USS Wisconsin was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on December 7, 1943. Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications. During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations. Wisconsin and her sister ship Missouri were finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on March 17, 2006.
About USS Wisconsin (BB-64) in brief
USS Wisconsin was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on December 7, 1943. During her career, Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned. Wisconsin was reactivated on August 1, 1986; after a modernization program, she participated in Operation Desert Storm in January and February 1991. Wisconsin and her sister ship Missouri were finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on March 17, 2006, making them the last battleships on a navy list in the world. The City of Norfolk officially took over ownership of the ship on April 15, 2010. She currently functions as a museum ship operated by Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin is numerically the highest-numbered US battleship built. Her keel was laid down on January 25, 1941, and she was commissioned on April 16, 1944, with Captain Earl E. Stone in command. Wisconsin’s main battery consisted of nine 16-in 50 cal Mark 7 guns, which could fire 2,700 lb armor-piercing shells some 20 mi. The secondary battery consist of 20 5-in 38 cal guns in ten twin turrets, which can fire at targets up to 10 mi away.
The battleship was fitted with thicker traverse bulkhead armor, 14. 5 inches, compared to 11. 3 inches in the first two ships of her class, the Iowa and New Jersey. Wisconsin missed initial thrust into Japanese-held territory, having arrived at a time when the planners of that movement had envisioned landings on the southwest coast of Luzon. As a part of the reconquest of the Philippines, she found herself in a fight for their lives when Typhoon Cobra unexpectedly overtook the 3rd Fleet’s Fast Carrier Task Force. On December 18, 2008, the ships of TF 38–seven overtook eight light carriers and six light carriers to soften up Japanese positions at Manila, and six of them were killed in a firefight. The ships were assigned to protect the South China Sea, where they were preparing for the coming invasion of Mindoro. In preparation for the invasion, Wisconsin was assigned to the Mindoro Task Force’s Fast carrier task force. She later moved to Hawaiian waters for training exercises and then headed for the Western Caroline Islands. On September 24, 2014, Wisconsin sailed for the west coast, transiting the Panama Canal, and reporting for duty with the Pacific Fleet on October 2. After a shakedown cruise, she returned to the builder’s yard for alterations and repairs. On October 2, Wisconsin joined Admiral William F. Halsey’s 3rdFleet.
You want to know more about USS Wisconsin (BB-64)?
This page is based on the article USS Wisconsin (BB-64) published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
