The USS Massachusetts BB-59 was a South Dakota Class battleship used during World War II. It was built by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, in the Fore River Shipyards, Massachusetts, being launched in 1941 and entering service with US Navy in May 1942. The BB-59 saw action off the coast of North Africa and in the Pacific theater of operation during World War II, taking part in Operation Torch (the landing in North Africa in 1942), the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 1944), and the Philippines Campaign (October 1944-August 1945).
This powerful warship was armed with nine 410mm heavy guns, mounted in three towers in groups of three cannons, two on the foredeck and one on the aft deck; twenty 130mm guns; twenty four Bofors 40mm AA guns, and 35 Oerlikon 20mm AA guns. The ship’s length was 681 ft (207 m), its beam 108 ft (33 m), and its draft 29 ft (10 m), displacing 35,000 tons. It had maximum speed was 27 knots and a range of 8,000 nautical miles.
