State Ship Series: USS Pennsylvania
There has been four ships commissioned named after the state of Pennsylvania in the US Navy. The state was admitted into the United States on December 12, 1787.
USS PENNSYLVANIA (1837), possibly North Carolina class, 130 gun ship of the line, in commission from 1837 to 1838. One of nine ships to rate no less than 74 guns each authorized by the US Congress. She was the largest sailing ship of the line commissioned in the US Navy and the equivalent of a first-rate of the British Royal Navy. However, due to her large size, she was rarely used. Her only cruise was a single trip from Delaware Bay through Chesapeake Bay to the Norfolk Navy Yard. There she was decommissioned and entered a drydock to have her hull bottom covered in copper. After this, she was laid up and in 1842, became a receiving ship. During the American Civil War, she was set on fire and burned down to prevent capture by the Confederate forces.
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USS PENNSYLVANIA (1863), Guerriere class, screw frigate, laid down in 1863 but never launched. Originally named USS Keywaden, but renamed USS Pennsylvania in 1869. One of the eight wooden steam frigates authorized by the United States Navy during the American Civil War to provide a postwar general purpose fleet. Broken up in 1884
USS PENNSYLVANIA (ACR-4), Pennsylvania Class, Armored Cruiser, in commission from 1905 to 1930. Originally named USS Nebraska but was renamed Pennsylvania before being laid down. In 1912, she was renamed USS Pittsburgh to free the name for BB-38. In 1911, she became the first US Navy ship have an aircraft land on her when Eugene Ely flew a Curtiss Model D from a nearby airfield. She was involved with the occupation of Veracruz in 1914. During WWI, she patrolled the coast for U-boats. She was scrapped in accordance with the London Naval Treaty in 1931.
USS PENNSYLVANIA (BB-38)
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Pennsylvania Class, dreadnought battleship, in commission from 1916 to 1946.
She was the Flagship of several Admirals and Admirals of the US Navy during her career. She was not sent over during WWI due to being oil-fired but she escorted President Woodrow Wilson on USS George Washington to France to take part in the peace negotiations in December 1918. She was modernized from 1929 to 1931. During this time, USS Texas (BB-35) was used as the Flagship of US Navy. When she returned to duty, the Admiral transferred his flag back.
During the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, she was protected from torpedoes since in the drydock for repairs to her propellers. Two destroyers were sharing the drydock with her. This did not stop the torpedo bombers from trying. Her crew quickly manned the AA guns and likely shit down two aircraft. Dive Bombers dropped several bombs, with one hitting her casemates. Another hit a destroyer and caused a fire that engulfed both destroyers and was starting to spread to Pennsylvania. The drydock was quickly flooded to control the fire. After the attack, she was refloated to make room for other damaged battleships. She left the shipyard to be completed repair and upgraded on the west coast shipyards. She fought in the Aleutian Islands Campaign, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, Philippines campaign, Battle of Surigao Strait and the invasion of Okinawa. On August 12, 1945, whilr in Buckner Bay, a Japanese torpedo bomber managed to penetrate the Allied defensive screen undetected. It launch its torpedo at Pennsylvania and hit her stern on the starboard side. It tore a 30 foot (9.1 meter) hole in her stern and killed 20 sailors, injuring 10. This damaged two of her propellers and caused so much flooding that her stern settled on the bay floor before damage control parties were able to get it under control. Pennsylvania was the last major US warship to be damaged in the war. She was temporary repaired in Guam and left for Puget Sound for permanent repairs. Along the way, she lost another propeller when its shaft slipped aft and divers had to go down to cut it off. She made the rest of the voyage on one propeller.
During the war, she did not receive as many overhauls and refits as others. By 1945, her machinery was worn out and would require significantly reconditioning to brought up to standard. However, with the War over and the significant damage she received, it was decided to repair her enough to make her water tight for use in the atomic bomb tests in the Bikini Atoll. She survived both able and baker tests, and was contaminated with radioactive water from the blast. Towed to Kwajalein, where decontamination processes were tested. In 1948, she was towed out to sea and scuttled. She earned right battle stars during WWII.
USS PENNSYLVANIA (SSBN-735), Ohio Class, nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, in commission from 1989 to present. Reactor refueled in 2012. On June 14, 2014, Pennsylvania completed a record-setting 140-day strategic deterrent patrol.
Library of Congress: LC-USZC2-3122
NARA: 520791, 520584, 100996462, 520593
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