A. E. Wells Photograph of the First Target Practice of the USS Tennessee
Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
This photograph depicts the USS Tennessee's first target practice. In this instance, the ship is firing broadside.
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Biographical/Historical Note
The 32,300 ton battleship USS Tennessee was constructed in the New York Navy Yard and commissioned in June of 1920. It served in the Atlantic for a year before being transferred to the Pacific, where the ship served for nearly twenty years. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Tennessee participated in regular training and fleet exercises, earning an E (for excellence) in gunnery. On December 7, 1941 the Tennessee was one of the seven ships anchored on Pearl Harbor's Battleship Row. Two of her four gun turrets were damaged by bombs and it was scorched by burning oil from the sinking USS Arizona. Temporary repairs were made on site and the Tennessee was sent to Puget Sound for a full overhaul. It was modernized extensively in 1942 and went on to support numerous campaigns in the Pacific area, including Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa despite incurring further damage, including a kamikaze strike in 1945. The Tennessee was mothballed after the war ended and was sold for scrap in July 1959.
This collection consists of a single folder.
Acquisition Note
Special Collections purchased this photograph.
Battleships -- American -- 1920-1930.
Tennessee (Battleship).
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
special@utk.edu
[Identification of Item], A. E. Wells Photograph of the First Target Practice of the USS Tennessee, MS.1800. University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections.
[Identification of Item], A. E. Wells Photograph of the First Target Practice of the USS Tennessee, MS.1800. University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections. https://scout.lib.utk.edu/repositories/2/resources/694 Accessed January 28, 2023.