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| Battleship USS Nevada | |
|---|---|
| Name | USS Nevada (BB-36) |
| Caption | USS Nevada underway, date unknown |
| Builder | New York Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down | 19 October 1912 |
| Launched | 11 July 1914 |
| Commissioned | 11 March 1916 |
| Decommissioned | 29 April 1946 |
| Fate | Sunk as target |
| Class | Nevada-class battleship |
| Displacement | 27,500 long tons (standard) |
| Length | 583 ft |
| Beam | 95 ft |
| Draft | 28 ft |
| Propulsion | Oil-fired coal and oil-fired boilers; Parsons turbines; New York Shipbuilding |
| Speed | 20.5 knots |
| Complement | 1,111 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 10 × 14 in/45 cal guns; 21 × 5 in/51 cal guns; AA battery |
| Armor | Main belt 13.5 in; turrets 18 in |
| Nickname | The Old Gray Lady |
Battleship USS Nevada
USS Nevada (BB-36) was the lead ship of the Nevada-class battleships commissioned into the United States Navy in 1916. She introduced innovations that influenced subsequent dreadnought construction and served in both World War I and World War II, notably surviving the Attack on Pearl Harbor to later support Operation Overlord and Operation Dragoon. Nevada's long career intersected with many prominent naval figures and institutions before she was expended as a target in postwar tests.
Nevada was designed during the prewar naval arms race influenced by lessons from the Battle of Jutland and the evolution of dreadnought concepts championed by naval theorists in the Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy. Ordered under the 1912 Naval Appropriations Act and laid down at New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey, her design incorporated an oil-fired powerplant inspired by experiments on USS Wyoming (BB-32) and proposals debated within the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Steam Engineering. Nevada introduced the "all or nothing" armor scheme developed following studies by Rear Admiral Bradley A. Fiske and proposals circulated among Battleship Division staff. Her triple-screw arrangement, turbine machinery adapted from Parsons designs, and turret arrangement reflected discussions at the General Board of the Navy and influenced later classes such as the Pennsylvania-class battleship and New Mexico-class battleship.
Nevada displaced about 27,500 long tons standard and measured 583 feet in length with a 95-foot beam, hull lines refined at the Bureau of Construction and Repair model basin. Propulsion consisted of steam turbines fed by oil-fired and coal/oil hybrid boilers originally specified by William H. Hand-era engineering teams; later refits replaced boilers and upgraded powerplants under plans from the General Board and Chief of Naval Operations offices. Her main battery comprised ten 14-inch/45 caliber guns in five twin turrets manufactured by Bethlehem Steel and Cramp Shipbuilding subcontractors, with secondary batteries of 5-inch/51 caliber guns produced at Salisbury arsenals installed per doctrine from Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman-era ordnance bureaus. Armor was distributed according to "all-or-nothing" principles, with a main belt up to 13.5 inches designed with input from the Naval War College and tested in trials with ranges and detonations overseen by the Naval Gun Factory. Fire control systems evolved through partnerships with BuOrd specialists, incorporating rangefinders from Barr and Stroud and later radar installations sourced from Radiation Laboratory developments and MIT-led teams.
After commissioning in 1916, Nevada joined the Atlantic Fleet and participated in neutrality patrols during the early years of World War I, escorting convoys to Brest and operating from bases such as Newport News and Norfolk Naval Shipyard. She later served with the Pacific Fleet, visiting San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, and showing the flag in the Caribbean and along the Panama Canal Zone under orders linked to the Office of Naval Intelligence posture shifts. Interwar refits at Puget Sound Navy Yard and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard modernized armament and machinery following studies by the Vinson Committee and directives from Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels-era administrative reforms. Nevada also took part in wartime exercises with carriers like USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga (CV-3), and was present for diplomatic visits involving presidents and secretaries such as Warren G. Harding and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Stationed at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Nevada was among battleships moored at Ford Island when struck during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Under orders to sortie from Battleship Row, her captain attempted to get underway amid strafing and bombing, suffering hits from Type 91 aerial bombs and damage associated with Nakajima B5N and Aichi D3A strikes recognized in after-action reports by Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel's staff. Nevada was beached to prevent blocking Channel No. 2 and later underwent temporary repairs supervised by Commander Battleship Division engineers with salvage conducted by crews from USS Vestal (AR-4) and civilian contractors from Mare Island Navy Yard. Repaired and modernized, including installation of SG radar and enhanced anti-aircraft batteries derived from Bureau of Ordnance programs, she returned to active duty to provide naval gunfire support during the Aleutian Islands Campaign, escorted convoys to Iceland-related theaters, and was later assigned to bombardment duties supporting the Normandy landings and Operation Dragoon in the Mediterranean as part of force arrangements coordinated with Allied commanders including General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay.
After hostilities ended, Nevada was selected for atomic testing under Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll due to her survivability and instrumentation potential assessed by Joint Task Force One. She survived initial detonations with varying damage and contamination that involved teams from Manhattan Project-era radiological units and Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. Declared contaminated and of limited value for further service, Nevada was decommissioned and retained for target practice; she was sunk off the Farallon Islands after aerial bombing and gunnery tests conducted by units associated with Fleet Air Wings, Task Force elements, and ordnance trials overseen by BuWeps and Naval Sea Systems Command.
Nevada's legacy influenced battleship design philosophy, naval ordnance development, and salvage doctrine; her example informed Washington Naval Treaty-era discussions and later shipbuilding scholarship at the Naval Historical Center and Smithsonian Institution archives. Artifacts and records related to Nevada are preserved in collections at the National Archives and Records Administration, Naval History and Heritage Command, and museums in Portsmouth, Virginia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco maritime institutions. Commemorations include plaques and model exhibits sponsored by veterans' organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and her service is examined in monographs produced by historians affiliated with Naval War College and academic presses including University of Nebraska Press and Naval Institute Press.
Category:Battleships of the United States Navy Category:Nevada-class battleships Category:Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation