South Dakota's keel was laid on 5 July 1939 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey.
She was launched on 7 June 1941 and commissioned on 20 March 1942.
She went on a shakedown cruise in June after her fitting out was complete.
In August–September, the battleship voyaged from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Panama Canal; she struck a coral reef soon after arriving in the Tonga Islands and had to sail to the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for repairs, which took about a month.
South Dakota was then assigned to escort the aircraft carrier Enterprise as part of Task Force (TF) 16; joined by TF 17 soon after, the combined fleet—now known as TF 61—was ordered to "make a sweep of the Santa Cruz Islands and then move southwest to block any Japanese forces approaching Guadalcanal."
This led to the Battle of Santa Cruz, where in escorting Enterprise, South Dakota was credited with shooting down 26 Japanese planes.
The battleship was hit once by a 500 lb (230 kg)-bomb on Turret I during the action.

On 30 October 1942, South Dakota and the destroyer Mahan collided while the latter was investigating a sonar contact with a submarine.
Both ships were able to continue to Noumea, where Vestal repaired them.
The battleship joined the North Carolina-class battleship Washington and four destroyers to form TF 64.
The ships intercepted a Japanese bombardment force on the night of 14–15 November, and, in a battle now known as the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, they damaged the cruisers Takao and Atago in addition to forcing the battleship Kirishima and destroyer Ayanami to be scuttled.
During the battle, a power failure incapacitated South Dakota and she received considerable topside damage—42 shells hit the ship, knocking out radio communications and three fire control radars along with destroying the main radar set.

Partial repairs courtesy of Prometheus' crew allowed South Dakota to sail for New York; after the ship's arrival on 18 December 1942, she was given an overhaul and the battle damage was completely fixed.
Departing the yard on 25 February 1943, South Dakota underwent sea trials before escorting Ranger in North Atlantic operations until mid-April, when she joined the British Home Fleet.
This deployment lasted until 1 August; the ship then traveled to Norfolk and then the Pacific, arriving at Efate on 14 September.
Moving to Fiji on 7 November, she joined Battleship Divisions 8 and 9, which supported Allied forces in the Battle of Tarawa, among other battles.
Along with five other battleships, she fired upon Nauru Island on 6 December 1943.

29 January 1944 saw the ship bombard Roi-Namur before she moved away to protect the carriers assigned to provide air support for multiple amphibious assaults on islands within Kwajalein Atoll.
South Dakota provided anti-aircraft support for various fast carrier task forces until June, when she bombarded Saipan and Tinian.
The battleship took part in the so-called "Marianas Turkey Shoot", where more than 300 attacking Japanese aircraft were shot down, though she was hit by a 500-pound bomb on the main deck that killed 24 and wounded 27.

For the rest of World War II, South Dakota operated in the Pacific mostly as a carrier escort; the only times she did not was when she received an overhaul at the Puget Sound Navy Yard from July–August 1944, when five tanks of gunpowder for the 16-inch guns exploded on 6 May (putting the ship out of action until 1 June), and when she bombarded Okinawa (24 March 19 April), the Kamaishi Steel Works on Honshu (14 July and 9 August), and Hamamatsu on Honshū (29–30 July).
South Dakota was present at the Surrender of Japan aboard Missouri on 2 September 1945; she left Tokyo Bay on 20 September for the west coast of the United States.
The battleship set sail for Philadelphia on 3 January 1946 to be overhauled; she was designated as part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there in June.
Decommissioned on 31 January 1947, South Dakota remained idle until she was stricken from the Naval Register on 1 June 1962 and sold for scrap to the Lipsett Divisio
South Dakota's keel was laid on 5 July 1939 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey. She was launched on 7 June 1941 and commissioned on 20 March 1942. She went on a shakedown cruise in June after her fitting out was complete. In August–September, the battleship voyaged from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Panama Canal; she struck a coral reef soon after arriving in the Tonga Islands and had to sail to the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for repairs, which took about a month. South Dakota was then assigned to escort the aircraft carrier Enterprise as part of Task Force (TF) 16; joined by TF 17 soon after, the combined fleet—now known as TF 61—was ordered to "make a sweep of the Santa Cruz Islands and then move southwest to block any Japanese forces approaching Guadalcanal." This led to the Battle of Santa Cruz, where in escorting Enterprise, South Dakota was credited with shooting down 26 Japanese planes. The battleship was hit once by a 500 lb (230 kg)-bomb on Turret I during the action.
On 30 October 1942, South Dakota and the destroyer Mahan collided while the latter was investigating a sonar contact with a submarine. Both ships were able to continue to Noumea, where Vestal repaired them. The battleship joined the North Carolina-class battleship Washington and four destroyers to form TF 64. The ships intercepted a Japanese bombardment force on the night of 14–15 November, and, in a battle now known as the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, they damaged the cruisers Takao and Atago in addition to forcing the battleship Kirishima and destroyer Ayanami to be scuttled. During the battle, a power failure incapacitated South Dakota and she received considerable topside damage—42 shells hit the ship, knocking out radio communications and three fire control radars along with destroying the main radar set.
Partial repairs courtesy of Prometheus' crew allowed South Dakota to sail for New York; after the ship's arrival on 18 December 1942, she was given an overhaul and the battle damage was completely fixed. Departing the yard on 25 February 1943, South Dakota underwent sea trials before escorting Ranger in North Atlantic operations until mid-April, when she joined the British Home Fleet. This deployment lasted until 1 August; the ship then traveled to Norfolk and then the Pacific, arriving at Efate on 14 September. Moving to Fiji on 7 November, she joined Battleship Divisions 8 and 9, which supported Allied forces in the Battle of Tarawa, among other battles. Along with five other battleships, she fired upon Nauru Island on 6 December 1943. 
29 January 1944 saw the ship bombard Roi-Namur before she moved away to protect the carriers assigned to provide air support for multiple amphibious assaults on islands within Kwajalein Atoll. South Dakota provided anti-aircraft support for various fast carrier task forces until June, when she bombarded Saipan and Tinian. The battleship took part in the so-called "Marianas Turkey Shoot", where more than 300 attacking Japanese aircraft were shot down, though she was hit by a 500-pound bomb on the main deck that killed 24 and wounded 27.
For the rest of World War II, South Dakota operated in the Pacific mostly as a carrier escort; the only times she did not was when she received an overhaul at the Puget Sound Navy Yard from July–August 1944, when five tanks of gunpowder for the 16-inch guns exploded on 6 May (putting the ship out of action until 1 June), and when she bombarded Okinawa (24 March 19 April), the Kamaishi Steel Works on Honshu (14 July and 9 August), and Hamamatsu on Honshū (29–30 July). South Dakota was present at the Surrender of Japan aboard Missouri on 2 September 1945; she left Tokyo Bay on 20 September for the west coast of the United States. The battleship set sail for Philadelphia on 3 January 1946 to be overhauled; she was designated as part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there in June. Decommissioned on 31 January 1947, South Dakota remained idle until she was stricken from the Naval Register on 1 June 1962 and sold for scrap to the Lipsett Divisio
South Dakota-class battleship (1939)