USS South Dakota, lead ship of a class of 35,000-ton battleships, was built at Camden, New Jersey. She was commissioned in March 1942 and in August was transferred to the Pacific where she was soon involved in the Guadalcanal Campaign. On 26 October1942, her anti-aircraft guns played a prominent role in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, during which her forward sixteen-inch gun turret was hit by a Japanese bomb. Shortly thereafter, she collided with USS Mahan (DD-364). Damage from these incidents was repaired locally, and she was heavily engaged, and damaged again, during the 14-15 November battleship night action off Guadalcanal, a battle that effectively ended Japan's plans to retake that strategic island.
Following repairs in the United States, South Dakota operated in the Atlantic from February into August 1943, including service with the British Home Fleet. She then returned to the Pacific and took part in the Gilberts and Marshalls invasions in November 1943-February 1944. The battleship operated with the fast carriers during raids on Japanese bases during that time and into the Spring of 1944. She next participated in the June 1944 Marianas Campaign, using her heavy guns to shell enemy positions on Saipan and Tinian. In the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 June, she was hit by another Japanese bomb.
Another stateside overhaul prepared South Dakota for further Pacific combat operations. From October 1944 to the end of World War II over ten months later, she screened carrier task forces during strikes in the Western Pacific that ranged from the South China Sea to Japan. The invasions of Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa were among these operations. In March and April 1945, South Dakota's guns joined in bombarding Okinawa. She shelled targets in the Japanese Home Islands in July and August, during the final acts of the Pacific War, and was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945 during the Formal Surrender of Japan. South Dakota returned to the United States soon thereafter and was decommissioned in January 1947. She remained inactive until October 1962, when she was sold for scrapping.
This page features selected views of USS South Dakota (BB-57).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 80-G-466247 USS South Dakota (BB-57) Underway in the Atlantic during her shakedown period, July 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 238KB; 740 x 600 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-466248 USS South Dakota (BB-57) Underway in the Atlantic during her shakedown period, July 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 127KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 97265 USS South Dakota (BB-57) Anchored in the Hvalfjordur area, Iceland, 24 June 1943. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 95KB; 740 x 615 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 97263 USS South Dakota (BB-57) Operating off the U.S. east coast, 9 August 1943, with a destroyer keeping company in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 129KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 97264 USS South Dakota (BB-57) Off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 20 August 1943. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 93KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-30054 Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942 USS South Dakota (BB-57) firing her anti-aircraft guns at attacking Japanese planes during the action, 26 October 1942. A Japanese Type 97 Shipboard Attack Aircraft ("Kate") is at right, apparently leaving the area after having dropped its torpedo. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 46KB; 740 x 455 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-36088 Guadalcanal Campaign, 1942-43 USS South Dakota (BB-57) and two destroyers alongside USS Prometheus (AR-3) for repairs, probably at Noumea, New Caledonia, in November 1942. The inboard destroyer, with the distorted bow, is probably USS Mahan (DD-364), which was damaged in a collision with South Dakota at the close of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 27 October 1942. South Dakota received damage in both that battle and in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 15 November 1942. The other destroyer may be USS Lamson (DD-367). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 124KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-K-3345 (Color) USS South Dakota (BB-57) Steams into heavy seas on 24 February 1945, while en route to take part Task Force 58's second Tokyo raid of the month. Photographed from atop the battleship's forward fire control platform. Spray is enveloping the forecastle 40mm gun mounts in weather that curtailed the number of strikes flown on 25 February and forced the cancellation of those planned for the 26th. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 78KB; 740 x 510 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-490175 Bombardment of Kamaishi, Japan, 14 July 1945 USS South Dakota (BB-57) fires her forward 16"/45 guns at Kamaishi targets during the bombardment. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 64KB; 740 x 595 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 73929 USS South Dakota (BB-57) Crewmen haul down the National Ensign as the battleship is decommissioned, at the Philadelphia Naval Base, Pennsylvania, 31 January 1947. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 121KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 72674 USS Huntington (CL-107), USS Dayton (CL-105) and USS South Dakota (BB-57) (listed from left to right) Laid up in reserve at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pennsylvania, 24 August 1961. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 123KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
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If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 24 March 2000
Links added 15 January 2002