Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
Both ships were present in Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941; "California" was torpedoed and sunk but "Tennessee" was only minimally damaged. "California" was refloated and both ships were heavily rebuilt between 1942 and 1944. The pair thereafter saw extensive service as bombardment vessels supporting the island-hopping campaign across the central Pacific. "Tennessee" took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign in mid-1943, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, and the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944, by which time "California" had returned to the fleet as well.