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NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive

BB-42 USS IDAHO
1940 - 1943

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Victor - Xray
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1919 - 1929
1930 - 1939
1944 - 1947

New Mexico Class Battleship: Displacement 32,000 Tons, Dimensions, 624' (oa) x 97' 5" x 31' 1" (Max). Armament 12 x 14"/50 22 x 5"/51, 8 x 3"/50 2 x 21" tt. Armor, 13 1/2" Belt, 18" Turrets, 3 1/2" +2" Decks, 16" Conning Tower. Machinery, 32,000 SHP; Geared Turbines, 4 screws. Speed, 21 Knots, Crew 1084.

Operational and Building Data: Laid down by New York Shipbuilding, Camden, N.J., April 5, 1915. Launched January 25, 1917. Commissioned December 18, 1917.
Fate: Decommissioned 3 July, 1946 and was placed in reserve until sold for scrap 24 November, 1947 to Lipsett Inc., of New York City.
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BB-42 Idaho72kIdaho (BB-42) at Puget Sound Navy Yard, 9 February 1940 following her major refit. USN photo, courtesy of Seattle NARA RG-181, submitted by Tracy White.
BB-42 Idaho204k Idaho (BB-42), photgraphed by George Winstead, probably when she at Hampton Roads 6 June 1941 to perform Atlantic neutrality patrol, a vital part of U.S. policy in the early days of the European fighting.USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
BB-42 Idaho79kAnchored in Hvaeldefjord, Iceland, October 1941.USNHC # NH 94650, now in the collections of the National Archives.
BB-42 Idaho305kIdaho (BB-42) in Measure 12 during a Neutrality patrol in the North Atlantic on November 1941. USN Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
BB-42 Idaho114kCover of the Idaho's (BB-42) cruise book. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald.
BB-42 Idaho195k Looking aft of the Idaho (BB-42), in January 1942.USN photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
BB-42 Idaho257k Amidships view of the gun directors and stack of the Idaho (BB-42) at Norfolk Navy Yard, Porthmouth, VA. Jan. 1942.USN photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
BB-42 Idaho224kLooking fwd. from stern. Norfolk Navy Yard, Porthmouth, VA. 3 Jan. 1942.USN photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
BB-42 Idaho364kLooking aft from above. Norfolk Navy Yard, Porthmouth, VA. Jan. 1942. The Mississippi's (BB-41) stern is seen to the left. USN photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
BB-42 Idaho80kPort bow close up of Idaho (BB-42) in Norfolk Navy Yard before she went out to the Pacific War, 3 Jan. 1942. USN photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
BB-42 Idaho43kLooking forward, close up of Idaho (BB-42) main turrets in Norfolk Navy Yard before she went out to the Pacific War, 3 Jan. 1942. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald.
BB-42 Idaho191k Idaho (BB-42) firing main battery, May 1942. USN photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald. Photo added 03/06/08.
BB-42 Idaho117kThe Idaho (BB-42) at Pearl Harbor, August 1942. She conducted additional battle exercises in California waters and out of Pearl Harbor until October 1942, when she entered Puget Sound Navy Yard to be regunned. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald. Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
BB-42 Idaho268k Marines on the Idaho (BB-42) in 1942 on station at their 20 millimeter guns. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald.
BB-42 Idaho168kSignal flags flutter from Idaho's (BB-42) mast as she makes her way through Puget Sound in Dec. 1942. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald.
BB-42 Idaho301kIdaho's (BB-42) forward main turret is trained to starboard during battle exercises when she entered Puget Sound Navy Yard to be regunned. Upon completion of this work Idaho again took part in battle exercises, and sailed 7 April 1943 for operations in the bleak Aleutians. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald. Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
BB-42 Idaho182kStern view of the Idaho (BB-42) on trials in Puget Sound in Dec. 1942. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald.
SS 158 62k The S-47 (SS-158) off San Francisco, CA., 7 September 1943, following overall. A platform has been added to her conning tower for a single 20-millimeter antiaircraft gun; her gun deck gun is a manually-operated dual-purpose 3-inch 50-caliber. Mounted just ahead of her periscopes is an SJ surface-search and torpedo-control radar. The small tripod forward of the deck gun supports an early type of underwater listening equipment. S-47 displays no identification except her national ensign, and wears dull black wartime submarine finish.
In the left background is the characteristic silhouette of a New Mexico class (BB-40 / 42) battleship. Both the Mississippi (BB-41) & Idaho (BB-42) were there at the time, with the Idaho arriving that day.
US Navy photo # NH 42192, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
BB-42 Idaho106k Idaho's (BB-42) band in 1943. This photo was contributed by Joe MacDonald, whose father, Ralph MacDonald served as a drummer in the ship's band from 1942-45. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald.
BB-42 Idaho350k Adak, Alaska on 11 August 1943 during the Kiska campaign. Crew is mustered on the quarterdeck as Rear Admiral H. F. Kingman awards the Distinquished Flying Cross to Idaho's (BB-42) pilot Lt. Harris O. Torgerson for heroic deeds while flying at Attu. Cleveland class light cruiser in the background is Sante Fe (CL-60). USN photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald. Photo added 03/06/08.
BB-42 Idaho98kPhotographed from Natoma Bay (CVE-62), shortly after the conclusion of the Gilberts Campaign, Sept - Dec. 1943. The three battleships, in an anchorage protected by anti-torpedo nets, are (from left to right): Idaho (BB-42); New Mexico (BB-40); and Mississippi (BB-41).USNHC # 80-G-275940, now in the collections of the National Archives.
BB-42 Idaho106kThe Idaho (BB-42), New Mexico (BB-40) Mississippi (BB-41) at Pearl Harbor sometime after 5 December 1943. All three battleships then proceeded with the Marshall Islands assault force 12 January 1944. Photo courtesy of Joseph Macdonald. Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
BB-40 & 42 381k New Mexico (BB-40) & Idaho (BB-42) 7 December 1943, at Pearl Harbor. Note the anti-torpedo net in the foreground. Official USN Photograph # 4-ORD-085-16, courtesy of David Buell.
USS IDAHO BB-42 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray & Underway Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Contact Name: Mr. David Graham
Address: PO Box 711247 San Diego, CA, 92171-1247
Phone: None Listed
E-mail: None

Note About Contacts.

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.

Additional Resources
Hazegray & Underway Battleship Pages By Andrew Toppan.
ussidaho.com By David Roye
Back To The Main Photo IndexBack To The Battleship Photo Index Page

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