U.S.S. Tennessee (BB-43)
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History
United States
Name: U.S.S. Tennessee
Namesake: State of Tennessee
Ordered: 28 December 1915
Builder: New York Naval Shipyard
Laid down: 14 May 1917
Launched: 30 April 1919
Sponsored by: Helen Lenore Roberts
Commissioned: 3 June 1920
Decommissioned: 14 February 1947
Struck: 1 March 1959
Nickname: ''The Rebel Ship''
Honors and awards: Navy Unit Commendation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 10 battle stars, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Medal with 1 battle star, American Campaign Medal, Navy Occupation Medal with Asia Clasp, World War II Victory Medal
Fate: Sold for scrap, 10 July 1959

General characteristics
Class & type: Tennessee class battleship
Displacement: 33,190 tons (40,950 after refit)
Length: 624 feet (190 m)
Beam: 97.3 feet (29.7 m) (original), 114 feet (35 m) (rebuilt)
Draft: 31 feet (9.4 m)
Speed: 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Complement: 57 officers, 1026 enlisted men

Armament: 12 - 14 inch (360 mm)/50 cal guns, 14 - 5 inch (130 mm)/51 cal guns, 4 - 3 inch (76 mm)/50 cal guns, 2 - 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes after reconstruction: 12 - 14 inch (360 mm)/50 cal guns, 16 - 5 inch (127 mm)/38 cal Mark 12 guns, 40 - 40 mm antiaircraft guns, 41 Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

Armor: Belt: 8 - 13.5 inch (203 - 343 mm), Barbettes: 13 inch (330 mm), Turret face: 18 inch (457 mm), Turret sides: 9 - 10 inch (229 - 254 mm), Turret top: 5 inch (127 mm), Turret rear 9 inch (229 mm), Conning tower: 11.5 inch (292 mm), Decks: 3.5 inch (89 mm)

The U.S.S. Tennessee (BB-43), the lead ship of her class of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 16th U.S. state. During World War II in the Pacific Theater, she was damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 but was repaired and modernized. She participated in shore bombardments at the Aleutian Islands, Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, etc. She was also involved in the Battle of Surigao Strait, the final battleship vs. battleship conflict ever. After the end of World War II, the Tennessee was placed on reserve in the ''mothball fleet'' for nearly 15 years before finally being scrapped in 1959.

Design and construction
The Tennessee's keel was laid down on 14 May 1917 at the New York Naval Shipyard. She was launched on 30 April 1919, sponsored by Miss. Helen Lenore Roberts, daughter of Tennessee Governor Albert H. Roberts, and commissioned on 3 June 1920, Captain Richard H. Leigh in command.

The USS Tennessee and her sister ship, the USS California, were the first American battleships built to a ''post Jutland'' hull design. As a result of extensive experimentation and testing, her underwater hull protection was much greater than that of previous battleships, and both her main and secondary batteries had fire control systems. The Tennessee class, and the three ships of the Colorado class that followed, were identified by two heavy cage masts supporting large optical fire control systems. This feature was to distinguish the ''Big Five'' from the rest of the battleship force until World War II. Since the Tennessee's 14 inch (360 mm) turret guns could be elevated as high as 30 degrees rather than only to the 15 degrees of the earlier U.S. Navy battleships, her heavy guns could fire an additional 10,000 yards (9,100 meters). Because the battleships were beginning to carry airplanes to spot long range gunfire, Tennessee's ability to shoot ''over the horizon'' had a practical value.