Indiana's keel was laid on 20 September 1939 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia.
She was launched on 21 November 1941; during the fitting out process, the former battleship Kearsarge, which had been rebuilt as a crane ship, lowered the 16-inch guns into their turret mountings.
Indiana was commissioned into the fleet on 30 April 1942.
After shakedown operations, she was sent directly to the Solomon Islands; Indiana arrived off Guadalcanal on 9 November 1942 and replaced her sister South Dakota, which was in need of repairs.
Indiana's operations off Guadalcanal consisted primarily of shore bombardment in support of the Marines fighting on the island.

In November 1943, Indiana took part in the invasion of Tarawa, alongside her sister South Dakota.
During this operation, Indiana shot down her first aircraft.
The ship also participated in the invasion of the Marshall Islands; on 1 February 1944, the battleship Washington collided with Indiana on her starboard side.
13 of the voids between the torpedo protection system and 13 fuel tanks were flooded, and the longitudinal bulkheads were severely damaged.
The starboard outboard propeller was damaged, along with the shaft upon which it was mounted.
Two quad-mount 40 mm guns and 9 20 mm guns were destroyed, along with two of the mounts for the 20 mm guns.
 Indiana's starboard catapult was torn from the ship, along with the Kingfisher float plane that had been sitting on it.
The ship suffered a list to starboard, which was corrected by flooding compartments on the port side.
Indiana sailed to Majuro Lagoon to be repaired enough to make the voyage back to Pearl Harbor; the resulting work was the largest single repair handled at Pearl Harbor other than the battleships damaged during the attack that started the war.

After Indiana returned to active duty, she participated in the invasion of Hollandia in western New Guinea.
The ship then returned to the central Pacific and bombarded Truk, and subsequently took part in operations off the Marianas Islands.
On 19 June 1944 a Japanese torpedo bomber attempted to attack the ship, but Indiana's anti-aircraft gunners managed to destroy both the aircraft and the torpedo it had dropped, with no damage to the ship.
Shortly thereafter, a second Japanese plane was shot down, but a third managed to crash into the ship.
The aircraft disintegrated upon striking the side armor plates and scattered pieces of the plane across the stern.
Five men were injured, but the ship suffered only very slight damage.

Indiana returned to Puget Sound naval yard for a needed overhaul.
The work lasted until January 1945; the ship returned to active duty on the 24th of that month.
Indiana took part in the bombardment of Iwo Jima, as well as in attacks on the Japanese home islands.
Following the shore bombardments, Indiana joined the task force that had assembled to invade Okinawa; the ship provided ground support fire as well as anti-aircraft defense against the increasing number of Kamikazes that were attacking the invasion fleet.
Indiana continued in these duties until the end of the war in August 1945.

In 1947, Indiana was put into the reserve fleet at Puget Sound.
She was finally struck from the Navy List on 1 June 1962, and sold for scrapping on 6 September 1963 for $418,387.
The ship breaking was finished in 1964.
The battleship's mast was given to Indiana University at Bloomington, and her anchor is on display in Fort Wayne.
Indiana's keel was laid on 20 September 1939 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 21 November 1941; during the fitting out process, the former battleship Kearsarge, which had been rebuilt as a crane ship, lowered the 16-inch guns into their turret mountings. Indiana was commissioned into the fleet on 30 April 1942. After shakedown operations, she was sent directly to the Solomon Islands; Indiana arrived off Guadalcanal on 9 November 1942 and replaced her sister South Dakota, which was in need of repairs. Indiana's operations off Guadalcanal consisted primarily of shore bombardment in support of the Marines fighting on the island.
In November 1943, Indiana took part in the invasion of Tarawa, alongside her sister South Dakota. During this operation, Indiana shot down her first aircraft. The ship also participated in the invasion of the Marshall Islands; on 1 February 1944, the battleship Washington collided with Indiana on her starboard side. 13 of the voids between the torpedo protection system and 13 fuel tanks were flooded, and the longitudinal bulkheads were severely damaged. The starboard outboard propeller was damaged, along with the shaft upon which it was mounted. Two quad-mount 40 mm guns and 9 20 mm guns were destroyed, along with two of the mounts for the 20 mm guns.  Indiana's starboard catapult was torn from the ship, along with the Kingfisher float plane that had been sitting on it. The ship suffered a list to starboard, which was corrected by flooding compartments on the port side. Indiana sailed to Majuro Lagoon to be repaired enough to make the voyage back to Pearl Harbor; the resulting work was the largest single repair handled at Pearl Harbor other than the battleships damaged during the attack that started the war.
After Indiana returned to active duty, she participated in the invasion of Hollandia in western New Guinea. The ship then returned to the central Pacific and bombarded Truk, and subsequently took part in operations off the Marianas Islands. On 19 June 1944 a Japanese torpedo bomber attempted to attack the ship, but Indiana's anti-aircraft gunners managed to destroy both the aircraft and the torpedo it had dropped, with no damage to the ship. Shortly thereafter, a second Japanese plane was shot down, but a third managed to crash into the ship. The aircraft disintegrated upon striking the side armor plates and scattered pieces of the plane across the stern. Five men were injured, but the ship suffered only very slight damage.
Indiana returned to Puget Sound naval yard for a needed overhaul. The work lasted until January 1945; the ship returned to active duty on the 24th of that month. Indiana took part in the bombardment of Iwo Jima, as well as in attacks on the Japanese home islands. Following the shore bombardments, Indiana joined the task force that had assembled to invade Okinawa; the ship provided ground support fire as well as anti-aircraft defense against the increasing number of Kamikazes that were attacking the invasion fleet. Indiana continued in these duties until the end of the war in August 1945.
In 1947, Indiana was put into the reserve fleet at Puget Sound. She was finally struck from the Navy List on 1 June 1962, and sold for scrapping on 6 September 1963 for $418,387. The ship breaking was finished in 1964. The battleship's mast was given to Indiana University at Bloomington, and her anchor is on display in Fort Wayne.
South Dakota-class battleship (1939)