FAMOUS

SHIPS

Since there were a number of US vessels with this name, the particular ship that this article is covering is the U.S.S. CALIFORNIA, BB-44.  She was a Tennessee-class battleship with a length of 524.5 feet, breadth of 97.3 feet, depth of 30.3 feet and a tonnage of 32,300 displaced.  She was steel hulled with 12 X 14” guns for the main armament, with an additional armament of 14 X 5”, 4 X 3” and 2 X 21” Torpedo Tubes.  She had an armor  belt of 13.5”, her deck had an armor belt of 3.5”.  She had turboelectric engines with 28,500 shp, 4 screws, 21 knots top speed.  She was built at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA in 1921.  So much for the vital statistics.

The USS CALIFORNIA-BB44 was one of four U.S. battleships launched in the months following the end of WWI.  When commissioned, she served as the flagship of the Pacific Fleet and later of the Battle Fleet (Battle force), U.S. Fleet, for the next 20 years.  In 1940, her homeport was moved to Pearl Harbor, and it was there that the planes of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo’s Pearl Harbor Striking Force found her on the morning of December 7, 1941.  Moored at the southern end of Battleship Row, U.S.S. CALIFORNIA was preparing for a material inspection and her watertight integrity was severely compromised.  At 0805, 10 minutes after the first attack began, an armor-piercing bomb exploded below decks setting off an anti-aircraft magazine.  A second bomb started leaks at the bow, and the ship sank in her berth.  When the attack was over, she had lost 98 crew killed, and 61 wounded. 

Refloated at the end of March, she sailed for Bremerton for full repairs and improvements in June 1942.  Following trails in the spring of 1944, she joined the Pacific Fleet in time for the invasion of the Mariana Islands in June, taking part in the shore bombardment of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian between June and August. 

Her moment of glory came on October 25^th, 1944.  She participated in the Battle of Surigao Strait, part of the overall Battle for Leyte Gulf, the largest surface battle ever fought at sea.  There were several phases to this battle.  The major gunfire phase is the part were the U.S.S. CALIFORNIA contributed.  She was part of the U.S. Battle Line consisting of 6 veteran battleships under command of Admiral Weyler.  According to the quote by Samuel Eliot Morison – “WEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE and CALIFORNIA, equipped with the latest Mark-8 fire control radar, had a firing solution in main battery plot and were ready to shoot long before the enemy came within range.  These three were responsible for most of the Battle Line action”.

 “WEST VIRGINIA opened fire at 0353, and got off 93 rounds of 16-inch AP before checking.  TENNESSEE and CALIFORNIA – starting at 0355 – shot 69 and 63 rounds of 14-inch respectively, fired in six-gun salvos in order to conserve their limited supply”.  This was a classic ‘crossing of the T’ which every gunnery officer dreamed about.  The end result was that the Japanese battleship YAMASHIRO and heavy cruiser MOGAMI were sunk.  The Japanese battleship FUSO, hit by torpedo’s from the U.S. Destroyer MELVIN earlier in the conflict, was already sinking. 

 The U.S.S. CALIFORNIA then participated in the invasion of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf on January 9, 1945.  Here she was hit by a kamikaze that killed 44 crew members and wounded 55.  After again being repaired at Bremerton, she returned to duty in time for the bombardment of Okinawa in June and July.  She returned to Philadelphia in December, was placed in reserve the following August and sold for breaking up in 1959.

 The pictures accompanying this article are of two versions of the U.S.S. CALIFORNIA, both built by Jim Kloek (taken off the Internet).  The first version is based on a 1/350 scale kit by Iron Shipwright (now out of production) and depicts the model prior to WW2 and Pearl Harbor with her distinctive cage masts.  The second version is the U.S.S.CALIFORNIA as rebuilt in 1944.