Commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 15 May 1941, USS Washington (BB-56) first laid her course proudly forward, with Captain Howard H. J. Benson in command. Almost at once, early operations along the eastern seaboard and into the Gulf of Mexico by this mighty battleship named after the 42nd state were diverted upon the entry of the United States into World War II after the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941.
On 26 March 1942, Washington was sent to the British Isles as the flagship of Task Force 39, under the command of Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox. En route, in heavy seas, Wilcox was washed overboard. An extensive search failed to locate him. Rear Admiral Robert C. Geffen assumed command, and the task force joined the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.
As such, Washington performed various maneuvers with the Home Squadron and protected convoys carrying lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. In late July, she returned one last time to New York Navy Yard for an overhaul before being dispatched for service in the Pacific. There she joined Task Force 17 on 15 September 1942. In this capacity, she played a vital role in the Solomons Campaign, turning in a performance that was instrumental in providing escort service for reinforcement convoys, which carried troops and materiel to and from Guadalcanal.
The situation was desperate by mid-November 1942: except for the USS Enterprise (CV-6), there was only one operational aircraft carrier left with the Allies. The attacks on Henderson Field at Guadalcanal were carried out frequently and, as a result, the convoys had to be run out in daylight, which Washington defended with her life.
Off Guadalcanal, under Rear Admiral Willis A. Lee, Jr., Washington learned of the approach of three large Japanese ship groups on November 13, 1942. Task Force 64, which included Washington, USS South Dakota BB-57, and four destroyers, intercepted the Japanese convoy near Savo Island. At midnight on the 15th, Washington’s radar picked up enemy ships, and the Fourth Battle of Savo Island began.
Washington pounded the Japanese light cruiser Sendai with 42 rounds from her 16-inch main battery and also added her 5-inch battery to the fire on several other targets. The battleship Kirishima went toe-to-toe with Washington, and she left Kirishima burning and exploding after Washington’s radar-directed gunfire ripped into her many times. But aside from the withering gunfire and torpedoes unleashed by the Japanese that sank two American destroyers and heavily damaged two others, Washington emerged unscathed, while South Dakota was heavily damaged.
Washington continued the support of carrier groups and task forces in the South Pacific until April 1943. She continued her support with bombardments on Japanese positions and other operations in the Gilberts and Marshalls and ground support offensives of landings on Tarawa and Makin within Task Group 56.14.
In the darkness of February 1944, Washington collided with USS Indiana (BB-58) and received major damage to her bow. The bow was replaced at the Puget Sound Navy Yard and following repair and refit, Washington participated in the pre-invasion bombardment of Guam. She supported airstrikes in the Marianas and contributed to the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which saw hundreds of Japanese aircraft destroyed by American forces.
From this base in the western Pacific, Washington’s big guns supported invasions in the Palaus, Okinawa, and other strategic locations. She took an important hand in the operations of the fast carrier striking forces as they struck in raids on Okinawa, China, and Tokyo. Her big guns supported landing forces on Iwo Jima and shelled Japanese inland positions on Okinawa.
After refitting at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in June 1945, Washington never again saw combat action. The war ended when the terms for surrendering were signed aboard USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. She was decommissioned on 27 June 1947 and stayed in this category until she was stricken and subsequently sold for scrap on 1 June 1960.
Washington was awarded 13 battle stars for her valorous service during World War II, having taken part in operations from the Arctic Circle to the far western Pacific. Her reputation as a fearsome battleship and a main protagonist in important battles of the Pacific War is one of bravery and mastery by her crew.