UNDERWAY! 2025 Wall Calendar / W.W. II SPECIAL EDITION NOW AVAILABLE - CLICK HERE |
|||||||
For RATING SHIRTS - Click on your Rating Abbreviation below: | |||||||
U.S.S. CALIFORNIA
(BB-44)GOLDEN BEAR
Click to view crew list
BB-44 USS CALIFORNIA
The United States Navy brought USS California into service with her commission in August 1921. For the next couple of decades, the ship worked throughout the Pacific area. She often acted as flagship during this time. In 1925, she was part of the major naval visit to Australia and New Zealand. In 1940, she reported, along with much of the Pacific fleet, to Pearl Harbor.
On December 7, 1941, USS California was in port when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. The ship sustained heavy damage from bombs and torpedoes. Within a few days, she was at the bottom of the harbor. For the next couple of years, the Navy worked to salvage and modernize her. She didn’t come out of dry dock until January of 1944. She was there for the invasions of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian during the summer of 1944. As autumn arrived, she participated in the invasion of Leyte and the Battle of Surigao Strait. The opening of 1945 brought USS California into action at Lingayen Gulf. However, on January 6, she sustained damaged from a kamikaze plan. After repairs, she returned to action in June 1945 to help finish the Okinawa campaign. After the war, the Navy decommissioned her in February 1947 and sold her for scrap in 1959.
BB-44 Deployments - Major Events
Add a BB-44 Shellback Initiation | Add a BB-44 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OCT | 1916 | - | Keel Date: 25 OCT 1916 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard Vallejo CA | ||
NOV | 1919 | - | Launch Date: 20 NOV 1919 | ||
AUG | 1921 | - | Commissioned: 10 AUG 1921 | ||
SEP | 1941 | - | Shellback Initiation - 8 SEP 1941 - Pacific Ocean | ||
DEC | 1941 | - | JAN | 1942 | Middle Pacific |
JAN | 1943 | - | DEC | 1944 | South pacific |
FEB | 1943 | - | Shellback Initiation - 3 FEB 1943 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1944 | - | Shellback Initiation - 24 AUG 1944 - Pacific Ocean | ||
JAN | 1945 | - | JAN | 1945 | On 1/6/45. Jackie Wyatt was killed in action and buried at sea. |
JAN | 1945 | - | JAN | 1946 | West Africa |
JUL | 1945 | - | JAN | 1946 | West Africa |
FEB | 1947 | - | Decommissioned: 14 FEB 1947 | ||
JAN | 1978 | - | JAN | 1984 | North Atlantic |
BB-44 General Specifications
Class: Tennessee-class battleship
Complement: 57 Officers and 1026 Enlisted
Displacement: 32300 tons
Length: 624.5 feet
Beam: 97.3 feet
Draft: 30.3 feet
Final Disposition: Sold for scrap 10 July 1959