USS Indiana ( BB - 58 ) USS " Indiana " ( BB - 58 ) , a battleship , was the fourth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 19th state . Her keel was laid down on 20 November 1939 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Newport News , Virginia . She was launched on 21 November 1941 sponsored by Mrs . Lewis C . Robbins , daughter of Indiana governor Henry F . Schricker , and commissioned on 30 April 1942 , Captain Aaron Stanton Merrill in command . World War II . Following shakedown in Casco Bay , Maine , the new battleship steamed through the Panama Canal to bolster US fleet units in the Pacific during the critical early months of World War II . She joined Rear Admiral Lee ' s aircraft carrier screening force on 28 November 1942 . For the next 11 months , " Indiana " helped protect carriers and , then supporting American advances in the Solomon Islands . " Indiana " steamed to Pearl Harbor on 21 October 1943 , and departed on 11 November with the support forces designated for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands . The battleship protected the carriers which supported the Marines during the bloody fight for Tarawa . Then , in late January 1944 , she bombarded Kwajalein for eight days prior to the Marshall Islands landings on 1 February . While maneuvering to refuel destroyer s that night , " Indiana " collided with the battleship , killing several men . Temporary repairs to her starboard side were made at Majuro Atoll , and she returned to Pearl Harbor on 13 February for additional repair work . The captain of " Indiana " admitted that his ship was out of position , and he took responsibility for the collision . On 23 January Admiral Chester Nimitz removed him from command and replaced him with Captain Thomas Peyton . " Indiana " joined the noted Task Force 58 ( TF 58 ) for the huge Truk Atoll raids of 29 – 30 April , and then she bombarded Ponape Island on 1 May . In June , " Indiana " proceeded to the Mariana Islands with a gigantic American fleet for the invasion of that strategic island chain . She bombarded Saipan Island on 13 – 14 June , and she shot down several enemy aircraft with her anti - aircraft battery while fighting off air attacks on 15 June . As the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet approached the Marianas to try to repel the Americans , " Indiana " steamed out to meet them as part of Vice Admiral Willis A . Lee ' s battle line . The two large fleets approached each other on 19 June for the biggest carrier air battle of the war , the Battle of the Philippine Sea , and as four large air raids hit the American formations , the F6F Hellcat s of the fleet , with minor assistance by the ships in the screens , shot down nearly 400 of the Japanese attackers . With able assistance from submarines , Vice Admiral Marc A . Mitscher ' s forces sank three Japanese aircraft carriers , also , including and the brand - new . The air battle was called the " Great Marianas Turkey Shoot " . " Indiana " shot down several planes , and endured two near misses by torpedo es . The Battle of the Philippine Sea decided in the American favor , " Indiana " resumed her screening duties around the carriers , and remained at sea for 64 consecutive days in daily support of the Marianas invasion . In August , " Indiana " began operations as a unit of Task Group 38 . 3 ( TG 38 . 3 ) , bombarding the Palau Islands , and later the Philippines . She screened strikes on enemy shore installations from 12 – 30 September , helping to prepare for the coming invasion of Leyte Island in the central Philippine Islands . " Indiana " then departed the Philippines for the naval shipyard at Bremerton , Washington , arriving on 23 October , for a needed major overhaul and installation of additional anti - aircraft armament . Thus , she missed the major Battle of Leyte Gulf off the Philippines . After her overhaul , " Indiana " steamed for Pearl Harbor . Reaching Pearl Harbor on 12 December , " Indiana " immediately began underway training preparedness . She steamed out on 10 January 1945 , and with a fleet of battleships and cruisers , she bombarded Iwo Jima on 24 January . " Indiana " then joined TF 58 at Ulithi Atoll , and then sortied on 10 February for the invasion of Iwo Jima , the next step on the island road to Japan . She supported the carriers during raids on the Tokyo area on 17 February , and again on 25 February , with screening of air strikes on Iwo Jima in the interval . " Indiana " supported an air strike on Okinawa , and then departed back to her base . She arrived back at Ulithi for replenishment on 5 March . " Indiana " steamed out of Ulithi on 14 March for the crucial invasion of Okinawa , and until June , she steamed in support of carrier operations against Japan and Okinawa . These naval air raids did as much as they could to aid the ground campaign , and damage the Japanese at home . During this period , she often repelled enemy " kamikaze s " as the Japanese tried desperately but vainly to stem the mounting tide of defeat . In early June , " Indiana " rode out a terrible typhoon , and then steamed to San Pedro Bay on 13 June . As a member of TG 38 . 1 , " Indiana " operated at sea from 1 July to 15 August , supporting air strikes against Japan , and bombarding coastal targets with her big guns . The veteran battleship arrived in Tokyo Bay on 5 September , and nine days later she steamed for San Francisco , California , where she arrived on 29 September . Post - War . Returning to the US soon after the Japanese surrender , " Indiana " was placed in reserve status in September 1946 and formally decommissioned a year later . She saw no further active service and was sold for scrapping on 6 September 1963 . " Indiana " s prow , mainmast and guns are erected at Memorial Stadium of Indiana University ; her anchor rests on the grounds surrounding the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne , Indiana ; her bell resides at the Heslar Naval Armory in Indianapolis , Indiana ; and other relics are on display in various museums and schools throughout Indiana . " Indiana " s prow was formerly located in Berkeley , California , in a parking lot across the street from Spenger ' s Restaurant on Fourth Street but was moved to Memorial Stadium at Indiana University in July 2013 . Some of the low - background steel that made up Indiana ' s hull was recycled to create the low background counting chamber at the In Vivo Radioassay and Research Facility ( IVRRF ) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory . Awards . " Indiana " received nine battle star s for her World War II service .