USS California (BB-44)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS California.

USS California (BB-44) at sea, mid-1930s
History
United States
NameCalifornia
NamesakeState of California
Ordered28 December 1915
BuilderMare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
Laid down25 October 1916
Launched20 November 1919
Commissioned10 August 1921
Decommissioned14 February 1947
Stricken1 March 1959
IdentificationHull symbol: BB-44
Fate
Broken up
, 1959
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeTennessee-class battleship
Displacement
Length
  • 600 ft (180 m)
    lwl
  • 624 ft (190 m) loa
Beam97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft30 ft 2 in (9.19 m)
Installed power
  • 8 ×
    Babcock & Wilcox boilers
  • 28,600 
    kW
    )
Propulsion
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement
  • 57 officers
  • 1,026 enlisted
Armament
Armor
General characteristics (1943)
Displacement
  • 34,858 long tons (35,417 t) (design)
  • 40,345 long tons (40,992 t) (full load)
Complement
  • 114 officers
  • 2,129 enlisted
Armament
  • 4 × triple 14 in guns
  • 8 × twin
    5 in/38 cal guns
  • 11 × quadruple, 6 × twin
    AA guns
  • 43 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) AA guns
Aircraft carried3 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities2 × catapults

USS California (BB-44) was the second of two

Fleet Problems
, and cruises around the Americas and further abroad, such as a goodwill visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1925.

California was moored in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 when the Japanese attacked the port, bringing the United States into World War II. The ship was moderately damaged by a pair of torpedoes and a bomb, but a fire disabled the ship's electrical system, preventing the pumps from being used to keep the ship afloat. California slowly filled with water over the following three days and eventually sank. Her crew suffered heavy casualties in the attack and four men were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the attack. She was raised in April 1942, repaired and heavily rebuilt, and returned to service in January 1944.

The ship thereafter supported the

broken up
for scrap.

Design

Main article: Tennessee-class battleship

The two Tennessee-class battleships were authorized on 3 March 1915, and they were in most respects repeats of the earlier New Mexico-class battleships, the primary differences being enlarged bridges, greater elevation for the main battery turrets, and relocation of the secondary battery to the upper deck.[1]

California was 624 feet (190 m)

main gun battery.[2][3]

The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve

3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns. In addition to her gun armament, California was also fitted with two 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes, mounted submerged in the hull, one on each broadside.[2]

The main

armored belt was 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm) thick, while the main armored deck was up to 3.5 in (89 mm) thick. The main battery gun turrets had 18 in (457 mm) thick faces on 13 in (330 mm) barbettes. The conning tower had 16 in (406 mm) thick sides.[2]

Service history

Pre-war service

At high speed, 1921

California's

Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington later that year.[5]

In 1926, California had an

Port Angeles, Washington from 7 to 11 July. She operated off Puget Sound through 11 August before steaming south to San Francisco, where she stayed from 17 to 24 August. In early 1931, she and the rest of the Battle Fleet steamed south to the Panama Canal zone.[5]

Firing a broadside

Long Beach on 9 March. The next day, the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred, causing significant damage to the city and killing around 120 people. The fleet sent some 4,000 men ashore to assist in the relief effort, including crewmen from California.[5]

Stern view

In 1934, California was assigned to Battleship Division (BatDiv) 4, though she retained her role as fleet flagship. Following

Midway Island and Hawaii.[5]

In mid-1937, California transferred to BatDiv 2, and on 7 July the ships of the division visited Hawaii, returning to California on 22 August. California and her

Fleet Problem XXII, which had been scheduled for 1941. Early that year, the ship underwent an overhaul that concluded on 15 April, after which the ship made a visit to San Francisco.[5]

World War II

Pearl Harbor attack

California sunk in shallow water at Pearl Harbor after the attack.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, California was moored on the southeastern side of Ford Island, the southernmost ship along Battleship Row. At the time, the ship had two of her 5-inch guns and two of her .50-cal. machine guns designated as ready guns, with fifty 5-inch shells and four hundred .50-cal. rounds at the guns. Immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began, California's first lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander Marion Little, who was the senior officer aboard the ship at the time, issued the order to general quarters. Little ordered the guns into action and prepared to get the ship underway. At 08:03, the crews of the ready guns began to engage the Japanese aircraft, which included Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters that strafed the ship. The gunners quickly expended the ready ammunition, however, and the magazines had to be unlocked before they could be resupplied. While this effort was going on, a pair of Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers approached and dropped their torpedoes toward California. Both hit the ship at 08:05, one forward and the other further aft. The former detonated below the armor belt at frame 52 (between number 2 turret and the bridge), creating a hole 10 feet (3 m) high and 24 feet (7.3 m) long, destructively deforming the first torpedo bulkhead and transverse stiffeners between frames 47 and 60, and holing the second bulkhead with fragments. The latter tore a hole that was 40 feet (12 m) long below the belt armor.[5][7] The interior torpedo bulkheads nevertheless held and helped to contain the flooding.[8]

The ship had been prepared for inspection at the time of the attack, so the watertight doors had all been opened; the crew was still in the process of closing the doors when the torpedoes struck and flooding began. Many of the portholes and exterior doors were also open for the inspection, which allowed water to enter the ship, particularly as the ship took on water from the torpedo hits. As uncontrolled flooding started to spread throughout the ship, California began to

dive-bombers; one bomb hit on the starboard side and a near-miss on the port side caused minor damage. Anti-aircraft gunners aboard the ship claimed to have shot down two of the bombers, though credit for the downed aircraft is difficult to establish owing to the chaotic situation.[5][9]

At 08:45, Commander Earl Stone, the ship's

armor-piercing shell) near the forwardmost casemate on the starboard side. After penetrating the upper deck, the bomb ricocheted off the second deck and detonated in the ship's interior, where it caused extensive damage, started a serious fire, and killed around 50 men. At around the same time, the boiler room crew got four of the boilers restarted, which restored power. By 09:15, the fire had spread to casemates No. 3, 5, and 7, by which time Captain Joel Bunkley and Vice Admiral William S. Pye, the Battle Fleet commander, had returned to the ship. Smoke from the fire eventually reached the forward engine room at 10:00 and forced the men inside to evacuate the area. This ended pumping efforts, though after the end of the attack other vessels came alongside to first battle the blaze and then to pump the water out. The portable pumps used by these vessels lacked the power necessary to counteract the flooding, and the ship eventually settled into the mud as the hull slowly filled with water over the next three days.[5][10]

In the course of the attack, 104 men were killed,[11] and 61 were wounded. Several men were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the attack. Jackson C. Pharris, one of the ship's gunners, organized a group of men to carry ammunition up from the magazines and rescued several sailors who had been overcome by fuel oil fumes. Herbert C. Jones and Thomas Reeves both organized similar parties to carry ammunition, but both were killed during the attack. Robert R. Scott was also killed after he refused to leave his battle station.[5] On 6 December 2019, the Department of Defense announced that twenty-five unknown remains from California had been exhumed for future identification.[12]

Salvage, repair, and return to service

One of California's guns being raised from the ship to lighten her before being raised, c. February 1942

Over the next several months, salvage efforts proceeded as workers patched the hull and pumped out the water, finally re-floating the ship on 25 March 1942. On 5 April, the ship suffered an accidental explosion at 13:15, most likely the result of a mixture of fuel oil vapor and hydrogen sulfide gas. The explosion dislodged the patch that had been used to cover the forward hole in the hull and damaged watertight doors, which caused serious flooding. Over the next few days, the salvage team had to re-patch the hull and pump it out again. On 9 April, California was able to enter Dry Dock No. 2 in Pearl Harbor; after completing initial repairs, she was re-floated on 9 June and remained in port for several months.[5]

On 10 October, California departed Pearl Harbor and met the destroyer

Bofors 40 mm (1.6 in) guns in ten quadruple mounts and forty-three 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon guns.[5][6][13]

Horizontal protection was considerably strengthened to improve her resistance to air attack; 3 inches of

cage masts removed, with a modern tower mast installed in place of the forward cage mast.[13] The changes doubled the ship's crew, to a total of 114 officers and 2,129 enlisted men.[14] The ship was also reboilered, allowing her to maintain 20.5 knots despite the increase in displacement.[15]

On 31 January 1944, California, Captain Henry Poynter Burnett, commanding, departed Puget Sound and began a series of sea trials followed by a shakedown cruise off San Pedro. The ship was then occupied with a variety of training to prepare the crew, many of whom were fresh from initial training, for combat operations in the Pacific. While in San Francisco, the ship underwent another machinery overhaul in April, and on 5 May the ship departed to join the fleet that was assembling in the central Pacific for the

Kahoolawe. She departed the area on 31 May, bound for the anchorage at Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands. California arrived there on 8 June, where she joined Task Group (TG) 52.17, Fire Support Group 1, under the command of Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf.[5]

Central Pacific campaigns

California after rebuilding

California and the rest of the fleet steamed to the Mariana Islands to begin the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. The fleet arrived off the initial target, Saipan, late on 13 June. The next morning, California and the other ships of TG 52.17 moved into their bombardment positions, launched their spotting aircraft, and began shelling Japanese positions on the island. California opened fire at 05:58 at a range of 14,500 yards (13,300 m), engaging targets in the area around the capital, Garapan. A Japanese shell from a 4.7-inch (120 mm) field gun struck the ship at 09:10 aft of the fire control platform, killing one man and injuring ten. The ship's air search radar was disabled by the hit, which started a fire that was quickly contained by damage control teams. Later in the day, California left the area for the night, returning the next morning. At 09:54, American observers spotted a group of Japanese Type 95 and Type 97 tanks in Garapan, and California engaged them, destroying at least one of the tanks. The ship then helped to suppress a battery of Japanese guns on Mañagaha island that had been engaging the battleship Maryland. California bombarded Japanese positions throughout the day, withdrawing for the night at 18:30.[5]

On the morning of 15 June, the American

Eniwetok in the Marshalls.[5]

California off Guam in July 1944

After arriving in Eniwetok, she underwent repairs from 25 June to 16 July, thereafter returning to Saipan, which had by that time been secured. The next target,

Agana. California provided initial support to the amphibious assault that began at 08:30, but left later that day at 15:00, bound for Saipan.[5]

California replenished her ammunition at Saipan and then proceeded to

San Jose on the southern end of the island as a diversion from the actual landing beaches on further north. The two battleships fired a total of 480 shells from their main guns and 800 rounds from their 5-inch guns, completely obliterating the town. At 17:00, the two ships checked their fire and withdrew for the night. The next morning, they returned to support the marines as they landed on the island. Fighting raged for the next several days, during which time California patrolled off the island, shelling Japanese forces. The ship's role in the battle culminated in a last stand by the Japanese defenders on 31 July, during which California and the other bombardment ships fired a terrific barrage against their positions. California then departed the area and returned to Guam to support the troops still fighting there until 9 August, when she left to replenish ammunition and fuel at Eniwetok.[5]

On 19 August, California departed Eniwetok as part of a task force of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers bound for

drydock Artisan for repairs that lasted from 25 August to 10 September. The collision prevented the ship from taking part in the Battle of Peleliu.[5]

Philippines campaign

Map showing the movements of the American and Japanese fleets during the Battle of Surigao Strait

California left Espiritu Santo on 17 September and passed along the coast of

Operation Shō-Gō 1, the planned riposte to an Allied landing. Allied minesweepers then began clearing channels into Leyte Gulf in preparation for the main landings at Leyte. On 19 October, the bombardment of the island began, continuing the next day as troops went ashore. A Zero fighter dove toward the ship later that day, one of the first kamikazes, but heavy anti-aircraft fire sent the plane off course and it crashed harmlessly off the starboard bow.[5]

Battle of Leyte Gulf

Over the following days, California remained off the invasion beach, pounding Japanese positions as American forces pushed their way inland. During this period, the Japanese fleet began moving into position for their counterattack. Allied reconnaissance aircraft and submarines reported sightings of the fleet as it approached the area, prompting the bombardment group to withdraw to southern Leyte every night in anticipation of a Japanese attack on the amphibious assault ships. On 24 October, reports of Japanese naval forces approaching the area led Oldendorf's ships to prepare for action at the exit of the

Battle of Surigao Strait. One of these destroyers torpedoed Fusō and disabled her, though Nishimura continued on toward his objective.[17]

At 03:12, California picked up the Japanese ships with her SG radar at a range of 42,200 yards (38,600 m); eight minutes later her forward Mk 8 fire control radar began tracking the ships, the range having fallen to 38,000 yards (35,000 m) by that time. West Virginia opened fire first at 03:52, followed by most of the other American battleships. California engaged the leading Japanese vessel at a range of 20,400 yards (18,700 m) with a six-gun salvo. After the initial phase of the battle, the American battle line turned about, but California misinterpreted the vague order to "turn one five" (meaning to turn 150 degrees—Captain Henry Burnett read it as an instruction to turn 15 degrees) and turned incorrectly, passing across Tennessee's bow. By now realizing his mistake, Burnett ordered California to turn hard to starboard while Tennessee hauled out of line. The two ships narrowly avoided each other but in the confusion, California masked Tennessee and blocked her from firing for several minutes, though California continued firing during this period. The ship suffered a misfire in the right gun of her rearmost turret, and concussion from the third salvo disabled the rear Mk 8 radar and damaged the scope for the forward radar, but the gunlayers nevertheless continued to accurately direct the guns. Sixteen minutes after opening fire, California checked her fire as the surviving Japanese ships turned and fled. By this time, several torpedoes launched by the Japanese vessels approached the American line, but none of them struck the battleships. In the course of the action, California fired a total of 63 shells from her main battery; the Japanese had lost both battleships, Abukuma, and four destroyers in the battle.[5][18]

In the meantime, the main Japanese fleet, the Central Force under Vice Admiral

Taffy 3, a force of escort carriers and destroyers guarding the invasion fleet in the Battle off Samar, prompting its commander, Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague to make urgent calls for help. Oldendorf immediately turned his ships northward to join the battle, and while en route the ships came under Japanese air attack. California's 5-inch and 40 mm guns attempted to engage the aircraft but did not score any hits. By the time the bombardment group arrived on the scene, Kurita had disengaged, having been convinced by Taffy 3's heavy resistance that he was instead facing the far more powerful Fast Carrier Task Force. With the battle over, the ships of the bombardment group resumed their ground support operations for the next month.[5]

Battle of Lingayen Gulf

On 20 November, she departed for Manus for repairs that lasted from 25 November to 15 December. She then proceeded to the Kossol Roads in Palau, where she remained until 1 January 1945 when she got underway to return to Leyte Gulf. After rejoining the bombardment group, the fleet steamed to western Luzon to make the next major assault in Lingayen Gulf on the western side of the island. Japanese aircraft attacked the fleet while en route, though California was not damaged in the attacks. The fleet arrived off the gulf on 5 January and entered it the following morning. Early that morning California launched her floatplanes to spot for her guns before opening fire on Santiago Island on the western side of the gulf to silence any Japanese artillery that might threaten Allied forces once they entered Lingayen Gulf. The fleet's minesweepers then swept channels further into the gulf, which California helped to cover. With Oldendorf aboard, she led the bombardment group into the gulf to begin the bombardment to prepare for the invasion of Lingayen Gulf.[5]

Shortly after 17:15 that day, a pair of Zero kamikazes approached the ship; California's gunners shot one of them down, but the other struck her on the port side abreast of the mainmast. Gasoline from the plane's fuel tanks started a fire and a 5-inch shell from another ship accidentally hit one of California's 5-inch guns, exploded inside the turret, and started another fire. Both fires were suppressed within twelve minutes, but the kamikaze inflicted significant casualties: 44 men were killed and another 155 were injured. Temporary repairs were made while the ship remained on station, continuing to bombard Japanese positions. Troops from the US

Sixth Army went ashore on 9 January, and from 10 to 18 January, California left the gulf to patrol the South China Sea to guard against a possible attack by the Japanese fleet. She then returned to Lingayen Gulf but departed on 22 January for Ulithi, arriving there on 28 January.[5][19]

California departed Ulithi and continued on to Pearl Harbor, where she stayed from 6 to 8 February, thereafter departing for Puget Sound for permanent repairs and modifications. On 24 April, California got underway for a brief set of trials before steaming south to Long Beach on 29 April. Further work was done there from 2 to 10 May, during which time she also underwent a shakedown cruise. On 10 May, she departed California to return to the fleet, then preparing for the attack on

Ryūkyū Islands.[5]

Final operations

California anchored off Okinawa on 15 June, by which time the American forces had been fighting on the island for more than two months. The Japanese had launched a major kamikaze campaign during the operations on and around Okinawa, and these attacks continued while California was on station. On 17 and 18 June, she and the heavy cruisers

Kerama Rettō, replenishing fuel and stores, thereafter joining Task Force 95, which was sent into the East China Sea to clear mines. On 8 August, she was detached from TF 95 for maintenance at San Pedro Bay in the Philippines, the work lasting from 11 to 15 August.[5]

While there, California's crew received word of the Japanese surrender. Once the work was completed, she steamed north to Nakagusuku Bay, Okinawa, where she remained from 23 August to 20 September, awaiting further orders. She then departed, bound for Wakayama, where she arrived on 23 September to support Sixth Army troops as they began the occupation of Japan. The following week, she proceeded further north to Yokosuka, arriving on 3 October and anchoring near the battleship Nagato. California thereafter joined Task Group 50.5, along with Tennessee and several other vessels for the return to the United States. They departed Japan on 15 October, bound for the Philadelphia Navy Yard. They sailed south to Singapore, stopping there on 23 October, where they met British, French, and Italian warships. The task group then proceeded through the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean, stopping in Colombo from 30 October to 3 November. There, she embarked a contingent of South African troops bound for home.[5]

The ships next stopped in

broken up.[5] The 350-pound (160 kg) cast bronze bell was saved and put on display in Sacramento at the California State Capitol Park.[20]

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ^ /50 caliber refers to the length of the gun in terms of caliber. The length of a /50 caliber gun is 50 times its bore diameter.

Citations

  1. ^ Cracknell, p. 198.
  2. ^ a b c d e Friedman 1986, p. 117.
  3. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 443.
  4. ^ Washington Times, p. 6.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Evans.
  6. ^ a b Breyer, p. 226.
  7. ^ Wallin, p. 223.
  8. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 415.
  9. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 417.
  10. ^ Wallin, pp. 223, 225–226.
  11. ^ "USS California Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Turk, P.)". dpaa.mil. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  12. ^ Pearl Harbor Identifications.
  13. ^ a b Friedman 1980, p. 92.
  14. ^ Friedman 1985, p. 444.
  15. ^ McDonald, pp. 114–115.
  16. ^ Tully, pp. 24–28.
  17. ^ Tully, p. 152.
  18. ^ Tully, pp. 208–210, 215–216.
  19. ^ Smith, p. 52.
  20. ^ "USS California Bell". capitolmuseum.ca.gov. State of California Capitol Museum. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

References

Further reading

External links

Media related to USS California (BB-44) at Wikimedia Commons

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