Pennsylvania Class Battleship - World War II

World War II

The Pennsylvanias were both present during Japan's 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Arizona suffered a catastrophic detonation of the forward powder magazines when a bomb from a Hiryū Nakajima B5N "Kate" bomber hit between and to port of Turrets No. 1 and 2, resulting in the most dramatic and costly casualty of the raid. Arizona sank after a massive explosion that destroyed the forward part of the ship.

Pennsylvania was only lightly damaged, and she served in the Pacific throughout World War II. Fitted with a new secondary battery of twin-mounted 5-inch (127 mm) 38-caliber guns in late 1942, she supported many amphibious invasions and was present during the world's last battle between big-gun warships, the Battle of Surigao Strait on 25 October 1944. A torpedo hit in August 1945 damaged her propulsion beyond economical repair, wrecking three out of four shafts. With other obsolete battleships, Pennsylvania was a target of the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb test in 1946 and was scuttled at sea two years later.