Audiobook9 hours
Silver State Dreadnought: The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada
Written by Stephen M. Younger
Narrated by Sean Runnette
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
USS Nevada (BB-36) was America's first modern battleship. When her keel was laid in 1912, kings and emperors still ruled much of the world. When she finally slipped beneath the waves in 1948, America was the undisputed global superpower.
Nevada was revolutionary for her time: the first "superdreadnought"; the first U.S. warship to be oil fired; the first to have a triple-gun main turret; and, the first to have all-or-nothing armor. In World War I, she was based in Queenstown, Ireland, to provide protection for American convoys bringing troops to Europe. The only battleship to get underway at Pearl Harbor, she suffered damage from Japanese bombs and torpedoes and sank in shallow water. Raised and repaired, she did convoy duty in the North Atlantic before joining the invasion fleet for D-Day and the landings in Southern France. Shifting to the Pacific, Nevada provided bombardment support at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The end of the war saw her outgunned and outmoded, but her contributions were not over. In 1946, she survived not one but two atomic tests, the second of which left the battleship too radioactive for scrapping. On a sunny day in 1948, Nevada was towed off the coast of Oahu and used for target practice. She died a warrior's death.
Nevada was revolutionary for her time: the first "superdreadnought"; the first U.S. warship to be oil fired; the first to have a triple-gun main turret; and, the first to have all-or-nothing armor. In World War I, she was based in Queenstown, Ireland, to provide protection for American convoys bringing troops to Europe. The only battleship to get underway at Pearl Harbor, she suffered damage from Japanese bombs and torpedoes and sank in shallow water. Raised and repaired, she did convoy duty in the North Atlantic before joining the invasion fleet for D-Day and the landings in Southern France. Shifting to the Pacific, Nevada provided bombardment support at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The end of the war saw her outgunned and outmoded, but her contributions were not over. In 1946, she survived not one but two atomic tests, the second of which left the battleship too radioactive for scrapping. On a sunny day in 1948, Nevada was towed off the coast of Oahu and used for target practice. She died a warrior's death.
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Reviews for Silver State Dreadnought
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5While the author leans just a little too hard into the theme of the "happy ship," there is no denying that USS "Nevada" was something special and that this is a very good history of this vessel. One thing I particularly appreciated is that close attention to literal nuts & bolts details, as Younger explores what it took to keep a capital ship running when it was past its technological prime. There is also something of a more astringent tone when Younger examines Operation "Crossroads," the nuclear bomb tests that failed to put "Nevada" down for the count; Younger being very critical of disregard of safety protocols for the men dealing with the aftermath of "Alpha" and "Baker."