USS Nevada (BB-36)
 The USS Nevada (1925) |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Keel laying | November 4, 1912 |
| Launch | July 11, 1914 |
| 1. Period of service |
.svg){kind=small}
|
| Commissioning | March 11, 1916 |
| Decommissioning | August 29, 1946 |
| Whereabouts | Target ship, sunk July 31, 1948 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
|
| length |
178 m |
| width |
26 m |
| Draft |
8.7 m |
| crew |
864 |
| drive |
|
| speed |
20.5 kn |
| Range |
5192 nm at 12 kn |
| Armament |
10 × 14-inch guns, |
| Armor |
Deck: 51–76 mm |
The USS Nevada (BB-36) was a battleship of the United States Navy and lead ship of the Nevada class . She was the third ship to be named after the 36th state. She served in the US Navy from 1916 to 1946. It was badly damaged during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 , but after repairs it took part in both the Normandy landings and the Battle of Okinawa .
history
Construction and commissioning
_during_running_trials.jpg)
_in_drydock.jpg)
The keel of the Nevada was laid on November 4, 1912 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts . After the baptism on July 11, 1914 by Miss Eleanor Anne Seibert , niece of the Governor of Nevada , Tasker Oddie , and descendant of the United States Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert , the launch took place. On March 11, 1916, the Nevada was finally put into service under the command of Captain William S. Sims .
On 26 May 1916, entered Nevada in Newport , Rhode Iceland , the Atlantic Fleet in and operated from there until the onset of the USA in the First World War before the US East Coast and in the Caribbean . After the training of some riflemen from Norfolk, Virginia , the Nevada was assigned to the British Grand Fleet as support. On August 13, 1918, she set course for Bantry Bay , Ireland , where she arrived on August 23. After a short drive through the North Sea she escorted the transporter George Washington , which was en route to Brest , France with US President Woodrow Wilson . On December 14th, the Nevada went back on home course.
In the period between the world wars which served Nevada in both the Atlantic- and in the Pacific Fleet of the US Navy . In September 1922 she represented the United States on the occasion of the centenary of Brazilian independence in Rio de Janeiro . From July to September 1925 she was on the way to Australia and New Zealand to demonstrate to the Allies - and the Japanese - the capabilities and range of the US fleet. In the Norfolk Naval Shipyard from August 1927 to January modernized in 1930, which served Nevada for the next ten years in the Pacific Fleet.
Second World War
On December 7, 1941, the Nevada was anchored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor alone . Therefore, unlike the other eight anchored battleships, she was able to maneuver relatively freely during the attack on Pearl Harbor . When their anti-aircraft guns opened fire on the approaching Japanese and the machinists succeeded in steaming the machines, the first torpedo struck. In addition, the ship was hit by two - possibly three - Japanese bombs. Nevertheless, the Nevada managed to pick up speed. She was hit one more time while trying to leave port. Since the ship was badly damaged and could possibly have sunk (this would have blocked access to the port), it was decided to leave the ship stranded at Hospital Point. When the forecastle was burned out, 50 dead and 109 wounded were mourned.
After the Nevada was buoyant again on February 12, 1942, it was repaired in Pearl Harbor and the Puget Sound Navy Yard and then headed for Alaska , where it provided supportive fire during the capture of Attu from May 11 to May 18. From June, the Norfolk Navy Yard saw a further modernization of the ship. After the renovations were completed, the Nevada was relocated to British waters, where it began preparations for the invasion of Normandy . The fighting lasted from June 6th to June 17th, 1944, and finally the battleship used its powerful cannons again: Not only against the Cherbourg coastal batteries , but also against targets up to 17 miles inland. The ship destroyed German counterattack attempts with their fire. German coastal artillery fired on the Nevada 27 times, but could not affect the ship's firepower.
_bombarding_Iwo_Jima,_18_January_1945-k03510_(cropped).jpg)
From August 15 to September 25, the guns of the Nevada fired again: this time in support of the invasion of southern France . At Toulon , the ship fought a duel with 34 cm guns that had been captured from French battleships and permanently installed on the coast. Back in New York, the Nevada guns were fitted with new core tubes and then the ship was relocated to the Pacific. Before Iwo Jima (February 16, 1945), the Nevada again opened support fire for the invasion of the Marines. The fighting and gunfire of the ship lasted until March 7th.
On March 24, the Nevada crossed Okinawa - along with one of the most powerful fleets ever to be concentrated in the Pacific - to begin the pre-invasion bombardment. She cannonfire Japanese airfields, coastal defense lines, supply depots and troops during the crucial operation in the Pacific. But the Nevada also suffered losses: eleven sailors were killed during a kamikaze attack on March 27. Another two sailors died when a coastal battery fire hit the ship. Providing service off Okinawa until June 30th, she joined the 3rd Fleet , which not only bombed the Japanese islands from the air, but also stood so close to Japan in the last days of the war that the Nevada cannons could provide support fire.
For their service in World War II who received Nevada seven battle stars .
post war period
_Operation_Crossroads_Target_Ship.jpg)
After a short occupation time in Tokyo Bay , the Nevada was selected as the target ship for the atomic bomb tests on Bikini Atoll ( Operation Crossroads ).
In the Test Able on July 1, 1946, the atomic bomb was supposed to detonate directly over the Nevada . In addition, the Nevada was painted orange so that it was recognizable as the target to be targeted by the approaching bomber. The bomb missed its intended target by 649 meters, so that the Nevada was only damaged but not sunk.
As a result, the Nevada was also available for the second Baker nuclear test on July 25, 1946. She also survived this underwater explosion with severe damage.
After the tests, the Nevada returned to Pearl Harbor, where it was decommissioned on August 29. On July 31, 1948, it was sunk as a training target by gunfire and air torpedoes off Hawaii .
Ocean Infinity found the USS Nevada 65 nautical miles southwest of Pearl Harbor at a water depth of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) in May 2020 .
Web links
- Navy Photos of the Nevada (BB-36)
- Navy photos of the Nevada during the attack on Pearl Harbor
- Lost US battleship found off Hawaii
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Stefan Terzibaschitsch : "Operation Crossroads". The US Navy nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Podzun-Pallas, Friedberg / H. 1992, ISBN 3-7909-0462-7 (Marine-Arsenal 20).
- ^ USS Nevada located by Search and Ocean Infinity . May 11, 2020. Accessed May 13, 2020.
.svg){kind=small}