Key Points and Summary – The underrated battleship USS Nevada (BB-36) had a remarkable and resilient career spanning two World Wars.
-Its most famous moment of heroism came at Pearl Harbor, where it was the only battleship to get underway during the attack.
-Though heavily damaged and beached, it was salvaged and returned to the war, later providing crucial fire support at D-Day, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
-In a final testament to its durability, the old warship survived two atomic bomb blasts during the 1946 Operation Crossroads tests before finally being scuttled by the Navy in 1948.
The Underrated Battleship Nevada Proved Its Mettle in Two Wars
The USS Nevada (BB-36) was built in World War One and served until 1948.
The battleship has not gotten as much attention from historians as have other ships of its kind, but its service is noteworthy nonetheless.
Constructed in 1916, the Nevada arrived just in time for service in the Great War. It had some sterling combat successes in World War Two, as well.
The guns on the USS Nevada were not as big as those on the powerful Iowa-class battleships.
The Nevada’s 14-inch guns were less destructive than the 16-inch guns of the Iowa-class, but the dreadnought could do just as much damage thanks to its three-gun turret—an innovation for the era. The battleship excelled at shore bombardment and helped U.S. ground fighters survive amphibious attacks during numerous World War Two battles.
The Nevada was the first of her class. She was joined by the USS Oklahoma (BB-37), which was sunk during Pearl Harbor.
The Nevada was quite active in drills and exercises during the interwar period, with service in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific. The ship even steamed to Brazil and Australia, displaying its global reach.
Modernized During the Inter-War Period
From 1927 to 1930, the Nevada received a refit that included “installation of a new superstructure, relocation of her five-inch secondary battery, new anti-aircraft guns, and significant improvements to her firepower and protection,” according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.
Quick Specs on the Nevada
The Nevada displaced 27,500 long tons and was 575 feet long. She had 12 water tube boilers and two steam turbines, in addition to two propellers.
The ship’s top speed was only 21 knots, but she had a range of 8,000 nautical miles. There were ten 14-inch guns and 21 five-inch guns. Fifty-five officers and 809 enlisted men were on board.
Pearl Harbor Heroics
It was during the attack on Pearl Harbor that the Nevada first made a name for herself. The dreadnought tried to leave the harbor under the devastating attack—the only battleship to do so—and sustained terrible damage from one torpedo and an assortment of bombs. The captain decided to beach the Nevada, but she survived, unbelievably.
Shipbuilders and maintainers were able to save the Nevada by making huge amounts of repairs and restorations.
The Nevada was back in the war and even had better anti-aircraft guns onboard.
This was a shot in the arm to the Navy’s confidence after the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. Through grit, luck, and hard work, the Nevada would survive World War Two and deal out some payback to the Japanese and Germans.
To start, the Nevada was a key asset during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. She joined a huge flotilla of all kinds of ships. Those 14-inch guns came in handy and supported further allied ground force incursions into France.
The Nevada’s war duties were far from over. Sent back to the Pacific, she saw action in attacks on Iwo Jima and Okinawa toward the end of the conflict. The Nevada took a few licks in the process, including damage by a kamikaze bomber and an enemy shell in 1945.
The U.S. Navy began preparing for an attack on Japan to end the war in the Pacific, and had that invasion taken place, the Nevada was set to play a key role.
Time Was Not A Friend of the USS Nevada Battleship
The battleship was getting old and obsolete by the end of World War Two. Having served in two epochal wars, and after almost getting sunk at Pearl Harbor, the Nevada’s luck was running out.
In the end, her own military came knocking for the Nevada.
The U.S. military wanted to see how well a naval fleet could survive a nuclear blast. During Operation Crossroads, two atomic bombs were tested at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The trusty old Nevada was chosen to be one of the surplus ships in the target fleet for the test, which occurred in 1946.
Two nuclear devices detonated, and the world of USS Nevada was rocked. The trusty battleship didn’t sink, but did sustain major damage and was riddled with radioactivity. The Navy retired her that same year and scuttled the ship in 1948 near Hawaii.
The Nevada was a proud ship and served her country well. Too bad it had such an ignominious end. Thanks to good shipbuilding during World War One, ample refit expertise that came into play between the wars, and crucial repairs after Pearl Harbor, the ship had a long service period.
This battleship is not as famous as any of the Iowa-class vessels but should still go down in history as one of the Navy’s proudest.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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