided into 22 watertight compartments. The hull, which was 15.85 meters high from the keel to the main deck, was divided into six decks and had a bulbous bow . As with the North Carolina class, there were no portholes in the hull, which increased safety, but made forced ventilation below deck necessary.

The six deck high superstructures were very compact and kept as a unit; in contrast to their predecessors, the ships only had a single chimney. The armored command tower was integrated into the bridge structure. The end of the superstructure was formed by the 17 meter high tower mast , which carried the main rangefinder and part of the radar systems at a height of about 38 meters above the waterline. With a length of 55 meters, the superstructures were 15 meters shorter than their predecessors.

Armor

View of the transverse and longitudinal bulkheads of the USS South Dakota during construction, April 1940

The core of the ships' armor was the 113 meter long and on average 22 meter wide deck structure . The side armor was a maximum of 310 mm thick, together with the 22 mm thick rear layer and an incline of 19 ° from the vertical, it was just as thick as 440 mm thick armor. The side armor tapered down to 25 mm and took over the task of the torpedo bulkhead behind the outer skin made of 32 mm steel in the area of ​​the ship's bottom . There were two more inclined bulkheads between the outer skin and the armored belt, which divided the underwater protection area, which was up to 5.45 m wide. The two outer areas were filled with water and fuel, the inner space, directly in front of the armored belt, remained empty and was supposed to absorb the explosive energy of torpedoes and mines . The armor was designed so that it could withstand the immediate explosion of a combat load of 319 kg of explosives. The citadel was delimited fore and aft by 287 mm thick bulkheads, the forecastle in front of the first turret and the area below the aircraft system on the aft deck were completely unarmored.

The ship floor was designed as a double floor throughout, in the area of ​​the citadel as a triple floor and was 0.91 meters and 1.83 meters high, respectively.

The upper deck was 38 mm thick, the main armored deck below was between 127 and 135 mm thick. A special feature of the South Dakota class was the 19 mm thick splinter protection deck, which was drawn in 80 cm from the main armored deck and had no other function. As with the North Carolina class, the steering gear was integrated into the citadel, which was protected with 157 mm thick deck armor and 287 mm thick bulkheads. The strongest armor on board had the front sides of the heavy turrets with 457 mm. The side walls of the towers were 241 mm thick, the rear sides 305 mm and the ceiling 184 mm. The barbeds of the heavy towers were armored between 258 and 438 mm. The command post in the superstructure had 406 mm armor protection, the ceiling was 184 mm thick. The command post was connected to the citadel below deck by a shaft protected with 406 mm armored steel.

Propulsion system

View of the Indiana propellers

The original plans to achieve a maximum speed of over 30 knots with the ships were given up due to the drive system required, which had to deliver an output of over 200,000 WPS, and the associated weight and space problems.

Eight steam boilers , arranged in pairs in four engine rooms, supplied the steam for four turbines. Two boilers and a turbine set were positioned together in the engine room and formed a separate power plant, but these could be interconnected if required. The turbines alternately drove the shafts on the starboard and port sides. Between the foremost engine room and the ammunition room of the second turret was the diesel generator room , which also housed the evaporator systems that produced the boiler feed water.

South Dakota boiler room

The boilers were three drum high pressure water tube boilers from Babcock & Wilcox ( South Dakota , Massachusetts ) and Foster Wheeler ( Indiana , Alabama ). The narrow-tube boilers were oil-fired and had an operating pressure of 40.64 bar and an operating temperature of 454.4 ° C. The steam was directed to four geared turbine sets from General Electric ( South Dakota , Massachusetts ) and Westinghouse Electric ( Indiana , Alabama ), respectively . These each consisted of a twelve-stage high - pressure turbine , a six-stage low-pressure turbine, both for forward travel, and a three-stage reverse turbine for reverse travel. Each turbine set had an output of 32,500 WPS , the total output of the drive system was 135,000 WPS (99  MW ). The top speed was 27.8 knots , 0.3 knots above the target. The ships had a fuel supply of 6,825 tons of heavy oil . This enabled a range of 17,000 nautical miles at 15 knots or 6400 nautical miles at 25 knots. The turbine sets drove a total of four propellers via four shafts . The two outer waves were inclined slightly outwards from the ship's axis, the two inner waves slightly inwards. The four-blade fixed propellers of the inner shafts had a diameter of 5.334 meters, the five-blade propellers of the outer shafts measured 5.398 meters in diameter. The two outer waves ran in keel hooks , which reduced the flow resistance by 5% and at the same time protected the waves from damage. In contrast to the North Carolina class, the propellers were only offset by 1.50 meters in the longitudinal direction, as the narrow hull did not allow any greater distance. Two 25.4 square meter semi-floating rudders took over the control of the ships.

Seven diesel generators, each with an output of 1000 kW, generated the electricity (450 V ) for the on-board systems. They were supported by two auxiliary diesel generators with 200 kW each. The total electrical output was 7400 kW.

Armament

Heavy artillery

South Dakota's front turrets during its 1943 Atlantic mission

Main armament of the South Dakota-class battleship battleships were nine guns in caliber 16 inch , caliber length 45. The guns were in three triple turrets , two of which are on the foredeck and aft were. The 16 meter long and 12 meter wide turrets had a total weight of 1380 tons and 1414 tons for the elevated second tower.

A member of the gun crew looks into the breech of a 16-inch gun

The straightening range was 150 ° on each side, and the tubes could be swiveled upwards by 45 ° vertically. Tower 1 and 3 could also pivot the pipes down by 2 °. The lateral directional speed was 4 ° per second, the elevation speed was 12 ° per second. The operating team consisted of two officers and 170 men per tower.

Each gun barrel was 18.7 meters long and weighed 97.2 tons. The run had 96 trains , the train length was 15.7 meters. After each shot, the recoil caused the pipes to return 1.2 meters before being braked by the hydraulic pipe return . The barrel was chrome-plated , the chamber volume was 380 cubic decimeters. The rate of fire was two rounds per minute and the estimated life of a barrel was 395 rounds.

The guns could fire armor-piercing Mark 8 shells and high-explosive Mark 13 and Mark 14 shells. The armor-piercing shells weighing 1,225 kg left the tube at 700 m / s and had a range of 33,700 meters at a 45 ° cant. At this distance they could penetrate more than 260 mm of side armor or 265 mm of deck armor, at a distance of 4500 meters the shells could penetrate side armor of over 670 mm. The high-explosive, 862 kg heavy grenades of the type Mark 13 and 14 had a muzzle velocity of 800 m / s and a maximum range of 36,700 meters at 45 ° cant.

Middle artillery

The 5-inch twin towers on the starboard side of the Massachusetts

The middle artillery of the battleships consisted of 16 (in the South Dakota ) and 20 (in the other ships) guns, caliber 5 inches (127 mm), caliber length 38, which were housed in eight and ten Mark 32 twin towers. Five towers, four towers on the South Dakota, were housed on each side of the superstructure. Because the low arrangement on the main deck in the North Carolina class proved to be partially prone to water ingress, the gun turrets were placed one deck higher. The changing arrangement was retained.

The gun turrets, which weighed 47 tons, were electrically operated and had a crew of 27 men. The cadence was usually 15 to 20 rounds per minute, well-rehearsed teams achieved up to 30 rounds per minute. When fired, the pipe ran back up to 38 cm before it was hydraulically dampened.

Either Mark 49 fragmentation grenades for air defense or armor-piercing Mark 46 grenades were fired. At a distance of 10 km, the 24.5 kg armor-piercing shells, which left the gun barrel at 792 m / s, could penetrate up to 51 mm of hull armor, the maximum range was at 45 ° barrel elevation over 8 nautical miles. The 25 kg anti-aircraft grenades had a muzzle velocity of 762 m / s and a peak height of almost 12 km.

Anti-aircraft armament

40 and 20 mm guns and fire control system on board the South Dakota

The anti-aircraft armament originally intended for the battleships consisted of 28 28-mm guns, which were housed in seven quadruple mounts around the superstructure. The 28 mm guns had a rate of around 100 rounds per minute, and the maximum range was around 4 nautical miles. The quadruple carriage could be rotated 360 ° and swiveled up to 110 ° upwards and 15 ° downwards. These were supplemented by up to eight 12.7 mm machine guns . This armament was only installed on the first ship of the class. In February 1943 the last 28 mm guns of the South Dakota were replaced by 40 mm cannons, the machine guns were removed as early as the summer of 1942.

The main armament for air defense was 40 mm Bofors guns , 70 caliber length, in quadruple mounts. The South Dakota received its first 16 40 mm anti-aircraft guns in September 1942, the number rose to 68 in the course of the war. The Massachusetts had 24 guns at the beginning of their service, later 72. The Indiana and Alabama were equipped with 24 40 mm guns. Guns put into service on board, during the course of the war the number was doubled to 48. The 900 gram shells of the 40 mm guns reached a summit height of 6,797 meters, the maximum range at 45 ° tube cant was 10,180 meters. The cadence was around 120 rounds per minute, depending on the speed of the operating team, the muzzle velocity was 881 meters per second.

Instead of the light machine guns, the other three ships were already equipped with 20 mm Oerlikon machine guns in single and double mounts when they were commissioned . The South Dakota received its first 36 20mm guns in September 1942, the number was reduced to 35 in 1943 with the addition of additional Bofors guns and rose over 72 in December 1944 to a maximum of 77 in March 1945, including 11 in Twins. The Indiana had 16 guns when it went into service in 1942, and that number was increased to 55 during the course of the war. At the start of service, the Massachusetts had 35 20-mm guns, in December 1944 there were 38, in March 1945 34 (including a twin) and in November 1945 there were 41. The Alabama had 22 20-mm guns when it entered service. Guns, in December 1944 there were 52, then in February 1945 56. The guns were placed at every free place on the upper deck. The 20-mm cannons fired between 250 and 320 rounds per minute, the range was about two nautical miles. The summit height was almost 3000 m.

Electronics and sensors

View of the Alabama tower mast with the Mark 38 fire control device

When they were commissioned, the ships were equipped with the SC or SC-2 radar. With its 4.6 by 1.4 meter antenna, it was able to locate aircraft at an altitude of 3,000 meters over a distance of 150 kilometers, and large ships over a distance of almost 40 kilometers. From 1944 the SC radar was supplemented by the improved successor of the SK type. The radar system was able to locate an approaching bomber at an altitude of 3,000 meters over 185 kilometers. In 1945 the successor SK-2 was introduced, which had a 5.2 meter round antenna that improved the lateral detection field.

The Alabama also ran the SG surface search radar on the aft mainmast from 1945. It had a detection range of up to 40 kilometers for surface targets and 27 kilometers for air targets.

The three 40.6 cm gun turrets had their own 13.5 m range finders for fire control and distance measurement. These were supplemented by two Mark 38 fire control systems on the tower mast and the aft superstructure, which had an 8 m range finder and a Mark 13 radar antenna. The fire control of the middle artillery secured four Mark 37 fire control systems. Two were in front and aft of the superstructure, two on the sides. The systems had a 4.57 m range finder and a Mark 12 radar system and could track aircraft in level flight up to a speed of 400 knots and in a dive up to a speed of 250 knots. Each of the 15 40 mm quadruple flak also had its own Mark 57 fire control device with Mark 34 radar. At the beginning of the service period, there was also another 5 m range finder on the command tower above the bridge.

Aircraft

Vought OS2U Kingfisher on the South Dakota starboard catapult

The battleships had two pivoting aircraft catapults on the quarterdeck , each 20.67 meters long. The catapults, which could be swiveled through 360 °, were powered by powder charges. Aircraft that had landed on board were taken back on board using a crane at the stern. Three Vought OS2U Kingfisher aircraft were carried on board . Two planes were placed on the catapults, the third was parked on the quarterdeck in front of the gun turret. Like the previous class, the ships of the South Dakota class did not have an aircraft hangar . This subsequently led to the fact that firing the aft turret of the main artillery over the stern destroyed the aircraft parked there.

literature

• Norman Friedman: US Battleships - An Illustrated Design History , arms & armor press, London 1986, ISBN 0-85368-756-0
• Robert Dulin / Wiliam Garzke / Robert Sumrall: Battleships - United States Battleships in World War II , Macdonald and Jane's, London 1976, ISBN 0-354-01016-6
• Stefan Terzibaschitsch : The battleships of the US Navy in World War II , JF Lehmanns, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-469-00576-1
• Siegfried Breyer: Capital ships 1905–1970 Volume 2 USA / Japan , Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-7637-5175-0
• Kizu Tohru: US Battleships of World War II , Kaijinsha, Tokyo 1999, no ISBN
• Siegfried Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship building , Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-7637-6225-6

Web links

Commons : South Dakota class  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• South Dakota- class at the Naval Historical Center (English)
• South Dakota class at globalsecurity.org (English)

Footnotes

1. ^ History of the South Dakota in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , as of October 2, 2008
2. ^ Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 267
3. ^ ^{A b} Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 268
4. ^ Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 274
5. ^ ^{A b c} Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 265
6. ^ Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 265f
7. ^ ^{A b} Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 266
8. ^ National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . Retrieved March 13, 2009.
9. ^ Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 273
10. ↑ ^{a b c d} Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 269
11. ^ ^{A b} Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 269f
12. ^ ^{A b c} Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1921-1997. International battleship construction . P. 271
13. ↑ ^{a b} navweaps.com, 16 "/ 45 (40.6 cm) Mark 6 , as of October 3, 2008
14. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . Koehler Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg, 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0806-4 . P. 16ff
15. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 33f
16. ↑ navweaps.com, 40 mm / 56 (1.57 ″) Mark 1, Mark 2 and M1 , as of October 3, 2008
17. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 29f
18. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 94
19. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 99
20. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 97
21. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . P. 153