South Dakota class battleship (1939)

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South Dakota class battleship
USS South Dakota (BB-57)
Class Overview
Class Type	Battleship
Class Name	South Dakota
Preceded By	North Carolina-class
Succeeded By	Iowa-class
Ships of the Class:	South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, Alabama
General characteristics
Displacement:	35,000 tons (standard)
Length:	680 ft (207 m)
Beam:	108.2 ft (33 m)
Draft:
Propulsion:	130,000 horsepower (97 MW) steam turbines
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h)
Range:
Complement:
Armament:	Nine 16 inch (406 mm) 45-caliber guns in three triple turrets, twenty five-inch (127 mm) 38-caliber guns in ten twin mountings (South Dakota had eight twin mountings)

This article is about the South Dakota class battleship. For the one that was canceled before launching, see South Dakota class battleship (1920).

Construction of the second South Dakota-class began shortly before World War II. Built with Fiscal Year 1939 appropriations, they were more compact and better protected than the preceding North Carolina class, but had the same main battery of nine 16 inch (406 mm) 45-caliber guns in triple turrets. Their innovative hull design featured an internal armor belt, to protect the ships' vitals against 16 inch (406 mm) shells, improved anti-torpedo side protection, and outboard propeller shafts that extended further aft than the inboard ones. While the shorter hull minimized the amount of armour needed to meet the requirements without exceeding the tonnage demanded by the Second London Naval Treaty it also resulted in a smaller length-to-beam ratio that negatively affected speed and endurance. To achieve the desired 27 knots (50 km/h) the machinery was designed to produce 9000 more horsepower than that of the "North Carolina" class, no small feat considering the equipment had to be compact enough to fit within a smaller hull. Compared with her three "sisters", South Dakota had extra command facilities and two fewer 5 inch (127 mm) twin gun mounts.

These ships were all completed between March and August 1942, providing a welcome reinforcement to the Navy's surface battle fleet at a critical stage of World War II. In 1942 and 1943, they stood guard in the Atlantic against possible sorties by German battleships, took part in the invasion of North Africa and in operations around Guadalcanal. USS Massachusetts supported Operation Torch and used her 16-inch guns to disable the French battleship Jean Bart, the only time that a US battleship had fired its main batteries at an Axis ship in Europe. At the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islandss, South Dakota was credited with downing 26 to 32 Japanese planes. During the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, South Dakota was damaged in a gunnery engagement with a Japanese force that involving the sinking of the battleship Kirishima. As the US went on the offensive in the Central Pacific, they joined in escorting the fast carrier task forces, a job for which their heavy anti-aircraft gun batteries were well-suited. They also employed their main battery guns in shore bombardment, and were kept ready to form battle line in case their Japanese opposite numbers should appear.

All four South Dakota-class battleships went into reserve after World War II and saw no further active service. When they were disposed of in the early 1960s, Massachusetts and Alabama became museum ships. The other two were sold for scrapping.

These ships are considered the best Treaty battleships ever built, and quite possibly the finest battleships ever built on a ton-for-ton basis, due to their armament, protection, and excellent fire control.[1][2]

Being valuable, large ships, they were considered for many conversion schemes, including guided missile battleships and satellite control ships, but all were eventually discarded. Their speed (27 knots, versus 32-35 knots for the Iowa class and virtually all heavy carriers of the WW2 era) worked against their retention.