The Four South Dakota Class Ships
drawing I made of the uss south dakota
February 21, 2023
Did You Know the USS Alabama (BB-60) was nicknamed “the lucky A” because the ship was never hit by a bomb, torpedo, or kamikaze? Today we are going to talk about the Four South Dakota class Fast battleships, what they did, and their fates.
The USS South Dakota (BB-57) Was the First of these battleships. She was nicknamed “Battleship X”. She was commissioned in 1942, and was sent to the Pacific to fight at Guadalcanal. She participated in dozens of campaigns in the Pacific. She was decommissioned in 1947, stricken from the naval register in 1962, and broken up later that year. Parts of the ship survive in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as the USS South Dakota Memorial.
The USS Indiana (BB-58) was the second ship in the class. She was commissioned shortly after USS South Dakota. She served in the Pacific, and in 1944 she collided with the battleship Washington. She Was Decommissioned in 1947, Stricken from the Naval Register in 1962, and broken up in 1963. Her Mast, and a piece of her bow survives at Indiana University.
The USS Massachusetts (BB-59) was the third ship in the class. She was commissioned shortly after Indiana., She was sent off to the Atlantic to support troops in North Africa; then she was sent to the Pacific to fight with her sisters. She Was Decommissioned in 1947, Stricken from the Naval Register in 1962, and in 1965 became a museum ship in Massachusetts.
The USS Alabama (BB-60) Was the lLast of the South Dakota class battleships. She was nicknamed the “Lucky A”., She was commissioned shortly after Massachusetts. She Protected convoys in the Atlantic shortly before being reassigned to the Pacific. She Was Decommissioned in 1947, Stricken from the Naval Register in 1962, and in 1965 became a museum ship in Alabama.
Only two of the Four became museums;, however, parts of All the ships still exist. The two that still exist are museums you should visit if you want to go to Alabama or Massachusetts. Here are the links to the Two Ships.
https://www.battleshipcove.org/uss-massachusetts-bb59
