New York V
(BB-34: dp. 27,000; l. 573'; b. 95'3"; dr. 28'6"; s. 21 k.; cpl. 1,042; a. 10 14", 21 5", 4 21" tt.; cl. New York)

The fifth New York (BB-34) was laid down on September 11, 1911, by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York. She was launched on October 30, 1912, sponsored by Miss Elsie Calder, and commissioned on April 15, 1914, with Captain Thomas S. Rodgers in command.

Ordered south shortly after commissioning, New York served as the flagship for Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher, commanding the fleet occupying and blockading Vera Cruz until the resolution of the crisis with Mexico in July 1914. New York then headed north for fleet operations along the Atlantic coast as war broke out in Europe.

Upon the United States' entry into the war, New York, as flagship with Battleship Division 9 commanded by Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, sailed to strengthen the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea, arriving at Scapa Flow on December 7, 1917. As a separate squadron within the Grand Fleet, the American ships joined in blockade and escort missions, deterring the Germans from any major fleet engagements. New York twice encountered U-boats.

During her World War I service, New York hosted royal and high-ranking representatives of the Allies and was present for the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet in the Firth of Forth on November 21, 1918. As a final European mission, New York joined the ships escorting President Woodrow Wilson from an ocean rendezvous to Brest en route to the Versailles Conference.

Returning to a program alternating between individual and fleet exercises with necessary maintenance, New York trained in the Caribbean in spring 1919 and joined the Pacific Fleet at San Diego, her home port for the next 16 years. She trained off Hawaii and the West Coast, occasionally returning to the Atlantic and Caribbean for brief missions or overhauls. In 1937, carrying Admiral Hugh Rodman, the President's personal representative for the coronation of King George VI of England, New York sailed to participate in the Grand Naval Review on May 20, 1937, as the sole U.S. Navy representative.

For much of the following three years, New York trained Naval Academy midshipmen and other prospective officers with cruises to Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean. In mid-1941, she joined the Neutrality Patrol, escorting troops to Iceland in July 1941 and serving as a station ship at Argentia, Newfoundland, protecting the new American base. From America's entry into World War II, New York guarded Atlantic convoys to Iceland and Scotland during the peak of the U-boat menace, successfully bringing convoys to harbor intact.

New York provided crucial gunfire support at Safi during the invasion of North Africa on November 8, 1942. She then stood by at Casablanca and Fedhala before returning home for convoy duty, escorting critically needed men and supplies to North Africa. She then trained gunners for battleships and destroyer escorts in Chesapeake Bay, rendering this vital service until June 10, 1944. She conducted three training cruises for the Naval Academy, voyaging to Trinidad on each.

New York sailed for the West Coast on November 21, arriving in San Pedro on December 6 for gunnery training in preparation for amphibious operations. She departed San Pedro on January 12, 1945, called at Pearl Harbor, and diverted to Eniwetok to survey screw damage. Despite impaired speed, she joined the Iwo Jima assault force in rehearsals at Saipan and participated in preinvasion bombardment at Iwo Jima on February 16. During the next three days, she fired more rounds than any other ship present and made a spectacular direct 14"-hit on an enemy ammunition dump.

Leaving Iwo Jima, New York repaired her propellers at Manus and regained speed for the assault on Okinawa, which she reached on March 27 to begin 76 consecutive days of action. She fired preinvasion and diversionary bombardments, covered landings, and provided close support to advancing troops. On April 14, a kamikaze grazed her, demolishing her spotting plane. She left Okinawa on June 11 to regun at Pearl Harbor.

New York prepared at Pearl Harbor for the planned invasion of Japan and, after the war's end, transported veterans to the West Coast and replacements to Pearl Harbor. She sailed from Pearl Harbor on September 29 with passengers for New York, arriving on October 19. There, she prepared to serve as a target ship in Operation "Crossroads," the Bikini atomic tests, and sailed on March 4, 1946, for the West Coast. She left San Francisco on May 1 and, after calls in Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein, reached Bikini on June 15. Surviving the surface blast on July 1 and the underwater explosion on July 25, she was decommissioned at Kwajalein on August 29, 1946. Later towed to Pearl Harbor, she was studied for two years, and on July 8, 1948, was towed out to sea and sunk after an eight-hour barrage by ships and planes conducting full-scale battle maneuvers with new weapons.

New York earned three battle stars for her World War II service.