USS California (BB-44)

USS California at sea, mid-1930s
History
United States
Name:	California
Namesake:	State of California
Ordered:	28 December 1915
Builder:	Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Laid down:	25 October 1916
Launched:	20 November 1919
Sponsored by:	Barbara Stephens Zane
Commissioned:	10 August 1921
Decommissioned:	14 February 1947
Struck:	1 March 1959
Identification:	Hull symbol:BB-44 Code letters:NAFT
Nickname(s):	"The Prune Barge"
Honors and awards:	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 10 × battle stars World War II Victory Medal American Campaign Medal Navy Occupation Medal w/ Asia Clasp
Fate:	Sold 10 July 1959
Status:	Broken up for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type:	Tennessee-class battleship
Displacement:	33,190 long tons (33,723 t) (original) 40,950 long tons (41,607 t) (rebuilt)
Length:	600 ft (180 m) pp 624 ft (190 m) oa
Beam:	97 ft 5 in (29.69 m) (original) 114 ft (35 m) (rebuilt)
Draft:	30.3 ft (9.2 m)
Installed power:	26,800 shp (20,000 kW) (original) 29,000 shp (22,000 kW) (rebuilt)
Propulsion:	4 × turbo-electric transmission 4 × screws
Speed:	21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Complement:	57 officers, 1,026 men
Sensors and processing systems:	CXAM radar from 1940
Armament:	12 × 14 in (356 mm)/50 cal guns 14 × 5 in (127 mm)/51 cal guns 4 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns 2 × Mark 15 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes After reconstruction: 12 × 14 in (356 mm)/50 cal guns 16 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal Mark 12 guns (8×2) 56 × Bofors 40 mm (1.57 in) anti-aircraft guns (11×4, 5×2) 31 × Oerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons
Armor:	Belt: 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm) Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm) Turret face: 18 in (457 mm) Turret sides: 9–10 in (229–254 mm) Turret top: 5 in (127 mm) Turret rear 9 in (229 mm) Conning tower: 11.5 in (292 mm) Decks: 3.5 in (89 mm)

USS California (BB-44), one of two Tennessee-class battleships completed shortly after World War I, was the fifth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 31st state. She was the last American battleship built on the West Coast, and the only one of the dreadnought type. She served in the Pacific her entire career, and for twenty years was the flagship of the Pacific Fleet. She was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor at her moorings in Battleship Row, but was salvaged and reconstructed. She served again for the remainder of World War II before being decommissioned in 1947. She was sold for scrap in 1959.

Her keel was laid down on 25 October 1916 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California. She was launched 20 November 1919 sponsored by Mrs. R.T. (Barbara Stephens) Zane, daughter of California governor William D. Stephens; and commissioned on 10 August 1921, Captain Henry Joseph Ziegemeier, USN, in command. She immediately reported to the Pacific Fleet as flagship.

For 20 years, from 1921 to 1941, California served first as flagship of the Pacific Fleet, then as flagship of the Battle Fleet (Battle Force), US Fleet. Her annual activities included joint Army-Navy exercises, tactical and organizational development problems, and fleet concentrations for various purposes. Intensive training and superior performance won her the Battle Efficiency Pennant for 1921 and 1922, and the Gunnery "E" for 1925 and 1926.