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Statistics:
Displacement: 32,600 tons
Length: 624'0"
Beam: 97'6"
Draft: 30'6"
Speed: 21.17 knots
Complement: 1,080
Armament: Eight 16" guns; twelve 5" guns; four 3" guns; four 6-pounders; two 21" torpedo tubes
Class: Colorado
Text from The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships published by the Naval Historical Center
Maryland (BB-46) was laid down 24 April 1917 by Newport News
Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va.; launched 20 March 1920;
sponsored by Mrs. E. Brook Lee, wife of the Comptroller of the
State of Maryland; and commissioned 21 July 1921, Capt. C. F.
Preston in command.
With a new type seaplane catapult and the first 16-inch guns
mounted on a U.S. ship, Maryland was the pride of the Navy.
Following an east coast shakedown she found herself in great
demand for special occasions. She appeared at Annapolis for the
1922 Naval Academy graduation and at Boston for the anniversary
of Bunker Hill and the Fourth of July. Between 18 August and 23
September she paid her first visit to a foreign port,
transporting Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes to Rio de
Janeiro for Brazil's Centennial Exposition. The next year. after
fleet exercises off the Panama Canal Zone. Maryland transited
the canal in the latter part of June to join the battle fleet
stationed on the west coast.
She made a goodwill voyage to Australia and New Zealand in 1925,
and transported President-elect Herbert Hoover on the Pacific
leg of his tour of Latin America in 1928. Throughout these years
and the 1930s she served as a mainstay of fleet readiness
through tireless training operations. In 1940 Maryland and the
other battleships of the battle force changed their bases of
operations to Pearl Harbor. She was present at battleship row
along Ford Island when Japan struck 7 December 1941.
A gunner's mate striker, writing a letter near his machine gun,
brought the first of his ship's guns into play, shooting down
one of two attacking torpedo planes. Inboard of USS Oklahoma (BB 37) and
thus protected from the initial torpedo attack, Maryland managed
to bring all her antiaircraft batteries into action. Despite two
bomb hits she continued to fire and, after the attack, sent
firefighting parties to assist her sister ships. The Japanese
announced that she had been sunk, but 30 December, battered yet
sturdy, she entered the repair yard at Puget Sound Navy Yard.
She emerged 26 February 1942 not only repaired but modernized
and ready for great service. During the important Battle of
Midway, the old battleships, not fast enough to accompany the
carriers, operated as a backup force. Thereafter Maryland
engaged in almost constant training exercises until 1 August,
when she returned to Pearl Harbor.
Assigned sentinel duty along the southern supply routes to
Australia and the Pacific fighting fronts, Maryland and USS Colorado (BB 45)
operated out of the Fiji Islands in November and advanced to the
New Hebrides in February 1943. Her return to Pearl Harbor after
10 months in the heat of the South Pacific brought the
installation of additional 40mm. antiaircraft protection.
In the vast amphibious campaigns of the Pacific the firepower of
Maryland and her sister ships played a key role. Departing the
Hawaiian Islands 20 October for the South Pacific, Maryland
became flagship for Rear Adm. Harry W. Hill's Southern Attack
Force in the Gilberts Invasion, with Maj. Gen. Julian C. Smith,
Commander, 2d Marine Division, embarked. Early on 20 November
her big guns commenced 5 days of shore bombardment and call fire
assignment in support of one of the most gallant amphibious
assaults in history, at Tarawa. After the island's capture, she
remained in the area protecting the transports until she headed
back to the United States 7 December 1943.
Maryland steamed from San Pedro 13 January 1944, rendezvoused
with TF 53 at Hawaii, and sailed in time to be in position off
the well-fortified Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshalls on the
morning of the 31st. Assigned to reduce pillboxes and
blockhouses on Roi Island, the old battleship fired splendidly all day and again the following morning until the assault waves
were within 500 yards of the beach. Following the operation she
steamed back to Bremerton, Wash., for new guns and an overhaul.
Two months later Maryland, again readied for battle, sailed
westward 3 May to participate in the biggest campaign yet
attempted in the Pacific war — Saipan. Vice Adm. R. K. Turner
allotted TF 52 3 days to soften up the island before the
assault. Firing commenced 0545 on 14 June 1944. Silencing two
coastal guns, Maryland encountered little opposition as she
delivered one devastating barrage after another. The Japanese
attempted to strike back through the air. On the 18th the ship's
guns claimed their first victim but four days later a Japanese "Betty" bomber
sneaked in, flying low over the still-contested Saipan hills and
found two anchored battleships. Crossing the bow of
USS Pennsylvania (BB 38), she dropped a torpedo which opened a gaping hole
in Maryland's bow, portslde. Casualties were light and in 13
minutes she was underway for Eniwetok, and shortly thereafter to
the repair yards at Pearl Harbor.
With an around-the-clock effort by the shipyard workers. on 13
August 1944, 34 days after arrival, the ship again steamed forth
for the war zone. Rehearsing briefly In the Solomons, she joined
Rear Adm. J. B. Oldendorf's Western Fire Support Group (TG 32.5)
bound for the Palau Islands. Firing first on 12 September to
cover minesweeping operations and underwater demolition teams,
she continued the shore bombardment until the landing craft
approached the beaches on the 15th. Four days later organized
resistance collapsed, permitting the fire support ships to
retire to the Admiralty Islands.
Reassigned to the 7th Fleet, Maryland sortied 12 October 1944 to
cover the Important Initial landings In the Philippines at
Leyte. Despite floating mines, the invasion force entered Leyte
Gulf on the 18th. The bombardment the following day and the
landings of the 20th went well, but the Japanese decided to
contest this success with both kamikazes and a three-pronged
naval attack.
Forewarned by submarines and scout planes, the American
battleship-cruiser force steamed 24 October to the southern end
of Leyte Gulf to protect Surigao Strait. Early on the 25th the
enemy battleships Fuso and Yamashiro led the Japanese advance
into the Strait. The waiting Americans pounded the enemy ships
severely. First came torpedoes from the fleeting PT boats, then
more torpedoes from the daring destroyers. Next came gunfire
from the cruisers. Finally, at 0355 the readied guns of the
battleship line opened fire. Thunderous salvos of heavy caliber
fire slowed the enemy force and set the Japanese battleships on
fire. Leaving their doomed battleships behind, the decimated
enemy ships fled; only a remnant of the original force escaped
subsequent naval air attacks. Similarly other U.S. forces
blunted and repulsed attacks by the center and northern enemy
forces during the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf.
In the aftermath of this important victory, Maryland patrolled
the southern approaches to Surigao Strait until 29 October;
after replenishment at Manus, Admiralties, she resumed patrol
duty 16 November. Japanese air attacks continued to pose a
definite threat. During a raid on 27 November, guns of TG 77.2
splashed 11 of the attacking planes. Shortly after sunset two
days later, a determined suicide plane dove through the clouds
and crashed Maryland between turrets Nos. 1 and 2. Thirty-one
sailors died in the explosion and fire that followed; however,
the sturdy battleship continued her patrols until relieved 2
December. She reached Pearl Harbor 19 December and during the
next two months workmen repaired and refitted "Fighting Mary."
After refresher training, Maryland headed for the western
Pacific 4 March 1945, arriving Ulithi the 16th. There she joined
Rear Adm. M. L. Deyo's TF 54 and on 21 March departed for the
invasion of Okinawa. She closed the coast of Okinawa 25 March and
began pounding assigned targets along the southeastern part of
the Japanese island fortress. In addition, she provided fire
support during a diversionary raid on the southeast coast
drawing enemy defenses from the main amphibious landings on the
western beaches. On 3 April 1945, she received a fire support
call from USS Minneapolis (CA-36). The cruiser was unable to silence
entrenched shore batteries with 8-inch fire and called on
"Fighting Mary's" mighty 16-inch guns for aid. The veteran
battleship hurled six salvos which destroyed the enemy
artillery.
Maryland continued fire support duty until 7 April 1945 when she
sailed with TF 54 to intercept a Japanese surface force to the
northward. These ships, including mighty battleship Yamato, came
under intense air attacks that same day, and planes of the Fast
Carrier Task Force sank six of 10 ships in the force. At dusk on
the 7th Maryland took her third hit from enemy planes in 10
months. A suicide plane loaded with a 500-pound bomb crashed the
top of turret No. 3 from starboard. The explosion wiped out the
20mm. mounts, causing 53 casualties. As before, however, she
continued to blast enemy shore positions with devastating 16-
inch fire. While guarding the western transport area 12 April,
she splashed two planes during afternoon raids.
On 14 April Maryland left the firing line as escort for retiring
transports. Steaming via the Marianas and Pearl Harbor, she
reached Puget Sound 7 May 1945, and entered the Navy Yard at
Bremerton the next day for extensive overhaul. Completing
repairs in August, she now entered the "Magic Carpet" fleet.
During the next four months she made five voyages between the
west coast and Pearl Harbor, returning more than 9,000 combat
veterans to the United States.
Arriving Seattle, Wash., 17 December, she completed "Magic
Carpet" duty. She entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 15 April
1946 and was placed in commission in reserve on an inactive
basis 15 July. She decommissioned at Bremerton 3 April 1947 and
remained there as a unit of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Maryland
was sold for scrapping to Learner Co. of Oakland, Calif., 8 July
1959.
On 2 June 1961 the Honorable J. Millard Tawes, Governor of
Maryland, dedicated a lasting monument to the memory of the
venerable battleship and her fighting men. Built of granite and
bronze and incorporating the bell of "Flghting Mary," this
monument honors a ship and her men whose service to the nation
reflected the highest traditions of the naval service. This
monument is located on the grounds of the State House,
Annapolis, Md.
Maryland received seven battle stars for World War II service.
-USN-
Updated: 1 May 2000
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