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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

"Magic Carpet" Press Release

UNITED STATES
PACIFIC FLEET and
PACIFIC OCEAN AREAS
(For Immediate Release to
Press and Radio,
8 November 1945.)

Press Release N0. 868

The six old battleships now assigned to "magic carpet" duty in ferrying Pacific veterans to the mainland have some of the most colorful fighting records of World War II. Three of the group were sunk of severely damaged in the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

The USS Maryland, commissioned July 21, 1921, was repaired and sent to the New Hebrides area after the Pearl Harbor attack. The Maryland silenced coastal batteries and carried out shore bombardments at Tarawa, Kwajalein, Roi and Saipan before being damaged by an aerial torpedo on June 22, 1944. By September the "Mary" was in action again at Peleliu and later she participated in the battles for Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. She was damaged by suicide planes both at Leyte and in the Okinawa area.

The USS Nevada, commissioned March 11, 1916, is a veteran of both world wars. First of the great oil-burning super-dreadnaughts of the American Navy along with her sister ship the Oklahoma, the Nevada did patrol in the North Atlantic during World War I. The Nevada was hit by bombs and torpedo at Pearl Harbor, but after being modernized and restored to fighting efficiency she participated in the Attu landings. She supported the Normandy invasion, dueled successfully with coastal guns at Cherbourg and silenced shore batteries in the invasion of Southern France. Two more stars were added to her battle record in the Pacific – at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

The USS West Virginia damaged so severely at Pearl Harbor that she sank in here berth, came back out of the mud to establish a record as a great fighting ship. During the period between September 21, 1944, and her triumphal entry into Tokyo Bay, the West Virginia participated in every major island campaign in the northward drive to Japan, fighting at Leyte Gulf, at Surigao straits in the Second Battle of the Philippines, at Mindoro and Lingayen Gulf. At Iwo Jima the West Virginia moved in close enough to hit the enemy with automatic weapons fire. During the Okinawa campaign she was hit by a suicide plane but was ready to fight again within an hour. The West Virginia was commissioned December 1, 1943.

Oldest battleship on active service in the Navy, the USS Arkansas participated in five major operations in the European and Pacific areas without sustaining damage or casualty. She was 33 years old last September 17 and had been ready for decommissioning when the war began. The Arkansas fought at Normandy, at Cherbourg and in the Southern France invasion. Her first offensive action in the Western Pacific was at Iwo Jima. She spent 50 days supporting operations at Okinawa.

The USS Colorado, commissioned March 22, 1921, participated in 10 major Pacific invasions—from Tarawa to Okinawa. When Pearl Harbor was attacked the Colorado was in Bremerton Navy Yard, and for several months she was one of the few major units of the Pacific Fleet standing between the Japanese and the Pacific Coast. The veteran battleship was damaged in three different actions—at Tinian, in Leyte Gulf and in Lingayen Gulf.

The USS Texas, a veteran of both world wars, was commissioned March 2, 1914. She joined the Pacific Fleet in the summer of 1919 and served at times as the fleet flagship. After a period of patrol and convoy work in the North Atlantic, the Texas participated in the invasions of North Africa, Normandy, southern France, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The only damage the Texas sustained in action was in a duel with shore batteries at Cherbourg, France. While at Okinawa the Texas fired four complete shiploads of ammunition in her preliminary bombardment and in support of ground operations.


28 Nov 2006