World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseColorado was the lead ship of her class of battleships. She was launched from the drydocks of the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, United States in 1921, and was commissioned two years later with Captain R. R. Belknap in command. On 29 Dec 1923, she sailed from New York City, New York, United States to Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom; subsequent port calls on the voyage took her to France, Italy, and Gibraltar. On 15 Sep 1924, she arrived in San Francisco, California, United States, and served in US Navy's Battle Fleet in the Pacific Ocean until 1941, with a trip to Australia and New Zealand in 1925 and occasional visits to the Caribbean Sea. In 1928-1929, her eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns were replaced by eight 5-inch guns. On 27 Jan 1941, she was moved to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Untied States. Between 25 Jun 1941 and 31 Mar 1942, she was undergoing overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington, United States, thus escaping the Japanese raid at Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941. Between 31 May and Aug, she operated off San Francisco, performing training exercises and watching for any hostile action against that city by the Japanese. On 14 Aug 1942, she returned to Pearl Harbor. Between 8 Nov 1942 and 17 Sep 1943, she operated in the Fiji Islands and the New Hebrides region. In Nov 1943, she performed pre-invasion naval bombardment on the Japanese-held Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. After a brief overhaul, she returned to Hawaii on 21 Jan 1944, departing on the next day to perform pre-invasion bombardment duties at Kwajalein and Eniwetok of the Marshall Islands, where she remained until 23 Feb. After overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Colorado performed pre-invasion bombardment and naval gunfire support duties at Saipan, Guam, and Tinian of the Mariana Islands between 14 Jun and 3 Aug; on 24 Jul, she was damaged by 22 shells fired from Japanese shore batteries while off Tinian, which required her to return to the United States for repairs after the Mariana Islands campaign. On 20 Nov 1944, she supported the American ground operations at the island of Leyte in the Philippine Islands. In late Nov, she was hit by two kamikaze special attack aircraft, killing 19 and wounding 72. Between 12 and 17 Dec, she bombarded Mindoro, Philippine Islands. On 1 Jan 1945, she participated in the pre-invasion bombardment of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands. On 9 Jan, accidental gunfire hit her superstructure, killing 18 and wounding 51. After repairs at Ulithi, she participated in the pre-invasion bombardment of Okinawa, then remained in the area until 22 May. After the Japanese surrender, she sailed to Tokyo, Japan on 27 Aug to provide naval support for the American aerial landing at Atsugi Airfield. She departed Japan on 20 Sep 1945, arriving at San Francisco on 15 Oct, then proceeded to Seattle, Washington, United States. She made three Operation Magic Carpet runs between Pearl Harbor and the west coast of the United States, bringing 6,357 American servicemen home from the Pacific theater of war. She was decommissioned at Bremerton Navy Yard, Washington in Jan 1947, and was sold for scrap on 23 Jul 1959.

Battleship Colorado Interactive Map

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Colorado Operational Timeline

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5.  David Stubblebine says:
15 Nov 2015 10:26:03 PM

According to the USS Colorado Muster Rolls, Alfred Gentry Ryan, F2c 975-04-32, was taken aboard on 30 Aug 1944 from the receiving station at Bremerton, Washington.