USS Maryland (BB-46), a Colorado-class battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the seventh state.
Her keel was laid down 24 April 1917 by Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia, and launched 20 March 1920 and commissioned on 21 July 1921.
With a new type of seaplane catapult and the first 16 in (410 mm) guns mounted on a US ship, Maryland was the pride of the Navy. The next year, after fleet exercises off the Panama Canal Zone, Maryland transited the canal in the latter part of June to join the battle fleet stationed on the west coast.
She made a goodwill voyage to Australia and New Zealand in 1925.The eight 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns were replaced by an equal number of 5 inch (127 mm)/25 cal guns in 1928-1929. Throughout these years and the 1930s, she served as a mainstay of fleet readiness. In 1940, Maryland and the other battleships of the battle force changed their bases of operations to Pearl Harbor. She was present at Battleship Row along Ford Island during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Inboard of Oklahoma, and thus protected from the initial torpedo attack, Maryland managed to bring all her antiaircraft (AA) batteries into action. Maryland was struck by two armor-piercing bombs which detonated low-order. The first struck the forecastle awning the second exploded after entering the hull at the 22 ft (6.7 m) water level at Frame 10. The latter hit caused flooding and increased the draft forward by 5 ft (1.5 m). The Japanese announced that she had been sunk, but 30 December, the ship entered the repair yard at Puget Sound Navy Yard. Two of the original 12 5 inch (127 mm)/51 cal guns were removed and the 5 inch (127 mm)/25 cal guns were replaced by an equal number of 5 inch (127 mm)/38 cal guns.
She emerged 26 February 1942 repaired, modernized and ready for service. During the important Battle of Midway, the old battleships, not fast enough to accompany the carriers, operated as a backup force. Thereafter Maryland engaged in almost constant training exercises until 1 August, when she returned to Pearl Harbor. Assigned sentinel duty along the southern supply routes to Australia and the Pacific fighting fronts, Maryland and Colorado operated out of the Fiji Islands in November and advanced to the New Hebrides in February 1943. Her return to Pearl Harbor after ten months in the heat of the South Pacific brought the installation of additional 40 mm anti-aircraft protection.
In the vast amphibious campaigns of the Pacific, the firepower of Maryland and her sister ships played a key role. Departing the Hawaiian Islands on 20 October for the South Pacific, Maryland became flagship for the Attack Force in the Gilbert Islands Invasion. On 20 November, her guns commenced five days of shore bombardment and call fire assignment in support of the amphibious assaults at Tarawa. After the island's capture, she remained in the area protecting the transports until she headed back to the United States on 7 December.
Maryland steamed from San Pedro, California on 13 January 1944, rendezvoused with Task Force 53 (TF 53) at Hawaii, and sailed in time to be in position off the well-fortified Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands on the morning of 31 January. Assigned to reduce pillboxes and blockhouses on Roi Island, she fired all day and again the following morning until the assault waves were within 500 yd (460 m) of the beach. Following the operation, she steamed back to Bremerton, Washington, for new guns and an overhaul.
Two months later, Maryland, again readied for battle, sailed westward on 5 May to participate in the biggest campaign yet attempted in the Pacific war: Saipan. Firing commenced 0545 on 14 June. Silencing two coastal guns, Maryland encountered little opposition as she delivered one devastating barrage after another. The Japanese attempted to strike back through the air. On 18 June, the ship's guns claimed their first victim but four days later a Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" sneaked in flying low and found two anchored battleships. Crossing the bow of Pennsylvania, she dropped a torpedo which opened a gaping hole in Maryland's portside bow. Casualties were light, and in 15 minutes she was underway for Eniwetok, shortly thereafter arriving at the repair yards at Pearl Harbor.
On 19 August, 34 days after arrival, the ship again steamed forth for the war zone. Rehearsing briefly in the Solomons, she joined the Western Fire Support Group (Task Group TG 32.5/TG 32.5) bound for the Palau Islands. Firing first on 12 September to cover minesweeping operations and underwater demolition teams, she continued the shore bombardment until the landing craft approached the beaches on 15 September. Four days later, organized resistance collapsed, permitting the fire support ships to retire to the Admiralty Islands.
Reassigned to the Seventh Fleet, Maryland sortied on 12 October to cover the important initial landings in the Philippines at Leyte and the invasion force entered Leyte Gulf on 18 October. The bombardment the following day and the landings of 20 October went well, but the Japanese decided to contest this success with both kamikazes and a three-pronged naval attack.
Forewarned by submarines and scout planes, the American battleship-cruiser force steamed 24 October to the southern end of Leyte Gulf to protect Surigao Strait. Early on 25 October the enemy battleships Fusō and Yamashiro led the Japanese advance into the Strait. The waiting Americans pounded the enemy ships severely. First came torpedoes from the fleet PT boats, then more torpedoes from the destroyers, which destroyed Fusō. Next came gunfire from the cruisers. Finally, at 0355, the readied guns of the battleship line opened fire. Thunderous salvos of heavy-caliber fire slowed the enemy force and set the Japanese battleships on fire. Leaving their doomed battleships behind, the decimated enemy ships fled; only a remnant of the original force escaped subsequent naval air attacks. Similarly, other US forces blunted and repulsed attacks by the center and northern enemy forces during the decisive Battle of Leyte Gulf.
In the aftermath of this important victory, Maryland patrolled the southern approaches to Surigao Strait until 29 October and resumed patrol duty 16 November. Japanese air attacks continued to pose a threat. During a raid on 17 November, guns of TG 77.2 splashed 11 of the attacking planes. Two days later, a determined kamikaze dove through the clouds and crashed onto Maryland between turrets Nos. 1 and 2. 31 sailors died in the explosion and fire that followed. On 29 November, Maryland was again damaged by a kamikaze attack, however the battleship continued her patrols until relieved on 2 December. She reached Pearl Harbor on 18 December, and during the next two months, workmen repaired and refitted "Fighting Mary".
After refresher training, Maryland headed for the western Pacific 4 March 1945, arriving Ulithi on 16 March. There she joined Rear Admiral M.L. Deyo's TF 54 and on 21 March departed for the invasion of Okinawa. She closed the coast of Okinawa 25 March and began hitting assigned targets along the southwestern part of the Japanese island fortress. In addition, she provided fire support during a diversionary raid on the southeast coast drawing enemy defenses from the main amphibious landings on the western beaches. On 3 April, she received a fire support call from Minneapolis. The cruiser was unable to silence entrenched shore batteries and called on "Fighting Mary"'s mighty 16 in (410 mm) guns for aid. The veteran battleship hurled six salvos which destroyed the enemy artillery.
Maryland continued fire support duty until 7 April. when she sailed with TF 54 to intercept a Japanese surface force to the northward. These ships, including the mighty Yamato, came under intense air attacks that same day, and planes of the Fast Carrier Task Force sank six of 10 ships in the force. At dusk on the 7th, Maryland took her third hit from enemy planes in 10 months. A kamikaze loaded with a 550 lb (250 kg) bomb crashed the top of Turret No. 3 causing 53 casualties. On 14 April, Maryland left the firing line as escort for retiring transports. Steaming via the Mariana Islands and Pearl Harbor, she reached the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington on 7 May for extensive overhaul. All 5 inch (127 mm) guns were removed and replaced by 16 5 inch (127 mm)/38 cal guns in new twin mounts. Completing repairs in August, she now entered Operation Magic Carpet fleet where she made five voyages between the west coast and Pearl Harbor, returning more than 8,000 combat veterans to the United States
Arriving at Seattle, Washington on 17 December, Maryland completed her Operation Magic Carpet duty. She entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 15 April 1946, and was placed in commission in reserve on an inactive basis on 16 July. She was decommissioned at Bremerton on 3 April 1947, and remained there as a unit of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Maryland was sold for scrapping to Learner Company of Oakland, California on 8 July 1959.
Extract from Wikipedia.
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