USS Utah (BB-31)

History of USS Utah (BB-31)

USS Utah (BB-31) was a Florida-class dreadnought, unveiled on the eve of World War I (1914-1918). The class consisted of only two battleships -- Utah and the main ship USS Florida (BB-30) (described in detail elsewhere on this page) -- but both were created during World Wars I and II During their careers in service.

Although USS Florida was abandoned in the early 1930s to comply with the naval treaties of the time, USS Utah continued to serve until World War II (1939-1945), culminating in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 2018) destroy. Damaged beyond repair in 1941).

The dreadnought is a new type of warship named after the Royal Navy's HMS dreadnought. HMS Dreadnought rewrote the battleship design book when it was introduced in 1906, as it featured a monolithic large-caliber primary battery and an impressive secondary battery, powered by steam propulsion, and demonstrated perfection in speed and armor protection combine.

Thus, from her inception, every previous warship of the design was referred to as a "pre-dreadnought", while the HMS dreadnought was later designated as a completely new type of warship - simply referred to as a "dreadnought".

After the job was completed, she made another friendly trip south, but was then forced to refit as a target ship due to an ongoing naval contract, designated USS Utah (AG-16). She survived this role and participated in various fleet exercises during the second half of the 1930s while transforming into an air defense (AA) training platform. From there, she crossed the waters of the Pacific Ocean and landed at Pearl Harbor in August 1940. Further AA training took place and the ship set sail for the California coast just before Christmas.

She went through another period as a target ship until she was again transferred to the Pearl, where she arrived in early April 1941. Another period of shooting training followed, and another visit to the West Coast, and she was finally back in Hawaiian waters before it was over.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor and Destiny

The USS Utah was present when the Japanese attacked the port on December 7, 1941. Her anchor at Ford Island made her an attractive target, and she took down two Japanese torpedoes. Massive flooding partially submerged her, and the port manifest made rescue difficult.

When it finally rolled aside, dozens of people were trapped. Subsequent attempts to cut into her hull resulted in only four crew members trapped, the rest of the crew were killed inside. In total, Utah lost 64 sailors that day. Attempts were made to lift them up and rearrange them, but the initiative proved unsuccessful.

Instead, she was decommissioned on September 5, 1944, and removed from the Naval Register on November 13 of the same year. Her hull was left in the harbor waters as a grave and a memorial to the lives lost.

USS Utah was awarded a Battle Star for his service in WWII.

Specification

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