USS CALIFORNIA (BB-44)



Moored opposite 1010 Dock as the southernmost battleship in Battleship Row, California was struck by one 250 KG bomb that caused a serious fire, suffered one damaging very near miss from another 250 KG bomb, and she received two torpedo impacts. The flooding from these torpedoes was slow but progressive; she had been opened-up for a pending inspection and this allowed the water to flow in freely, causing the abandonment of the fire and engine rooms. Her crew abandoned ship in the face of oil fires from Arizona, which eventually engulfed California. Returning to the ship when the fires abated, her crew was unable to stop her from settling to the harbor bottom but managed to keep her on an even keel. Successfully raised and salvaged, she rejoined the fleet in 1943.


SHIPS DATA

NAME: California

HULL NUMBER: BB-44

DIMENSIONS:

Displacement: 32,600 tons (normal), 35,190 tons (full load)
Waterline Length: 600'
Length Overall: 624'
Maximum Beam: 110'
Mean Draft: 30.5'
Maximum Draft: 35' 5"

ARMAMENT:

12x14"/50cal Mk.IV (triple mountings)
10x5"/51 cal (single mountings)
8x5"/25 cal. (single mountings)


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PHOTO GALLERY

HISTORY
AERIAL-VIEW, STARBOARD-FORWARD
STERN-VIEW, IN DRYDOCK
SAN DIEGO, 1928
ON FORECASTLE, FACING AFT
CALIFORNIA LISTS AS OIL FIRE APPROACHES
BOW-VIEW OF CALIFORNIA, AS NEOSHO BACKS CLEAR
CALIFORNIA ENGULFED IN OIL FIRE
REMOVAL OF MAINMAST
UNDERGOING SALVAGE, BOW-VIEW
PUMPING OUT WATER DURING RAISING EFFORTS
RAISED, ENTERING DRYDOCK
CLOSEUP OF DAMAGE
CALIFORNIA, 1945



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