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NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive

BB-45 USS COLORADO
1942 - 1945

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo - Charlie - Romeo
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1919 - 1929
1930 - 1941
1946 - 1960

Colorado Class Battleship: Displacement 32,600 Tons, Dimensions, 624' (oa) x 97' 4" x 31' 4" (Max). Armament 8 x 16"/45 14 x 5"/51, 4 x 3"/50AA 2 x 21" tt. Armor, 13 1/2" Belt, 18" Turrets, 3 1/2" + 1 1/2" Decks, 16" Conning Tower. Machinery, 28,900 SHP; Turbines with Electric Drive, 4 screws. Speed, 21 Knots, Crew 1080.

Operational and Building Data: Laid down by New York Shipbuilding, Camden NJ., May 29, 1919. Launched March 22, 1921. Commissioned August 30, 1923. Decommissioned January 7, 1947. Stricken March 1, 1959.
Fate: Sold July 6, 1959 and broken up for scrap.
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BB-45 Colorado55kOff the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 9 February 1942, with three Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplanes on her catapults.USNHC # 19-N-28260, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
BB-45 Colorado34kMarch 1942 configuration, the main cage mast still remains and the 5in/25cal guns are lacking shields (later fitted.)USN photo.
BB-45 Colorado107k Colorado (BB-45) as configured on 8 November 1942. This is a port broadside view showing the ship as initially rebuilt after the beginning of WW II. Alterations included the cutting down of the cage mainmast, the addition of 20mm A.A. galleries along the stacks and atop the stub mainmast, the removal of the #3 turret mounted catapult and the addition of "Pacific Fleet" type gun shields on the 5-inch deck mounted secondary guns. Photo is from the Division of Naval Intelligence, Identification and Characteristics Section, as published in June, 1943. Courtesy of Mike Green.
BB-45 Colorado56k1943. Seen after a quick upgrade, the cage masts are still present but have been cut down, eventually replaced by a reduced superstructure. USN photo.
BB-45 Colorado77kSignalmen sending a message with semaphore flags, on the Colorado's (BB-45) signal bridge, 29 October 1943. Signalman 2nd Class Kenneth Mitchell is working the flags, as Signalman 3rd Class John Wilson mans the telescope.Official U.S. Navy Photograph, USNHC # 80-G-56292, now in the collections of the National Archives.
BB-45 Colorado102k#4 turret firing on 5 November 1943 during the invasion of Tarawa. 20mm guns are visible atop stump cage mainmast.USN photo.
BB-45 Colorado31kColorado (BB-45) bombarding Tarawa, 20 November 1943. Photographed from Maryland (BB-46). Colorado is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D. This image has been cropped to emphasize the ship and her camouflage pattern. Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-56232, now in the collections of the National Archives.
BB-45 Colorado84kFiring her after 16"/45 guns, during preparations for the Tarawa invasion, which took place in late November 1943. Crewmen visible in this photo are not in combat dress, indicating that the view was taken during battle practice.USNHC # K13670, now in the collections of the National Archives.
BB-38 Pennsylvania425k 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.
BB-45 Colorado89k Underway in camoflouge. April, 1944 photo of the Colorado (BB-45) as rebuilt. She had her stump main cage mast removed and replaced by the superstructure assembly shown here. She still carries, and would always do so, her 5"/25 caliber single secondary armament.USN photo.
BB-45 Colorado46kColorado (BB-45) in dry dock, frame 39 looking forward to shell damage. Seattle NARA photo # 3202-44. Record Group 181, 13th Naval District, Records of the Naval District & Shore Establishments, courtesy of Tracy White.
BB-45 Colorado46kColorado (BB-45) in dry dock, frame 34 looking forward and up to shell damage. Seattle NARA photo # 3207-44. Record Group 181, 13th Naval District, Records of the Naval District & Shore Establishments, courtesy of Tracy White.
BB-45 Colorado102kColorado (BB-45) in Puget Sound on 21 August 1944. Damage in action of 24 July, 1944 at Saipan. Hit #9 at frame 37 (starboard) 15" below upper deck. Shrapnel damage, left gun Turret # 1 (Turret trained 90 degrees at time of hit). Seattle NARA photo # 2798-44. Record Group 181, 13th Naval District, Records of the Naval District & Shore Establishments, courtesy of Tracy White.
BB-45 Colorado46kColorado (BB-45) in Puget Sound on 7 September 1944. Damage in action of 24 July, 1944 at Saipan. Hit #1 at frame 61 (starboard) 3 below top of blister Hole in blister plating. Seattle NARA photo # 2777-44. Record Group 181, 13th Naval District, Records of the Naval District & Shore Establishments, courtesy of Tracy White.
BB-45 Colorado75kPictured here is the 6 inch shore gun that fired at the Colorado (BB-45) and the Norman Scott (DD-640) on Tinian, 24 July, 1944. Courtesy of Wayne VanDerVoort.
BB-45 Colorado107kColorado (BB-45) in Puget Sound on 3 October 1944. She was refitted with a stump tower mainmast, which replaced her cutdown cage mainmast, a Mark 34main battery director to supplement the old director on the foremast, and Mark 33 5" gun directors.USN photo.
BB-45 Colorado191kColorado (BB-45), probably during her refit trials in Puget Sound, Washington on 3 October 1944. USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
BB-45 Colorado58kPort side view of the Colorado (BB-45), probably during her refit trials in Puget Sound, Washington on 3 October 1944. Her electronics have been censored out in this photo. USN photo courtesy of David Buell. Photo added 12/17/07.
BB-45 Colorado116k On post refit trials in Puget Sound, Washington on 3 October 1944. Running at 19.2 knots and creating quite a wake. White colored 5"/25 mounts can be easily picked out; circles indicate quadruple 40mm mounts(ten total). This is her final appearance.USN photo.
BB-45 Colorado77k On 24 July 1944 during the shelling of Tinian, Colorado (BB-45) received 22 shell hits from shore batteries but continued to support the invading troops until 3 August. She appears here somewhere on the West Coast following moderization.
Though the image's release date was 27 October 1944, it was probably taken earlier.		Courtesy of Jerry Mason. Photo & partial text i.d. courtesy of Chuck Haberlein.
BB-45 Colorado139k A hot sunny day shines down on the Colorado (BB-45) and accompanying ships moored in this post 10/1944 refit photo somewhere on the West Coast.
Though the image's release date was 27 October 1944, it was probably taken earlier.		USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. Photo & partial text i.d. courtesy of Chuck Haberlein.
BB-38 Pennsylvania392kA 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 & army B-25's in the background.		Drawing courtesy of artbywayne.com.
BB-38 Pennsylvania540kIn 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.
BB-45 Colorado66kColorado (BB-45) firing her after 16"/45 guns during the pre-invasion bombardment of Okinawa, 29 March 1945. Photographed from Minneapolis (CA-36).Official U.S. Navy Photograph, USNHC # 80-G-316831, now in the collections of the National Archives.
BB-45 Colorado73kOil on canvas painting by the artist Anthony Saunders entitled "Colorado at Okinawa."
The Colorado (BB-45) holds the all time record of 37 consecutive days of firing at an enemy and the record of 24 direct enemy air attacks in 62 days both while at Okinawa. 		Text and drawing courtesy of naval-art.com
BB-45 Colorado55kColorado (BB-45) arrives at San Francisco, California, on 15 October 1945, following the end of World War II. USNHC # NH 66442, now in the collections of the National Archives.
USS COLORADO BB-45 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. Andy Andresen
Address: 16436 14th Ave SW Seattle, WA, 98166-2820
Phone: 800-472-7860
Fax: 206-243-0493
E-mail: Andy@usscolorado.org

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.
www.usscolorado.org
Back To The Main Photo IndexBack To The Battleship Photo Index Page

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