Operational History
With some of the British naval forces being committed near Madagascar in early 1942, USS Washington was allowed to serve with the British Home Fleet in the North Atlantic where she became the flagship vessel of Task Force 39. TF39 was charged with escorting supply convoys destined for Archangel and Murmansk in Russia as part of the Len-Lease Act the Allies arranged in assisting the Soviet Union in their fight against Nazism. Since the KMS Tirpitz - sister ship to the German battleship KMS Bismarck - was also a threat to the region, Washington served as a watchful pair of guns in support of the British Royal Navy. Washington served with TF39 for four months before returning stateside in July of 1942 for her first overhaul. Her next deployment was out to the Pacific Theater where she sailed in August - and would ultimately spend most of her time during the war. From Casco, Maine, Washington next headed towards Scapa Flow. Rear Admiral John Walter Wilcox was then lost overboard en route when heavy seas rattled the vessel. The vessel then fell under the command of Rear Admiral Willis Augustus Less. From August 23rd 1942 on, the USS Washington went on to serve in Pacific waters for a total of 34 months.
Arriving at Tonga in September of 1942, Washington was put to work just two months later. Her first major assignment was the interception of a Japanese Navy Task Force nearing Guadalcanal. She was paired with the USS South Dakota among other USN surface ships. During the ensuing night time action - this making up the Third Battle of Savo - USS Washington teamed with the South Dakota against the IJN battleship Kirishima. While South Dakota took heavy damage to her topside facings, the guns of the USS Washington kept the battle in check for the Americans, delivering heavy damage to the Kirishima in turn. IJN Kirishima was deemed beyond repair and scuttled by her crew and the last major Japanese naval offensive at Guadalcanal was repulsed - USS Washington's first battleship-to-battleship confrontation was a success. In fact, Washington became the only US Navy capital ship to best an enemy capital ship in the whole of the war. Washington's guns were also credited with sinking the IJN destroyer Ayanami in the same battle. Through most of 1943, the USS Washington served as an all-important defensive escort to American aircraft carriers in the Theater. Her anti-aircraft gun network was key to protecting the aircraft-laden carrier vessels.
For a time, USS Washington was the only USN battleship class warship in the Pacific. She undertook important patrols around enemy held waters for five straight weeks, often working on her own. For nearly 80 days, the Washington and her crew were on the run, resulting in the vessel setting a record of 31,494 miles steamed. During this period, she was refueled at sea some 16 times but also fueled passing Allied destroyers 59 times herself.
Washington next brought her guns to bear - along with five other USN battleships - in the bombardment of Japanese positions across Nauru in December of 1943. In the early hours of February 1944, the Washington accidentally rammed the USS Indiana as the latter cut in front of the Washington's bow to refuel awaiting destroyers. The collision resulted in non-combat deaths to some of her crew and some 60 feet of area across the Washington's bow was damaged to the point that she was sent back to Pearl Harbor to undergo repairs. However, damage was severe enough that engineers at Pearl gave the battleship a temporary bow so she could steam safely back to Puget Sound Navy Yard for thorough repairs. By the middle of 1944, the USS Washington was back in action with the American fleet in the Pacific.
The USS Washington was called up again to bombard enemy locations, this time at Saipan and Tinian. After these actions, she was part of the US naval presence during the Battle of the Philippine Sea - also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". In the ensuing action, the USN Fifth Fleet under Raymond A. Spruance tangled with an IJN combined fleet under Admirals Jisaburo Ozawa and Kakuji Kakuta. Seven USN fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 7 battleships, 28 submarines and nearly 1,000 aircraft of the USN faced off against 5 fleet carriers, 4 light carriers, 5 battleships and 750 aircraft of the IJN. The battle took place between June 19th and 20th, 1944 in the Philippine Sea proper and resulted in a decisive American victory - netting 3 aircraft carriers and 2 oilers sunk with another 6 ships heavily damaged. More importantly, 600 enemy aircraft were destroyed in the fighting (hence the "turkey shoot" terminology). In contrast, the USN lost 123 aircraft but still managed to save 80 of these crew. The major difference in the battle became the USN carrier-based fighter aircraft as well as the net of anti-aircraft defense protecting the carrier groups.
After victory, Washington opened fire against Japanese locations at Iwo Jima (the battle lasting from February - March 1945) and Okinawa (from April to June 1945), supporting the inevitable American amphibious landings by US Marines and Army personnel. After much bloodshed by ground troops on both sides, the islands eventually fell to the advancing American ground forces. On July 1st, 1945, USS Washington was called back stateside for another overhaul. Her stay at Puget Sound Navy Yard was extended until October to which the war against Japan had already completed in August of 1945 and was finalized in total surrender on September 2nd on the decks of the fabled Iowa-class battleship, the USS Missouri.
By the end of World War 2, the USS Washington had amassed 289,609 miles during her sailing tenure. In all, she expelled 3,535 rounds from her 16-inch guns and 28,062 projectiles of 5-inch ammunition. Outdoing them both were her 20mm gun crews that tallied over 350,000 cannon rounds. She participated in the repulsion of some 53 incoming enemy air attacks as well and destroyed multiple enemy surface vessels - from battleships and destroyers to support ships and transports - no enemy vessel, it seemed, was safe from the USS Washington.
Post War
The USS Washington was one of those special US Navy ships that ultimately served through to the end of World War 2 and earned herself 13 Battle Stars in the process. With the Pacific War now behind her, Washington made her way back to the American east coast and took part in the scheduled "Navy Day" celebrations. Soon after, Washington participated in "Operation Magic Carpet" and returned American soldiers back home from their overseas deployments. The vessel was then officially decommissioned on June 27th, 1947 and formally struck from the Naval Register on June 1st, 1960 - exactly 20 years after her commissioning.
As with other fighting US Navy vessels after the war, the USS Washington was unceremoniously sold for scrapping on May 24th, 1961 - and unfitting end for yet another fine US Navy warship.
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