USS California (BB-44)

USS ''California'' (BB-44) was the second of two s built for the United States Navy between her keel laying in October 1916 and her commissioning in August 1921. The ''Tennessee'' class was part of the standard series of twelve battleships built in the 1910s and 1920s, and were developments of the preceding . They were armed with a battery of twelve guns in four three-gun turrets. ''California'' served as the flagship of the Battle Fleet in the Pacific Ocean for the duration of her peacetime career. She spent the 1920s and 1930s participating in routine fleet training exercises, including the annual 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 amphibious operations conducted during the Pacific War, including the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign (though she was damaged in a collision with and thus missed the Battle of Peleliu) and the Philippines campaign, during which she took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait. She was hit by a kamikaze during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, but after undergoing repairs, she rejoined the fleet supporting troops fighting on Okinawa during the Battle of Okinawa. Her crew took part in the occupation of Japan after the end of the war, and after returning to the United States via the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, was laid up in Philadelphia in 1946. She remained in the fleet's inventory until 1959, when she was broken up for scrap.

Design

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

''California'' was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of . She displaced as designed and up to at full combat load. The ship was powered by four-shaft General Electric turbo-electric transmission and eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers rated at , generating a top speed of . The ship had a cruising range of at a speed of . Her crew numbered 57 officers and 1,026 enlisted men. As built, she was fitted with two lattice masts with spotting tops for the main gun battery.

The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve /50 caliber guns/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. in four, three-gun turrets on the centerline, placed in two superfiring pairs forward and aft of the superstructure. Unlike earlier American battleships with triple turrets, these mounts allowed each barrel to elevate independently. The secondary battery consisted of fourteen /51 caliber guns mounted in individual casemates clustered in the superstructure amidships. Initially, the ship was to have been fitted with twenty-two of the guns, but experiences in the North Sea during World War I demonstrated that the additional guns, which would have been placed in the hull, would have been unusable in anything but calm seas. As a result, the casemates were plated over to prevent flooding. The secondary battery was augmented with four /50 caliber guns. In addition to her gun armament, ''California'' was also fitted with two torpedo tubes, mounted submerged in the hull, one on each broadside.

The main armored belt was thick, while the main armored deck was up to thick. The main battery gun turrets had thick faces on barbettes. The conning tower had thick sides.

Service history

Pre-war service

''California''s keel was laid down on 25 October 1916 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. Work was halted for a short time during World War I while the shipyard focused on outfitting smaller craft. She was launched 20 November 1919 and commissioned on 10 August 1921. On entering service, she joined the Battle Fleet, serving as its flagship. For the duration of her peacetime career, ''California'' was occupied with routine training exercises, including joint Army-Navy maneuvers and the annual fleet problems. On the night of 11 November 1924, Lieutenant Dixie Kiefer took off from the ship, the first night aircraft launch in history. Further experimentation with aircraft continued in early 1925, when the ships of the Battle Fleet received a squadron of Curtiss TS-1 floatplanes on 31 March. In mid-1925, the Battle Fleet crossed the Pacific Ocean on a goodwill cruise to Australia and New Zealand; on the way, the ships stopped in Pago Pago, American Samoa. ''California'' underwent a refit at the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington later that year.

In 1926, ''California'' had an aircraft catapult installed on one of her main battery turrets, and she carried up to three Vought UO-1 floatplanes. She participated in a naval review for President Calvin Coolidge held off Hampton Roads, Virginia on 4 June 1927. In late 1929 and early 1930, the ship received a new battery of eight /25 cal guns on anti-aircraft mounts in place of the old 3-inch guns. She took part in Fleet Problem X, conducted in the Caribbean Sea, from 10 to 15 March 1930. Fleet Problem XI followed, again in the Caribbean, from 14 to 18 April. After the conclusion of the exercises, ''California'' steamed north to New York City, thereafter joining a naval review for President Herbert Hoover off the Virginia Capes on 20 May. The ship then returned to the Pacific and after arriving, visited 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.

Fleet Problem XII took place from 15 to 21 February in the waters off the canal; the exercises consisted of an attack by a fleet reliant on aircraft carriers against the canal zone, which was defended by ''California'' and the battleships of the Battle Fleet. The maneuvers revealed critical limitations in the endurance and armament of the carrier aircraft of the day, and the battleships were easily able to defeat the carrier force. From 1 July to 16 August, ''California'' was stationed in Puget Sound, and later in August she steamed south to San Francisco and then to San Pedro. The ship took part in gunnery practice in early 1932 off San Nicolas Island. In March 1933, the frigate , then on a tour of the United States, arrived in California; a fleet of 130 ships, including ''California'', welcomed the vessel on her arrival in 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''.

In 1934, ''California'' was assigned to Battleship Division (BatDiv) 4, though she retained her role as fleet flagship. Following Fleet Problem XV, held from 19 April to 12 May in the Caribbean, the fleet visited Haiti for two weeks. On 25 May, the ships steamed north for another naval review off New York on 31 May, attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. On its return to the Pacific over the course of 27 October to 9 November, the Battle Fleet conducted exercises as it passed through the canal and steamed to San Pedro, including nighttime attacks by the accompanying destroyers. The maneuvers culminated in an attack by a force of simulated battleships—played by a group of light cruisers—the carrier , and several submarines. Thereafter, ''California'' and several other vessels participated in amphibious assault training on San Clemente Island on 15 November. For Fleet Problem XVI, held from 29 April to 10 June 1935, the fleet conducted a series of maneuvers in the eastern Pacific, ranging from Alaskan waters down to Midway Island and Hawaii.

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 sister transited the Panama Canal in early 1938 for a visit to Ponce, Puerto Rico, which lasted from 6 to 11 March. In 1939, the Navy decided to acquire six experimental XAF radar sets; on being delivered to the Navy, they were designated as CXAM radar; one set was installed aboard ''California'' in 1940, with the other five going to the carrier and three heavy cruisers. In April and May, ''California'' participated in Fleet Problem XX, which was again held in the eastern Pacific. Following the conclusion of the maneuvers, Roosevelt ordered the Battle Fleet to remain in Hawaii permanently; the new forward deployment was calculated to deter Japanese aggression in the Pacific. As tensions rose owing to World War II in Europe and the Second Sino-Japanese War in Asia, the Navy cancelled 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.

World War II

Pearl Harbor 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 high and 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 long below the belt armor. The interior torpedo bulkheads nevertheless held and helped to contain the flooding.

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 list to port of 5 to 6 degrees. Little ordered damage control teams to counter-flood on the starboard side to keep the list to 4 degrees, but the flooding on the port side continued to spread. The torpedo blasts had also ruptured the forward fuel tanks, which allowed water to enter the fuel system. The contamination shut down the ship's electrical system, hindering the efforts of the damage control teams. Between 08:15 and 09:15, the ship was repeatedly attacked by Aichi D3A 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.

At 08:45, Commander Earl Stone, the ship's executive officer, boarded the ship and took command of the vessel. At the same time, ''California'' was struck by a bomb (which may have been one of the modified 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.

In the course of the attack, 98 men were killed 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. On 6 December 2019, the Department of Defense announced that twenty-five unknown remains from ''California'' had been exhumed for future identification.

Salvage, repair, and return to service

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.

On 10 October, ''California'' departed Pearl Harbor and met the destroyer at sea; the two vessels proceeded to Puget Sound, where ''California'' would undergo permanent repairs and a major modernization. This work lasted from 20 October 1942 to 31 January 1944. All of the ship's guns save her main battery were removed and her superstructure was razed completely in preparation for the reconstruction. Her hull was widened to improve the underwater protection scheme and increase stability. New fire control systems, which had been diverted from light cruisers that were converted into light aircraft carriers, were installed and her CXAM radar was removed and installed on Oahu. Her secondary battery was replaced with sixteen 5-inch/38 cal dual-purpose guns in new twin turrets and she received a large number of close-range anti-aircraft guns. In total, she was fitted with forty Bofors guns in ten quadruple mounts and forty-three Oerlikon guns.

Horizontal protection was considerably strengthened to improve her resistance to air attack; 3 inches of special treatment steel (STS) was added to the deck over the magazines and of STS was added elsewhere. In place of her original conning tower, she received one of the towers that had been removed from the s that had recently been rebuilt. ''California'' also had her old cage masts removed, with a modern tower mast installed in place of the forward cage mast. The changes doubled the ship's crew, to a total of 114 officers and 2,129 enlisted men.

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 Marianas campaign. She proceeded first to the Hawaiian islands, where she took part in shore bombardment practice off 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.

Central Pacific campaigns

''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 , engaging targets in the area around the capital, Garapan. A Japanese shell from a 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 . ''California'' bombarded Japanese positions throughout the day, withdrawing for the night at 18:30.

On the morning of 15 June, the American 2nd Marine Division went ashore and ''California'' supported the assault, opening fire at 06:12, first at Garapan and then at the landing beaches as dug-in defenders attempted to repel the landing. The ship also attacked Japanese artillery on Afetna Point, which had been shelling the marines. She remained off shore overnight, and after establishing radio communications with the marines ashore, provided fire support to break up Japanese night time counterattacks. ''California'' remained on station for several days, bombarding Japanese defenses as the marines pushed inland. On 17 June, she and ''Maryland'' shot down a Kawasaki Ki-61 fighter, and the next day ''California'' came under attack from another Ki-61 but was not damaged, apart from one of the 5-inch guns that was accidentally shot by one of the 40 mm guns. On 22 June, ''California'' withdrew to replenish ammunition and stores at Eniwetok in the Marshalls.

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, Guam, was to be attacked in Operation Stevedore. On arrival in the Marianas, ''California'' joined ''Tennessee'' and four destroyers to form Task Unit 53.1.16, which arrived off Guam on 19 July. The ships joined the preparatory bombardment that day as the ships sought to neutralize Japanese defenses around the invasion beaches. The shelling continued over the course of the next day before the landings on 21 July, with ''California'' concentrating her fire on the areas around Tumon and 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.

''California'' replenished her ammunition at Saipan and then proceeded to Tinian, the next island to be attacked in the campaign. ''California'' and ''Tennessee'' arrived on 23 July and began a bombardment of 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.

On 19 August, ''California'' departed Eniwetok as part of a task force of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers bound for Espiritu Santo; while underway on 23 August, ''Tennessee'' suffered a steering malfunction that caused her to turn out of line and collide with ''California'', tearing a hole in the latter's bow. Seven crewmen aboard ''California'' were killed in the accident, and several were trapped in their berthing compartment by bent bulkheads that had to be cut through to free them. Damage control teams shored up the damaged bulkheads and were able to pump the water out of the hull. ''Tennessee'' suffered more serious damage and she had to leave the group for repairs at Pearl Harbor; ''California'' continued with the convoy, and after arriving at their destination, entered the floating drydock for repairs that lasted from 25 August to 10 September. The collision prevented the ship from taking part in the Battle of Peleliu.

Philippines campaign

''California'' left Espiritu Santo on 17 September and passed along the coast of New Guinea, where crewmen observed battles between Japanese and Australian forces during the New Guinea campaign. The ship arrived in Manus on 22 September, where preparations for the next operation began. ''California'', again part of Oldendorf's bombardment group, which now included ''Maryland'', , , ''Tennessee'', and , departed on 12 October bound for the Philippines. The Philippines campaign began five days later with initial landings by the 6th Ranger Battalion on the islands of Dinagat and Suluan. The latter attack made the Japanese aware of the impending assault on the Philippines, leading to the activation 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.

=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 Surigao Strait. Vice Admiral Shōji Nishimura's Southern Force steamed through the Surigao Strait to attack the invasion fleet in Leyte Gulf; his force comprised Battleship Division 2—the battleships and , the heavy cruiser , and four destroyers—and Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima's Second Striking Force—the heavy cruisers and , the light cruiser , and four more destroyers. As Nishimura's flotilla passed through the strait on the night of 24 October, they came under attack from American PT boats, followed by destroyers, initiating the Battle of Surigao Strait. One of these destroyers torpedoed ''Fusō'' and disabled her, though Nishimura continued on toward his objective.

At 03:12, ''California'' picked up the Japanese ships with her SG radar at a range of ; eight minutes later her forward Mk 8 fire control radar began tracking the ships, the range having fallen to 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 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.

In the meantime, the main Japanese fleet, the Central Force under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, had passed through the San Bernardino Strait under cover of darkness and arrived early on 25 October. The Japanese battleships and cruisers attacked 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.

=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.

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.

''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 Okinawa. While en route, she stopped in Pearl Harbor from 16 to 29 May and in Ulithi from 9 to 12 June, after which she turned north to the Ryūkyū Islands.

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 and bombarded Japanese positions on Yaesu-Dake and Yuza-Dake ridges in support of the 96th Infantry Division. Heavy fog hampered efforts by the ship's floatplanes to locate concealed Japanese positions, but ''California'' nevertheless conducted a heavy bombardment of the area over the two days. She thereafter patrolled off the island until 14 July to prevent any Japanese naval forces from attacking the invasion fleet. From 15 to 22 July, she lay at 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.

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 . ''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.

The ships next stopped in Cape Town, South Africa from 15 to 18 November, where the South African soldiers were disembarked. ''California'' and the other vessels then steamed into the Atlantic, stopping in Saint Helena and Ascension Island on the way to their destination. They reached Philadelphia on 7 December, where 754 officers and men were sent to discharge centers. Another 40 officers and 1,345 men were discharged over the following months as the crew prepared the ship to be laid up. She was formally placed in reserve, still in commission, on 7 August 1946. The ship was decommissioned on 14 February 1947 and remained in the Navy's inventory for another decade before being stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1959. She was thereafter sold to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation on 10 July and broken up. The cast bronze bell was saved and put on display in Sacramento at the California State Capitol Park.

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

References

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Further reading

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External links

NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive BB-44 USS ''California'' 1916–1919

USS ''California'' BB-44 Pearl Harbor Damage Report

Image of USS California, flagship of the Pacific Fleet, anchored at the Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro, 1920.
Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

{{DEFAULTSORT:California (BB-44)
1919 ships
Battleships sunk by aircraft
Ships built in Vallejo, California
Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor
Ships sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor
Tennessee-class battleships
World War II battleships of the United States
Maritime incidents in December 1941