USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)

USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)
USN · Public domain · source
Shipname	USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)
Caption	USS Pennsylvania underway, 1930s
Namesake	Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Country	United States
Ordered	1912
Builder	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down	27 October 1913
Launched	16 March 1915
Commissioned	12 June 1916
Decommissioned	28 February 1948
Fate	Sold for scrap, 1959
Class	Pennsylvania-class battleship
Displacement	32,400 long tons (standard)
Length	608 ft 7 in (185.4 m)
Beam	97 ft 3 in (29.6 m)
Draft	29 ft 7 in (9.0 m)
Propulsion	Steam turbines, 12 Babcock & Wilcox boilers
Speed	21 knots
Complement	~1,100 officers and enlisted
Armament	14 × 14 in (356 mm) guns; 12 × 5 in (127 mm) guns (as built)
Armor	Belt up to 13.5 in (343 mm)

USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) was the lead ship of the Pennsylvania-class battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1910s, commissioned in 1916 and serving through World War I and World War II. She operated with the Atlantic Fleet and later the Pacific Fleet, impacting operations from convoy escort to fleet actions and surviving the Attack on Pearl Harbor to take part in the Marianas campaign and Battle of Leyte Gulf. Modernization between the wars and wartime repairs altered her armament and armor, while her postwar disposition reflected shifting naval treaties and the advent of atomic era strategy.

Design and construction

Pennsylvania was authorized under the 1911 naval expansion and designed as an evolution of the Nevada-class battleship with heavy main battery and improved armor protection to counter contemporaneous designs like the British Queen Elizabeth-class battleship and the German Nassau-class battleship. Built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey, her keel was laid 27 October 1913 and she was launched 16 March 1915 with sponsorship by Mrs. John K. Tener. Her engineering plant featured Parsons-type steam turbines influenced by Admiral William S. Sims's advocacy for turbine propulsion, while her armament of 14 × 14 in (356 mm) guns in superfiring turrets reflected lessons from the Battle of Jutland and prewar naval theory by figures such as Alfred Thayer Mahan and John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher. Armor scheme and underwater protection took into account analyses of torpedo damage from incidents involving vessels like HMS Dreadnought and SMS Schleswig-Holstein.

Inter-war service

After commissioning in 1916, Pennsylvania joined the Atlantic Fleet and conducted training cruises with divisions including Battleship Division 2 and made goodwill visits to Havana, New York City, and Bermuda while interacting with contemporary leaders such as Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. During World War I she operated primarily on convoy escort and deterrent patrols in coordination with the Royal Navy and Convoy system doctrine shaped by Admiral Lewis Bayly and Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman. Inter-war modernizations in the 1920s and especially the extensive 1929–1931 reconstruction under the Washington Naval Treaty constraints involved rebuilding her superstructure in a "clipper" style, installing cage masts replaced by tripod masts inspired by Admiral William V. Pratt's ship design boards, and upgrading anti-aircraft batteries influenced by lessons from actions involving Yamashiro-class studies and incidents such as the Honda Point Disaster reviews. Pennsylvania participated in fleet problems including Fleet Problem IX and Fleet Problem XVI, visiting the Caribbean and Panama Canal and conducting gunnery trials alongside ships like USS Arizona (BB-39) and USS Wyoming (BB-32).

World War II

At the time of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Pennsylvania was moored at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard undergoing refit, and thus survived with relatively minor damage compared to battleships like USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and USS Arizona (BB-39). Repaired and refitted, she joined the Pacific Fleet's fast battleship force for escort and shore bombardment duties during campaigns including the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Marianas campaign, and the Philippine Sea operations, supporting carriers such as USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-8), and USS Saratoga (CV-3). Pennsylvania provided pre-invasion bombardment at Saipan, fire support at Iwo Jima and Okinawa perimeter operations, and screened carrier task groups during actions related to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, cooperating with units like Task Force 38 under admirals William Halsey Jr. and Marc Mitscher. Her anti-aircraft armament was progressively augmented to counter threats typified by kamikaze attacks, and she engaged enemy aircraft and shore batteries while sustaining periodic repairs at bases including Pearl Harbor and San Francisco Navy Yard.

Post-war fate and legacy

After V-J Day Pennsylvania steamed to Tokyo Bay area operations supporting occupation forces and later returned to the United States, where she was decommissioned on 28 February 1948 amid postwar reductions and the emergence of nuclear-powered strategy debates led by figures like Admiral William Leahy. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register, she was sold for scrap in 1959 and broken up at Portsmouth, reflecting the fate of many World War II capital ships as exemplified by USS California (BB-44)'s earlier scrapping and preservation debates similar to those surrounding USS Missouri (BB-63). Her legacy endures through artifacts preserved in museums such as the National Museum of the United States Navy and memorials in Pennsylvania, scholarship by naval historians including Samuel Eliot Morison and archival collections at the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Awards and notable commanders

Pennsylvania received campaign and service awards including battle stars for World War II service and ribbons associated with operations in the Pacific Theater acknowledged by the Secretary of the Navy. Notable commanders and flag officers who served aboard or flew their flag from Pennsylvania included Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd Sr. (flag officer during the early 1940s), Vice Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. (in operational cooperation contexts), and captains who later advanced to prominence such as Hyman G. Rickover (as a sub-surface contemporary influencer) and Arleigh Burke (as a contemporaneous destroyer force leader), reflecting Pennsylvania's role as a platform for officers tied to significant naval figures and campaigns documented in works by E.B. Potter and John Keegan.

Category:Battleships of the United States Navy Category:Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation Category:World War II battleships of the United States