Today in History, July 31, 1948:
The USS Nevada was the first “dreadnaught” or battleship, to use oil rather than coal for fuel, the first to use the later standard 3 main gun turrets.
Commissioned in 1914, she would serve in WWI and WWII. At Pearl Harbor, she was the only battleship on “battleship row” to get underway. Her executive officer, who was in charge in the Captain’s absence, made the wise decision to beach her at Hospital Point, as she had taken six bombs and a torpedo; had he continued his attempt to gain the sea, the massive ship could have sunk in the channel leading to the harbor, trapping other ships either in or out of Pearl Harbor.
She would be repaired and would serve in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters, at Normandy and Okinawa.
One of these photos shows her with the only remaining battleship to have served in both WWI and WWII, the USS Texas (visit her in Houston).
The obsolete warrior would be used for atomic testing at Bikini Atoll, being the subject of two atomic bomb tests.
She still would not quit, and had to be sunk with aerial torpedoes. Her only sister ship was not so fortunate. The USS Oklahoma capsized at Pearl Harbor, then sank while being towed back to the states for repair.
Just this year, the Nevada was located 65 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor on the ocean floor.
Mark Loves History! 