When the dreadnought battleship USS Nevada (BB‑36) glided into the water at its launch on July 11, 1914, she represented a massive technological leap forward in naval architecture. As the world’s very first “all-or-nothing” armored battleship, she concentrated her heavy plating exclusively around her most critical internal systems while leaving less vital areas completely unarmored. This radical design concept proved to be a literal lifesaver decades later during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
During the attack, the Nevada was the only American battleship to successfully get underway, becoming a moving target for Japanese bombers who desperately tried to sink her in the channel. Though severely damaged and forced to ground herself, she was successfully refloated in 1942, repaired, and thoroughly modernized. Commissioned in 1916, she returned to active duty to serve throughout the duration of World War II, notably providing shore-bombardment during the D-Day landings at Normandy, making her the only American battleship present at both historic engagements.
