USS Nevada

The USS Nevada BB-36 was commissioned on March 11, 1916. She was the first of two Nevada-class battleships, her sister ship being the USS Oklahoma. She served in WWI, being among the ships selected to assist the Royal Navy as part of the sixth battle squadron. In August of 1927, she underwent modernization work, including new engines and revised turrets, allowing for greater gun elevation. On December 7, 1941, the USS Nevada was moored at battleship row just behind the USS Arizona battleship. As chance would have it, one of Nevada’s boilers was lit when the Japanese attack began. She was hit by a torpedo that caused flooding. She was able to get underway and was heading for the harbor entrance. This made her a prime target for Japanese bombers hoping to sink her in the channel, effectively blocking the harbor. Several bomb hits caused the fire aboard her and could have led to the loss of the ship by magazine detonation if her magazines had not been empty. Her ammunition had been unloaded as her shells were being replaced with improved shells, and the crew had not yet loaded the new shells and powder. When it became evident that the USS Nevada was beginning to sink, she was ordered to shallower water. With the assistance of a tug and a minesweeper, she was grounded off Hospital Point. She was refloated and sent to Puget Sound for repair and refit. Her modernization was completed in October of 1942. The USS Nevada provided naval gunfire support for the landings in the Aleutian Islands Campaign, D-Day landings in Normandy, Operation Dragoon, the landings in Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. She was decommissioned on August 29, 1946. She was spent as a target in Operation Crossroads, the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. Below is a list of the personnel killed on December 7, 1941. Please view the list to learn the names of those who lost their lives on that day.