


Maryland
Country | United States |
Ship Class | Colorado-class Battleship |
Hull Number | BB-46 |
Commissioned | 1 Jul 1921 |
Decommissioned | 1 Jul 1959 |
Displacement | 32,600 tons standard |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseUSS Maryland, a 32,600-ton Colorado class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia, and commissioned in July 1921. During the 1920s and 1930s, she participated in regular fleet training and combat exercises. Maryland also made some notable long-distance cruises, including one to Rio De Janeiro in the Summer of 1922 to participate in Brazil's Centennial Exposition, the U.S. Fleet's trans-Pacific voyage in 1925, and President-Elect Herbert Hoover's 1928 good-will tour of Latin America.
ww2dbaseMaryland's base was changed from Long Beach, California, to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1940. She was moored at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese struck on 7 December 1941, but received relatively minor damage. Following repairs and overhaul, Maryland operated with Task Force One off the U.S. West Coast in 1942, deploying to the South Pacific later in the year. She took part in operations to capture the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in late 1943 and early 1944, employing her sixteen-inch guns in the pre-invasion bombardments of Tarawa and Kwajalein.
ww2dbaseIn June 1944, Maryland again participated in pre-invasion gunnery, this time against Saipan. During this operation, she was torpedoed by a Japanese aircraft, necessitating a trip to Pearl Harbor for repairs. The battleship returned to action for the Palaus operation in September 1944. During the Leyte invasion in October, she bombarded enemy positions ashore and fired on Japanese warships during the Battle of Surigao Strait. While operating off Leyte in late November, Maryland was damaged by a "Kamikaze" suicide plane.
ww2dbaseMaryland was repaired in time to participate in the Okinawa operation during March and April 1945, was again hit by enemy air attack on 7 April, but remained in action for another week. She then went to the West Coast for overhaul. This work was completed in early August, but the Pacific War ended before she could return to the combat zone. After spending the last months of 1945 transporting servicemen home from the mid-Pacific, Maryland went to Bremerton, Washington, for inactivation. She was decommissioned in April 1947 and remained in "mothballs" until July 1959, when she was sold for scrapping.
ww2dbaseSource: Naval Historical Center
Last Major Revision: Jan 2005
Battleship Maryland (BB-46) Interactive Map
Maryland Operational Timeline
1 Jul 1921 | Maryland was commissioned into service. |
30 Dec 1941 | USS Maryland arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for repairs. |
31 May 1942 | USS Maryland patrolled 650 miles west of San Francisco, California, United States. |
7 Apr 1945 | USS Hancock, USS Maryland, and 4 destroyers were damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft. |
1 Jul 1959 | Maryland was decommissioned from service. |
Photographs
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Visitor Submitted Comments
25 Sep 2017 02:48:01 PM
the article does not specify "month 1942" until timeline May in summary although another website claimed maryland operated february like the tenessee i believe "operated May" like timeline here so please add the month "May" to the article like timeline and verify that "february" is error. much thanks
14 Jul 2019 08:41:47 PM
How can I find a list of sailors who were on the USS Maryland on December 7, 1941?
I believe my dad could have been on it.

16 Jul 2019 07:50:32 PM
To: Eileen Holleran (above):
Navy Muster Rolls can be viewed at www.Fold3.com, but remember that Muster Rolls only contain names of enlisted Navy personnel; officers and Marines were listed in other documents that I have not found online. You did not include your father’s name but I did learn there were no Hollerans on Maryland’s Muster Rolls.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
» Rochefort, Joseph
Event(s) Participated:
» Attack on Pearl Harbor
» Philippines Campaign, Phase 1, the Leyte Campaign
Document(s):
» US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Enclosure E, USS Maryland
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Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937
21 Mar 2017 05:40:26 AM
My grandfather Leslie Gerald Langford was a crewman during ww2 I'm looking for more information about him.