USS Washington - The Hero of Savo Island

The USS Washington might be the most famous US battleship that was not preserved after her service as a museum ship. Lovingly nicknamed the Rusty W by her crew, the Washington was the only fast battleship of the US Navy to ever sink an enemy battleship. Designated BB 56, she was the 2nd North Carolina class fast battleship to be built. She was commissioned just prior to US involvement in World War 2 and saw extensive action in the Pacific theater. Named in honor of the 42nd state, Washington earned 13 battle stars for her service and participated in almost every major naval campaign of the Pacific War.

Washington’s keel was laid down on June 14th, 1938 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and she was launched 2 years later in June 1940. Washington was commissioned into the fleet on May 21st, 1941. She helped guard Allied shipping lanes in the North Atlantic before making her way to the Pacific Theater, where she would provide a boost to the moral of the Navy and the folks at home with her defeat of the Japanese battleship Kirishima at the 2nd Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. She spent the rest of her time in the Pacific split between screening US carriers, shore bombardment and close fire support for the Marines during various amphibious assaults.

At the conclusion of the war, she participate in Navy Day at the Philadelphia Naval Yard before being sent back to England to participate in Operation Magic Carpet. After this, she was decommissioned and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet before being struck from the Naval Vessel Register in June 1960. She would be sold for scrapped and broken up the next year. A truly sad ending for a magnificent and legendary battleship.

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