USS Massachusetts (BB-59)

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USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
USS Massachusetts (BB-59) 1944
USS Massachusetts (BB-59) 1944
Ship data
flag United StatesUnited States United States
Ship type Battleship
class South Dakota class
Shipyard Bethlehem Steel
Keel laying July 20, 1939
Launch September 23, 1941
Commissioning May 12, 1942
Decommissioning March 27, 1947
Whereabouts Fall River museum ship
Ship dimensions and crew
length
210 m ( Lüa )
width 32.7 m
Draft Max. 8.9 m
displacement 37,970  ts
 
crew 1,793
Machine system
machine 4 steam turbines
Machine
performance 		130,000 SHP
Top
speed 		27.5 kn (51 km / h)
propeller 4 propellers
Armament

1945:

  • 9 × 16 "gun (406 mm) (3 triplet turrets)
  • 20 × 5 "(127 mm) gun (10 twin turrets)
  • 52 × 40 mm flak
  • 35 × 20 mm MK
Armor
  • Belt armor: 310 mm
  • Deck: 135 mm

Main turrets

  • Front: 457 mm
Furnishing
Aircraft capacity

3 Vought OS2U

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 on November 8, 1942 off Casablanca .
The USS Massachusetts in 2005 as a museum ship.

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

Web links

Commons : USS Massachusetts (BB-59)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

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

  1. ↑ a b "Exhibits" on battleshipcove.org, August 16, 2015
  2. ^ William H. Garzke, Robert O. Dulin: Battleships: United States battleships. P. 85
  3. ^ William H. Garzke, Robert O. Dulin: Battleships: United States battleships. P. 86
  4. ↑ 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.