USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
USS Massachusetts (BB-59) 1944
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The USS Massachusetts was the third South Dakota-class battleship . It was built from 1939 on the Fore River Shipyard of Bethlehem Steel in the US state of Massachusetts . The USS Massachusetts was used by the US Navy during World War II , transferred to reserve in 1947 and finally opened to the public as a museum ship in 1965. The ship is nicknamed "Big Mamie".
history
Torch
The USS Massachusetts was used as the flagship of Admiral Hewitt in late 1942 during Operation Torch , the landing of Allied forces in Vichy France- occupied North Africa. Parts of the French troops, including the unfinished battleship Jean Bart , offered resistance and were taken under fire by the Allied warships. The USS Massachusetts scored several hits on the French battleship on the morning of November 8 from a distance of 22 km and fired at positions on land. She also scored hits with her main guns on the French destroyers Fougueux and Boulonnais . In this battle it used up almost all of its ammunition supply of heavy shells and was hit by two shells of the French artillery, but without having suffered any serious damage.
Pacific War
After repairs and modifications to the radar system , a result of the experience gained during the battle of its sister ship the USS South Dakota in the battle of Guadalcanal , the USS Massachusetts moved to Nouméa in the Pacific in February 1943 . The ship was subsequently involved in numerous escort missions and deployed to bombard several Japanese island garrisons, including missions during the Battle of Okinawa .
Their use ended with the bombardment of Kamaishi on the main Japanese islands on August 9, 1945.
museum
The USS Massachusetts returned to the United States and was transferred to reserve in 1947. The ship was about to be sold for scrapping, but veterans started a fundraising campaign and were able to buy the ship with the help of donations from schoolchildren. On June 4, 1965, it was transferred to the Museum at Fall River and opened to the public a little later. The ship was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 14, 1986 as a National Historic Landmark .
See also
- List of entries on the National Register of Historic Places in Fall River
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
Web links
- USS Massachusetts (BB-59) at NavSource.org (English)
- Museum website at battleshipcove.org (English)
literature
- William H. Garzke, Robert O. Dulin: Battleships: United States battleships. 1935-1992, US Naval Institute Press, Revised Edition, 1995, ISBN 1-55750-174-2 .
- Norman Friedman: US battleships: an illustrated design history. US Naval Institute Press, 1986, ISBN 0-87021-715-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b "Exhibits" on battleshipcove.org, August 16, 2015
- ^ William H. Garzke, Robert O. Dulin: Battleships: United States battleships. P. 85
- ^ William H. Garzke, Robert O. Dulin: Battleships: United States battleships. P. 86
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Massachusetts. National Park Service , accessed August 11, 2019.
Coordinates: 41 ° 42 ′ 22.3 " N , 71 ° 9 ′ 48" W.