The third USS Maryland

Commissioned in July 1921 in the wake of World War I, the battleship USS
Maryland was the first American ship mounted with 16-inch guns and fea-
tured a new type of seaplane catapult. She was also one of the 96 Ameri-
can ships basking in the early morning sun when Japanese attack planes
filled the skies over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7,1941. Moored
inboard of the Oklahoma along Battleship Row, she was shielded from a
direct torpedo hit. Her anti-aircraft gunners destroyed two Japanese planes,
including the first enemy plane downed by American forces.

The Maryland later participated in the fateful Battle of Midway in June, 1942, and earned
the nickname "Fighting Mary" during several Pacific campaigns. "Fighting Mary" was
severely damaged twice and earned seven battle stars for service. She also transported
more than 9,000 American servicemen home at the end of the war as part of the "Magic
Carpet" fleet and was decommissioned in 1947.

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