Washington

USS Washington (BB-56), the second of two battleships in the North Carolina class, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 42nd state. Her keel was laid down on 14 June 1938, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Launched on 1 June 1940, Washington went through fitting-out before being commissioned on 15 May 1941, with Captain Howard H. J. Benson in command. In early 1942, Washington and twenty other American ships were the first to be equipped with fully operational radar. Washington suffered no losses to hostile action during the entire course of the war, although sh...