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HISTORY
USS New York (BB-34) was a United States Navy battleship, the lead
ship of her class. Named for New York State, she was designed as the
first ship to carry the 14-inch (356 mm)/45-caliber gun.
Entering service in 1914, she was part of the U.S. Navy force which
was sent to reinforce the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea near
the end of World War I. During that time, she was involved in at
least two incidents with German U-boats, and is believed to have
been the only US ship to have sunk one in the war, during an
accidental collision in October 1918. Following the war, she was
sent on a litany of training exercises and cruises in both the
Atlantic and the Pacific, and saw several overhauls to increase her
armament, aircraft handling and armor.
She entered the Neutrality Patrol at the beginning of World War II,
and served as a convoy escort for ships to Iceland and Great Britain
in the early phase of the war. She saw her first combat against
coastal artillery during Operation Torch around Casablanca in North
Africa, and later became a training ship. Late in the war, she moved
to the Pacific, and provided naval gunfire support for the invasion
of Iwo Jima and later the invasion of Okinawa. Returning to Pearl
Harbor for repairs until the end of the war, she was classified
obsolete and was chosen to take part in the Operation Crossroads
nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946. She survived both
explosions and the effects of radiation on the ship were studied for
several years. She was eventually sunk as a target in 1948. She
received three battle stars for her service.
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