USS California

Historical information

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 to be a 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.