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Although the Iowa class may have been the best battleships, they were not used in a role that I could commend them as the “greatest battleship.” Admiral Halsey hoarded his battleships, particularly the Iowa class ships, as floating anti-aircraft platforms to defend the Aircraft Carriers. They excelled at protecting the carriers, but never had the opportunity to demonstrate the fighting they were designed for.The greatest World War II U. S. battleship, in my mind, was the USS Washington (BB-56), a Washington Naval Treaty battleship (thus limited to 35,000 tons), but upgraded from 14″ to 16″ guns. It was awarded 13 Battle Stars, much more than any of the Iowa class and second only to her sister ship, North Carolina. But Washington had a greater impact than any of them.On the night of November 12–13, 1942, the Japanese sank or crippled four American cruisers (causing the deaths of Admirals Callahan and Scott) in the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This left the Marines without naval protection from heavy bombardment from the sea. Halsey ordered the battleships Washington and South Dakota detached from carrier protection duty to come north to protect the Marines.Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto organized another attack for the night of Nov 14–15 in a final attempt to bombard and destroy Henderson Field. For the Japanese to gain control of Guadalcanal, they had to destroy Henderson Field which provided the American air power in the theater. The Japanese could not adequately supply their troops on the island so long as American aircraft could interdict Japanese transports. He also sent along 16 troop transports to reinforce and supply Japanese ground troops for a final push to defeat the American troops on the island. This would be the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.Washington and South Dakota were detached from protecting the Enterprise and joined up with a scratch force of only four destroyers, all that were available after the earlier battle. As the Japanese approached, the destroyer screens engaged each other. The four American destroyers were soon out of action, two were sunk, one had its bow blown off (it would sink the following day) and the fourth was hit in the engine room and forced to withdraw. Washington and South Dakota fired a few rounds from long range, but then South Dakota suffered major electrical failure (caused by their chief engineer locking down a circuit breaker causing the whole system to go into series) and South Dakota had no power to its radar, radios or gun turrets. South Dakota was then spotted by the Japanese cruisers and battleship and was quickly pummeled, suffering numerous hits, not fatal. Captain Gatch of the South Dakota then ordered his ship to withdraw. That left Washington by itself to face off against one battleship, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and nine destroyers!Washington however, was able to approach unseen in the dark against the dark background caused by Guadalcanal and closed to within 8400 yards where it opened fire on Kirishima a near point blank range for 16″ guns. In a mere fifteen minutes, Washington reduced the Japanese battleship Kirishima to a flaming, listing hulk. Washington’s spotters counted 26 hits, but this is clearly too low a figure. After the war, Japanese officers who survived Kirishima distinctly remembered taking multiple “torpedo” hits. However, Washington was not armed with torpedoes, so it could only be 16″ gunfire. These hits were clearly near misses that fell short, but because of the low trajectory of the shot they hit the water and continued through the water and into the side of the vessel. These shots caused the listing that would ultimately doom the ship. The Japanese had already lost the destroyer Ayanami which was disabled and sinking from 5″ shellfire from Washington’s secondary batteries and from American destroyers. The Japanese troop transports were also badly mauled. Several transports were dead in the water off the Russell Islands just north of the battle. Four transports managed to beach themselves where they were easy pickings for the US planes on Guadalcanal the following morning. None of the others made it. Of the more than 12,000 troops sent, only about 2,000 troops made it to Guadalcanal, along with a mere 260 cases of ammunition and fifteen hundred bags of rice, a far cry from what was needed.Initially, Washington gave chase to the cruisers, and Atago was straddled by 16″ shellfire from Washington. Although no direct hits were scored, the Atago’s bridge suffered serious damage which unnerved the Japanese commander, Admiral Kondo. Atago and Takao beat a hasty retreat, firing torpedoes as they left the area. Admiral Kondo ordered destroyers to cover his retreat with an attack, but when Washington’s radar registered small blips, Captain Davis recognized a torpedo attack and ordered a hard turn to starboard which he held until the Washington was headed due south at flank speed. Its wake was so powerful that it detonated several torpedoes fire in its direction. Absent the protection of the Kirishima, the remainder of the Japanese fleet was forced to retire back to Rabaul. Completely unscathed, Washington remained the victor on the field as this battle broke the back of the Japanese at Guadalcanal. They could no longer resupply and reinforce their troops on the island and within two months they were withdrawn. This was one of only two battleship-to-battleship engagements in the Pacific during WWII and was the turning point in the war against the Japanese.Sadly, in the aftermath of World War II, the Washington was not saved to become a museum ship like so many other of our battleships, and was broken up and sold for scrap. A very sad fate for a great fighting lady.U S S Washington in 1945:

There were three factors that I believe were very important, especially in taking down the Japanese battleship Kirishima. I can explain all three factors, but first, let me provide a little background to better understand how these factors played a role in Washington’s decisive victory on the night of November 14–15, 1942.Washington and South Dakota were detached from carrier protection duty (they were escorting Enterprise south of the Solomons where the Enterprise was patrolling in the Coral Sea) by Admiral Halsey, the overall commander of the Guadalcanal operation. The night before they were detached, a U. S. cruiser force protecting the Marines on Guadalcanal were badly mauled by a Japanese force with two Kongo class battleships (Hiei and Kirishima), a light cruiser and 14 destroyers. The American cruiser Atlanta was sunk, a second was badly damaged and sunk the next day by a Japanese submarine (Juneau), and two other cruisers were badly shot up requiring several months repairs (Portland and San Francisco). The American force was able to disable the Hiei, who was finished off by American air forces the next day, but the American position on Guadalcanal was precarious. Without the battleships, Halsey only had four destroyers to protect his position on the island. The Japanese intended to send a powerful naval fleet to bombard the Marines on Guadalcanal,. They sent one battleship (Kirishima), two heavy cruisers (Atago and Takao), two light cruisers (Nagara and Sendai), and nine destroyers. The plan was to bombard Henderson Field, the airbase that provided the American forces naval supremacy during the daylight hours. If Henderson Field could be neutralized, the Japanese would gain the upper hand in the battle for Guadalcanal, and the whole of the Solomon Island chain. In turn, if the Japanese controlled an airbase on Guadalcanal, it would give them the striking power to control the sea lanes between the United States and Australia. Thus, the mission of the Washington and South Dakota was vital, and they arrived and joined up with the destroyers.The first factor was radar. Now, it must be remembered that radar on ships was new and shipboard radar was in its infancy. American Navy ships had not yet developed a way to coordinate the information from radar to the commanding officer. The American cruiser force that was decisively beaten two nights earlier also had radar, but the American commanders became confused by what they were told was on the radar plots and mistook some radar blips as their own ships. Furthermore, they didn’t trust the radar information and tried to fight the battle visually—just like they had been trained to do for 25 years. Thus, they did not engage until after the Japanese had let loose their feared Long Lance torpedoes. The delay allowed the Americans to be decimated. Nevertheless, radar offered a real promise to defeat the highly trained Japanese, who excelled at fighting at night. In a very short period of time, the U. S. Navy had integrated radar onto their ships with the gun directors. Each American battleship had state of the art analog plotting computers for their big guns, but radar was a technological leap forward.The second factor was the American Admiral commanding—Willis “Ching” Lee. He was nicknamed Ching while at the Naval Academy due to his last name having a Chinese ring to it and his fondness for the Orient. His specialty was gunnery. Lee was very demanding of his crew’s ability to shoot accurately, and drilled the Washington’s crew constantly. By the time of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, I can safely say the Washington was the best shooting, best trained crew, in the entire U S Navy. When radar was first introduced onto ships, Lee immersed himself in the technology, not leaving it to his subordinates like most of his brethren of flag rank. By November, 1942, Ching Lee knew as much or more about radar and its capabilities than any one else in the Navy. This would come into play against the Japanese force.The third factor was seamanship. Captain Davis had the conn on the Washington. As the battle progressed, his piloting of the ship brought Washington into a position from which it could batter Kirishima mercilessly, and then retire safely.Washington and South Dakota approached Iron Bottom Sound, seeing Japanese targets at long range (18,500 yards) and both opened fire. The Japanese were arrayed into three separate groups. The first group, consisting of the light cruiser Sendai and three destroyers, were picked up by American radar and this was the group fired upon. The second salvo straddled the Sendai and the splashes of their shells were big enough to register on the radar. This group beat a hasty retreat. More blips appeared on the radar scopes. Lee realized immediately that he had to manage the fight with radar, and not with visual sighting. This had never been done before. Still, Lee had a problem. South Dakota was in a blind spot as the Washington’s radar did not have a good view of what was behind it, it really only saw ahead. He did not want to shoot at his own ships, so Lee was cautious about opening fire unless he was sure of his target.At this point, the four American destroyers engaged the Japanese destroyers of the Japanese fleet’s second group. Again, the Japanese fired their Long Lance torpedoes as the American destroyers opened fire with their 5 inch guns. One of the American destroyers, Preston, was raked by fire from the Japanese cruiser Nagara, and was turned into a flaming wreck within minutes by the bigger Japanese guns. Walke, another American destroyer, was soon hit by two torpedoes, followed by several medium caliber shells. She also burned as she was dead in the water. Shortly thereafter, Benham was hit and fifty feet of her bow was blown off by a Japanese torpedo. She continued the try to fight moving at a mere 10 knots. In the meantime, Washington had identified the Japanese destroyer Ayanami as a likely target and opened fire with its 5 inch guns. Radar directed American gunfire was deadly accurate and Ayanami was battered into a worthless hulk within minutes. The fourth American destroyer, Gwin, was hit in the engine room, causing an electrical failure, and she was put out of action. Admiral Lee then ordered the Benham and Gwin to retire. Benham would sink the following day.Now came a fateful moment. Two American destroyers were motionless and burning brightly on the sea, and Captain Davis of Washington elected to pass on the port side of the burning destroyers, putting Washington between the destroyers and the island of Guadalcanal. Captain Gatch on the South Dakota made the decision to go to the starboard side of the burning destroyers. Unfortunately, at this same time his electrical system failed causing his communications, radar, and forward main gun turrets to become lifeless—they had no power with which to operate. For three critical minutes, South Dakota had no ability to do anything. When the power was restored, it took time for the vacuum tube based electronics to warm up and calibrate. By going to the starboard side of the destroyers, South Dakota became illuminated by their fires, and was immediately spotted by the Japanese. They turned on their searchlights, illuminating South Dakota, and opened fire. South Dakota was hit by multiple eight inch shells from the Japanese heavy cruisers. Kirishima also fired at South Dakota, managing to hit the base of the South Dakota’s after turret with a 14 inch shell from 11,000 yards, but South Dakota could only meekly return fire with her 5 inch batteries as the big guns still had no electricity to fire. Fires raged on South Dakota as she was raked by the Japanese. However, South Dakota somehow managed to avoid 34 Long Lance torpedoes fired at her, and soon had the fires under control. Captain Gatch elected to withdraw to the south.Meanwhile, Washington pressed on, seeing multiple blips on the radar, but unwilling to fire for fear of firing on the South Dakota. However, when the Japanese turned on their searchlights to fix South Dakota, Admiral Lee now knew where his enemy lay. By passing to the port side of the burning destroyers, Captain Davis had hidden Washington behind their fires. At night, when the only real light comes from bright fires in the distance, no one can see what may be behind those fires. The fires essentially blind the onlooker to anything behind the fires. Additionally, Washington had the very dark background of the island of Guadalcanal behind it, essentially blotting out any other light from stars or moon that might betray Washington’s presence. Washington was thus able to approach the Japanese unseen. Washington’s radar plots could both see and distinguish the larger ships like the battleship Kirishima and the heavy cruiser Atago. Washington closed on the biggest threat, Kiriashima. Admiral Lee had his 5 inch secondary batteries train on the cruiser Atago, and his big guns aimed at Kirishima. At 8400 yards, which was all but point blank range for her 16 inch guns, Washington let loose with a full salvo.The first salvo destroyed the main radio room on Kirishima. The second salvo struck the barbettes of her two forward 14 inch turrets, threatening to ignite the magazines. Damage control officers immediately flooded the forward magazines. Another shell from Washington slammed into Kirishima’s steering machinery room, causing it to flood and jamming the rudder to starboard. Meantime, the secondary batteries raked Atago, causing marked damage and greatly unsettling Admiral Kondo, the Japanese force commander, and his staff. Kirishima managed to return fire, and her captain believed they had scored at least ten hits, but, in fact, all had passed over the Washington, whose radar directed fire was far more accurate. Washington officially recorded 26 hits on Kirishima out of 75 shots fired, but this understated Washington’s accuracy. After the war, surviving officers of the Kirishima were interviewed and claimed that at least four and perhaps as many as eight torpedoes also struck the ship below the waterline. Washington, however, did not have torpedoes. These “torpedoes” were clearly shots that fell just short, but due to the flat trajectory of the shot, plowed through the water and into the side of the ship below the waterline and below Kirishima’s armor belt. These below the waterline hits (an underwater survey of Kirishima showed apparently seven shots struck below the waterline) caused massive flooding within the ship. Kirishima was slowed to 10 knots and stuck in a circle to starboard. Fires raged the length of the ship. As the ship would list first to port, then to starboard, damage control was constantly flooding more spaces in an effort to correct the list. Later that night, Kirishima foundered and would be abandoned. Her valves were opened to scuttle her, but by this time it is likely she was already gone. Japanese Admiral Kondo, aboard the damaged but still operational Atago, ordered a withdrawal of his entire force. Washington tracked them on radar and trained its guns, but Admiral Lee would not open fire for fear of hitting South Dakota whose location was again unknown at this moment.Captain Davis, knowing Japanese tactics and expecting a torpedo counterstrike, then elected to go to flank speed and turned quickly to starboard 180 degrees until his ship was heading due south, away from the scene of battle. As the mighty ship churned up a huge wake, several explosions were recorded within the wake as Japanese Long Lance torpedoes launched at Washington detonated upon hitting the violent churning water behind the ship. Nevertheless, for the first time the U S Navy had clearly bested a Japanese in a battle of capital ships in a night naval action. Having lost Kirishima’s sister ship, Hiei, two nights earlier, the Japanese no longer ruled the night in the waters around Guadalcanal.Despite the fact that this was Washington’s first naval battle, the crew experienced no moments of panic or great emotion. In after action reports, Admiral Lee stressed his ship “functioned as smoothly as though she were engaged in a well-rehearsed target practice.” Others who were aboard that night in various functions remembered it the same way despite the deafening sound and massive pressure of the big guns firing. This was a credit to Ching Lee and his thorough training of the crew. Washington’s crew knew their jobs and acted accordingly, in the finest traditions of the U S Navy. Washington thus changed the battle for Guadalcanal, which in turn, forced the Japanese in a long, slow retreat back to their home islands.Postscript: The example of Admiral Lee was not lost on the American chain of command. In a letter to Admiral Ernest King shortly after the battle, Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief-Pacific, identified the key to victory in the Pacific: “training, TRAINING, and M-O-R-E T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G.”(emphasis in the original). In contrast, the Japanese consoled themselves by spreading the story throughout their navy that the United States had lost three battleships for the loss of Hiei and Kirishima.Postscript II: The American battleships formed up and returned to their base at Noumea. Unfortunately, Washington’s crew was somewhat resentful of South Dakota’s inept action, leaving them to fight the Japanese alone. Similarly, the pride of the crew of South Dakota was hurt by the expressed displeasure of Washington’s crew—seems more than once their collective manhood was challenged. A small war broke out between the crews at bars throughout Noumea and the local brig was soon full to overflowing. Lee finally ordered a truce and required the respective ship’s captains to coordinate a staggered leave schedule as the two crews could not be trusted to be on good behavior to one another.

My wife and I did exactly that about three years ago after I retired. While our house was on the market and being shown by real estate agents, we moved into our 35-foot motorhome that was in a paved parking area on our property. We had full electric, water and sewer hookups and could snag Wi-Fi from the house. Living that way eliminated our need to scramble around to tidy up our house for showings, making it possible for showings to be done at any time without inconveniencing us. Anticipating an extended road trip I arranged to have my vehicles registered in South Dakota through a mail-forwarding company. That company immediately provided us with an address, would forward our mail and later arrange for us to establish "legal" residency in South Dakota.Once our house in New Jersey was sold, we sold all of our furniture and bulky belongings at auction and moved our remaining items into a storage unit. After vacating and transferring the deed for our property to the new owners, we moved to a nearby campground for about a week to clear up last-minute business and then headed south. It was a joy to escape from the bitter cold. There was a six-inch icicle hanging from our coach when we left. Our mission was to travel extensively, visit friends and family, explore North America and perhaps seek a new place to eventually settle down.We traveled more than 16,000 miles, from coast to coast and from north to south, chasing the sunshine and warm weather through much of the USA and western Canada. One of our early stops was in Box Elder, South Dakota, which offers a simple, quick way to establish legal residency without requiring that we actually "live" there. Moving our legal residence from the second highest tax state to the second lowest tax state had major tax advantages during our travels. Most RV parks and campgrounds are pet friendly and many have their own dog parks.Disadvantages: Living full-time in an RV offers limited space, so you and your travel companion, if you're not alone, must be able to share a confined space without conflict. We towed a small car behind our motorhome that gave us added mobility when we parked our coach in a campground. Hobbies that require bulky equipment, such as woodworking, are really out of the question as is gardening. Whether the RV is self-powered or towed, the amount of fuel to move a rolling home from place-to-place is significantly greater than traveling by car.Advantages of full-time RV living include the ability to enjoy and explore the incredible beauty of our northern most states and Canadian provinces without enduring their bitter cold winters and then bask in the sunshine and warm weather of our southern regions during the winter. We made new friends on the road who continue to share their photos and adventures with us through social media. During our travels, my wife and I could sleep in our own bed every night, use our clean private bathroom anytime and prepare our own healthy, nutritious meals without being forced to constantly eat restaurant food. Nightly rates for campsites are usually far less expensive than a motel or hotel room and most do not charge extra for pets. We maintain our own standards of cleanliness and travel in our RV without having to pack and unpack at every stop.Setup at a new campsite usually takes us less than five minutes. A one-time purchase of a senior national park pass opens opportunities to camp at dramatically reduced rates. Many Walmart, Gander Outdoor stores, Cracker Barrel restaurants and Pilot/Flying J truck stops welcome overnight guests in their parking lots at no charge if the municipality in which they are located allows it.Some RV owners, whom I have met, have told me that they have been living the dream for a decade or more and are still excited over their travels. Other RV owners become Workampers (The Original Resource Of Jobs For RVers, Since 1987!), settling in one spot for a season or more while being employed by the campground. Some eventually get all of the full-time wanderlust out of their systems and settle down in one place in a home or apartment. At that point they revert to part-time travel or sell their RV.Addendum: An element of full-time camping that I did not mention originally were the many skilled workers we met during our adventures. They lived in their RVs, traveled to job sites, worked until the project was complete and then moved on. One of the first such worker we met was an expert pipeline wielder. He had a heavy-duty pickup truck equipped with his wielding machinery. He also used that truck to tow his fifth-wheel RV when it was time to move to the next job. His wife home-schooled their children. Others we met shared their fascinating experiences with us about working in various specialized construction projects that required their unique skills.Second Addendum Posted June 30, 2020: My wife and I are traveling across the United States in our motorhome from our home near the southeastern coast to attend a wedding in California. We are among many who are avoiding commercial flights and NOT staying in motels and hotels because of the pandemic exposure risk but we are not stuck in our house. Traveling in an RV with our own kitchen, bedroom and bath enables us to continue to self-isolate, stay away from crowds and avoid the touch points that would be necessary for other types of travel. We have our own supply of food and can avoid using public restrooms, going to restaurants and bars and other locations where COVID-19 is being rapidly spread. Although we no longer LIVE in our motorhome all the time, we can safely live in it when we wish to travel, even during a pandemic.