South Dakota-class battleship (1939)

Alabama in Casco Bay, Maine, circa December 1942
Class overview
NameSouth Dakota class
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byNorth Carolina class
Succeeded byIowa class
Built1939–1942
In commission1942–1947
Completed4
Retired4
Scrapped2
Preserved2
General characteristics
TypeFast battleship
Displacement
Length
Beam108 ft 2 in (33 m)
Draft36 ft 2 in (11 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × screws; 4 × geared steam turbines
Speed27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph)
Range15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement1,793–2,634
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Armor
  • Belt 12.2 in (310 mm)
  • Bulkheads 11.3 in (287 mm)
  • Barbettes: 11.3–17.3 in (287–439 mm)
  • Turrets: 18 in (457 mm)
  • Conning tower 16 in (406 mm)
  • Decks 1.5 in (38 mm), 5.75–6.05 in (146–154 mm), 0.63–1 in (16–25 mm)
Aircraft carried2 × OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes
Aviation facilities1 × aircraft catapult

The South Dakota class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th state; the first were designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. Four ships comprised the class: South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama. They were designed to the same treaty standard displacement limit of 35,000 long tons (35,600 t) as the preceding North Carolina class and had the same main battery of nine 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 guns in three-gun turrets, but were more compact and better protected. The ships can be visually distinguished from the earlier vessels by their single funnel, compared to twin funnels in the North Carolinas.

Construction began shortly before World War II, with Fiscal Year (FY) 1939 appropriations. Commissioning through the summer of 1942, the four ships served in both the Atlantic, ready to intercept possible German capital ship sorties, and the Pacific, in carrier groups and shore bombardments. All four ships were retired shortly after World War II; South Dakota and Indiana were scrapped in the 1960s, Massachusetts and Alabama were retained as museum ships.