| USS West Virginia (BB-48) Prepares to leave Pearl Harbor on 30 April 1943, en route to the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, for reconstruction. The Pearl Harbor Navy Yard had just finished temporary repair of the damage she had received in the Japanese attack of 7 December 1941. The battleship in the left background is USS North Carolina (BB-55). On December 7, 1941, after the attack by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft, West Virginia was abandoned, settling to the harbor bottom on an even keel. Her fires fought from on board by a party that volunteered to return to the ship after the 1st abandonment. By the afternoon of the following day, December 8, the flames had been extinguished. The garbage lighter, YG-17, played an important role in assisting those efforts during the Pearl Harbor attack, remaining in position alongside despite the danger posed by exploding ammunition on board the battleship. Later examination revealed that West Virginia had taken not 5, but 6, torpedo hits. With a patch over the damaged area of her hull, the battleship was pumped out and ultimately refloated on May 17, 1942. Docked in Drydock Number 1 on June 9, West Virginia again came under scrutiny, and it was discovered that there had been not 6, but 7 torpedo hits. During the ensuing repairs, workers located 70 bodies of West Virginia sailors who had been trapped below when the ship sank. In 1 compartment [A-111], a calendar was found, the last scratch-off date being December 23. 3 bodies were found; the compartment had not flooded. The men had slowly asphyxiated over 16 days. The men – Fireman 1st Class Louis “Buddy” Costin (June 11, 1920 – circa December 24, 1941), Fireman 1st Class Clifford Olds (August 5, 1921 – circa December 24 1941), and Fireman 3rd Class Ronald “Tubby” Endicott (January 28, 1923 – circa December 24, 1941) – had opened water pump room A-109, and consumed the available emergency rations. The task confronting the nucleus crew and shipyard workers was a monumental 1, so great was the damage on the battleship’s port side. Ultimately, however, West Virginia departed Pearl Harbor for the west coast and a complete rebuilding at the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Wash. Emerging from the extensive modernization, the battleship that had risen, phoenix-like, from the destruction at Pearl Harbor looked totally different from the way she had appeared prior to December 7, 1941. Gone were the “cage” masts that supported the 3-tier fire-control tops, as well as the 2 funnels, the open-mount 5-inch (127-millimeter)/25 calibers and the casemates with the single-purpose 5-inch/51 calibers. A streamlined superstructure now gave the ship a totally new silhouette; dual-purpose 5-inch/38 caliber guns, in twin turrets, gave the ship a potent anti-aircraft battery. In addition, 40-millimeter(1.57 inch) Bofors and 20-millimeter (.78 caliber) Oerlikon batteries studded the decks, giving the ship a heavy “punch” for dealing with close-in enemy planes. USS West Virginia remained at Puget Sound until early July 1944. Loading ammunition on July 2, the battleship got underway soon thereafter to conduct her sea trials out of Port Townsend, Wash. She ran a full power trial on July 6, continuing her working-up until July 12. Subsequently returning to Puget Sound for last-minute repairs, the battleship headed for San Pedro and her post-modernization shakedown. Finally ready to rejoin the Pacific Fleet from which she had been away for 2 years, USS West Virginia sailed for the Hawaiian Islands on September 14. Escorted by 2 destroyers, she made landfall on Oahu on September 23. Ultimately pushing on for Manus, in the Admiralties, in company with the fleet carrier USS Hancock (CV-19), USS West Virginia, as a unit of Battleship Division (BatDiv) 4, reached Seeadler Harbor on October 5. The next day, she again became a flagship when Rear Admiral Theodore D. Ruddock (December 23, 1892 – August 11, 1989) shifted his flag from Maryland (BB-46) to the “Wee Vee” as Commander, BatDiv 4. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1912.jpg |
| Image Size | 2.07 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5557 x 4165 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 30, 1943 |
| Location | Pearl Harbor |
| City | Oahu |
| State or Province | Hawaii |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-K-572 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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