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| 25 April 1927: The main guns of turret #2 of Tennessee are removed
for replacement. The ship was at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard undergoing
overhaul. |
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| The forward port bow looking aft. This photo was taken in mid
1926. Note the lounging sailor just to the left. This photo
was most likely taken on a Sunday due to the woman on the right side of
the photo. |
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| 1924. Tennessee's #2 Vought UO-1 floatplane prepares for launching
from the catapult. Note the off-center line catapult and older style
aircraft crane. Tennessee would keep both these until her 1928 refit.
Also note the sub-caliber training device mounted atop of the center gun
of main gun turret #3. |
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| 1925. The 5-inch training machine located on Tennessee's starboard
side just forward of the garbage incinerator. |
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| 1925. The garbage incinerator on Tennessee's starboard boat deck.
Note how the smoke stack fairs into the forward stack for the engines. |
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| 17 January 1925. The Tennessee sits in dry-dock #2, Hunters Point,
California for hull upkeep. Note the torpedo tube below the water
line. Tennessee would keep her torpedo system until a 1937 overhaul
and the former torpedo rooms would be converted into small arms ammunition
storage compartments. |
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| 16 June 1927. Tennessee sits at anchor just off shore of San
Francisco, California. The planes on the stern are her new Vought
FU-1’s. |
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| 12 September 1928. Tennessee sits in dry-dock #2, Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard for overhaul. During this overhaul she had all eight
3-inch guns replaced by eight 5-inch/25 caliber open mount guns, on the
02 deck just forward of the boat cranes, one on each side of the mainmast,
four on 02 deck just behind the forward 5-inch guns and one each in place
of the after 5-inch guns. The ship also received a catapult on her
#3 main gun turret top and her older main catapult was relocated to the
aft centerline. When the #3 turret received her catapult the FCD
mounted atop of it was relocated to the top of main gun turret #2.
This overhaul all FU-1 floatplanes were removed from the ship and replaced
with Vought O2U Corsairs. |
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| May 1937. Fresh from another overhaul Tennessee sits in Long
Island Sound. Note the white number 43 painted atop main gun turret
#2. |
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| October 1924. Tennessee's new Vought UO-1 floatplanes sit atop
her catapult. |
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| Late 1928. Note the lack of an aircraft crane on the stern.
When the Tennessee had a catapult installed atop main gun turret #3, the
stern aircraft crane was removed, with the new one being delayed until
August 1929 overhaul. During the interim, the ship had to recover
aircraft using the cranes located beside the barbette of main gun turret. |
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| 16 July 1940. A great view of the gun shield around the starboard
aft 3-inch gun. These shields were installed at Tennessee's last
overhaul before Pearl Harbor. |
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| 16 July 1940. Another great view of the Special Tensile Steel
splinter shields around Tennessee's gun deck. Note the barrel of
the 3-inch gun mounted just off the bridge wings. This was the shield
configuration Tennessee had, despite many model kit moldings that show
ribs on the shields. Tennessee never carried ribbing on any splinter
shielding. |
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| 16 July 1940. The view from the aft of the superstructure on
Tennessee looking down on the boat deck mounted 5-inch guns. Note
the water containers between the gun mounts. This was in case a bag
of powder would break open the gunners mates could dip the broken bag in
the water then throw it overboard. |
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| 16 July 1940. This is the last full view, and version, of Tennessee
before Pearl Harbor. Many modelers think that Tennessee had her splinter
shields ribbed for support but this was not the case. Tennessee saw
no more refits until after Pearl Harbor when she underwent repairs from
damage sustained 7 December 1941. |
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| 25 April 1943. The newly rebuilt Tennessee undergoing inclining
at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. |
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| 25 April 1943. Another view of the rebuilt Tennessee. |
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11 January 1944. Tennessee sits off Hunters Point, California
sporting her new Ms 32 d1 camouflage scheme. |
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| 8 May 1945. Tennessee sits beside the repair ship AJAX (AR-6)
undergoing repairs to her starboard side gun mounts after a kamikaze struck
the ship on 12 April 1945. |
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| 13 April 1945. Picking up the pieces after a kamikaze strike
on Tennessee. The repair parties are inspecting the damage to the
aft starboard side. Note the bent 20 mm barrel. |
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| This photo comes from an 11 June 1959 sales brochure announcing the
sale of the “Big Five” battleships, Tennessee among them. Here she
sits at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. |
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| A scratchbuilt 1/96 USS Tennessee by the author can be found on ModelShipGallery.com |
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All Photo's courtesy the Clifton Simmons Collection.
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