USS Maryland BB 46

The USS Maryland BB 46 was launched on March 20^th, 1920 from the Newport News Shipbuilding company of Newport News, Virginia. The ship was immediately deemed as the pride of the navy, and was used for many honorary celebrations such as the graduation for the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1922 and also at Boston, Massachusetts for the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge and the Fourth of July. On August 18^th she embarked on her first foreign voyage carrying Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes to Rio de Janeiro for Brazil’s Centennial Exposition. She also set out on a good-will cruise to New Zealand and Australia in 1925, and then transported President Herbert Hoover across the Pacific as part of his Latin American tour in 1928. Throughout the 1930’s she participated in endless operational training exercises amid growing concerns internationally, and on December 7^th, 1941 she was present and stationed along battleship row on Ford Island when the Japanese assaulted Pearl Harbor.

On February 26^th, 1942 she had been not only repaired but modernized and was ready for battle. She fought at the infamous Battle of Midway shortly thereafter became the flagship for Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill’s Southern Attack Force and assisted with the invasion of the Gilbert Islands where she provided shore bombardment and fire support during one the largest amphibious assaults in history. At Saipan, a Japanese fighter dropped a torpedo that blew a hole in Maryland’s bow. Casualties were minimal and after the battle she steamed towards Pearl Harbor for repairs.

During mid-October she was reassigned to the Seventh Fleet where she fought along with the invasion force storming the beaches of the Philippines. The USS Maryland BB 46 along with other American battleships annihilated enemy forces at the Battle of Leyte Gulf but was later severely damaged by Japanese kamikaze attacks. During her repairs at Pearl Harbor, the crew nicknamed the USS Maryland the “Fighting Mary.”

After repairs, she participated in the invasion of Okinawa which was one of the fiercest Japanese stronghold’s to be toppled during the war. When dusk came around on the morning of April 7^th, 1945 she was hit by a third kamikaze fighter plane carrying a 500 pound bomb that took 53 lives. After the war she was given seven battle stars for her service. The USS Maryland BB 46 was decommissioned on April 3^rd, 1947.

The USS Maryland BB 46 and her crew were at constant risk from enemy attack as well as violent weather, yet that wasn’t the only threat present. Material’s laden with asbestos were commonly acquired for use with the insulation of ships and submarines, more specifically the insulation that dealt with piping. That posed a great danger to the crews who were inhaling these deadly airborne substances. Any retired crewmembers that may have been exposed to this deadly need to monitor their respiratory health very closely amid growing concerns, due to asbestos being linked to the development of the cancer known as mesothelioma, or asbestos cancer.

Last modified: December 09 2009.