USS South Dakota (BB-57)
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Battleship South Dakota at Philadelphia Navy Yard 1946
Battleship South Dakota BB-57
Battleship USS South Dakota August 1945
Broadside view of USS South Dakota
Burning USS Bunker Hill seen from South Dakota 11 May 1945
Casualties of South Dakota buried at sea off Guam 1944
Chaplain Leads Memorial Service on USS South Dakota off Guam 1944
Launching of the battleship USS South Dakota at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey
Launching of the battleship USS South Dakota June 7, 1941
Silver King, brother to Emperor Hirohito's famous white horse Silver Tip, stands on a San Francisco dock looking at Admiral Halsey s battleship, the USS South Dakota
South Dakota's light anti-aircraft armament: quad 40mm Bofors mount
USS South Dakota aboard drydock ABSD-3 Guam May 1945
USS South Dakota August 9, 1943
USS South Dakota entering the Golden Gate September 1945
USS South Dakota in Drydock Guam 1945
USS South Dakota (BB-57), the lead ship of her class, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 40th state. Her keel was laid down on 5 July 1939 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched on 7 June 1941 sponsored by Mrs. Harlan J. Bushfield, and commissioned on 20 March 1942 with Captain Thomas L. Gatch in command.
On 31 January 1947, she was placed in reserve, out of commission. The battleship remained in that status until she was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 1 June 1962. On 25 October 1962, she was sold to Lipsett Division, Luria Brothers and Company, Incorporated, for scrap.South Dakota received 13 battle stars for World War II service.