Allied Warships
USS South Dakota (BB 57)
Battleship of the South Dakota class
USS South Dakota during the war.
| Navy | The US Navy |
| Type | Battleship |
| Class | South Dakota |
| Pennant | BB 57 |
| Built by | New York Shipbuilding Corp. (Camden, New Jersey, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | 15 Dec 1938 |
| Laid down | 5 Jul 1939 |
| Launched | 7 Jun 1941 |
| Commissioned | 20 Mar 1942 |
| End service | 31 Jan 1947 |
| History | The South Dakota was armed with only 16 5-inch 38 calibre guns; 4 turrets port and starboard, instead of the usual 5 turrets port and starboard as in her sister ships. Instead of the two 5 inch turrets this ship had quadruple 40mm bofors mounts each side of the smoke stack. There was space limitation aboard this ship, as she had extra accommodation as a fleet flagship. It altered her outward appearance slightly. Her smoke stack had more of a squat looking appearance; as if partly buried in her superstructure. Her other distinguishing features was her overall dark sea-blue camouflage. And another prominent feature was the quadruple 40mm bofor mount placed on her foredeck, right up on the bow. Operated in the Pacific through most of WWII, mainly in support of the fast carrier forces, and some shore bombardment duty. Sustained moderate damage in a night gun action with the Japanese battlecruiser Kirishima and escorting cruisers off Guadalcanal, 15 November 1942; overhaul and repairs at New York Navy Yard completed February 1942. Operated in the Atlantic, with the Royal Navy, February-August 1943, then returned to the Pacific. Received minor bomb damage 19 June 1944. Decommissioned 31 January 1947. |
Commands listed for USS South Dakota (BB 57)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Capt. Thomas Leigh Gatch, USN | 20 Mar 1942 | 1 Feb 1943 |
| 2 | T/Rear-Admiral Lynde Dupuy McCormick, USN | 1 Feb 1943 | 18 Sep 1943 |
| 3 | Allen Edward Smith, USN | 18 Sep 1943 | 17 Mar 1944 |
| 4 | T/Rear-Admiral Ralph Smith Riggs, USN | 17 Mar 1944 | 30 Nov 1944 |
| 5 | T/Cdr. Carl Frederick Stillman, USN | 30 Nov 1944 | 9 Dec 1944 |
| 6 | T/Capt. Charles Bowers Momsen, USN | 9 Dec 1944 | 30 Jul 1945 |
| 7 | T/Cdr. Carl Frederick Stillman, USN | 30 Jul 1945 | 17 Aug 1945 |
| 8 | T/Capt. Emmet Peter Forrestel, USN | 17 Aug 1945 | Dec 1945 |
You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.
Notable events involving South Dakota include:
12 Feb 1944
Task Force 58 departed Majuro Atoll for operation HAILSTONE, a raid against the Japanese base at Truk Atoll.
Task Force 58 was made up of the following ships;
Task Group 58.1 Aircraft carriers USS Enterprise (Capt. M.B. Gardner, USN), USS Yorktown (Capt. R.E. Jennings, USN), light carrier USS Belleau Wood (Capt. A.M. Pride, USN), light cruisers Santa Fé (Capt. J. Wright, USN), Mobile (Capt. C.J. Wheeler, USN), Biloxi (Capt. D.M. McGurl, USN), USS Oakland (Capt. W.K. Phillips, USN) and the destroyers USS Clarence K. Bronson (Lt.Cdr. J.C. McGoughran, USN), USS Cotten (Cdr. F.T. Sloat, USN), USS Dortch (Cdr. R.C. Young, USN), USS Gatling (Cdr. A.F. Richardson, USN), USS Healy (Cdr. J.C. Atkeson, USN), USS Cogswell (Cdr. H.T. Deutermann, USN), USS Caperton (Cdr. W.J. Miller, USN), USS Ingersoll (Cdr. A.C. Veasey, USN), USS Knapp (Cdr. F. Virden, USN).
Task Group 58.2 Aircraft carriers USS Essex (Capt. R.A. Ofstie, USN), USS Intrepid (Capt. T.L. Sprague, USN), light carrier USS Cabot (Capt. M.F. Schoeffel, USN), heavy cruisers USS Wichita (Capt J.J. Mahoney, USN), USS Baltimore (Capt. W.C. Calhoun, USN), light cruisers USS San Francisco (Capt. H.E. Overesch, USN), USS San Diego (Capt. L.J. Hudson, USN), destroyers USS Owen (Cdr. R.W. Wood, USN), USS Miller (Cdr. T.H. Kobey, USN), USS The Sullivans (Cdr. K.M. Gentry, USN), USS Stephen Potter (Cdr. C.H. Crichton, USN), USS Hickox (Cdr. W.M. Sweetser, USN), USS Hunt (Cdr. H.A. Knoertzer, USN), USS Lewis Hancock (Cdr. C.H. Lyman, 3rd, USN), USS Stembel (Cdr. W.L. Tagg, USN) and USS Stack (Lt.Cdr. R.E. Wheeler, USN).
Task Group 58.3 Aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (Capt. T.P. Jeter, USN), light carriers USS Monterey (Capt. L.T. Hundt, USN), USS Cowpens (Capt. R.P. McConnell, USN), battleships USS North Carolina (Capt. F.P. Thomas, USN), USS Massachusetts (Capt. T.D. Ruddock, Jr., USN), USS South Dakota (Capt. A.E. Smith, USN), USS Alabama (Capt. F.D. Kirtland, USN), USS Iowa (Capt. J.L. McCrea, USN), USS New Jersey (Capt. C.F. Holden, USN), heavy cruisers USS Minneapolis (Capt. R.W. Bates, USN), USS New Orleans (Capt. S.R. Shumaker, USN), destroyers USS Izard (Cdr. E.K. van Swearingen, USN), USS Charrette (Cdr. E.S. Karpe, USN), USS Conner (Cdr. W.E. Kaitner, USN), USS Bell (Cdr. L.C. Petross, USN), USS Burns (Cdr. D.T. Eller, USN), USS Bradford (Cdr. R.L. Morris, USN), USS Brown (Cdr. T.H. Copeman, USN), USS Cowell (Cdr. C.W. Parker, USN), USS Wilson (Lt.Cdr. C.K. Duncan, USN), USS Sterett (Lt.Cdr. F.J.L. Blouin, USN) and USS Lang (Cdr. H. Payson, Jr., USN).
Media links
|
|
