USS Indiana (BB-58) was a 35,000-ton South Dakota class battleship, built at Newport News, Virginia. Commissioned in April 1942. After shaking down in the Atlantic, she joined the war against Japan, operating in the South Pacific from late November 1942 into October 1943. Indiana then moved to the Central Pacific, where she participated in the invasions of the Gilbert Islands in November 1943 and the Marshall islands in January 1944. 
In April and May 1944, Indiana escorted carriers in raids on Japanese positions in the Carolinas. Beginning in June, she took part in the the Marianas campaign, including pre-invasion bombardment of Saipan and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The battleship screened the fast carriers into the Autumn of 1944, assisting in strikes on the Palaus and Philippines. After an overhaul, Indiana returned to the Western Pacific in January 1945, in time to participate in the invasion of Iwo Jima, carrier raids on the Japanese Home Islands and the Ryukyus invasion. Later she used her sixteen-inch guns to shell targets in Japan during the last weeks of the Pacific War.


U.S.S. Indiana

South Dakota-class battleship USS Alabama (BB-60) - served in World War II. in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

USS Alabama 

This ship is famous for its bold fight in the Battle of Samar (25 Oct, 1944), during the American campaign to retake the Philippines.  A Japanese force of 11 destroyers, 2 light cruisers, 6 heavy cruisers, and 4 battleships, (including the Yamato) surprised US Task Force Taffy 3, which consisted of 6 escort carriers, 4 destroyers, and 3 destroyer escorts. The Yamato alone outweighed the tonnage of the entire US force, and also had more and heavier guns than the combined US force. The largest gun in the US force was 5” – totally useless against the armor of either battleships or heavy cruisers. The most effective weapons the fleet had were its torpedoes. 

The Johnston was a Fletcher-class destroyer and lead a spoiling attack against the Japanese fleet to allow the small, slow carriers to flee. The Johnson fought with such audacity and determination that she became known as the destroyer that fought like a battleship. She expended all 10 of her torpedoes in the early minutes of the fight; one heavily damaged the Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano, forcing the Japanese ship to withdraw. The ship kept fighting despite heavy damage and casualties. It was nearly two hours after the fight began that she finally sank. Most of the escort carriers escaped, abd the Japanese took more damage than they gave. The Japanese fleet withdrew. 

The full story is longer than practical to tell here, but can easily be found in paper or on the Internet. The Johnston’s Captain, Lt. Commander Ernest E. Evans, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The ship received a Presidential Unit Citation as a part of Taffy 3.