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1912 - 1919
1920 - 1929
1930 - 1940
Pearl Harbor Attack & Action Damage Report
Mare Island Modernization - 1942 / 1943
1945 - 1948 / Post WW II - Sinking
| Click On Image For Full Size Image | Size | Image Description | Contributed By And/Or Copyright |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 96k | Refit at Puget Sound Navy Yard on 29 July 1943. The Pennsylvania (BB-38) had MK3 & 4 added as well as SG & SK radar antennas. | Official U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of David Buell. | |
 | 53k | Photo taken on 1 August 1943 near Puget Sound after a refit. | USN photo. | |
 | 362k | Photo probably taken on 1 August 1943 near Puget Sound after a refit. | USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. | |
 | 126k | A VO-2 OS2U-3 is lifted off the recovery sled and about to be swung aboard Pennsylvania (BB-38) on 3 August 1943. | U.S. Navy Photograph submitted by Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 165k | Hookup for an OS2U-3 #24 aboard Pennsylvania (BB-38) on 3 August 1943. Note that the radiomast is folded down to avoid damage from striking cables. | U.S. Navy Photograph submitted by Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 90k | In Adak Bay, Adak, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 August 1943, just prior to the Kiska operation. An LST is in the left background. | Photograph HC # SC 245169, from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. | |
 | 65k | Pennsylvania class line drawing, 11/43. | Courtesy of Joe Radigan. | |
 | 78k | Back at Pearl Harbor after supporting the Gilbert Island invasion, Nov. 1943. The Pennsylvania (BB-38) (left) is shown tied up to the New Mexico(BB-40). The Pennsylvania has been modernized, with increased A.A. protection, and the removal of the tripod mainmast, which increased the A.A. weapons arcs of fire. | USN photo. | |
 | 425k | The Pennsylvania (BB-38) & Colorado (BB-45) are tied up in port at Pearl Harbor sometime around or after 7 December 1943. | Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 1-084-13, courtesy of David Buell. | |
 | 2.1m | Bombarding shore installations off Guam prior to the invasion, on 20 July 1944. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 85k | 20 October 1944 photo showing the Pennsylvania (BB-38) bombarding Leyte with her main and secondary batteries. Note the gun directors at the side of the bridge. Both are pointing to the port, as a primary and backup target controls for the 14"/45 and 5"/38guns. | USN photo. | |
 | 392k | A painting by the artist Wayne Scarpaci entitled "We have returned." The Pennsylvania (BB-38) is moving into bombardment position in Lingayen Gulf during the recapture of the Phillipines, Oct. 1944. In the background are the Colorado (BB-45), the Portland (CA-33) and the Louisville (CA-28). Army P-40's are in the foreground & B-25's in the background. | Drawing courtesy of artbywayne.com | |
 | 540k | In one of the most famous photographs of the war, Pennsylvania (BB-38) in the van at Lingayen Gulf during the recapture of the Phillipines, Oct. 1944. Ships are from front to back: Pennsylvania, Colorado (BB-45), heavy cruisers Louisville (CA-28) and Portland (CA-33) followed by the light cruiser Columbia (CL-56). A wartime censor has doctored the radar on Pennsylvania . | NARA Photo # HD-SN-99-02614 from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. | |
 | 64k | Oil on canvas painting by the artist
Mark Churms entitled "Reign of Fire - Pennsylvania (BB-38), Leyte Gulf 1944".
Pennsylvania engages Japanese kamikaze (vals) airplanes, at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in the Pacific Theatre. | Partial text and drawing courtesy of naval-art.com | |
 | 4.2m | Drydocked in an Advanced Base Sectional Dock (ABSD) at the Pacific, circa Oct. 1944. Note the extensive anti-torpedo "blister" built into her hull side and paravane streaming chains running from her forefoot to her foredeck. Pennsylvania (BB-38) is painted in Measue 21, Navy Blue and Deck Blue on all decks. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Majority text courtesy of USNHC. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 19k | Damage from shore battery / gunfire while the Pennsylvania (BB-38) was off of Wake on 8 January 1945. | Photo from WWII Damage Reports, courtesy of NavSea / dcfp.navy.mil. | |
 | 495k | The Pennsylvania (BB-38) after her last wartime refit at San Francisco (Hunters Point) on 28 June 1945. The aircraft carrier in the background is most likely the Intrepid (CV-11). According to DANFS she left the following day after being sidelined for more than a month due to Kamikaze damage. Note the two MK.50 Directors with their MK.10 Mod.5 larger 45-Inch radar dishes, just behind the #3 Main Battery Triple 14-Inch/45-Cal. Turret, the radar MK.34 dishes on Antenna Mount MK.19 atop her quadruple 40mm Mounts MK.2 for GFCS. MK.63 and their MK.51 Mod.6 directors, just below the after Main Battery Director MK.34 (Spot 2) with atop Main Battery Fire Control radar MK.8 Mod.3.GFCS. MK.57(appearing here is a view of the Front side of Radar Equipment MK.8 Mod.1 atop Main Battery Director MK.34) flanking the MK.10 radar dishes of the MK.50's. TDY: (circled, p/s of the MK.34 Director for in this high location jammer range increased and the fat lobes produced by interference with the sea surface were welcome). A highly-directional, high-powered jammer with monitors incorporated in the antenna, used for very accurate radar direction finding after the rough fix, given by DBM. The antenna was a radiating dipole backed by a screen of horizontal dipole reflectors, the opening angle of which could be varied. These early installations used a single reflector to cover the 175-400mc/s band. This low band was later enlarged to permit operation at frequencies down to 115mc/s. Atop her Mainmast SP: Simpler, therefore more reliable than SM. It was designed to scan at 6 rpm with adjustable elevation of -3 to +30 degrees, an 8ft unit weighing 2300lb, having a 2.7x2.7 degrees beam. Conical scan introduced in 1945, improved range performance by about 30 per cent with a range on a bomber at 500 ft of 35nm and on a destroyer 25. It had a resolution of 200yds and 1.5 degrees and an accuracy of 200 yds and 1.5 degrees with an elevation of 1000ft at 30nm. Production began in the fall of 1944 and about 300 were built, many installed aboard battleships. On her Foremast Yardarms: DBM or DBM-1 radar direction finders with their relatively squat domes enclosing spinning antenna that covered different frequencies, one for the 200-1000 or 90-1400mc/s range and another for the 1000-5000 mc/s range, each consisting of a horizontal and a vertical dipole mounted back-to-back, to provide for possible polarizations. Here is a cropped view of the top of radar picket destroyer Frank Knox's (DD-742) Maintop showing her SP, the lightweight successor to SM, a fighter control radar with a 6ft antenna. BB - 38 had the larger 8ft.antenna-see text there. The small thimble-like radome on the after yardarm is "Derby",CAGW 66132 (300-3000mc/s, a omnidirectional warning type. The dome on the lower tripod platform is a DBM radar direction-finder required for effective jamming. Actual jamming was done by the TDY visible on the platform. BB - 38 had CAGW-66132 (300-3000mc/s), its complement "Sword", CAGW 66131 (40-300mc/s) omni-directional warning types. The "Sword" acted to sample enemy reactions to jamming. TBS tactical radio: SK-2 had a new 17ft dish antenna intended to reduce the side lobes of the previous SK and it spread the main beam in azimuth to 23 degrees. Due to the low elevation of its beams it could not detect high-flying aircraft. SG, a 10cm surface search radar and the first to incorporate a PPI. "NANCY" IR beacons flanking the Fire Control Level atop her tripod Foremast. Gun Director MK.50 was an Arma relative-rate director, employing the all- electrical Computer Mark 10, which could change ballistics to handle the full range of A.A. guns up to 5-Inch/38 Cal. It used a stabilized, conical scanning-type, 10-cm MK.10 Mod.5 radar antenna, of which 37 were built in 1944, with a 45in dish (as seen aboard Pennsylvania) with a narrow beam that gave better performance than the 30in dish used earlier for radar pointing. (seen in this view) This lightweight director was considered important for 3-Inch/50 fire control on older battleships and cruisers that had not received anti-aircraft directors because of a lack of funds. Typical weight was 19,000lb., including radar MK.10 or -14. There was a Ballistic Converter MK.10, weighing 2000lb. below decks. As a result of excessive alteration during development of the all-electric computer Mk.10, MK.50 was reported unsuited to mass production. Only 43 units were produced when production ended in 1944. Mk.63 Mods.1 and 2 were machine gun blind-fire directors developed by MIT descended from MK.51 and -52 with the MK.34 X-band fire control radar antenna removed from the director. The on-mount antenna with a 30in dish could elevate between-15 and + 85 degrees and could nod to acquire a target at a range of 25,000 yds on bombers. Accuracy was 15yds plus 0.1 per cent of range and 2mils and resolution 200 yds and 2.25 degrees in bearing and elevation. Tracking data were projected into the field of vision of Gun Sight MK.15. Post-war use was extensive in the twin- and single 3-Inch/50 rapid-fire guns and on the twin-and quadruple 40mm Gun Mounts. A Target Acquisition Control Unit (TACU) was incorporated after 1945 that searched through 10 degrees each side of neutral. To counter BAKA suicide weapons, its limits were raised to 800kts, 20 degrees lead angle and 7000 yards. Typical weights were 1975 lb above and 2025lb below decks. Director MK.34: Main Battery Director with Range Keeper MK.8 operating in Primary or Secondary and Auxiliary Control.It had an 18ft rangefinder and was crowded after radar, trunnion tilt and director correction correctors were added later and drive was too rough. It was replaced post-war by MK.54. Weights: 41,300lb topside and 10,742lb below decks with a topside crew of 16 and below decks 10. | U.S. Navy Photograph and text courtesy of Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 334k | Bow on view of the Pennsylvania (BB-38) taken at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in June 1945 showing her new additions like DBM radar disrection finders on both yardarms, "Sword",MK.III IFF,SK,SG,"NANCY" IR beacons and TDY antennas flanking her Navigating Bridge. Note the score boards painted p/s of her Forward Air Defense Level. Note the Twin 40mm superfiring over the Twin 20mm Mount MK.20 Mod.2 atop her #2 Main Battery Triple14-Inch Turret. Note the 40mm Twin Machine Gun Mount Mk.1 designed for anti-aircraft defence with Gun Director MK.51 Mod.2, the most popular modification used during W.W.II with Gun Sight Mk.14 Mod.6. | U.S. Navy Photograph and text courtesy of Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 220k | Plan view of stern, looking Fwd. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. June 1945. | U.S. Navy Photograph and text courtesy of Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 64k | Seen after the last wartime refit, on 28 June, 1945. | USN photo. | |
 | 48k | Pennsylvania (BB-38) final appearance on 28 June, 1945. Note small tower and pole mast which replaced large tripod mainmast. Also secondary armament is on one level. | USN photo. Text & photo i.d. courtesy of Robert Hurst. | |
 | 122k | A line drawing by A.L. Raven of the Pennsylvania (BB-38) as rebuilt with twin 5in/38 guns, July 1945. | Photo and text courtesy of U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. | |
 | 87k | Pumping out water over her quarterdeck after being torpedoed 12 August 1945. Note hoses leading out through her after 14-inch guns. | USN photo HC # NH 92512, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. | |
 | 96k | Damage from a torpedo attack on the Pennsylvania (BB-38), 12 August, 1945. | Photo from WWII Damage Reports, courtesy of NavSea / dcfp.navy.mil. | |
 | 173k | Pennsylvania (BB-38) at Pearl Harbor following the 12 August 1945 torpedo attack. | Courtesy of Joe Radigan / USN photo. | |
 | 18k | Line art drawing of Pennsylvania (BB-38), c. 1945. | Joe Radigan | |
 | 71k | Pennsylvania (BB-38) inboard profile, 1945. Note that her conning tower has been removed. | Photo and text courtesy of U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. | |
 | 87k | And what did you do in the war Daddy? Pennsylvania's (BB-38) score card on Bridge. | USN Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels. | |
The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.
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