 USSWest Virginia (BB-48) after her reconstruction, in July 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | West Virginia |
| Namesake | West Virginia |
| Ordered | 5 December 1916 |
| Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 12 April 1920 |
| Launched | 19 November 1921 |
| Commissioned | 1 December 1923 |
| Decommissioned | 9 January 1947 |
| Stricken | 1 March 1959 |
| Identification | Hull number: BB-48 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 24 August 1959 |
| General characteristics (Original configuration) | |
| Class & type | Colorado-classbattleship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 624 ft (190 m) |
| Beam | 97 ft 6 in (29.72 m) |
| Draft | 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament | |
| Armor |
|
| General characteristics (Final configuration) | |
| Beam | 114 ft (35 m) |
| Sensors & processing systems | CXAM-1 radar |
| Armament |
|
USSWest Virginia,hull numberBB-48, was the fourthdreadnought battleship of theColorado class, though becauseWashington was cancelled, she was the third and final member of the class to be completed. TheColorado class proved to be the culmination of thestandard-type battleship series built for theUnited States Navy in the 1910s and 1920s; the ships were essentially repeats of the earlierTennessee design, but with a significantly more powerfulmain battery of eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns in twin-gun turrets.West Virginia was built between herkeel laying in 1920 and hercommissioning into the Navy in 1923. The ship spent the 1920s and 1930s conducting routine training exercises, including the typically annualFleet Problems, which provided invaluable experience for the comingwar in the Pacific.
West Virginia was moored onBattleship Row on the morning of 7 December 1941 when Japanattacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States intoWorld War II. Badly damaged bytorpedoes, the ship sank in the shallow water but was later refloated and extensively rebuilt over the course of 1943 and into mid-1944. She returned to service in time for thePhilippines Campaign, where she led the Americanline of battle at theBattle of Surigao Strait on the night of 24–25 October. There, she was one of the few American battleships to use herradar to acquire a target in the darkness, allowing her to engage a Japanese squadron in what was the final action between battleships in naval history.
After Surigao Strait, the ship remained in the Philippines to support troops fighting during theBattle of Leyte in 1944 and then supported theinvasion of Lingayen Gulf in early 1945. The ship also took part in theBattles of Iwo Jima andOkinawa later that year, providing extensive fire support to the ground forces invading those islands. During the latter operation, she was hit by akamikaze that did little damage. Following thesurrender of Japan,West Virginia took part in theinitial occupation and thereafter participated inOperation Magic Carpet, carrying soldiers and sailors from Hawaii to the mainland United States before being deactivated in 1946. She was decommissioned in 1947 and assigned to thePacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained until 1959 when she was sold toship breakers and dismantled.
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In 1916, design work was completed on the next class of battleships to be built for theUnited States Navy beginning in 1917. These ships were nearly direct copies of the precedingTennessee class, with the exception of themain battery, which increased from twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns to eight 16 in (406 mm) guns. TheColorado class proved to be the last class of battleships completed of thestandard type.[1]
West Virginia was 624 ft (190 m)long overall and she had abeam of 97 ft 6 in (29.72 m) and adraft of 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m). Shedisplaced 32,693long tons (33,218 t) as designed and up to 33,590 long tons (34,130 t) at full load. The ship was powered by fourGeneral Electricturbo-electric drives with steam provided by eight oil-firedBabcock & Wilcox boilers. The ship's propulsion system was rated at 28,900shaft horsepower (21,600 kW) for a top speed of 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph), though on speed trials she reached 31,268 shp (23,317 kW) and a speed of 21.09 kn (39.06 km/h; 24.27 mph). She had a normal cruising range of 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph), but additional fuel space could be used in wartime to increase her range to 21,100 nmi (39,100 km; 24,300 mi) at that speed. Her crew numbered 64 officers and 1,241 enlisted men.[2][3]
She was armed with a main battery of eight16 in /45 caliber Mark 1 guns in four twin-gun turrets on the centerline,[a] two forward and two aft insuperfiring pairs. Thesecondary battery consisted of sixteen5-inch (127 mm)/51 caliber guns, mounted individually incasemates clustered in the superstructureamidships. She carried ananti-aircraft battery of eight3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns in individual high-angle mounts. As was customary forcapital ships of the period, she had a 21 in (533 mm)torpedo tube mounted in her hull below thewaterline on eachbroadside.West Virginia's mainarmored belt was 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm) thick, while the main armored deck was up to 3.5 in (89 mm) thick. The main battery gun turrets had 18 in (457 mm) thick faces on 13 in (330 mm)barbettes. Herconning tower had 16 in (406 mm) thick sides.[2][3]
Thekeel forWest Virginia waslaid down at theNewport News Shipbuilding Company ofNewport News, Virginia on 12 April 1920. While under construction, she received thehull number BB-48 on 17 July. Her completedhull waslaunched on 19 November 1921 and she wascommissioned on 1 December 1923.West Virginia was to have been the fourth member of the class, but hersister shipWashington was cancelled due to theWashington Naval Treaty that was signed in 1922.[2][4] CaptainThomas J. Senn was the ship's first commander. On entering service, she begansea trials and ashakedown cruise, followed by repairs at Newport News. She then sailed north to theNew York Navy Yard for further alterations. She then steamed south toHampton Roads, and while en route her steering gear malfunctioned. She underwent an overhaul there to correct the problem and she got underway again on 16 June 1924; while cruising through Lynnhaven Channel at 10:10, thetelegraphs for the engine room and steering compartment lost power, rendering the ship unmaneuverable. Senn had to usevoice tubes to communicate with the engine room, ordering the port engines to full power and the starboard to stop in an attempt to steer the ship away from the shore. ButWest Virginia drifted in the channel and ran aground, though she was not damaged in the accident. A subsequent inquiry into the incident faulted incorrect navigational data that exaggerated the size of the navigable part of the channel, exonerating Senn and the ship's navigator.[4]
On 30 October,West Virginia became theflagship for theCommander, Battleship Divisions,Battle Fleet. The ship spent the 1920s conducting routine training exercises and maneuvers with the fleet, punctuated by periodic overhauls; each year's training schedule culminated in the majorFleet Problems that tested operational and strategic doctrine that proved to be critical in the operations conducted against Japan duringWorld War II. These operations took place in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as far north as Alaska and as far south as Panama. In 1925, while CaptainArthur Japy Hepburn commanded the ship, her gunners scored first place during a competition for short range shooting.West Virginia won theBattle Efficiency ribbon that year as well. Later in 1925, the fleet conducted joint Army-Navy maneuvers in Hawaii to test the defenses of the islands before embarking on a major cruise to visit Australia and New Zealand.West Virginia won Battle Efficiency ribbons in 1927, 1932, and 1933.[4] DuringFleet Problem X in March 1930,West Virginia was "bombed" by aircraft from theaircraft carrierLexington. InFleet Problem XI, held the following month, she and the battleshipTennessee accidentally engaged the carrierSaratoga, a fellow member of the "black" fleet, mistaking her for the "blue" fleet carrierLexington. The simulated friendly fire cost "black" fleet their carrier and led to calls for improved communication between ships and better ship identification training.[5]
In the early 1930s, the ship underwent a minor modification. Her battery of 3-inch anti-aircraft guns were replaced with5-inch /25 cal. guns and.50-caliber machine guns were installed on her fore and main masts. She also receivedaircraft catapults on herquarterdeck and atop the rear superfiring turret.[4] DuringFleet Problem XIV in February 1933,West Virginia and the battleshipArizona were "damaged" in a surprise attack by "black" fleetsubmarines.[6] Plans to modernizeWest Virginia dated to the mid-1930s, when the navy considered modifying the ship extensively; theBureau of Construction and Repair planned to addanti-torpedo bulges that would have restored a considerable amount of buoyancy to the hull, raising her 20 in (510 mm) at the cost of an additional 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) displacement. The work was not carried out, and in 1937 further plans to modernizeWest Virginia, her sister ships, and the twoTennessee-class ships, were considered. The proposed modifications included new boilers and fire control equipment and the previously suggested bulges. Further development of the modernization program in 1938 was rejected due to its cost and the fact that, even as modernized, the vessels would be inferior to the newNorth Carolina andSouth Dakota-class battleships being built.[7]
Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, AdmiralErnest King led a board to evaluate anti-aircraft defenses of the fleet's ships, and it recommended adding blisters to restorefreeboard, the adoption of5 in /38 cal.dual-purpose guns, and a strengthening of the ships' decks. TheChief of Naval Operations decided that, as a result of the likelihood of war, only the bulges would be fitted, andWest Virginia was slated to undergo the work from 10 May to 8 August 1941, though the modification was not carried out.[7] The Navy conducted the final iteration of the series,Fleet Problem XXI, in April 1940, by which time tensions with Japan over the latter's initiation of theSecond Sino-Japanese War had led the United States to transfer the fleet from California toPearl Harbor in Hawaii as a deterrent to further aggression by Japan. The fleet spent 1941 occupied with extensive training to prepare for the anticipated war with Japan, even after the diplomatic situation increasingly worsened in the final months of the year.[4] During this period, the Navy sought to improve the anti-aircraft batteries of the fleet's battleships, but production of the new1.1 in (28 mm) guns was slow, so old 3 in guns were reinstalled as a temporary measure. The ship also had eleven .50-cal. machine guns by this time. In June, men aboardWest Virginia fabricated an experimentalgun shield for the 5 in guns, which were to be applied to other ships.West Virginia was to have had her 1.1 in guns installed in February 1942.[8]
On the morning of 7 December 1941,West Virginia and the rest of the fleet were moored atBattleship Row in Pearl Harbor;West Virginia was tied alongsideTennessee. Japanese aircraft appeared over the harbor shortly before 08:00, beginning the surprise attack on the base.Torpedo bombers hit the ship with sevenType 91 torpedoes on her port side, whilebombers hit her with a pair of 16 in (410 mm) armor-piercing shells that had been converted into bombs. The first bomb hit the port side and penetrated the superstructure deck, causing extensive damage to the casemates below. Secondary explosions of the ammunition stored in the casemates caused serious fires there and in the galley deck below them. The second bomb struck the rear superfiring turret roof; it penetrated but failed to explode. It nevertheless destroyed one of the guns and theOS2U Kingfisherfloatplane on the catapult atop the turret. It also knocked a second aircraft down to the main deck. That Kingfisher spilled gasoline on the deck that then caught on fire.[4][9]
One of the torpedoes hit aft, disabling therudder, at least three hit below the belt armor, and at least one hit the belt, damaging seven armor plates. These torpedoes opened two large holes in the hull, from frames 43 to 52 and from 62 to 97; at least one torpedo passed through the holes after the ship began tolist and exploded on the second armor deck.[10][11] The torpedo hits caused extensive damage and the ship avoidedcapsizing only through prompt damage control efforts initiated by LieutenantClaude V. Ricketts, then the ship's assistant fire control officer. CaptainMervyn S. Bennion was mortally wounded by bomb fragments from a hit onTennessee; for remaining aboard the ship and assisting in its defense until he died, he received theMedal of Honor.[4] After receiving his wounds, Bennion was carried from the bridge by crew members including mess attendant second-classDoris Miller. Shortly afterwards, Miller was ordered to man an anti-aircraft gun on the conning tower despite no training in the operation of the weapon, Miller was awarded aNavy Cross for his actions.[12] As the ship filled with water and slowly sank on an even keel, the crew was evacuated, though a group volunteered to return to fight the fires that had broken out. Fuel oil leaking from the destroyedArizona caught fire and engulfedWest Virginia in flames, which was also fed by her own leaking fuel oil.[13] The fires were eventually put out the next day.[4] A total of 106 men were killed in the attack.[14] Among them were three sailors (Ronald Endicott, Clifford Olds and Louis Costin), who survived in an airtight storeroom until 23 December, according to a calendar found by salvage crews on which sixteen days had been crossed off in red pencil.[15] On 6 December 2019, theDepartment of Defense announced that eight of the thirty-five unknown remains fromWest Virginia had been identified.[16]
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Workers fixed patches over the two torpedo holes and pumpedWest Virginia dry, refloating her on 17 May 1942. She was then taken into Dry Dock No. 1 in Pearl Harbor on 9 June for an inspection; it had been initially believed that she had been hit by five torpedoes, but a sixth impact had been discovered during the patching, and this inspection revealed the seventh hit. The shipyard workers then began temporary repairs to make the ship seaworthy, and during this period they discovered the remains of 66 or 70 men who had been trapped below decks when she sank. Some of these had survived for several days in air bubbles with emergency rations and fresh water, but their oxygen and supplies ran out long before the ship was refloated. After completing repairs,West Virginia got underway for thePuget Sound Navy Yard inBremerton, Washington for a thorough reconstruction.[4][17]
Almost immediately after the attack, the navy began considering the extent to which the old battleships should be modernized, with proposals to replace the lattice masts with other structures that could accommodate the heavier radar equipment being fitted to the fleet's ships. SinceWest Virginia andCalifornia had been badly damaged in the Pearl Harbor attack and thus could not be quickly returned to service like the other battleships, they would have the bulges that had been planned before the war installed, which would offset the loss of freeboard incurred by the addition of 1,400 long tons (1,400 t) of deck armor. Plans were also made to install a battery of the dual-purpose 5-inch guns, but the work was deferred as a result of the length of time necessary to reconstruct the ship. In addition, the limited number of drydocks on the west coast slowed the pace of reconstruction, andWest Virginia had to wait untilTennessee andCalifornia were rebuilt; work onWest Virginia was not completed until September 1944.[18]
Work onWest Virginia saw the ship radically altered. In addition to the torpedo bulges, her superstructure was completely revised, with the old heavily armored conning tower being removed and a smaller tower erected in its place to reduce interference with the anti-aircraft guns' fields of fire. The new tower had been removed from one of theBrooklyn-class cruisers that had recently been rebuilt. The foremast was replaced with a tower mast that housed the bridge and the main battery director, and her second funnel was removed, with those boilers being trunked into an enlarged forward funnel. The ship's weapons suite was also overhauled. She received air-searchradar and fire-control radars for her main and secondary batteries, the latter being replaced by a uniform battery of sixteen 5-inch/38 cal. guns in eight twin mounts. These were controlled by fourMk 37 directors. The light anti-aircraft battery was again revised, now consisting of ten quadruple40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns and forty-three 20 mm Oerlikons.[4][19]
By early July 1944, the ship was ready to begin sea trials in her post-refit condition. She loaded ammunition on 2 July and departed for trials offPort Townsend, Washington, with the evaluations continuing until 12 July, at which point she returned to Puget Sound for repairs. She then steamed south toSan Pedro, Los Angeles for a shakedown cruise before departing for Hawaii on 14 September in company with a pair of escortingdestroyers. After arriving there on 23 September, she joinedBattleship Division 4 (BatDiv 4) and the carrierHancock, all of which sailed on toManus in theAdmiralty Islands to begin preparations for the upcoming operations in thePhilippines. The ships arrived inSeeadler Harbor on 5 October and the following day,West Virginia became the flagship ofRear AdmiralTheodore D. Ruddock, the commander of BatDiv 4.[4]
On 12 October 1944,West Virginia and the rest of the fleet sortied to begin the invasion of the Philippines, starting with the island ofLeyte.West Virginia was assigned to Task Group (TG) 77.2, theshore bombardment force for the operation that was commanded by Rear AdmiralJesse B. Oldendorf. While en route later that day,West Virginia steamed astern ofCalifornia and the latter vessel'sparavanes cut the anchor chain for anaval mine, forcingWest Virginia to steer around it; gunfire from a nearby destroyer detonated the mine safely. The invasion fleet arrived inSan Pedro Bay early on 19 October and at 07:00,West Virginia and the rest of TG 77.2 moved into their bombardment positions. They opened fire on targets aroundTacloban, shelling Japanese positions and providing covering fire for theUnderwater Demolition Teams that were preparing the invasion beaches for much of the day before withdrawing that evening. In the course of the day's bombardment, she fired a total of 278 shells from her main battery and 1,586 rounds from her secondary guns.[4]
The next morning, ground forces fromSixth Army went ashore andWest Virginia remained on station throughout the day to provide naval gunfire support. The fleet came under Japanese air attack, though the ship's anti-aircraft gunners were not able to shoot any aircraft down. On 21 October, while moving into her bombardment station, she lightlygrounded, damaging three of her propellers. The damaged blades caused vibration that limited her speed to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) (or 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) in emergencies). She nevertheless remained on station for the next two days to support the invasion as the soldiers fought their way inland, providing fire support and anti-aircraft defense as the fleet continued to be attacked by Japanese aircraft. Each night she and the rest of TG 77.2 withdrew from the beaches.[4][20]
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The landing on Leyte led to the activation ofOperation Shō-Gō 1, the Japanese navy's planned riposte to an Allied landing in the Philippines.[21] The plan was a complicated operation with three separate fleets: the Northern Force under Vice AdmiralJisaburō Ozawa, the Center Force under Vice AdmiralTakeo Kurita, and the Southern Force under Vice AdmiralShōji Nishimura. Ozawa's carriers, by now depleted of most of their aircraft, were to serve as a decoy for Kurita's and Nishimura's battleships, which were to use the distraction to attack the invasion fleet directly.[22] Kurita's ships were detected in theSan Bernardino Strait on 24 October 1944, and in the ensuingBattle of the Sibuyan Sea, American carrier aircraft sank the powerful battleshipMusashi, causing Kurita to temporarily reverse course. This convinced AdmiralWilliam F. Halsey, the commander of Third Fleet, to send thefast carrier task force to destroy the Northern Force, which had by then been detected.[22] While these maneuvers were occurring, Nishumura's force approached theSurigao Strait to attack the invasion fleet from the south. His fleet consisted of the battleshipsYamashiro andFusō, the heavy cruiserMogami, and four destroyers, supplemented by Vice AdmiralKiyohide Shima's Second Striking Force, consisting of the heavy cruisersNachi andAshigara, the light cruiserAbukuma, and four more destroyers.[23]
As Nishimura's flotilla passed through the strait on the night of 24 October, they came under attack from AmericanPT boats, followed by destroyers, initiating theBattle of Surigao Strait. One of these US destroyers torpedoedFusō and disabled her, though Nishimura continued on toward his objective.[24]West Virginia steamed at the head of the American line. Observers aboardTennessee spotted the flashes in the distance as the light American craft attacked Nishimura's force, and at 03:02, her search radar picked up the enemy ships at a range of 44,000 yd (40,000 m).West Virginia's radar picked them up fourteen minutes later, by which time the range had fallen to 42,000 yd (38,000 m). Oldendorf gave the order to open fire at 03:51, andWest Virginia opened fire first a minute later, followed byTennessee andCalifornia, concentrating their fire onYamashiro; the other American battleships had trouble locating a target with their older, less-effective radars and held their fire.West Virginia probably hitYamashiro on her bridge with her firstsalvo, though Nishimura and his staff were not injured at that time.Yamashiro was quickly hit several times by several American vessels that concentrated their fire on her. WithYamashiro badly damaged and burning furiously, the Americans then shifted fire toMogami, which was also hit several times, suffering severe damage.[4][25]
At about 04:00,Mogami and thenYamashiro turned to retreat, both burning; the destroyerShigure fled with them, though she had not suffered any serious damage. Shortly thereafter, Oldendorf ordered his battleships to make a 150-degree turn, andWest Virginia complied at 04:02, leading the other battleships on the new course, which ran parallel toYamashiro's line of retreat. Confusion aboardCalifornia led her to fall out of position, and in so doing, mask the rest of the battleships and force them to cease firing to avoid hitting her. Shortly thereafter, reports of Japanese torpedoes in the water prompted the American battleships to turn to the north at 04:18 to avoid them.[26] This marked the end of the action, as the remaining Japanese ships retreated in the darkness. In the course of the action,West Virginia fired sixteen salvos at the Japanese ships; this proved to be the last ever battle between battleships.[4][27]
On 29 October 1944,West Virginia,Tennessee, and the battleshipMaryland got underway, headed to the navy's advance base atUlithi. From there,West Virginia proceeded on toEspiritu Santo for repairs to her damaged propellers; Ruddock shifted his flag toMaryland during this period. On arriving, she entered the floating drydockArtisan for maintenance before returning to the Philippines in November. Steaming first to Manus and then to Leyte Gulf, she arrived on 25 November and resumed patrols in the area to defend the fleet from air attacks. On 27 November, the fleet came under another attack and at 11:39, her gunners shot down akamikaze suicide aircraft. During further attacks the next day, she assisted in the destruction of several other kamikazes. Ruddock returned to the ship on 30 November, and the battleship remained in the area until 2 December, when she departed for thePalau Islands for replenishment. There, she became the flagship of TG 77.12, the bombardment group for the next landing in the Philippines.[4]
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The fleet passed through Leyte Gulf on 12 December, turning south through Surigao Strait the next day and entering theSulu Sea for the assault onMindoro in company with TG 78.3, the invasion transport force. After landing ground forces, the transports withdrew on 15 December andWest Virginia was tasked with covering their departure.West Virginia refueled in Leyte Gulf and then continued on to theKossol Roads in the Palaus, arriving on 19 December. She remained there for the rest of the year, and on 1 January 1945, Rear AdmiralIngram C. Sowell replaced Ruddock as the commander of BatDiv 4. That same day, she sortied as part of TG 77.2. After entering Leyte Gulf on 3 January, the ships steamed into the Sulu Sea, where they came under heavy Japanese air attack the next day; theescort carrierOmmaney Bay was badly damaged by kamikazes and was then scuttled; nearby destroyers took off the crew, some of whom were then transferred toWest Virginia.[4]
On 5 January, the fleet entered theSouth China Sea and then turned north towardLingayen Gulf; further Japanese air attacks took place throughout the day andWest Virginia contributed her guns to the fleet's defense. While on the way, the ship closed with San Fernando Point and bombarded Japanese positions in the area. Waves of kamikazes struck the fleet and hit several ships butWest Virginia avoided them. The next day, theminesweeperHovey was sunk by a Japanese torpedo andWest Virginia took on survivors from the vessel. Over the course of 8–9 January, the ship bombarded the town ofSan Fabian in Lingayen Gulf to prepare for the invasion that took place later on the 9th. That evening, the survivors fromOmmaney Bay andHovey departedWest Virginia.[4]
The ship continued her fire support mission on 10 January and then spent the next week patrolling Lingayen Gulf to protect thebeachhead. During this period, she was called on to neutralize defensive positions, destroy ammunition dumps, and shell rail and road junctions to disrupt the Japanese ability to reinforce their positions. Heavy bombardment fromWest Virginia and the other ships flattened San Fabian. Over the course of the bombardment, she fired 395 main battery shells and more than 2,800 secondary shells. On 21 January, the ship departed at 07:07 to support ground forces fighting in the towns ofRosario andSanto Tomas to the north of Lingayen Gulf, opening fire at 08:15. She remained there for several days, providing fire support, before returning to Lingayen Gulf on 1 February. The ships of TG 77.2 thereafter covered transports carrying supplies for the Army as they arrived to unload their cargo at the beachhead. On 10 February,West Virginia departed for Leyte Gulf.[4]
West Virginia passed through San Pedro Bay in Leyte Gulf before proceeding on to Ulithi, which she reached on 16 February 1945. There she joinedFifth Fleet and she immediately began preparations for the attack onIwo Jima. She refueled and replenished supplies for the upcoming operation and was ready to depart at 04:00 the next morning; the ship got underway three and a half hours later, escorted by the destroyersIzard andMcCall. On arriving off the island on 19 February, she joined Task Force (TF) 51, and at 11:25 she received orders to join the bombardment already underway as ground forces landed on the beach. She moved to her assigned station at 11:45 and opened fire an hour later; themarines fighting ashore directed her fire to targetblockhouses, machine gun positions, tanks, and other Japanese positions.[4]
The ship withdrew for the evening and returned two days later on 21 February, opening fire at 08:00 and remaining on station all day. During the bombardment, she hit an ammunition or fuel dump, setting off large, repeated explosions for the next two hours. She was hit by a small artillery shell the next day that struck near the forward superfiring turret and wounded one sailor. The ship remained off the island for the rest of the month as the marines fought to secure Iwo Jima from the tenacious Japanese defenders. On 27 February, she neutralized an artillery battery that had been firing on the destroyerBryant. The battleship left the following day to replenish ammunition before returning later that day to resume the bombardment. She shelled targets throughout the night to harass the Japanese troops and interdict their movements.West Virginia continued to shell the island for the next three days before departing for Ulithi on 4 March; she arrived there two days later.[4]
West Virginia then joinedTask Force 54 (TF 54) for the next major amphibious assault in theRyukyu Islands; the ships departed on 21 March 1945 and arrived off the island ofOkinawa on 25 March.West Virginia moved to her assigned bombardment station and began to shell the planned landing zones. At 10:29 on 26 March, a single Japanese shell fell some 5,000 yd (4,600 m) offWest Virginia's port bow; she fired twenty-eight 16-inch shells in response. Intense Japanese air counterattacks began the next morning, and she shot down aYokosuka P1Y twin-engined bomber that day. The ship remained off the island for the next few days, bombarding the landing beaches to prepare for the assault that was scheduled for 1 April. Before the attack began, the ship withdrew to replenish ammunition atKerama Retto, which had been seized at the start of the campaign to provide an advance base for the invasion fleet.[4][28]
The ship returned to the island early on 1 April to support the landings; while approaching Okinawa at 04:45, she had to reverse her engines to avoid colliding with a destroyer that inadvertently crossed her bow in the darkness. As she continued to steam to her assigned station, her anti-aircraft gunners spotted an enemy aircraft, which they shot down; shortly thereafter, a group of four more hostile aircraft appeared, one of whichWest Virginia's guns destroyed. By 06:30, the ship had reached her station just 900 yd (820 m) from shore and began shelling the beach as the landing craft slowly made their way to the landing zone. The ship remained off the island throughout the day, though ground forces initially encountered little resistance andWest Virginia's guns were not immediately needed. That evening, however, a wave of kamikazes arrived and at 19:03, one of them crashed intoWest Virginia. The plane struck the ship's superstructure just forward of the No. 2 director for the secondary battery. The resulting explosion killed four and wounded seven in one of the 20 mm gun batteries. The aircraft had been carrying a bomb that penetrated to the second deck, though it failed to detonate; it was later defused by the ship's bomb disposal officer.[4]
West Virginia nevertheless remained off the island through the night, firingstar shells to illuminate marine positions to help repel Japanese infiltration attacks. The next day, the dead wereburied at sea and the ship returned to bombardment duty shortly thereafter. On 6 April, her gunners shot down anAichi D3Adive bomber. The next day, the Japanese Navy launched a last strike with a small squadron centered on the battleshipYamato, andWest Virginia was sent to patrol to the west of the island to intercept any Japanese vessels that broke through heavy American air attacks. On 8 April, the ship received word that most of the Japanese vessels had been sunk or fled.West Virginia resumed bombardment operations and air defense of the fleet. She remained on station until 20 April, when she got underway for Ulithi; she did not reach her destination, however, as she was quickly recalled to replace her sisterColorado after the latter suffered an accidental explosion while replenishing ammunition.West Virginia briefly returned to Okinawa, operating off Hagushi Beach in support ofXXIV Corps. She was then relieved and sailed to Ulithi with theheavy cruiserSan Francisco and the destroyerHobson, arriving there on 28 April.[4]
The ship then returned to Okinawa to resume fire support duties, which she carried out through June. During this period, on 1 and 2 June, she destroyed a Japanese blockhouse that had held up the American advance during a series of bombardments. On 16 June, having moved south to support the1st Marine Regiment, one of the ship's Kingfishers was shot down by Japanese fire. The pilot and observer both bailed out from the aircraft, but they fell behind Japanese lines and were pinned down.West Virginia, the destroyerPutnam, and aLanding Craft, Infantry attempted to suppress the Japanese defenses in the area so ground forces could break through and rescue the downed air crew, but the effort failed and the men were killed. The ship received another Kingfisher fromTennessee, allowing her to continue to support the forces ashore through the end of the month.[4]
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At the end of June 1945, the ship left Okinawan waters for San Pedro Bay in company with thedestroyer escortConnolly, arriving there on 1 July. Four days later, she received a group of replacement crewmen, and after loading ammunition there, began training in preparation for the expectedinvasion of Kyushu, the invasion of the Japanese mainland. These operations continued through July, and on 3 August she got underway for Okinawa, arriving inBuckner Bay on 6 August. That day, the firstatomic bomb wasdropped on Hiroshima, and a second was dropped onNagasaki three days later. After these two attacks, rumors spread on 10 August that the Japanese would surrender, prompting celebrations among the crews of the ships in Okinawa, though two days later the battleshipPennsylvania was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.West Virginia sent awhaleboat with pumps to assist the damaged battleship.[4]
On 15 August, the Japanese surrendered, andWest Virginia's contingent of marines began preparations for theoccupation of Japan. The ship departed on 24 August, headed forTokyo Bay, assigned to TG 35.90, arriving there on 31 August. She was present during the formal surrender ceremonies aboard the battleshipMissouri on 2 September, andWest Virginia loaned five musicians from the ship's band to play during the ceremony.West Virginia remained in Tokyo for the next two weeks to assist with the initial occupation effort, and on 14 September she took on a group of 270 passengers to be carried back to the United States. The ship got underway on 20 September with TG 30.4 for Okinawa; after a stop in Buckner Bay on 23 September, she continued on to Pearl Harbor, arriving there on 4 October. There, her crew repainted the ship before departing on 9 October forSan Diego, California, which she reached on 22 October. Sowell left the ship two days later.[4]
In the course of the war,West Virginia was awarded fivebattle stars, despite having missed much of the war due to the severe damage suffered at Pearl Harbor.[4]
During theNavy Day celebrations on 27 October 1945, some 25,554 people visited the ship. Three days later, she departed for Pearl Harbor to begin her role inOperation Magic Carpet, the repatriation effort to return American servicemen from the Pacific. She took on passengers in Pearl Harbor and carried them back to San Diego, making three runs through the end of the year, the last arriving in San Diego on 17 December. She remained in port until 4 January 1946, when she departed for Bremerton, arriving there on 12 January, where she was taken to be deactivated. She was moved toSeattle, Washington, four days later and tied up alongsideColorado. Further work to prepare her for the reserve fleet continued into February and she was formally decommissioned on 9 January 1947, assigned to thePacific Reserve Fleet.West Virginia remained in the navy's inventory until 1 March 1959, when she was struck from theNaval Vessel Register and placed for sale; she was sold on 24 August to the Union Minerals & Alloys Corp.[4] and towed to Todd-Pacific Shipyard in Seattle on 3 January 1961 to bebroken up.[29]
Several parts of the ship are preserved in locations throughout the United States, primarily in West Virginia. One of her anti-aircraft guns is on display in City Park inParkersburg, West Virginia, and the ship's wheel andbinnacle are on display at theHampton Roads Naval Museum.[30] When the ship was sold for scrap, students atWest Virginia University helped raise funds to preserve the ship's mast, which is housed on the campus. The ship's bell is on display at theWest Virginia State Museum inCharleston.[31] In 2000, governorCecil Underwood issued a proclamation on the 59th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack namingInterstate 470 in West Virginia the USSWest Virginia Memorial Highway.[32]
