Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War

United States Navy — Battleship class

South Dakota-class battleship (1939)

South Dakota class

The class in numbers

  • 4 Completed
  • 2 Scrapped
  • 2 Preserved

Design and service

Type
Battleship
Navy
United States Navy
Built
1939–1942
In commission
1942–1947
Builders
  • New York Shipbuilding Corporation
  • Newport News Shipbuilding
  • Bethlehem, Fore River Shipyard
  • Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Class specifications

Figures for the class as designed. Individual vessels varied, sometimes considerably — each vessel page carries its own configurations.

As built
Displacement, standard
35,412 long tons (35,980 t)
Displacement, full load
44,519 long tons (45,233 t)
Length
207.26 m (680 ft) OA
Speed
27.5 knots (50.9 km/h, 31.6 mph)
Complement
1,793
Main gun
406 mm (16 in)
Armament
  • 3 × triple 16 in guns
  • 16 or 20 × 5 in DP guns
  • 76 × 40 mm AA guns
  • 67 × single 20 mm AA guns

Roster

Vessel Pennant Commissioned Fate
USS Alabama (BB-60) BB-60 1942 Preserved 1964
USS Indiana (BB-58) BB-58 1942 Scrapped 1963
USS Massachusetts (BB-59) BB-59 1942 Preserved 1965
USS South Dakota (BB-57) BB-57 1942 Scrapped 1962

Sources